North Bergen, North Bergen

RECONQUEST OF THE USELESS, a documentary film which follows the adventures of three young men as they journey nearly 5000 miles through the Peruvian Amazon, searching for inspiration and the legacy of Werner Herzog's classic film Fitzcarraldo & Les Blank's Burden of Dreams thirty years after they were made.

Unveiling Yasujiro Ozu’s legacy through his personal diaries, letters, and interviews, the documentary delves into his life, creative process, and lasting impact on filmmaking.

Two young documentarists travel around a forsaken island in the aftermath of a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. Their wanders lead them to the encounter of Professor Pereda, an acoustic geologist, conducting researches on geo-acoustics.

Through the Fondren Fellows program, the Rice Media Center Archive Project has spent the past few months sifting through material stored at the now-defunct Rice Media Center. The team has identified several films as especially notable and will be presenting them in conjunction with documentary footage the team shot of people involved with the films. From lectures featuring Roberto Rossellini and Werner Herzog to films from former Rice students and faculty, the film presentation will tell the narrative of the Rice Media Center through the films and filmmakers that passed through its corridors.

An extremely lovely tribute to Ozu, on the 20th anniversary of his death. It uses a combination of footage from vintage films and new material (both interviews and Ozu-related locations) shot by Ozu's long-time camera-man (who came out of retirement to work on this). Surprisingly (or perhaps not), it focuses less on Ozu's accomplishments as a film-maker than on his impact on the lives of the people he worked with..

With exclusive behind-the-scenes access into Herzog’s everyday life, rare archive material and in-depth interviews with celebrated collaborators – including Christian Bale, Nicole Kidman, and Robert Pattinson, we are given an exciting glimpse into the work and personal life of the iconic artist.

Created from material developed during "The Thoughts That Once We Had," this short film presents an anthology of 26 scenes from films made between 1904 and 2015, each depicting trains arriving at stations. The sequences are arranged in a serial structure, with black-and-white scenes in the first half paired with corresponding color sequences in the second half, forming a symmetrical visual progression.

It seemed like a typically quiet night... but the most unexpected encounter leads Chris to a difficult choice.

A pre-fame Werner Herzog (Adam Ezagouri) is asked to share a flat with a strange new actor only known as Klaus Kinski. Herzog agrees but soon regrets his generous decision as Kinski proves to be one uncanny flatmate. Despite their disagreements, both decide to try and shoot Herzog's own version of Don Quixote, with disastrous consequences.

A foursome of intergenerational black women detail the quotidian nature of mother/womanhood. Transfixed by an historical and surrealistic imagery, bustitOpen molds a legacy and an (un)making of the world of their work.

The 2020 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans provided a beacon of entertainment in a year that saw so much upset and gloom. Although there were no spectators on hand to enjoy the annual endurance test, the teams and drivers were no less focused and competitive than usual. Toyota led the charge in the final full year of the LMP1 category, whilst no fewer than 15 Oreca LMP2s crossed the line after 24 hours of racing. In the GTE classes there was extremely close racing all the way through the night and into the second day as Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin fought for dominance. The line-up of drivers throughout the field saw previous winners including Se´bastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Kazuki Nakajima alongside talented racers such as Bruno Senna, Henry Tincknell, Paul di Resta and the all-female crew of Tatiana Calderon, Sophia Florisch and Beitske Visser.

Luz Marina is a former cyclist who ended her sports career towards the end of the 80s to go build her house in Ciudad Bolívar. The remembrance of the self-construction process of her home takes us through a historical journey that contrasts archival images that she herself has captured between documents, photographs and video, with current scenarios to give us samples of the town's urban development.

In France, more than 10 million people of all ages are believed to rely on food aid. Faced with this reality, mutual aid initiatives are multiplying to feed, comfort, and integrate people. From lunches where everyone pitches in, to one-euro menus, workshops on how to cook healthily and cheaply, and dinners prepared by Michelin-starred chefs, solidarity kitchens are multiplying in France.

From deep behind enemy lines, a hidden chapter of American military history is uncovered, prompting the question of whether reckoning with the past can bring peace to those who lived it. The Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team reunites to tell their story.

The director's mother is 90 years old—and is beginning to forget herself. Not only herself, but everything else as well. She has dementia. Only her faith and her tireless knitting of exclusively blue socks keep her alive. The director, whose relationship with his mother has been very tense throughout his life, approaches the dissolution of his mother's ego in this experimental and essayistic film with the support of Didier Eribon, Simone de Beauvoir, Norbert Elias, Jean Améry, and others. In addition to this very personal story, he also tells a universal story about the process of aging, about repression, but also about rebellion in dealing with and interacting with aging people.

Egypt, nicknamed "the mother of the world" by its people, is unrecognizable. Gigantic construction sites have sprung up in the desert at an exponential rate, including roads, bridges, and megaprojects on the Mediterranean coast. This new Egypt is an illusion: in 10 years, the population has sunk into unprecedented poverty. The regime shows no mercy to the poor. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the new pharaoh, and his army have set up a pyramid-shaped financial system, built on subsidies from major international institutions—including the European Union—and foreign investment. The most populous nation in the Arab world finds itself on the brink of collapse.

The incredible story of Mark Hubbard; A Seattlite who sparked the modern concrete skate park revolution literally from his backyard. The film documents how Mark and his friends started with a dream to build there own projects to eventually becoming a booming business building parks for cities and towns all over the world. The film tells the history, process and eventual result of their efforts and how it affects the kids and local enthusiasts. It's a story about fighting for your dream and never giving up.

Yocó Cofán: sabiduría y territorio

Shigra: La memoria de las manos

A look into the world of saucy Plymouth artist Beryl Cook, one of Britain's most popular painters.