Duras and Cinema

Since her debut at the age of 18, musician, civil rights campaigner and activist Joan Baez has been on stage for over 60 years. For the now 82-year-old, the personal has always been political, and her friendship with Martin Luther King and her pacifism have shaped her commitment. In this biography that opens with her farewell tour, Baez takes stock in an unsparing fashion and confronts sometimes painful memories.

A portrait of the controversial German writer Ernst Jünger (1895-1998), the great stylist of 20th century German literature.

The Norwegian painter Edvard Munch is the author of a powerful body of work that is rooted in symbolism and expressionism. His most famous painting, "The Scream", painted in 1893, has become the symbol of existential anguish. He obsessively sought to express his most violent emotions in the face of death and love, bringing them together in a great whole, the "Frieze of Life". Nature, in perpetual movement, the bearer of vital momentum, helped him to exalt his anguish of living through its colors and undulating lines.

After the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Libuše Jarcovjáková, a young female photographer, strives to break free from the constraints of Czechoslovak normalization and embarks on a wild journey towards freedom, capturing her experiences on thousands of subjective photographs.

On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the death of Louis de Funès, this documentary by Jacques Pessis pays tribute to the cult actor by retracing his career through excerpts of his greatest successes in the cinema and in the music hall, never-before-seen archives, as well as testimonies from personalities and relatives.

With a style and attitude that defies conventions and a unique sound within the industry, it's hard to deny that Billie Eilish has become synonymous with the current culture. Her music resonates with millions of fans around the world, selling out arenas and stadiums, making her one of the largest artists today.

The US writer Henry Miller (1891-1980), scandalous and nonconformist creator, hated by the most recalcitrant puritans, was a vilified genius, considered a threat, accused of being a sexist, of consciously pursuing the destruction of every civic principle; but he was also someone venerated as a saint, as a sex guru; and today as one of the most important characters of the twentieth century.

Sergio Abel lives in a small town in Central Cuba and he videotapes his life. He is also a grade school teacher. A beautiful documentary that incorporates Sergio’s observations and footage and his student’s aspirations for the future with the outsider’s eye to tell his story.

Who gets the idea to write “Nine unfinished symphonies” - one of them perhaps the shortest Symphony in music history? Or "1001 sonatas’ - each lasting about a minute but in total being one of the longest pieces ever written? Like a postmodern Erik Satie the Belgium composer Boudewijn Buckinx is using music history as a playing field. The classical music audience is irritated, the avant-gardist wrinkles his nose... "Daisies in a Meadow" - that's how Buckinx described his "1001 Sonatas” for violin and piano, They play a leading role in our film, in the supporting roles the Spanish sun and the Belgian rain. The latter, however, did not show up at the set - just as you always have to be prepared for surprises with Boudewijn Buckinx. "Why is my music so simple? - Why is my music so complex?" With a wink, Buckinx gives various answers to these recurring questions. The portrait of an immensely productive artist who is radically taking his own path.

Raymond Devos, un hommaginaire

Banksy is a household name, but behind this name hides a multitude of stories, artworks, stunts, political statements and identities, leading to one of the art world's biggest unanswered questions- who is Banksy?

“As I child, I always had music in my head. I thought everybody did,” the legendary conductor Sir Simon Rattle recalls. His charming and humorous reflections on the unifying magic of conducting are complemented by interviews with well-known contemporaries and accompanied by thrilling concert footage. His music is a joy to all those who listen to it!

Several high-budget epic films became Omar Sharif (1932-2015) a film star. He was an actor, but also a bridge player, a womanizer, a bon vivant; he was a man full of contradictions, who enjoyed card games more than movies; he was an eternal nomad who spent half his life in a hotel.

An experimental portrait of Fernando Fernán Gómez, one of the most renowned Spanish artists of all time.

An account of the short life and the astonishing and provocative work of the Austrian painter Egon Schiele (1890-1918), seen through the peculiar point of view and the critic voices of the women who defined the paramount milestones of his existence: Gerti, his sister; Wally, his main model and lover; and Edith, his wife. A brief story of love, hate, betrayal and misfortune.

An examination of the craft of Marlon Brando, narrated by professionals of the film industry. The film follows his career from the stage with "A Streetcar Named Desire", through the Actors Studio and professional relationships with Elia Kazan and Stella Adler to Hollywood. An actor who redefined the limits to which a professional may go in becoming the character not only intellectually but emotionally, Brando changed the meaning of film acting.

Melanie Griffith - Die Frau, die Hollywood überlebte

Macario 'Mac' Gómez talks about his long career as a film poster designer.

A peculiar, meticulous, vocationally archeological account of the professional life of the actor, Spanish by birth, Argentinean by adoption, Narciso Ibañez Menta (1912-2004), spiritual disciple of Lon Chaney, the new man of a thousand faces, master of horror, star of Argentinean theater, cinema and television for decades.

In 1956, actress and Hollywood star Grace Kelly (1929-82), then at the height of her film career, unexpectedly dropped everything to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Jinx, an American journalist and friend of the future princess, accompanied her on her journey to the wedding and covered the sensational event.