Silversun Pickups: Behind Better Nature

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Between the French La Nouvelle Vague and the Italian Neorealismo, Europe had been undergoing a continuous cinema transformation since the 1950s, while the ailing American studio system groaned under its own weight and inertia. New Hollywood had arrived with Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, and already by 1968 it was changing how Hollywood thought and acted. The student film scene was getting ready to explode, and it knew it.

Jean-Jacques Goldman, de l'intérieur

Shortly after German reunification, three residents of a quiet area north of Berlin talk about their plans and attempts at new economic beginnings amid the changes brought by the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Employing experimental techniques, Emshwiller magically moved through a collection of objects and artifacts in order to capture the spirit of George Dumpson and his backyard museum.

A Musical Journey is an intimate portrait of the Palestinian oud and violin virtuoso Simon Shaheen and his influential career as composer, performer and educator. Born into a musical family and educated at the Academy of Music in Jerusalem, Shaheen arrived in America in 1981 to a landscape where traditional Arab music was little known. His passion for and commitment to sharing the music’s complexities come to life as he teaches and performs in vibrant musical performances that energize the film.

German writer Uwe Johnson lived for several years in the 1960s on Manhattan’s Upper Westside where he got to know his neighborhood very well, observing the goings-on in the streets, cafeterias, and parks. In 1968 German Television agreed to co-produce a film for broadcast featuring interviews with various neighborhood characters.

Hansjürgen Pohland's short documentary is an audiovisual study that captures events and people on the streets on film. The special feature of the work is that the people and objects are portrayed exclusively through their shadows.

Like the best USIA films, The Wall distills political events into an emotionally clear and compelling ideological "story". In 1962 Walter de Hoog gathered footage from U.S. and German newsreel sources and crafted this taut short film about the first year of the Berlin Wall. Straightforward, keenly balanced narration portrays Berliners as "accepting the wall but never resigned to it". The extraordinary footage of the first escapes was propaganda enough-- His challenge was to make the politics human.

Feature documentary on the pioneering life and work of iconoclastic filmmaker/musician/composer/artist Tony Conrad.

Three arrested and detained undocumented immigrants must navigate the system to fight impending deportation.

Soundtrack der Freiheit

A farming community gathers on a plateau on the border of three regions for the funeral of traditional agriculture. It’s a film to ward off the disappearance of a millenary culture.

Footage of Québec City locations and the artwork of well-known Quebec animator Frédéric Back are used to tell the tale of Champlain’s life in New France – from his first explorations and settlement to his death in 1635.

Short documentary presents a high-tension soccer match from the perspective of an ever-vigilant referee.

Las cosas simples

When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.

This half-hour documentary by acclaimed director Jonathan Demme ("The Silence of the Lambs") captures singer-songwriter Neil Young and his hard-rocking backing band Crazy Horse "live" in the studio playing a set of four songs. These sessions took place at the Complex Recording Studios in Los Angeles on October 3, 1994, just one day after Young's critically-lauded Bridge School Benefit concert. Earlier that year, Young and his band had recorded the studio album "Sleeps with Angels" at the Complex studios and came back to film a series of music videos. Jonathan Demme was there to document the recording session, which began at 6:30 pm on a Monday evening and concluded at 4:30 am the next day. "The Complex Sessions" is the result of these sessions. Set List: 1. My Heart (3:08), 2. Prime of Life (4:44), 3. Change Your Mind (14:56), 4. Piece of Crap (3:08).

Jean-Luc Godard visits NYU in order to discuss his latest feature "La chinoise" with graduate students on filmmaking and politics.

Bette Midler hit the road for the first time in four years with her 2003–2004 Kiss My Brass concert tour, performing well-known hits and characters, as well as selected songs from her release, Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook. The tour hit the top 40 cities across the U.S. with one stop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 10 Australian dates were added in April and May 2005. It was the first Australian tour for Midler in 26 years. This program was recorded 18th January 2004 at Madison Square Gardens.