Omega Rising: Remembering Joe D'Amato

Delves into the career of the notorious Italian filmmaker, Aristide Massaccesi aka Joe D'Amato, the infamous director behind the legendary Video Nasties Anthropophagus: The Beast and Absurd.

Kurosawa's Way

Eleven major film makers from Europe, America and Asia talk about Akira Kurosawa and discover surprising influences on their own work.

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

A documentary about the rise and fall of the Cannon Film Group, the legendary independent film company helmed by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.

French Lessons

Bienvenue en…. Los Angeles! Film executive Kyle and filmmaker Arran rendez-vous for a tête à tête in this crème de la crème of Cinéma Verité.

Teruo Ishii Fan Club

A documentary on Teruo Ishii, the Japanese "King of Cult".

Heavenly Bodies

A group of filmmakers shadow some glamour photographers in order to discover the skill involved in getting 'magic' to appear on the photos.

Amir Naderi by Amir Naderi

Iranian film director Amir Naderi talks to Zar Amir Ebrahimi about his career in this documentary directed and produced by Ebrahimi and broadcast by BBC World Service and BBC Persian. Amir Naderi is one of the most influential figures of Iranian modern cinema. He was born in 1945 in the Persian Gulf port of Abadan. Orphaned at an early age and living the life of a street urchin, Naderi had to survive by selling ice, working as a shoeshine boy and recycling empty beer bottles. He developed his knowledge of cinema by watching films in the theaters where he worked at a very young age. He began his career by taking pictures for some notable Iranian features. In the 1970’s, he started directing his own films, and made some of the most important movies of the New Iranian Cinema. After moving to New York in the early 90’s, Amir Naderi continued to make films. They have premiered at the Venice, Cannes, Tribeca, and Sundance Film Festivals.

Welcome to Lynchland

Creator of absolute freedom, David Lynch constructed his work as an enigma to be deciphered between dream and reality. A cult director from his first films ("Eraserhead", "Elephant Man", "Blue Velvet"), Lynch forever changed the world of television with his series "Twin Peaks", before tackling the lies of Hollywood in "Mulholland Drive". Tracing the life of the most influential filmmaker of his generation, this documentary explores the hidden meaning of a relentlessly consistent filmography and delves beneath the dark, teeming surface of the American Dream.

In the Mirror of Maya Deren

Documentary about the life of avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren, who led the independent film movement of the 1940s.

The Long Voyage of the Yellow Bus

For this behemoth, Bressane took his opera omnia and edited it in an order that first adheres to historical chronology but soon starts to move backwards and forward. The various pasts – the 60s, the 80s, the 2000s – comment on each other in a way that sheds light on Bressane’s themes and obsessions, which become increasingly apparent and finally, a whole idea of cinema reveals itself to the curious and patient viewer. Will Bressane, from now on, rework The Long Voyage of the Yellow Bus when he makes another film? Is this his latest beginning? Why not, for the eternally young master maverick seems to embark on a maiden voyage with each and every new film!

The Cemetery of Cinema

Thierno Souleymane Diallo sets out with his camera in search of the birth of filmmaking in Guinea. Charming and determined, he traces his country’s film heritage and history and reveals the importance of film archives.

Augusto San Miguel Died Yesterday

During the 1920's, Augusto San Miguel (1905-1937) directed, produced and starred in the first feature films made in Ecuador. Unfortunately, San Miguel's films -like many episodes of his life- disappeared in time. The only remains are the movie ads on old newspapers and a mysterious legend, by which San Miguel was buried with his films.

The Beer Drinker's Guide to Fitness and Filmmaking

"My father says if people don't come and see this movie, we'll starve," says Tate Sullivan, introducing his father's "The Beer Drinker's Guide to Fitness and Filmmaking." (Send canned goods to Auteur-Aid, care of Fred G. Sullivan, Saranac Lake, N.Y. 12983.) "The Guide" is the Sullivan family album, a grandiose home movie focused on the days and nights, life and times of "Adirondack" Fred. And you thought Molly Dodd was a schlemiel. Fred, the most self-obsessed creature since Garfield the Cat, produces, directs, writes, edits and stars in this offbeat, low-budget work. Fred's four children, Fred's tiresome wife Polly, Fred's business partners, psychiatrist, internist, teachers, neighbors, creditors, sommelier and so forth comment on the 42-year-old ne'er-do-well.

François Truffaut: My Life, a Screenplay

At the end of his life, gravely ill, François Truffaut took refuge with his ex-wife Madeleine Morgenstern. She tried to keep him occupied during his long agony. The filmmaker confided in his friend Claude de Givray, with the intention of writing his autobiography. Too weakened, he abandoned the project. The film reveals part of this final story.

Ironie und Gottessuche - Das Kino des Lars von Trier

Documentary on Lars von Trier

The Degenerate: The Life and Films of Andy Milligan

Before unsung gay NYC exploitation maverick Andy Milligan died of AIDS, he cranked out grindhouse-ready shock and so-bad-it’s-good schlock movies throughout the late 1960s and ’70s. Yet, as captured in this fascinating documentary, his life and on-set persona were messy, complicated, and unforgettable.

Sembène: The Making of African Cinema

Senegalese documentary about the country's most famous film-maker - Ousmane Sembène. The groundbreaking director explains his philosophy, politics and hopes for the future of African cinema.

Failure

A life long dream of making a feature film turns into a comedic disaster for a New Jersey filmmaker.

Xavier Dolan: Bound to Impossible

Actors Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, Monia Chokri, Gaspard Ulliel, Vincent Cassel, Niels Schneider and Melvil Poupaud discuss working with the young Canadian director Xavier Dolan, who has conquered the hearts of both cinema lovers and prestigious festival juries with his films. To French actress Nathalie Baye, he seems very experienced despite his young age, while Cannes Director Thierry Frémaux says he may be insolent, but everyone agrees he is passionate, creative, a perfectionist and... in a hurry.

Un p'tit truc en plus, bien plus qu'un film

Heart of a Dog

Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.

This Is Not a Film

Renowned Iranian director Jafar Panahi received a 6-year prison sentence and a 20-year ban from filmmaking and conducting interviews with foreign press due to his open support for the opposition party in Iran's 2009 election. In this film, which was shot secretly by Panahi's close friend Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and smuggled into France on a USB stick concealed inside a cake for a last-minute submission to Cannes, Panahi documents his daily life under house arrest as he awaits a decision on his appeal.

For Sama

A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

In the Realms of the Unreal

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

To Be Takei

Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei journeyed from a World War II internment camp to the helm of the Starship Enterprise, and then to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband, Brad, on a wacky and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.

Naqoyqatsi

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

Fuck

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

Love, Marilyn

Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

Public Speaking

Martin Scorsese’s portrait of writer and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, celebrated for her sharp wit and observations on modern life. Filmed at New York’s Waverly Inn and intercut with archival footage and interviews, the documentary captures Lebowitz’s distinctive worldview through her spontaneous monologues and public appearances.

Rich Hill

If you ever find yourself traveling down Interstate 49 through Missouri, try not to blink—you may miss Rich Hill, population 1,396. Rich Hill is easy to overlook, but its inhabitants are as woven into the fabric of America as those living in any small town in the country. This movie intimately chronicles the turbulent lives of three boys living in said Midwestern town and the fragile family bonds that sustain them.

Frida

An intimately raw and magical journey through the life, mind, and heart of iconic artist Frida Kahlo. Told through her own words for the very first time — drawn from her diary, revealing letters, essays, and print interviews — and brought vividly to life by lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork.

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.

Halftime

Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.

McQueen

Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.

As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

Love, Gilda

Diaries, audiotapes, videotapes and testimonials from friends and colleagues offer insight into the life and career of Gilda Radner -- the beloved comic and actress who became an icon on Saturday Night Live.

Take Your Pills

In a hypercompetitive world, drugs like Adderall offer students, athletes, coders and others a way to do more -- faster and better. But at what cost?

Audrey

An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

We Live in Public

In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.

Nothing Like a Dame

BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.