This documentary respectfully interviews a number of important American directors who have in one way or another bucked the system. It also explores the life and work of earlier American mavericks through the tributes, reflections, and recollections of the first group. Prominent among the living directors interviewed are Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Schrader, and David Lynch. Among the directors who are discussed are Orson Welles, D.W. Griffith and Samuel Fuller. Clips from the films of these men, and interviews with important actors who have worked with them (e.g. Robert DeNiro) are another feature of this documentary, commissioned by Japanese public television corporation NHK.
Category: Documentary
Bahman Kiarostami’s charming documentary about mourners-for-hire who are called upon to attend funerals in Iran. With an understated, lighthearted style, Tabaki provides a fascinating view of a peculiar occupation within this religious culture, offering, in the process, an insightful portrait of the society as a whole.
A rare documentary about the Mai 68 riots in Paris with many testimonies from unknown and well-known witnesses.
Shot during the events by Jean-Luc Magneron, this poignant documentary with interviews brings a new light on the events. On April 1998, some excerpts, entitled “It was your May 68”, were broadcasted during french TV show “La Marche du siècle” hosted by Jean-Marie Cavada, at the occasion of the 30th birthday of the events.
A biographical film, in English throughout, telling the story of film director Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) from his childhood in Riga, Latvia to receiving the ‘Stalin Prize’ in Moscow. Based on his own writings, the film uses actual film clips of Eisenstein at various points of his life as well as photographs, illustrations and archival film of a variety of locations around the world. Eisenstein’s talent as a satirical cartoonist and later an artist is particularly highlighted with many photographs of his work.
The use of kidnapped children as fighters was a systematic practice by the South African-backed Renamo army. We follow Julio Bombi’s journey to be re-united with his mother. Renamo kidnapped up to 100,000 children, and they became the most feared soldiers of all. When parents find their long-lost children, these hardened young assassins bear little resemblance to the children they lost.
Documents the life of the last generation of Selk’nam’s. Their way of life, economy, rituals, chants, traditions, and their slow extinction after the European colonization.
This documentary financed by George Plimpton concerns the life of reclusive Australian artist Vali Myers. Heralded as a great artist in 1958, she married Rudi Rappolid after a failed suicide attempt. The cinéma vérité-styled feature tries to bring the viewer some semblance of her reclusive and eccentric personality. Myers eschews the public spotlight and has never agreed to sell any of her artwork to collectors, choosing instead to lead a life of quiet obscurity.
In 1973 surfer and sometime director of photography George Greenhough got tired of the overcrowded beaches of Southern California and set of on a journey of discovery. He designed and built his own surfboards, some equipped with underwater camera equipment. With a small group of friends he built a boat and went off the map to find some waves they could truly call their own. This journey of discovery became a breathtaking cinematic trip. Combined with the music of Pink Floyd, an understated first person narrative, and some of the best surfing footage I believe has been ever shot they created one of the most remarkable works of art ever made.