Brent Houzenga: Hybrid Pioneer

The Past Is a Grotesque Animal

June 2014 •English

A personal, accessible look at an artist - Kevin Barnes, frontman of the endlessly versatile indie pop band of Montreal - whose pursuit to make transcendent music at all costs drives him to value art over human relationships. As he struggles with all of those around him, family and bandmates alike, he's forced to reconsider the future of the band, begging the question - is this really worth it?

Crass: The Sound of Free Speech (The Story of Reality Asylum)

September 2023 •English

The film dives into 1970's Britain; the birth of punk and the formation of Crass, with an in-depth look at their art, music and ethos.

Paint Until Dawn: a documentary on art in the life of James Gahagan

June 2020 •English

Seeing is to painting what listening is to politics. Survival as an artist demands both. Paint Until Dawn is a documentary on art in the life of James Gahagan (1927-1999), who painted all night to push the limits of vision. His life and thought reveal a correlation between art and activism through an interesting angle: the creative process itself.

Namatjira Project

September 2017 •English

From the remote Australian desert to the opulence of Buckingham Palace - Namatjira Project is the iconic story of the Namatjira family, tracing their quest for justice.

Fairtown

April 2021 •English

The Iowa State Fair draws millions of people to the city of Des Moines every year. However, this film is not about the Iowa State Fair or the people who attend. It's about where they park their cars. Inspired by the classic documentary, "Heavy Metal Parking Lot".

The Go-Go's

March 2021 •English

As the first all-female band to play their instruments, write their songs and have a No. 1 album, The Go-Go’s made history. Underpinned by candid testimonies, this film chronicles the meteoric rise to fame of a band born in the LA punk scene who became a pop phenomenon.

Ama Como a Estrada Começa

November 2006 •English

The life and work of painter Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos (1923-2006), one of the most important artists of the portuguese surrealist movement, both in literature and the visual arts. Includes statements from the artist, his friends, and scholars of his artistic oeuvre. A documentary originally exhibited on the day of his death at the age of 83.

Steph Jane - A Portrait Story

September 2019 •English

Through an intimate conversation, Steph Jane, age 28, shares the struggles and lessons her second diagnosis of stage-4 cancer has taught her. From being genuinely present and savouring simple moments to thoughts of the future and what really matters, Steph reveals beauty and wisdom which transcend appearance and years.

Drawings by Billy and His Friends

May 2011 •English

In this experimental short film, Kristian Day collected artwork created by the public. He found the majority of the pieces at "Sharpie marker demonstration tables" and it took almost a year to collect the artwork. All pieces were created by chance with no prior thought. He originally intended on using the photos for a collage canvas piece, however after deciding that a short film would stand the test of time longer, he took individual shots of over 30 pieces. The drone music was created using a variety of simple sound generators & tapes that are being manipulated by delays, filters, and reverberation effects.

Green Day: Dookie

Invalid date •English

A documentary that explores the making and impact of Green Day's third album Dookie, which was released in 1994 and became a worldwide phenomenon.

Tous Les Jours

November 2019 •English

In rocky Newfoundland, renowned French artist Jean Claude Roy gathers his paints and sets off to face the day. Whether it be freezing snow, violent wind, or pouring rain, he commits vibrant colors to canvas and conquers the day by weaving crooked beauty out of difficulties.

Piaf intime

October 2013 •French

Robert Motherwell and the New York School: Storming the Citadel

August 1991 •English

Made shortly before Robert Motherwell’s death in 1991, is an exploration of the Abstract Expressionist movement and a portrait of one of its last survivors. Having come to New York in the early 1940s, Motherwell found himself on the battleground of American art. He and a group of painters set out to change the face of American painting. The film charts this epic battle led by Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, and Robert Motherwell, who endeavored to make American painting equal to painting elsewhere and, in the process, shifted the center of modern art from Paris to New York.

Fluisteraars

April 2024 •Dutch

Destroying your own artwork. For many artists it is unmentionable, but Loes Heebink from Kolderveen irreparably destroyed her artwork "Fluisteraars" herself and came up with the idea for a documentary of the same name, directed by Saskia Jeulink.

James Bearden: Man of Metals

October 2013 •English

An essay style film in the vein of Orson Welles' "F For Fake" and Jon Jost's "Speaking Directly". From 2011 to 2013, filmmaker Kristian Day randomly documented the art and actions of the award winning metal sculptor, James Bearden. Refusing to make another artist documentary, Day insisted on illustrating Bearden's creative process through surreal and id oriented story telling.

Citizen

June 2021 •English

A collection of personal anecdotes from those who have navigated through a tumultuous year in America.

Jesus Christ Saviour

May 2008 •German

Klaus Kinski has perhaps the most ferocious reputation of all screen actors: his volatility was documented to electrifying effect in Werner Herzog’s 1999 portrait My Best Fiend. This documentary provides further fascinating insight into the talent and the tantrums of the great man. Beset by hecklers, Kinski tries to deliver an epic monologue about the life of Christ (with whom he perhaps identifies a little too closely). The performance becomes a stand-off, as Kinski fights for control of the crowd and alters the words to bait his tormentors. Indispensable for Kinski fans, and a riveting introduction for newcomers, this is a unique document, which Variety called ‘a time capsule of societal ideals and personal demons.’

BP Underground - Hardcore / Punk

July 2017 •Hungarian

The Underground subcultures in Budapest are an integral part of the diverse and colorful Hungarian culture. The creators of the film - Esther Turan and Anna Koltay - wanted to explore what were the major youth music subcultures in the '90s and 2000s in Budapest. This film is a tribute to the underground subcultures of the city. In these series of films, these grass-roots groups deal with the social impact of their community building power and the role played by Budapest itself in the formation of these groups. The film explores the kind of atmosphere and unwritten rules, what were the dominant places, external signs, and symbols, or who were the central figures and what were the memorable stories. The film guides the viewer from the best bands to the message, from the typical attire to the cult bars. The new generation is a starting point, a complex retrospective of where it originated and why the colorful underground cultural life still characterizes Budapest today.

Kaarel Kurismaa. The Limits of Timelessness

January 2024 •Estonian

A documentary about the Estonian artist Kaarel Kurismaa shows the viewer an insight into the world of artists. Kaarel changed his creative direction several times; he explored different artistic styles. Kaarel Kurismaa laid the foundations for Estonian kinetic and sound art. He is a highly versatile artist whose creative energy is divided between painting, sound, installation, monumental art, and film. On the crest of the avant-garde wave of the 1970s, he created several important sound and kinetic objects in Estonian art history.

Back To Africa

April 2008 •English

An Austrian director followed five successful African music and dance artists with his camera and followed their lives for a year. The artists, from villages in Ghana, Gambia and Congo, were the subjects of Africa! Africa! touring across Europe, but they have unbreakable roots to their homeland and their families. Schmiderer lovingly portrays his heroes, who tell their stories about themselves, their art and what it means to them to be African with captivating honesty. The interviews are interwoven with dance scenes and colourful vignettes set to authentic music.