Il était une fois Disney & la France

Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory

March 1895 •French

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait

May 2017 •English

A chronicle of the personal life and public career of the celebrated artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel.

Susanne Bartsch: On Top

May 2017 •English

Dubbed New York's "Queen of the Night," proto–club kid Susanne Bartsch has been throwing unforgettable parties for over 30 years and is still going strong.

Vana: The Biggest Race Is the Life Itself

September 2012 •Czech

A documentary portrait of a legendary Czech jockey, Josef Vána, reveals his inner world of thoughts. His unique way of life can't be described in words, and this is a first, really original view into his daily life around horses, terrifying accidents, and also stories about his family.

Soldier of the Road: A Portrait of Peter Brötzmann

June 2012 •English

How do you become Peter Brötzmann? How do you become what you are: a painter, a musician, an absolute artist? Europe was nothing but a ruin and shame possessed the heart of the young Germans. They needed to invent, scream, regain a lost brotherhood. Overcome this silence! That’s how some young German, British, Dutch, Belgian… musicians made Europe exist long before Maastrich and have kept on cherishing, imperturbably, their freedom! They are no longer twenty-year-olds, but others have followed. They set themselves one constraint: reinvent everything every time. A way to take the very instant into account, to let the unexpected in, to match to the world.

Thomas Hardy: Fate, Exclusion and Tragedy

September 2021 •English

A portrait of the British writer Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), who, although he had radical instincts, hated hypocrisy, was of great poetic brilliance, had a tragic perception of life and a calm outward appearance, was at heart a man of seething and somber darkness.

Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget

November 2009 •English

Kirk Douglas recounts his remarkable life in a celebrated one-man theater performance augmented with rare film highlights. He shares memories of family, marriages, other Hollywood greats, breaking the blacklist and his life-altering stroke – all with honesty and humor.

Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century

May 1998 •English

Acknowledged as one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century, Arena explores the rise of the legendary crooner Frank Sinatra from his early family background to overwhelming show business success. Interviews with friends, family and associates reveal a star-studded career in music and film alongside a fascinating private life of four marriages, liaison with the Kennedy family, Las Vegas business interests and an alleged association with the Mafia

The Fabulous Allan Carr

May 2017 •English

Armed with a limitless Rolodex and a Benedict Canyon enclave with its own disco, Allan Carr threw the Hollywood parties that defined the 1970s. A producer, manager, and marketing genius, Carr built his bombastic reputation amid a series of successes including the mega-hit musical film "Grease," until it all came crashing down after he produced the 1989 Academy Awards, a notorious debacle.

Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life

June 2017 •English

This compelling Documentary moves beyond the spotlight and past the attention-grabbing headlines to give pop superstar Chris Brown a chance to tell his own story. New interviews with the international phenomenon reveal long-awaited answers about his passion for making music, his tumultuous and much publicized relationships, and the pitfalls of coming of age in the public eye. Also included is new concert footage, behind-the-scenes access, and special interviews from Usher, Jennifer Lopez, DJ Khaled, Mike Tyson, Jamie Foxx and others.

Materialista, idealista, cinematógrafo, magnetófono, buen chico y sádico

June 2012 •Spanish

Mankiller

June 2017 •English

The story of an American hero and the Cherokee Nation's first woman Principal Chief who humbly defied all odds to give a voice to the voiceless.

Akademik Emil Belluš

January 1979 •Slovak

Krok do prázdna Jana Masaryka aneb Dokonalý zločin

January 2011 •Czech

Milada

November 2023 •Slovak

Matúš Bachync's docudrama is an expressive and thought-provoking story of a freedom-loving woman who fought communist brutality in the 1950s.

Mi Vida Me Pasa

August 2024 •Spanish

Arturo Urbiola, independent singer/songwriter, talks about the influence music has had on his life, it's impact, and what's in store for his artistic career after becoming a father.

Kardinál Jozef Tomko

January 2013 •Slovak

Marína, Marilyn a tie ďalšie...

June 2022 •Slovak

Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston

November 2019 •English

Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. Eight years later, he died but friends questioned the cause of his death.

Who was Hitler

November 2017 •German

Hitler's biography told like never before. Besides brief historical localizations by a narrator, only contemporaries and Hitler himself speak: no interviews, no reenactment, no illustrative graphics and no technical gadgets. The testimonies from diaries, letters, speeches and autobiographies are assembled with new, often unpublished archive material. Hitler's life and work are thus reflected in a unique way in interaction with the image of the society in the years 1889 to 1945.