The Homing Bird

Also People

March 1960 •Russian

Based on an excerpt from the novel by L.N.Tolstoy "War and Peace." The war of 1812. The defeated Napoleonic army is retreating. Three Russian soldiers settled in a snowy forest near a fire: a young (Zaletayev), an elderly and a middle-aged one. Zaletayev fantasizes — as if he had captured Napoleon. The soldiers laugh good-naturedly at him. After dinner, they fall asleep... Two Frenchmen go to the clearing — an officer and a soldier. Russian soldiers wake up and, seeing that the officer is barely standing on his feet from cold and hunger, take him to the colonel. The French soldier sits down to the fire. The Russians give him porridge and vodka. The soldier, encouraged, sings a french song. Zaletayev echoes him. A tired Frenchman falls asleep on Zaletayev’s shoulder. The soldiers carefully shelter him. “Also people,” an elderly soldier says with a sigh.

Translating History to Screen

June 2008 •English

Translating History to Screen (2008) Video Short - 10 June 2008 (USA)

Bravest of the Brave

August 1938 •English

This short film looks at the life of Michel Ney, who fought at Napoleon's side and was made a Marshall of France.

There Is a Rally

July 1986 •English

A visual interpretation of the massive disarmament rally held in New York City on June 12, 1982. With huge rallies held simultaneously around the world, people gathered together on this day at the height of the Regan-era nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union.

Der Platz

November 2021 •English

Stranded in Cold War-era Berlin, a British counterintelligence officer awaits the day his handlers will finally arrive to collect him. Given no information but a time and place, he diligently keeps his appointment, watching and waiting for something to happen; even as weeks turn to years . . .

Clues to Adventure

April 1949 •English

This MGM Passing Parade series short presents how separate events led to the creation of three provisions - freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and prohibition of the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments - in the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights.

Phantasmagoria

October 2022 •German

Two women living alone are visited by a young strange man whose identity and intentions they begin to question as the evening progresses.

Decade for Decision

December 1957 •English

Short news featurette produced by Pathe-RKO after the Russians launched the first orbiting satellite, Sputnik. It is a patriotic 'call to arms' from the threat posed by this and the need for Americans to spend more on education in general and a college education in particular. A visit to the University of Buffalo highlights its science programs and the need for more graduates from all technical disciplines if America is to rise to the challenge. It bemoans the fact the PhDs earn less than a mechanic and the need to re-order priorities.

Night and Fog

April 1959 •French

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

The Female Doctor and The Rabbit Spirit

January 2020 •Chinese

A gentle physician saved an injured rabbit in the forest, not knowing that it was actually a Rabbit Spirit. The Rabbit Spirit decided to visit the physician in a human form, and they started to become closer. But when the Rabbit Spirit hears the story of the White Snake, and how human and demons are not destined to be together, she begins to doubt if she should stay at the physician's side. (Short film sequel to the 医女和兔子精的故事 music video)

Redcoats

September 2018 •English

During the Revolutionary War, Emily, her daughter Sarah and her two young grandchildren have to look after themselves and run the family farm while the men fight for the patriots' cause. With winter approaching, crops dwindling and food shortages mounting, the women face their greatest fears when three lost British soldiers storm into their house demanding food, drink and anything else they can get their hands on.

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.

The First Emperor of China

January 1989 •English

This historical drama tells the story of Qin Shihuang, who unified China's vast territory and declared himself emperor in 221 B.C. During his reign, he introduced sweeping reforms, built a vast network of roads and connected the Great Wall of China. From the grandiose inner sanctum of Emperor Qin's royal palace, to fierce battles with feudal kings, this film re-creates the glory and the terror of the Qin Dynasty, including footage of Qin's life-sized terra cotta army, constructed 2,200 years ago for his tomb.

Fallas 37: el arte en guerra

March 2013 •Spanish

In November 1936, a few months since the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, the government of the Second Republic moves to Valencia. In this situation, several Valencian artists and intellectuals decide to build four fallas — satirical plasterboard sculptures created to be burnt — to mock fascism.

Ghosts

September 2022 •English

Three Kiowa boys attempt to escape a government boarding school in 1891, Oklahoma.

Do Útero Ao Túmulo

December 2022 •Portuguese

The Food on the Table

February 2024 •English

Now the subjects of a despotic chief, far from having any favor to expect from him, as both themselves and all they have are his property, or at least are considered by him as such, are obliged to receive as a favor what he relinquishes to them of their own property. He does them justice when he strips them. He treats them with mercy when he suffers them to live. In a beautiful house, during a beautiful day, next to a library with no books, a table is set for the last supper of its inhabitants.

Shoka

March 2010 •Japanese

Edo, Japan. Calligraphists are not mere writers, they can bring drawings to life and utilize kanji. Three calligraphists from the art wielding clan join up and fight against an exiled calligraphist and his minions to protect the Tokugawa shogunate.

Kirkcaldy Man

October 2011 •English

Who is Jocky Wilson? 20 years ago every child in Kirkcaldy, on the east coast of Scotland, could answer this question. One of the best darts players ever, world champion in 1982 and 1989 - a national hero. But in '95 Jocky paid the price for his self destructive life style. In search of his myth, we follow the forces that shaped Jocky's hometown and its inhabitants as we discover lost memories of the man who once inspired the nation.

The Magic of Flight

January 1996 •English

Take a technological thrill ride The Magic of Flight takes you on a technological thrill ride faster, higher and wider than modern science or even your imagination! Relive the first flight of the Wright Brothers, then soar with the Blue Angels as they defy the laws of gravity. Narrated by Tom Selleck.