Aristide Gagnon... le huitième jour

Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word Is Power

November 2019 •English

The views and thoughts of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood have never been more relevant than today. Readers turn to her work for answers as they confront the rise of authoritarian leaders, deal with increasingly intrusive technologies, and discuss climate change. Her books are useful as survival tools for hard times. But few know her private life. Who is the woman behind the stories? How does she always seem to know what is coming?

Milan Kundera: From the Joke to Insignificance

October 2021 •Czech

The brilliant Czech writer Milan Kundera has not given an interview in thirty years; nor does he appear in public. How did he become a legendary author? What is so unique about his books?

Tolkien: The True Story of the Rings

September 2024 •German

An analysis of the sources of inspiration that fed the imagination of the British writer, poet and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), great master of epic fantasy.

Rivers and Tides

February 2001 •English

Portrait of Andy Goldsworthy, an artist whose specialty is ephemeral sculptures made from elements of nature.

The One, the Only, the Real Tarzan

August 2004 •German

The glorious and tragic story of American athlete and actor Johnny Weissmuller (1904-84), Olympic swimmer, water polo player and the only true Tarzan, an archetypal character and myth of cinema, that of the original Hollywood blockbusters (1932-48).

The Village Detective: A Song Cycle

April 2021 •English

Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Iceland, July 9, 2016. The surprising discovery of a canister —containing four reels of The Village Detective (Деревенский детектив), a 1969 Soviet film—, caught in the nets of an Icelandic trawler, is the first step in a fascinating journey through the artistic life of film and stage actor Mikhail Ivanovich Zharov (1899-1981), icon and star of an entire era of Russian cinema.

Dance Crazy in Hollywood

January 1990 •English

American dancer and choreographer Hermes Pan recalls his life and work as he relives the glorious history of the Hollywood musical.

I Invite You to My Execution

October 2019 •French

As Russian writer Boris Pasternak (1890-1960) thinks it is impossible that his novel Doctor Zhivago is published in the Soviet Union, because it supposedly shows a critical view of the October Revolution, he decides to smuggle several copies of the manuscript out of the country. It is first published in 1957 in Italia and the author receives the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958, which has consequences.

The Art of Joy by Goliarda Sapienza: Writing for Emancipation

October 2023 •French

Between 1967 and 1976, Italian writer Goliarda Sapienza (1924-76) wrote The Art of Joy, a subversive novel about the dazzling social ascent of a rebellious heroine; too scandalous to be published at that contradictory time.

Greetings From Planet Smurf

June 2018 •French

The Smurfs were created in 1958 by the Belgian comic author Peyo (Pierre Culliford, 1928-1992) and they are one of Belgium's most recognized exports. From Brussels to Los Angeles, via Dubai, a journey into the tiny world of the famous little blue people, from the story of the creation of the original comic to the account of their huge global commercial exploitation.

Marceline, the Best Clown in the World

July 2020 •Spanish

An account of the life and work of the Spanish clown, mime, acrobat and actor Marcelino Orbés (1873-1927), known as Marceline, who, between 1900 and 1914, was unanimously acclaimed as the best in the world.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, artiste absolu

June 2022 •French

The life and work of New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat have been marked by a long quest for identity, by his Haitian and Puerto Rican family origins and by a founding trip to Africa. To portray this major painter of the 20th century, who died in 1988 at only 27 years old, is also to evoke the place of black American artists in the conservative and racist America of the Reagan years.

War Photographer

November 2001 •English

Documentary about war photographer James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever.

Vitaa, je m’appelle Charlotte

November 2024 •French

Imagine: John Lennon

September 1988 •English

The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean.

Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast

February 2019 •English

In the late 1990s, iconic photographer Bruce Weber barely managed to convince legendary actor Robert Mitchum (1917-97) to let himself be filmed simply hanging out with friends, telling anecdotes from his life and recording jazz standards.

Inside a Nazi Mind: The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell

November 2023 •French

An analysis of The Kindly Ones, Jonathan Littell's controversial novel, published in 2006, which dissects the ruthless mechanisms of the Shoah from the detached point of view of Maximilian Aue, a high-ranking Nazi officer.

Barbra Streisand: Becoming an Icon 1942–1984

April 2017 •French

Barbra Streisand grew up in working class Brooklyn, dreaming of escape from her tough childhood. A stellar student, she resisted the pressure to go to college as her sights were firmly set on Broadway. She was determined to become an actress and landed her first role aged 16, but it was two years later, when she started to sing, that her career took off. Subverting stereotypes and breaking glass ceilings, this programme looks at her rise to stardom and the remarkable achievements of her early career.

Edgar Allan Poe - Amerikas abgründiger Pop-Poet

November 2024 •German

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous American authors. And probably the most abysmal. In his texts, he deals with the dark side of humanity like no other. And was himself scarred by this throughout his life. The writer not only shaped the genres of horror literature and science fiction novels, but today seems more popular than ever.

Heaven Adores You

May 2014 •English

Heaven Adores You is an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith. By threading the music of Elliott Smith through the dense, yet often isolating landscapes of the three major cities he lived in -- Portland, New York City, Los Angeles -- Heaven Adores You presents a visual journey and an earnest review of the singer's prolific songwriting and the impact it continues to have on fans, friends, and fellow musicians.