A Life Among Elephants

Asakusa Kid

April 2002 •Japanese

After dropping out of college, "Takeshi" jumps into the Asakusa France Theater and begins his training as a comedian. His teacher, Senzaburo Fukami, Masayoshi Inoue, who also trains at the French Theater and aspires to be a writer, and other good-natured dancers... This heartwarming and moving drama set in Asakusa vividly depicts the process of "Takeshi's" self-discovery through interaction with his delightful friends.

The Man Who Defied Beijing

May 2019 •French

A portrait of Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo (1955-2017), a witness of the Tiananmen Square massacre (1989), a dissident, a woodpecker who tirelessly pecked the putrid brain of the Communist regime for decades, demanding democracy loudly and fearlessly. Silenced, arrested, convicted, imprisoned, dead. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2010, alive forever. These are his last words.

Talking with Ozu

November 1993 •Japanese

A tribute to the legendary Japanese film director featuring the reflections of filmmakers Lindsay Anderson, Claire Denis, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Aki Kaurismäki, Stanley Kwan, Paul Schrader, and Wim Wenders

Francois Simon the Presence

October 1986 •English

The work of legendary actor François Simon, son of Michel Simon.

Prince Philip: The Plot to Make a King

April 2016 •English

Documentary telling the inside story of the plans by Louis Mountbatten to maneuver his nephew and heir to the Greek throne, Philip, into marrying the future queen Princess Elizabeth and the tensions that that unleashed.

First Daughter and the Black Snake

April 2017 •English

The “Prophecy of the 7th Fire” says a “black snake” will bring destruction to the earth. For Winona LaDuke, the “black snake” is oil trains and pipelines. When she learns that Canadian-owned Enbridge plans to route a new pipeline through her tribe’s 1855 Treaty land, she and her community spring into action to save the sacred wild rice lakes and preserve their traditional indigenous way of life. Launching an annual spiritual horse ride along the proposed pipeline route, speaking at community meetings and regulatory hearings. Winona testifies that the pipeline route follows one of historical and present-day trauma. The tribe participates in the pipeline permitting process, asserting their treaty rights to protect their natural resources. LaDuke joins with her tribe and others to demand that the pipelines’ impact on tribal people’s resources be considered in the permitting process.

The Perfect Crime: Leopold & Loeb

February 2016 •English

The shocking story of Richard Leopold and Nathan Loeb, two wealthy college students who murdered a 14-year-old boy in 1924 to prove they were smart enough to get away with it.

David Stratton: A Cinematic Life

March 2017 •English

A compelling personal journey with David Stratton, as he relates the fascinating development of our cinema history. David guides us from his boyhood cinema experience of Australia in England, where he saw the first images of this strange and exotic landscape via the medium of film, to his migration to Australia as a ‘ten pound pom’ in 1963 and onto his present day reflections on the iconic themes that run through our cinematic legacy. All of this reflects a passionate engagement in a uniquely Australian medium. Parallel and at the heart of the series is the story of an industry whose growing pains David has witnessed over a lifetime. Alongside David, the protagonists of this history are the giants of Australian cinema – both behind the camera and in front of it.

Robert De Niro: Hiding in the Spotlight

August 2023 •French

Robert De Niro is famous for his award-winning portrayals of gangsters, criminals and socially disturbed men who show surprising traces of vulnerability. By analyzing his astonishing roles in iconic films through the years, the documentary reveal the complex actor behind these extreme characters. Because the public knows little about the man who is largely silent about his own life and emotions, this film tries to unwraps one of the most fascinating and enigmatic American actors of all time for the audience. For this the filmakers use clips from his feature films, archive footage of his sparse interviews and probe into his background to illustrate De Niro’s methods for becoming the characters he plays and the reasons he’s able to do so. All of this culminates in a rare exposé of the genesis of the hidden pain that enables the masterful actor to bring such intensity to the big screen.

The Memory of Cinema: A Film About Fernando Méndez-Leite

November 2023 •Spanish

A look at the life and work of Spanish filmmaker and film critic Fernando Méndez-Leite, as he writes his memoirs and a novel with autobiographical resonances.

Rita Semel: San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards 2012

Invalid date •English

Rita Semel, interfaith pioneer and Jewish activist, is a recipient of the San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards "for her life-long successes in creating healthy, just, and inclusive communities in the Bay Area and worldwide. She builds bridges of understanding between diverse religious and ethnic communities, and brings together the interfaith community to help alleviate poverty and end discrimination. Her catalytic leadership is felt far and wide, from the San Francisco Interfaith Council to the Global Council for the United Religions Initiative. Her legacy will be a more peaceful and compassionate world." - San Francisco Foundation

Growing Up Wild

December 2016 •English

Life is an adventure - especially for a newborn animal who has so much to learn. "Growing Up Wild" takes audiences to the wildest corners of the planet to tell the tales of five courageous animals as they tackle the very first challenges of their young lives. With a little guidance from sage family members, each must figure out how and where to find food, while learning to recognize the very real threat of danger. From their first steps of exploring their world to their final steps into independence, "Growing Up Wild" reveals the triumphs and setbacks of five young lives in which instinct, parental lessons, and trial & error ultimately define their destinies. Featuring the stunning imagery and iconic storytelling that makes Disneynature's big-screen adventures an inspiring movie-going experience, "Growing Up Wild", brings home a special look at how similar and different these young lives can be. - Written by (C) 2016 Disney Enterprises

Committed

April 2014 •English

Howie Mandel points a camera at his friend Vic Cohen for 13 years, documenting his dogged determination to make it in showbiz.

Haywire

May 1980 •English

Based on the autobiography of Brooke Hayward, daughter of famous Broadway producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan, who grows up in the glamorous, cruel and emotionally unstable world of her parents.

Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years

March 1977 •English

The story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt during their 12-year stay at the White House.

Harry S. Truman: Plain Speaking

October 1976 •English

A biography of President Harry S. Truman.

My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn

January 1985 •English

The life and wanton times of Errol Flynn

The Garden That Doesn't Exist

July 2022 •French

Once upon a time there was a garden, a refuge, a safe haven - 'The Garden of the Finzi Continis'. It came to life in Giorgio Bassani's 1962 semi-autobiographical novel recounting an unfulfilled love story between two young Jews in Ferrara, while fascism was raging in Italy in the late 1930's. In 1972, Vittorio De Sica's film adaptation of the book won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Since then, the fictional space of the garden became so tangible that people from all over the world come to Ferrara to look for it. Fifty years after winning the Oscar, reality and fiction come together once more, as we walk through an imaginary garden and bring to life the book, its author, its main protagonists, history, love, friendships and betrayals.

Paul McCartney - Eine Beatles-Legende

June 2022 •French

Walkabout to Hollywood

February 1980 •English

Produced and directed this documentary for BBC in the 1980’s, about David Gulpilil, acclaimed Australian Aboriginal actor, dancer and musician. The film shows how Gulpilil is always working to bridge the gap between the tribal Aboriginal and Western worlds. He divides his time between a traditional tribal lifestyle and his artistic work, which has included major film roles, collaboration with contemporary dance and music groups and teaching Aboriginal dance and culture. Bill and David travel to Hollywood where David was the most popular Australian in the world at that time, with FOUR films playing in America – WALKABOUT, STORM BOY, THE LAST WAVE and MAD DOG MORGAN. After relating to both the black and native American cultures and filming a quick scene for a big Hollywood picture, he pines to head back through the Outback to his beloved Arnhem Land. Edited by Simon Dibbs and shot by Ray Henman.