Catherine de Médicis

The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

February 2004 •English

From a small Italian community in 15th-century Florence, the Medici family would rise to rule Europe in many ways. Using charm, patronage, skill, duplicity and ruthlessness, they would amass unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. They would also ignite the most important cultural and artistic revolution in Western history -- the European Renaissance. But the forces of change the Medici helped unleash would one day topple their ordered world.

The Conclave

February 2007 •German

In 1458, five years after the fall of Constantinople to the Turk, eighteen cardinals meet to elect a new pope. Rodrigo Borgia, a 27 year old cardinal learns to play a very dangerous game.

Prince of Foxes

November 1949 •English

In 1500, Duke Cesare Borgia hopes to marry his sister to the heir apparent of Ferrara, which impedes his conquest of central Italy. On this delicate mission he sends Andrea Orsini, his sister's lover and nearly as unscrupulous as himself. En route, Orsini meets Camilla Verano, wife of the count of Citta' del Monte, and sentiment threatens to turn him against his deadly master, whom no one betrays twice...

The Inventor

September 2023 •English

The insatiably curious and headstrong inventor Leonardo da Vinci leaves Italy to join the French court, where he can experiment freely, inventing flying contraptions, incredible machines, and study the human body. There, joined in his adventure by the audacious princess Marguerite, Leonardo will uncover the answer to the ultimate question – "What is the meaning of it all?"

The Profession of Arms

May 2001 •Italian

In autumn of 1526, the Emperor, Charles V, sends his German landsknechts led by Georg von Frundsberg to march towards Rome. The inferior papal armies, commanded by Giovanni de'Medici, try to chase them in the midst of a harsh winter. Nevertheless, the Imperial armies manage to cross the rivers along their march and get cannons thanks to the maneuvers of its Lords. In a skirmish, Giovanni de'Medici is wounded in the leg by a falconet shot. The attempts to cure him fail and he dies. The Imperial armies assault Rome. The film is beautifully but unassumingly set, and shows the hard conditions in which war is waged and its lack of glory. It ends straightforwardly with the declaration made after the death of Giovanni de'Medici by the commanders of the armies in Europe of not using again fire weapons because of their cruelty.

Romola

December 1924 •English

In Renaissance Florence, a Florentine trader meets a shipwrecked stranger, who introduces himself as Tito Melema, a young Italianate-Greek scholar. Tito becomes acquainted with several other Florentines, including Nello the barber and a young girl named Tessa. He is also introduced to a blind scholar named Bardo de' Bardi, and his daughter Romola. As Tito becomes settled in Florence, assisting Bardo with classical studies, he falls in love with Romola.

Tales of Canterbury

January 1973 •Italian

Father of English literature, the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, involved in storytelling a rainy night at an inn.

If Paris Were Told to Us

January 1956 •French

Historical film directed and written by Sacha Guitry follows the the history of Paris from its founding through the significant events in the city's history.

Patrimonium

August 2021 •English

Short story from Renaissance period dedicated to fulfillment of duty, friendship and passing the heritable patrimony on.

Lorenzino de' Medici

November 1935 •English

Lorenzino de 'Medici manipulates Alessandro ruler of Florence to save his beloved Bianca.

Monna Vanna

January 1973 •Slovak

Geniale Frauen - Malerinnen von der Renaissance bis zum Klassizismus

April 2024 •German

Poor Cecily

February 1974 •English

Cecily is a lovely young woman, so lovely in fact people can't help but be drawn to her beauty. This becomes a problem for the naive girl once her Uncle passes away and she is sold off to pay for his debts. Once living simple life of pleasure, Cecily becomes the object of pleasure once the people she encounters decide to make her their sexual goal.

Raffaello – Il giovane prodigio

November 2021 •Italian

Leonardo Da Vinci The Tragic Pursuit of Perfection

April 1953 •English

A portrait of the artist as a "sublime demon with the archangel's face", with an innovative musique concrète soundtrack.

Orlando

November 2024 •French

With an original staging of text and music, Orlando follows the trail of one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance: Orlando di Lasso (also known as Roland de Lassus). His life and masterful oeuvre continue to move people to this day. Although he was a European star at the time, di Lasso had to endure the indignities of his social status as a servant. This documentary explores the relationship between art and power, musically accompanied by the ensemble La Tempête.

Man's Skin

February 2026 •French

Bianca is a young woman in Renaissance Italy who is promised in an arranged marriage. She inherits a strange power passed down by the women in her family: a magical skin that allows her to transform into a man. Under the guise of Lorenzo, Bianca explores the masculine world, discovers love, and questions the norms imposed by patriarchal society.

Francis the First

February 1937 •French

Honorin is the simple and naive stage manager of a traveling theatre troupe, whose one ambition is to once play the role of the cavalier in the opera "Francis I, or the Loves of the Beautiful Ferroniere". A hypnotist puts him to sleep and in his dreams he is transplanted to the days of the Renaissance. There, among other items, he is made a Duke by Henri VIII, fights a duel and survives a series of medieval tortures, while also bestowing some 20th century blessings on the court of Francis I.

The Experiencer

January 1977 •English

After taking a wrong turn, a young man somehow falls into a mysterious cave and becomes hopelessly lost. As he searches for a way out, the journey he experiences forces him to confront the deepest parts of himself.

Pendant

June 2022 •English

An art dealer is seduced by a wealthy art collector to steal a pair of prestigious paintings. She enlists the help of her ex-lover and curator to accomplish the task. Deception and betrayal ensues.