Der Zauberstreifen

Letter of Sanabria

June 1955 •Spanish

At the end of 1954, Eduardo Ducay, Juan Julio Baena and Carlos Saura travelled to the region of Sanabria (province of Zamora) to make a commissioned documentary on the construction of a system of reservoirs. Much of the filmed material was unusable due to a technical problem, but Ducay rescued part of it and combined it with voice-over to construct a work on absences.

June 10, 1944

December 1961 •French

Evocation of the Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre on 10 June 1944, when 642 of its inhabitants were slaughtered by a Nazi Waffen SS company, based on a visit to Diors' Museum of the Three Wars" and archive photographs.

The Hills of Qaytariyeh

April 1969 •Persian

A strange and mischievous documentary on an archeological site in the Qaytarieh hills in Tehran. This short narrates the story of the dead people who wished never to be found.

Beco

October 2019 •Portuguese

Perfect Image?

January 1989 •English

Two actresses take us through a series of 'raps' and sketches about what it means to be beautiful and black.

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.

Frans Lanting: The Evolution of LIFE

October 2015 •English

A dazzling journey through time via the remarkable images of National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting and his epic "LIFE" project, which presents a stunning interpretation of life on Earth, from the Big Bang through the present.

6-18-67

July 1967 •English

6-18-67 is a short quasi-documentary film by George Lucas regarding the making of the Columbia film “Mackenna's Gold”. This non-story, non-character visual tone poem is made up of nature imagery, time-lapse photography, and the subtle sounds of the Arizona desert.

Headdress

May 2017 •English

For First Nations communities, the headdress bears significant meaning. It's a powerful symbol of hard-earned leadership and responsibility. As filmmaker JJ Neepin prepares to wear her grandfather's headdress for a photo shoot she reflects on lessons learned and the thoughtless ways in which the tradition has been misappropriated.

Tuã Ingugu (Water Eyes)

October 2019 •Portuguese

In the Kalapalo cosmogony (an ethnic group that lives in the Xingú Indigenous Park), water is as old as humans and is the source of life. That is where all their sustenance comes from, their food, their drink, their joy. The idea of using water as a dumpster, of poisoning water is a dystopia. In this documentary Chief Faremá —from Caramujo village on the banks of the Kuluene River— tells us about the birth of water and warns us about the consequences of disrespecting it.

Bronx, New York, November 2019

October 2021 •

Cal State Long Beach, CA, January 2020

October 2021 •English

A wordless portrait of sculptor Jessica Jackson Hutchins shows us the artist in the process of transforming clay into uncanny forms.

Fires of Kuwait

June 1992 •English

After Saddam Hussein had the Kuwait Oil wells lit up, teams from all over the world fought those fires for months. They had to save the oil resources, as well as reduce air pollution. The different teams developed different techniques of extinguishing the fires. Man's emergency creativity can be seen at it's best.

The Road to the West

January 1965 •French

When was Canada populated by Native Americans from the West? This film relates the discovery of the New World from the time of the Vikings, around 880, to Jacques Cartier.

Surfing

January 1982 •Dutch

Short documentary on surfing.

A Day with the Gipsies

January 1922 •English

A troupe of gypsies takes a traveler along with them on their day trip.

The Gratinated Brains of Pupilija Ferkeverk

January 1970 •

Plotless and wordless, beautifully edited shots of young (often naked or semi-naked) people in various positions, illustrating different emotions, actions and situations, underlined by rock music.

Salvador Dalí at Work

November 2006 •English

Filmmaker Jonas Mekas follows the surrealist artist around the streets of New York documenting staged public art events.

The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry

July 2008 •English

An in-depth look at Dirty Harry (1971), featuring interviews with such film artists as Michael Madsen, 'Hal Holbrook', John Milius, 'Shane Black' and John Badham.

Η Ακρόπολη σε... τροχούς

October 1981 •Greek