An Opera of Violence

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

June 1896 •French

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Robert Redford: The Golden Look

July 2019 •French

More than anyone in the cynical film industry, legendary artist Robert Redford embodies the United States' brightest side: perseverance, independence, idealism, and integrity. A champion of active environmentalism and the right to openly criticize any institutional abuse, he has put his artistic work at the service of his political commitments, whether as an actor, director, producer, or founder of the Sundance Festival, a formidable forum for his struggles since 1985.

Land Without Bread

December 1933 •Spanish

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.

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.

Deus ex Machina: The Philosophy of 'Donnie Darko'

December 2016 •English

The feature-length documentary about the making of the cult film favourite, "Donnie Darko".

Weiss ist die Farbe der Verlierer

January 1974 •German

Short film against the oppression of women. At first, differences in education are presented and then how the relationship between women and men looks like in the professional world.

Night and Fog

April 1959 •French

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

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Ms. Marvel

August 2022 •English

Go behind-the-scenes every step of the way with immersive footage from the making of the series, along with insightful interviews on set from the cast and crew of Ms. Marvel as we watch Iman Vellani and her character, Kamala Khan, become the fan-favorite superhero right before our eyes.

Rocky Jumped a Park Bench

April 2008 •English

A location tour of the Rocky filming locations in Philadelphia.

Deep Sky

December 2023 •English

Explores the $10 billion JWST's engineering and construction process, historic Dec. 25, 2021 launch, and the release of its first full-color, galaxy-sprinkled images on July 12, 2022 witnessed by the entire planet.

Arabian Coffee

January 1968 •Spanish

'Coffea arábiga' was sponsored as a propaganda documentary to show how to sow coffee around Havana. In fact, Guillén Landrián made a film critical of Castro, exhibited but banned as soon as the coffee plan collapsed.

Kathryn Bigelow: Hollywood Adrenaline

September 2023 •French

For more than 40 years Kathryn Bigelow has been making films that explore male violence. With movies like Blue Steel, Point Break, The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, the Oscar winning American filmmaker has impressed with hard-hitting moviemaking that holds a mirror up to contemporary America and the world.

Wigstock: The Movie

January 1987 •English

The original documentary on the Wigstock festival, back in the day when it was a much smaller affair in Thompkins Square Park. A full day of peace, love, and wigs…

Return to Crystal Lake: Making 'Friday the 13th'

October 2003 •English

Becoming Marilyn

July 2022 •French

The story of how Norma Jeane Mortenson became Marilyn Monroe (1926-62), a lucid path of self-discovery, from anonymity to stardom: the painful birth of a myth.

The Presence III

January 1986 •Hungarian

Two rabbis show the ruins of an abandoned synagogue to a group of primary school-age Jewish children, and stand by as the children dip bread in honey, drink wine, pray, and sing.

Cuenca

July 1958 •Spanish

A medium-length documentary commissioned by the Cuenca City Council. The documentary shows an honest, sincere, although sometimes mere tourist portrait, of the lands of Cuenca and its people, without artifice or imposture, with feeling and authenticity and at the same time with marked coldness.

Tío Jess

November 2012 •Spanish

The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a Vision

November 2024 •English

Join the director, cast and producers of The Piano Lesson for an illuminating, intimate conversation about about bringing August Wilson's play to the screen.

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.