Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams

Spotlight on the Highlands

February 1948 •English

It's 1948 and hydro-electric power is transforming Scotland's Grampians.

Eiffel's Race to the Top

November 2023 •French

Behind the iconic Eiffel Tower lies the story of an incredible challenge to erect a thousand-foot tower that went far beyond a design competition, and marked a major turning point in engineering history. It was the beginning of radical transformation where iron was pitted against stone, engineering against architecture, and modern design against ancients. Press campaigns, lobbying, public conferences, denigration of opposing projects, bragging about big names - all participants engaged in a fierce battle without concession. Using 3D recreations, official sources (reports, letters, drawings...) and intimate archives obtained from their descendants, this film will bring to life this vertical race through a fresh and visual way to mark the centenary of Eiffel death.

People and the Nile

January 1972 •Arabic

The construction of the Aswan dam as seen by those who took part in it: engineers, workers, Egyptians, and Soviets.

David Macaulay: Cathedral

April 1986 •English

Author David Macaulay hosts CATHEDRAL, based on his award-winning book. Using a combination of spectacular location sequences and cinema-quality animation, the program surveys France's most famous churches. Travel back to 1214 to explore the design of Notre Dame de Beaulieu, a representative Gothic cathedral. The program tells period tales revealing fascinating stories of life and death, faith and despair, prosperity, and intrigue.

SEVEN

December 2020 •English

What caused Building 7 to collapse on 9/11? Dr. Leroy Hulsey from the University of Alaska Fairbanks may have the answer, following an exhausting four year engineering study.

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch

September 2018 •English

Documentary on psychedelic potash mines, expansive concrete seawalls, mammoth industrial machines, and other examples of humanity’s massive, destructive reengineering of the planet.

Framing John DeLorean

June 2019 •English

A documentary interspersed with acted scenes, this portrait of John DeLorean covers the brilliant but tragically flawed automaker's rise to stardom and shocking down fall.

Rise of the Centaur

November 2015 •English

"Give me ten million dollars and trust me, we'll deliver a low-cost microprocessor compatible with Intel". This was former IBM Fellow and Dell Senior VP Glenn Henry's 1995 pitch to start a microprocessor company focused on low-cost Intel-compatible processors ("x86"). This documentary follows Henry and his team as they race to complete their latest chip, and offers an inside look at Centaur's unique management environment.

Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine

July 2023 •English

A unique behind-the-scenes access to NASA’s ambitious mission to launch the James Webb Space Telescope, following a team of engineers and scientists as they take the next giant leap in our quest to understand the universe.

The World of Buckminster Fuller

June 1974 •English

Architect, engineer, geometrician, cartographer, philosopher, futurist, inventor of the famous geodesic dome and one of the most brilliant thinkers of his time. Fuller was renowned for his comprehensive perspective on the world's problems. For more than five decades he developed pioneering solutions reflecting his commitment to the potential of innovative design to create technology that does "more with less" and thereby improve human lives. He spent much of his life traveling the world lecturing and discussing his ideas with thousands of audiences. Now more relevant than ever, this film captures Fuller's ideas and thinking told in his own words.

Cosmic Dawn

June 2025 •English

For over three decades, NASA and an international team of scientists and engineers pushed the limits of technology, innovation, and perseverance to build and launch the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space observatory ever created. Cosmic Dawn brings audiences behind the scenes with the Webb film crew, and never-before-heard testimonies revealing the real story of how this telescope overcame all odds.

Reimagining A Buffalo Landmark

April 2019 •English

The Richardson Olmsted Campus, a former psychiatric center and National Historic Landmark, is seeing new life as it undergoes restoration and adaptation to a modern use.

Flood in the Desert

May 2022 •English

Explore the 1928 collapse of the St. Francis Dam, the second deadliest disaster in California history. A colossal engineering and human failure, the dam was built by William Mulholland, a self-taught engineer who ensured the growth of Los Angeles by bringing the city water via aqueduct. The catastrophe killed more than 400 people and destroyed millions of dollars of property.

The Ability Exchange

September 2016 •English

A documentary about an innovative Disability Studies class at NYU Tandon School of Engineering where engineering students and adults with cerebral palsy learn to communicate, connect, and cultivate their abilities by making movies.

Eiffel, les derniers secrets

December 2023 •French

Built for Mars: The Perseverance Rover

February 2021 •English

BUILT FOR MARS: THE PERSEVERANCE ROVER goes behind the scenes at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to follow the birth of the Perseverance rover.

Water and the Dream of the Engineers

January 1983 •English

Documentary where rich social history frames a spirited debate on the development of water infrastructure throughout the USA.

Churchill's Toyshop

May 2015 •English

In Britain's darkest hour Winston Churchhill assembles a team of eccentric geniuses to fight the Nazi menace by building biizzarre brilliant weapons.

The Strait Guys

June 2022 •English

THE STRAIT GUYS follows Czech-born mining engineer, George, and his fast-talking protégé, Scott, along the proposed route of the InterContinental Railway through Alaska, to the Bering Strait and onward to Russia. The “Strait Guys” endeavor to convince international governments, corporations, and indigenous tribes to green-light their $100 billion railway project, which would provide ground-based infrastructure across the continents, relieve overcrowded Pacific ports, improve global supply chains, and ease tensions between the superpowers. The US and Russia have been successfully collaborating in space for decades. Now the Strait Guys are out to prove it is also possible down here on earth.

I Want to Be an Engineer

January 1983 •English

This film provides a lively introduction to the professional and personal lives of three female engineers-just a few of the growing number of women who were opting for "non-traditional" jobs in1983.