The Presence

Der Auftrag

September 1988 •German

This documentary reports on the master potter Otto Engelmann from Klingmühl, who was commissioned to make black painted clay heads of Karl Marx in the spring of 1973. Engelmann briefly explains the individual work steps from mixing the casting slip to firing the clay heads and then painting them. An old craft is vividly captured on camera and accompanied by original sou

Planet Power

March 2018 •English

This movie explores the history of electricity - from the first spark created by man's hand to today's industrial power plants. We meet scientists who changed the world, like Faraday, Franklin, and Tesla and we glimpse the future, as Solar Impulse becomes the first plane to complete a round-the-world flight powered only by the sun. With a mix of chalk animation, CGI, archival footage and spectacular aerials, the film also explores the challenges ahead: how to meet the growing energy needs of our industrialized world, while also protecting the health of our planet.

Meditation in Motion

January 1978 •English

A short lyrical document about an ancient Oriental discipline, this film moves from the streets of China, where the people practice Tai-Chi daily, to North America, where the same movements are executed by a solitary figure in a park.

Alan Evans: The Rhondda Legend

January 1975 •English

1975: Alan Evans, aka the Rhondda Legend, was making decent money for playing darts.

Visions of Europe

May 2004 •English

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

The Great American Mud Wrestle

September 2018 •English

For one-night-only blood was spilled in the mud.

ICE - Der neue Zug

January 1987 •German

Short documentary about the new ICE. On March 19, 1985, the ICE was officially handed over to the Bundesbahn at Krupp in Essen during a rollout ceremony attended by invited guests, experts and media representatives.

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.

Stories of Strength and Hope: Preventing Youth Suicide

May 2018 •English

An up-to-date look at Youth Suicide with an examination of the warning signs, statistics and causes, along with possible ways teachers and parents can use to help their child overcome this important social issue. Also includes a look at the media and its handling of the social issue through the Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" and the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "Dear Evan Hansen."

Birders

September 2019 •English

Bird watchers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border share their enthusiasm for protecting and preserving some of the world's most beautiful species.

VIVA ÁGUA

April 2016 •Portuguese

VIVA ÁGUA is a meditation on the philosophical work entitled ÁGUA VIVA written by Clarice Lispector in 1973. The film reflects on Lispector’s interior experimental monologue on the “instant-now” of time, the discomforts of language which are “beyond thought” and the harmonious dissonant reminders and remainders of that “sometime what is seen is ineffable.”

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.

¡Votad, votad, malditos!

July 1977 •Spanish

On June 14, 1977, the eve of the first democratic elections after Franco's regime, Llorenç Soler and his crew go out into the street and ask passers-by which party they are going to vote for.

The End of Stories

April 2021 •English

The End of Stories is an animated documentary dome film about our inability to understand the present or imagine the future. The 4th installment in the “Corona Voicemails” series, the film showcases a collage of 37 perspectives from around the world of people coping with the turbulence of pandemic life.

Manzanar

January 1972 •English

Short film about the Manzanar Japanese American internment camp. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2011.

They

October 2019 •English

An intimate portrait of a couple raising their child gender neutral.

Canada the Land

January 1969 •English

Filmed for the most part from a low-flying aircraft, this documentary short presents a breathtaking view of Canada from coast to coast. Showing the varied terrain, from craggy coast to towering glacier, the film illustrates Canada’s pristine wilderness as well as today's industrial and urban realities. Canada the Land was specially commissioned for the Canada Pavilion at the Osaka World Fair in 1970.

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.

Senna: The Test

December 2017 •English

Senna: The Test (2017) explores a unique moment in Ayrton Senna's career when, on December 20, 1992, he tested a Penske IndyCar in Phoenix, Arizona. Amid frustrations with McLaren, Senna briefly considered switching to IndyCar, with this test marking his only serious exploration of American racing. The documentary, created by Marshall Pruett and Travis Long, features insights from figures like Emerson Fittipaldi and Rick Mears, capturing this rare event in Senna’s life and his motivations during a challenging period in his career.