Dust of America

The Real Right Stuff

November 2020 •English

The story of America's first astronauts, known as the Mercury 7, told through archival news & radio reports, newly transferred & previously unheard NASA mission audio recordings, and more rare & unseen material.

Cambalhota

June 2023 •English

A girl mixes fiction with reality while writing a letter to her grandmother.

Besuch des Zaren auf der russischen Botschaft

December 1896 •German

The Tsar visits the Russian embassy

Revolutions Per Second

November 2012 •English

A 25-minute visual essay by Kent Jones about Jean-Luc Godard and his film 'Weekend'.

New York Portrait, Chapter III

March 1990 •English

"[Hutton’s] latest urban film, New York Portrait, Chapter III, takes on a unique tone in relation to Hutton’s ongoing exploration of rural landscape. The very fact that Hutton is dealing with older footage, with archives of memory more than immediacy, gives it a different texture than his earlier New York films. Hutton always found the presence of nature in the city, not only in his many shots of sky and vegetation, but also in the geometry and texture of the city itself, which seemed to project an independence from the human." (Tom Gunning)

Donosti 2730

March 2024 •Spanish

A youngster writes a letter to his grandmother about his last trip to Donosti (Spain). This city inspires him to ponder about the language of cinema, time, cities, and sharing memories with our loved ones.

The Universe of the Manas

December 1995 •Russian

It has been a lifelong dream of Kyrgyz director Melis Ubukeyev to create an elaborate film version of the Kyrgyz national epic 'Manas'. He spent years working with the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan to gather material for this film project, which was ultimately to remain a dream. However, the director's efforts were not in vain: Not only did he make films in 1962 and 1988 about the highly respected Manasçı – folk singers who passed on the epic over countless generations in melodic speech –, but in 1995, on the occasion of the 1,000th anniversary of 'Manas', he also made a beguiling essay film that not only outlines the plot of the epic with the help of magnificent images and lavish costumes, but also gives a semi-documentary account of the history of the Kyrgyz people interwoven with the myth. Long inaccessible, the essay film has recently been restored by the film studio Kyrgyzfilm and uploaded to YouTube in 4K.

Visions of Lourdes

January 1932 •

Charles Dekeukeleire, then a questioning Catholic, was spurred into making this documentary on a pilgrimage with the Catholic Young Workers’ Movement. The director’s approach is one of critical reflection; A film emotional and fervent, even acerbic.

Ellis Island, une histoire du rêve Américain

March 2014 •French

In 1892, Ellis Island, in New York Bay, became the main gateway to the United States for immigrants arriving increasingly from Europe. The story of immigration to the United States from 1892 to 1954, an enthralling polyphonic narrative that embraces both small and great history.

This is Not a Game

June 2021 •English

Angela Su’s fictional artist Rosie Leavers is the last remaining person to upload her consciousness to a video game. Contemplating during a pandemic year which also saw people’s resistance movements in many parts of the world, the work pinpoints the uncanny affinities between gaming and warfare strategies. They have mutually informed the infrastructure of both worlds since time immemorial when diplomatic conflicts played out on the battlefield of the 64 squares of a chess board to flight simulation technologies which were adapted to shape gaming experiences as we know it now. When the conflict is between the state and its people, she speculates that gaming strategies empower civilians in resistance movements to counter imperialism through its own operative logic. But once we upload our consciousness, are we able to return to the sensibilities and political motivation that inspired the revolution to begin with?

New York Portrait, Chapter II

January 1981 •English

Chapter Two represents a continuation of daily observations from the environment of Manhattan compiled over a period from 1980-1981. This is the second part of an extended life's portrait of New York.

One Second in Montreal

September 1969 •English

A silent succession of black-and-white photographs of the city of Montreal.

Don't Work (1968-2018)

July 2018 •French

A year in the life of Elsa Michaud and Gabriel Gauthier, students of Fine Arts in Paris, lovers in troubled times, overwhelmed by maddening verbal and auditory stimuli, witnesses of a globalized violence more visible than ever in a chaotic digital era, in which the slow execution of simple gestures in a silent performance is an act of resistance.

Der Sturm aufs Kapitol - Ein amerikanisches Trauma

January 2022 •German

January 6, 2021 marks a turning point in U.S. history. The storming of the U.S. Capitol brings the United States to the brink of a political abyss. An angry, armed mob invades the Congress building to prevent Joe Biden from being officially confirmed as the winner of the 59th U.S. election and thus becoming the 46th President of the USA. The lie about Donald Trump's stolen election victory explodes into violence, five people die in the heart of U.S. democracy. The attackers' actions are documented almost completely, as is the helplessness of the security forces. Since then, most of the perpetrators have been identified and charged. But the rift in society continues. Many Republican congressmen remain with Trump, a renewed candidacy for the presidential election in 2024 is still possible. The attack on the U.S. Capitol leaves a shock with all convinced democrats. How could it possibly come this far? This documentary tries to reconstruct and analyze from very different perspectives.

Visions of Europe

May 2004 •English

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

American Journal

November 2023 •French

A cinematic essay interweaving private archive images and a mixture of reflective, speculative and poetic intertitles that, like “an old movie from the 20th century”, invites us to meditate on what Des Pallières once liked to call “our old homeland”.

How Animated Cartoons Are Made

September 1919 •English

Wallace Carlson walks viewers through the production of an animated short at Bray Studios.

The Weight of Sight

January 2024 •Norwegian

The Weight of Sight is a playful and very personal essay where director Truls Krane Meby, through a massive archive of his own material - anything from DV-tapes to 35mm - explores the last 20 years of digital development - how it’s influenced the images we make, and our bodies. What kind of images do we get of the world now that everyone is a photographer, and what does it do with how we unfold our identities? How has the internet both captured and freed us? And will Truls even dare to show this film?

Mode Reville

January 1929 •French

Silent documentary short showcasing a fashion show in the late twenties set at the Côte d'Azur.

Notre ami l'empereur Bokassa Ier

November 2011 •French