Rotterdam 2040

Is Trump for Real?

October 2018 •English

With the help of Steve Bannon and Cambridge Analytica, Trump was groomed to appeal to those who have lost faith in media and politics. Bannon has admitted that he modeled his campaign on the one crafted for Hitler, who was a puppet of dark forces. Through meticulous investigation, John Hankey explores this, and how the media circus following Trump is a strategy for dividing a "United" States.

Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous

October 2019 •English

Mark Rothko, a master of abstract expressionism, created 835 paintings during his five-decade career.

Francis Bacon: Fragments of a Portrait

July 1966 •English

Francis Bacon: Fragments of a Portrait explores the recurring themes in Bacon’s work, his influences and his life. The documentary is accompanied by a haunting score specially composed by Edwin Astley for the production.

Hillbilly

May 2018 •English

A documentary that examines the cultural stereotype of the people of Appalachia and how that has affected America's relationship with its rural communities.

Citizen Lane

May 2018 •English

Citizen Lane is an innovative mix of documentary and drama that delivers a vivid and compelling portrait of Hugh Lane, one of the most fascinating and yet enigmatic figures in modern Irish history. A man of multiple contradictions, by turns infuriatingly parsimonious or extraordinarily generous, a professed nationalist and a knight of the realm; a monumental snob and a fearless campaigner for access to the arts.

On Our Doorstep

May 2023 •English

On Our Doorstep delves deep into an aspect of the refugee crisis that rarely reached the press. With NGOs being blocked by red tape and the absence of any positive action by French or British authorities, the film is a behind-the-scenes look at the unprecedented grassroots movement that rose to aid the refugees in Calais, and the community that sprang up there, before it was forcefully demolished. This is the story of what happens when young and inexperienced citizens are forced to devise systems and structures to support 10,000 refugees; and are left unguided to face the moral and emotional conflicts, blurred lines and frequent grey areas of giving aid to vulnerable people. People who do not want to be there. It questions whether the aims of the volunteers were met, and whether these aims ultimately served the refugees' needs.

Denis & Denis: The Movie

January 1985 •

A little known cyberpunk musical with a love story twist set in a distant future made by Denis & Denis, featuring the most famous songs from their albums "Čuvaj Se" (1984) and "Ja Sam Lažljiva" (1985).

Out of service? The Gerhard Schröder story

April 2024 •German

Gerhard Schröder has always been a polarizing figure. Even on the occasion of the former Chancellor's 80th birthday, Germany continues to grapple with him. The Social Democrat remains steadfast in his friendship with Vladimir Putin, despite Russia's war against Ukraine. Schröder also refuses to relinquish his position at Nord Stream 2 AG. As a result, his entire political legacy is in question. In the documentary, reporter Lucas Stratmann confronts former Chancellor Schröder with the criticism and accompanies him from Hanover to China.

Inside Renzo Piano Building Workshop

January 2023 •Italian

Togo, le foot et la politique ne font qu'un

January 2008 •French

October 8, 2005. Togo, one of Africa's poorest countries, qualifies for the World Cup for the first time in its history. The achievement is not only historic; it also hastens the end of the bloody civil war that has been ravaging the country for several months. On the eve of the World Cup opening in Germany, hopes are high in Lomé, the capital of Togo, that the national team will restore pride and prosperity to an entire people. However, disillusionment quickly sets in. The team had not even entered the competition when it was already beset by endless internal problems. What if soccer, in the end, was nothing more than a reflection of the deep-seated problems that have been plaguing Africa for years?

A Visit to Hokusai

October 2014 •French

A look at the work of Japanese woodblock printing artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849).

Chambord: The Castle, the King and the Architect

December 2015 •French

Chambord, the most impressive castle in the Loire Valley, in France, a truly Renaissance treasure, has always been an enigma to generations of historians. Why did King Francis I (1494-1547), who commissioned it, embark on this epic project in the heart of the marshlands in 1519? What significance did he want the castle to have? What role did his friend, Italian genius Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) play? Was he the architect or who was?

Minted

June 2023 •English

A fascinating look at the intersection of art, commerce, and digital ownership through the rise and crash of the NFT market.

The Lost Leonardo

August 2021 •English

London, England, 2008. Some of the most distinguished experts on the work of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) gather at the National Gallery to examine a painting known as Salvator Mundi; an event that turns out to be the first act of one of the most fascinating stories in the history of art.

Ghost Town to Havana

September 2015 •English

A rampant, street level story of mentorship and everyday heroism in tough circumstances. An inner city coach's son, estranged in his youth from his father, spends five years on ball fields in inner city Oakland and Havana, following the lives of two extraordinary youth baseball coaches, Roscoe in Oakland and Nicolas in Havana. The coaches meet on videotape and two years of red tape later, Coach Roscoe and nine Oakland players travel to Havana to play Coach Nicolas' team. For one week, the players and coaches eat, dance, swim, argue and play baseball together. But when the parent of an Oakland player is murdered back home, it brings back the inescapable reality and challenges of life in an American inner city.

Young Picasso

February 2019 •English

Pablo Picasso is one of the greatest artists of all time - and right up until his death in 1973 he was the most prolific of artists. Many films have dealt with these later years - the art, the affairs and the wide circle of friends. But where did this all begin? What made Picasso in the first place? Too long ignored, it is time to look at the early years of Picasso; the upbringing and the learning that led to his extraordinary achievements.

Secrets of the Mona Lisa

December 2015 •English

This landmark film uses new evidence to investigate the truth behind Mona Lisa's identity and where she lived. It decodes centuries-old documents and uses state-of-the-art technology that could unlock the long-hidden truths of history's most iconic work of art.

Florence and the Uffizi Gallery

December 2015 •Italian

Follows a trail of over 10 museums and 150 artworks amongst the most well-known in the world. It is an artistic foray into Florence taking in everything from the Brancacci Chapel to the Bargello National Museum, from Palazzo Medici, to the narrow city streets and Brunelleschi’s Dome, from Palazzo Vecchio to the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery, without neglecting picture postcard places such as the Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria.

Gaudí, le génie visionnaire de Barcelone

May 2022 •French

In Barcelona, the Casa Batlló alone sums up the genius of Antoni Gaudí. During the exhibition devoted to it by the Musée d'Orsay, we take a guided tour of this eccentric, colorful residence, completed in 1906.

Windows

January 1974 •English

A sort of documentary on the people known to have fallen out of windows in a certain time frame in a certain geographical location. One of Greenaway's early short films.