The Memory Booth

The Contest

January 1964 •Turkmen

About the legendary musical competition between the famous Turkmen dutar player Shukur Bakhshy and Persian court musician Ghulam Bakhshy.

Živý bič

January 1967 •Slovak

A film about the dramatic lives ofthe people of the village of Ráztoka during WW I. Women are left without husbands, families fall apart, finding themselves on the verge of poverty. Eva, the main heroine, is going through difficulties after her husband was drafted to the army. Her defilement and her tragic death cause a rebellion by which the village inhabitants finally stand up against their unbearable situation.

The Little Soldier

August 1947 •French

A budding romance between two toy dancers is put into dangers when the boy is conscripted into the toy army.

How to hold a cloud to the ground

July 2019 •Portuguese

When she arrives in a new world, Isabela is tasked with discovering her true essence. Watched by Shadow, the guardian of this ghostly place, Isabela meets other travelers and reevaluates her memories, relationships and emotions.

A Wreath of Sonnets

September 1977 •Russian

A story of two boys who obstinately, in spite of everything and everyone run to the front when the war was almost over.

Denomination: Sorrow

September 2019 •English

A short poem from the perspective of a non-believer, that questions the realism of religious creation, using basic emotions as a motif.

The East Wind

January 1975 •Arabic

Set in the mid-1950s when Tangier was still an international zone, El Chergui presents the city on the eve of its independence, as Aïcha resorts to magical practices to try to prevent her husband from taking a second wife. Around her, a society of women creates its own form of active resistance even as the larger independence movement grows around it. Through his unique use of montage, Smihi creates arresting images that present a society torn by the contradictions of colonialism, religion, patriarchy, and resistance. (Block Cinema)

Teenage Fever

February 2018 •French

The Whisper of the Leaves

June 2021 •Spanish

A poetic and contemplative journey of harmony between different forms of life that coexist on the earth. This film is a meditation on the effect of time, movement of the human spirit, and passage to new forms of life, through the eyes, ears, and bodies of three elderly land workers living in a small community in the outskirts of Bauta, Cuba.

Denomination: Dread

February 2020 •English

The first human being follows a psychedelic path down to understand fundamental awe, the fear of god and the unspoken pain, that holds him captive.

Valley of the Rulers

February 2019 •Hebrew

A poetic and metaphysical view on a daily life routine in a distant nursing home, on a top of the mountain in Uzice, Serbia – the closest place to heaven. This is the last station on earth for old people that called “clients”. While they’re waiting for the end of their lives, prisoned in a desolate nursing home and their old-dying body, they are fighting for the freedom of their soul, the only place they can feel young and alive. A fight between light and darkness, suffering and acceptance, life and death.

Yesterday and Forever

January 1985 •Lithuanian

A poetic film about ancient Lithuanian traditions and rituals.

Spellbound

October 2020 •English

Wingsuit BASE jumping is often presented as a thrill seeking adrenaline rush. Spellbound takes us deeper into the more contemplative aspects of jumping, as David Walden and friends venture into the mountains around his home in New Zealand. Beautiful scenery and hypnotic cinematography eject us from our daily lives into a world of air, earth and flight.

Transitional Seasons

February 2020 •Italian

A young couple gets ready for a ceremony. Emilia is not dressed yet and Pietro is struggling with his tie and also very annoyed about a speech he has to give. While they talk around their house, time travels back and forth revealing different phases of their life.

Lacuna

October 2020 •German

The portrait of two young women – a loving team that complements each other with all their habits and rituals like two puzzle pieces. This is a declaration of love of a couple – a snapshot of their present and a speculation about our future, because what could happen if a piece of the puzzle is suddenly taken away?

Coalesce

Invalid date •English

In 2020, the World was closed. Life got cancelled. People were struggling. Here’s an emotional and entertaining true story shot live, during the pandemic, about courageous people who came together, despite the risk, to share their love with one another. The film opens in Times Square on NYE 2020. Everything seemed right with the World. Fast-forward six months into the pandemic, hundreds of artists from all different performance art genres are invited to come together over the course of several consecutive days, culminating in a group costume parade event on 10/10/2020 to witness the only live performances happening ANYWHERE. The goal was to lift each other's spirits during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. There were over a dozen genres represented including acrobatics, live music, magic, dance, and even a wedding. Dozens of unscripted live interviews were recorded and the event proved a huge success. The film captures the rawness of what it was like living during this unprecedented time.

NEGRA

April 2016 •Portuguese

Visions

April 2015 •English

In split screen we see both a utopian and a dystopian day in the life of a girl called Sam.

It Was Like A Dream I Remember from an Easier Time

June 2020 •English

A visual essay revealing social inequality as the silent sickness of COVID-19 lockdown America. To highlight the disconnect between the fantasy of Los Angeles and the lived reality for many of its citizens, a computerized voice gives a dispassionate monologue over imagery that explores the truth of a city after the tourists, luxury stores and entertainment are removed from the streets. Through silent vignettes, the film leaves us with images of homelessness, and comments on the shallowness of capitalism and the hypocrisy of multiculturalism.

Tehdy spolu

June 2017 •Czech