Temples of Time

Back from the Brink: Saved from Extinction

October 2019 •English

The remarkable true story of three animal species rescued from the brink of extinction: California’s enchanting Channel Island Fox, China’s fabled Golden Monkey, and the wondrous migrating crabs of Christmas Island. Discover successful, heartfelt, and ingenious human efforts to rescue endangered species around the world.

Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory

March 1895 •French

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

Their Eyes

February 2025 •English

How does a machine learn to read the world? Testimonies and screen recordings introduce the experience of online micro-workers from the Global South: their job is to teach the AI of self-driving cars to navigate the streets of the Global North.

36 Ways To Say Good Morning

November 2018 •English

Good Morning in Singapore.

Lord Howe Island: Pacific Eden

December 2006 •English

A place of biological superlatives with a flora and fauna that have only just begun to be researched: Lord Howe Island, between Australia and New Zealand. This is the first documentary on what may be the most isolated nature reserve on the planet.

Detecting Danger: Africa's Giant Rats

January 2019 •English

Africa's giant rats – the size of a cat – can be trained to detect land-mines by smelling them. Giant rats are clever and they learn fast. Their sense of smell is better than a dog's, they have more stamina, and they're a lot cheaper to train. This documentary follows "Miss Marple", who was born in a training lab and who goes through a year's training before being sent on her first mission to Mozambique. A shorter version (43 minutes) screened at festivals in 2009 but was never widely released.

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

October 2015 •Panjabi

A woman in Pakistan sentenced to death for falling in love becomes a rare survivor of the country's harsh judicial system.

Last Day of Freedom

April 2015 •English

When Bill Babbitt realizes his brother Manny has committed a crime he agonizes over his decision to call the police.

Griefwalker

January 2008 •English

Documentary about Harvard-trained theologian Stephen Jenkinson, a grief counselor who teaches that death empowers us to live and that we must not only accept death but embrace it.

Godzilla Story Development!

September 2006 •English

The story of how the original Godzilla went from idea to script to screen.

All for One

April 2002 •French

In a closed locker room, rugby players perform the last pre-match rituals. Warming up their souls and bodies, all tense in anticipation of the fight.

Let's Ask Nostradamus

June 1953 •English

Nostradamus writes a letter to his young son, and his prophecies are compared to events of the French Revolution.

3 Logical Exits

January 2020 •Arabic

A sociological meditation on the different "exits" that young Palestinians choose, in order to cope with life in the refugee camps.

Pontormo and Punks at Santa Croce

January 1982 •English

A New View of the Moon

May 2018 •English

Wylie carries a telescope through the streets of Los Angeles to offer passersby a new and closer look at a familiar object: the moon. Because everyone needs to keep looking up. Because it is a beautiful and wondrous sight to behold the body of the moon.

The Magic of Walt Disney World

December 1972 •English

A look at the many attractions, resort hotels, and other amusements at Walt Disney World in its first year of operation.

Kyoko

March 2017 •Japanese

In 1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono embark on a search for a girl named Kyoko. On April 23rd, they are arrested by the police at a hotel in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Olive

November 2023 •English

“Olive” is a short documentary that follows Olive Hagemeier, an energetic woman, on her daily routine of salvaging, repackaging and redistributing food, and occasional other types of “waste”, across Atlanta, GA. Presented in a quiet observational style, this film is both a character study of a committed and enigmatic volunteer, as well as an ethnographic work that places the audience in the heart of a decentralized, volunteer-run mutual aid network in a “post-COVID” American city.

Despejadas

November 2018 •Portuguese

Lua

March 2024 •Portuguese

Joseph Wilson meets the dance teacher fighting transphobic violence through voguing in Rio’s favelas.