Guten Tag, RDA !

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

June 1896 •French

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Les Secrets des Animaux des Glaces

January 2017 •French

Night and Fog

April 1959 •French

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

Germany: A Summer's Fairytale

October 2006 •German

A documentary of the German national soccer team’s 2006 World Cup experience that changed the face of modern Germany.

Addicted to Porn: Chasing the Cardboard Butterfly

February 2017 •English

Like it or not, porn is here and it is harmful. In this controversial film, award-winning filmmaker Justin Hunt dissects the impact of pornography on societies around the globe, from how it affects the brain of the individual, to how modern technology leads to greater exposure to youth, to watching it literally tear a family apart. In what may well be one of the most devastating issues in modern culture, this film will break down the damage that porn is doing to us a human race and leave you thinking that it's clearly time that we start taking porn addiction a bit more seriously.

Fanalysis

March 2002 •English

Actor/cult icon Bruce Campbell examines the world of fan conventions and what makes a fan into a fanatic.

1968: A Year of War, Turmoil and Beyond

July 2018 •English

The Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the May events in France, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, the Prague Spring, the Chicago riots, the Mexico Summer Olympics, the presidential election of Richard Nixon, the Apollo 8 space mission, the hippies and the Yippies, Bullitt and the living dead. Once upon a time the year 1968.

A Documentary on the Making of 'Gore Vidal's Caligula'

January 1981 •English

A Documentary on the Making of 'Gore Vidal's Caligula'

The History of White People in America: Volume II

January 1986 •English

In this daring follow-up to The History of White People in America, comedian Martin Mull takes us on an in-depth look at such topics as White Religion, White Stress, White Politics, and White Crime.

In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema

September 2007 •English

This documentary captures the sounds and images of a nearly forgotten era in film history when African American filmmakers and studios created “race movies” exclusively for black audiences. The best of these films attempted to counter the demeaning stereotypes of black Americans prevalent in the popular culture of the day. About 500 films were produced, yet only about 100 still exist. Filmmaking pioneers like Oscar Micheaux, the Noble brothers, and Spencer Williams, Jr. left a lasting influence on black filmmakers, and inspired generations of audiences who finally saw their own lives reflected on the silver screen.

1979: Big Bang of the Present

December 2019 •German

Deng Xiaoping's economic and political opening in China. Margaret Thatcher's extreme economic measures in the United Kingdom. Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution in Iran. Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland. Saddam Hussein's rise to power in Iraq. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The nuclear accident at the Harrisburg power plant and the birth of ecological activism. The year 1979, the beginning of the future.

30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story

September 2017 •English

The Garbage Pail Kids are 30 years old. Celebrate their gross-out greatness with artist interviews, superfan collections, and more.

The Latino List

September 2011 •English

Documentary film interviews leading Latinos on race, identity, and achievement.

Echo of the Mountain

June 2015 •Spanish

Echo of the Mountain takes a look at the life and work of Santos de la Torre, a great Huichol artist who, like his people, lives in oblivion. Despite having made a great mural for the metro station Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre, Santos lives isolated and ignored in his country. This documentary follows his pilgrimage to Wirikuta, where he asks gods for permission to make a new mural; his journey across 385 miles of the Peyote Route, and Santos's creative process during the making of a new mural which aims to illustrate the history, mythology and religious traditions of the Huichol people.

The Rise of the Synths

November 2019 •English

A documentary about the Synthwave scene, nostalgia and the universe of creating sounds. A love letter to human fascination and the collective memories of a universe, that never existed.

Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace

October 2019 •English

Celebrating the splendor and grandeur of the great cinemas of the United States, built when movies were the acme of entertainment and the stories were larger than life, as were the venues designed to show them. The film also tracks the eventual decline of the palaces, through to today’s current preservation efforts. A tribute to America’s great art form and the great monuments created for audiences to enjoy them in.

A Natural History of Laughter

December 2011 •French

For how long have we been laughing? Are human beings the only ones to laugh? In the past, scientists tended to neglect such questions of laughter, leaving them to the philosophers. Jacques Mitsch's A NATURAL HISTORY OF LAUGHTER explores recent scientific attempts to explicate this most elusive of human faculties, undertaken by scientists who see it as a means of approaching some of the larger mysteries of neurology and human behavior.

Sexo en el plató

April 2007 •Spanish

How are the sex scenes filmed? What tricks are used to fake the desire? How do the interpreters prepare and feel? Spanish actors and directors talk about the most intimate side of acting, about the tricks and work methods when narrating exposed sex. In Spain the general rule is that there are no rules. Each film, each interpreter, faces it in very different ways.

Covidwood

April 2021 •French

A French documentary on how Covid-19 affected Hollywood and the cinema industry in the United States.

Los 5 Faust de F. W. Murnau

November 2002 •Spanish