Martin Blaszko III

The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism

March 2017 •English

Taking its lead from French artists like Renoir and Monet, the American impressionist movement followed its own path which over a forty-year period reveals as much about America as a nation as it does about its art as a creative power-house. It’s a story closely tied to a love of gardens and a desire to preserve nature in a rapidly urbanizing nation. Travelling to studios, gardens and iconic locations throughout the United States, UK and France, this mesmerising film is a feast for the eyes. The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism features the sell-out exhibition The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement, 1887–1920 that began at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and ended at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut.

The Art of Incarceration

July 2019 •English

Narrated by Uncle Jack Charles and seen through the eyes of Indigenous prisoners at Victoria’s Fulham Correctional Centre, this documentary explores how art and culture can empower Australia's First Nations people to transcend their unjust cycles of imprisonment.

Identity: A Czech Graphic Design Love Story

October 2024 •Czech

The documentary maps more than a hundred years of Czech visual culture, offers stories of well-known and lesser-known brands and shows that top graphic art is still being created in the Czech Republic today. The film is guided by Nicho Lowry, an American native with Czech roots, an avid collector and graphic design lover who embarks on an adventurous journey in the footsteps of the best of Czech visual culture. During his journey, he meets a number of contemporary graphic designers, as well as the legacy of icons who have passed away, many of whom have succeeded abroad. The film will lead Nich to his own roots through the uncovering of Czech identity and will introduce Czech graphic design to those who do not know the Czech Republic.

Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box

November 1991 •English

This is a 1991 documentary film about the legendary artist and filmmaker, Joseph Cornell, who made those magnificent and strange collage boxes. He was also one of our great experimental filmmakers and once apparently made Salvador Dali extremely jealous at a screening of his masterpiece, Rose Hobart. In this film we get to hear people like Susan Sontag, Stan Brakhage, and Tony Curtis talk about their friendships with the artist. It turns out that Curtis was quite a collector and he seemed to have a very deep understanding of what Cornell was doing in his work.

Cindy Sherman: Nobody's Here But Me

January 1994 •English

New York based artist, Cindy Sherman, is famous for her photographs of women in which she is not only the photographer, but also the subject. She has contributed her own footage to the programme by recording her studio and herself at work with her Hi-8 video camera. It reveals a range of unexpected sources from visceral horror to medical catalogues and exploitation movies, and explores her real interests and enthusiasms. She shows an intuitive and often humorous approach to her work, and reflects on the themes of her work since the late 1970s. She talks about her pivotal series known as the `Sex Pictures' in which she addresses the theme of sexuality in the light of AIDS and the arts censorship debate in the United States.

Empire of the Nude: The Victorian Nude

January 2001 •English

The Victorian era is often cited for its lack of sexuality, but as this documentary reveals, the period's artists created a strong tradition surrounding the classical nude figure, which spread from the fine arts to more common forms of expression. The film explains how 19th-century artists were inspired by ancient Greek and Roman works to highlight the naked form, and how that was reflected in the evolving cultural attitudes toward sex.

In the Theatre of the Gogs

June 2021 •English

A contemplation of art and adventure in the southern wilds of New Zealand by both a landscape photographer and an adventure filmmaker. This film is the unexpected result of their two unique perspectives.

King Pleasure

Invalid date •English

Upcoming documentary about artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The estate of the legendary artist is on board the project and has granted full access to archival material and original works of art, allowing it to be a mash-up of never-before-seen home movies, notebooks, photographs, animation, and interviews.

Haida Gwaii: Restoring the Balance

October 2015 •English

The conflict over forestry operations on Lyell Island in 1985 was a major milestone in the history of the re-emergence of the Haida Nation. It was a turning point for the Haida and management of their natural resources.

Poster Boys

February 2013 •English

How the Costacos Brothers built a wall art empire.

Whiteley

May 2017 •English

A visual journey into the life and legacy of one of Australia's most celebrated artists, Brett Whiteley.

Waiting for Hockney

January 2008 •English

A young working class Baltimore man spends 10 years on a single portrait, believing it is his means to fame and fortune. But he also believes that only one man can lead him there---the famous artist David Hockney. What happens when you finally meet the god of your own making?

The Hidden Talent of Gilbert Gottfried

June 2023 •English

Gilbert Gottfried was world famous for his comedy, but most people didn't realize that he was also a very talent visual artist! Inspired by his passing in 2022, his daughter, Lily Gottfried, made a documentary short about her father's hidden talent.

Gérard Philipe, le dernier hiver du Cid

May 2022 •French

An adaptation of Jérôme Garcin’s novel Le dernier hiver du cid, this documentary built exclusively on archive footage and a delicate story telling style will permit a Cannes style celebration of Gerard Philipe’s 100th birthday anniversary. He will also be coming back to the Croisette through the screening of Fanfan la tulipe.

Dada Found Objects. Surreal Doodles and Dreams

Invalid date •English

Contemplate the "anti-art" spirit of Dadaism, its nihilistic yet humorous indictment of civilization and bizarre use of unconventional media. In the sensibility of Surrealism, observe its compelling focus on the subconscious and two substyles - dream imagery, with its juxtaposition of objects and settings, and "automatic drawing," eliciting unplanned images from the unconscious.

Italiques: Roland Topor

August 1974 •French

Roger Boussinot directed this episode of the French television show Italiques, which features an overview of the art and career of Fantastic Planet illustrator Roland Topor. It aired on August 8, 1974.

There Are No Fakes

April 2019 •English

Norval Morrisseau was the first Indigenous Canadian artist to be taken seriously in the art world. By the turn of this century his work commanded tens of thousands of dollars. So when Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Kevin Hearn learned his prized painting was a forgery, he sued. But as Jamie Kastner's doc reveals, there was a cottage industry in fake Morrisseaus, an industry that flourished unchecked for years, feeding on greed, exploitation, racism and contempt.

Daidō Moriyama: Stray Dog of Tokyo

September 2001 •Japanese

A documentary that follows the life of photographer Daido Moriyama in the present, which has never been revealed before. Even though his charismatic presence has reigned over the world of photography since the late 60’s, his true persona had been hidden behind a veil of mystery, since he had refused any major appearances in front of any media in the past. Follow the charismatic photographer Daido Moriyama as he takes his first digital photos and observe his style of quick snapshots without looking in the finder. His stark and contrasting black and white images symbolize his fervent lifestyle.

Making a Mark

October 2017 •English

Filmed during the inaugural year of the Ramsay Art Prize, Making a Mark is a chronicle of passion and creative trailblazing as a selection of finalists, all aged under 40, vie for the $100,000 prize. In a story that spans the globe from Europe to Outback Australia, we explore one of the most personally challenging and financially tenuous vocations, and find out just what it takes to live a life in the world of visual arts.

36 000 Ans D'art Moderne, De Chauvet à Picasso

May 2019 •French