The Great Ordinary Movie

Aleš I.

December 1950 •Czech

The first part of the documentary about the work of the Czech painter Mikoláš Alš called "The Song of Life", which focuses on the part of his work that draws its themes from life in the village.

Pablo Picasso et Françoise Gilot : la femme qui dit non

June 2020 •French

Painter Françoise Gilot shared Pablo Picasso's life from 1943 to 1953. This union nourished their respective artistic creations.

Vízie z Inferna-umenie proti zabúdaniu

January 2005 •Slovak

Freeports: The Beauty Of Tax Free Storage

November 2021 •German

Documentary that exposes the secret world of these unknown tax havens. There is a global network of tax-free storage facilities valuable goods, catering to the super rich - and it's virtually unknown, until now. Freeports feature highest security levels, confidential record keeping and an offshore legal status and are a huge potential for tax savings. The film investigates their rise, who is using them, and why.

Mi Vida Me Pasa

August 2024 •Spanish

Arturo Urbiola, independent singer/songwriter, talks about the influence music has had on his life, it's impact, and what's in store for his artistic career after becoming a father.

Manic Magic: a Poem in Four Parts

February 2025 •English

A poem about mania written by Omar Zefier. His second film.

Max Gimblett: Original Mind

May 2017 •English

Max Gimblett: Original Mind documents the life and process of eccentric, creative genius Max Gimblett. One of New Zealand’s most successful and internationally prominent living painters, Gimblett has been working in America since 1962. The filmmakers spent a week in Gimblett’s Soho loft where he and his devoted studio assistants generously revealed the techniques and philosophy behind his beautiful art.

Eric Carle, Picture Writer: The Art of the Picture Book

June 2011 •English

An intimate portrait of Eric Carle, creator of more than 70 books for children including the best-selling "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". At 82, Eric is still at work in his studio making books and creating art. As he methodically layers a tissue paper collage of the caterpillar, he describes the feeling he achieves working in his studio, the sense of being at peace, all alone, when everything grows quiet and it is just himself and his work. The film taps into that deep creative need in each of us, a spirit that started in Eric as a very young child and is unceasing today.

Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World

June 2011 •English

This ninety-minute film takes audiences on an epic journey across nine countries and over 1,400 years of history. It explores themes such as the Word, Space, Ornament, Color and Water and presents the stories behind many great masterworks of Islamic Art and Architecture. Narrated by Academy Award winning performer Susan Sarandon, this dazzling documentary reveals the variety and diversity of Islamic art. It provides a window into Islamic culture and brings broad insights to the enduring themes that have propelled human history and fueled the rise of world civilization over the centuries

The Rembrandt Association, an exceptional year

January 2024 •Dutch

Documentary about the Rembrandt Association. In the 19th century, a lot of Dutch art disappeared abroad, before the Rembrandt Association stood up in 1883 to put a stop to it. Today, 140 years later, the Association still helps determine what art lovers see in Dutch museums. In their crowning year, the Association faces a difficult choice: will they make the largest contribution in their history to the purchase of Rembrandt's De Vaandeldrager? The amount of 175 million needed for the painting is causing discussion. Is this money well spent?

Inventory

January 2008 •French

A documentary by Olivier Gonard, shot partly in Paris’s Musée d’Orsay, that examines Olivier Assayas' film Summer Hours, and its approach to art.

The Beginner's Guide to Spinning in Loops

July 2022 •English

From June 2021 to June 2022, Justin "Jastun" Bland records whatever that is in front of him. He presents an abstract montage of collected videos varying from onscreen recordings to filming special, intimate & mundane in-real-life moments. This short captures our daily routines in life and how we choose to spontaneously record them.

Billy Connolly: Portrait of a Lifetime

June 2017 •English

Celebrating Billy Connolly's 75th birthday and 50 years in the business, three Scottish artists - John Byrne, Jack Vettriano and Rachel MacLean - each create a new portrait of the Big Yin. As he sits with each artist, Billy talks about his remarkable life and career which has taken him from musician and pioneering stand-up to Hollywood star and national treasure.

Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali

December 1969 •English

A documentary about surrealist artist Salvador Dali, narrated by Orson Welles.

Mysterium Gotik - Als die Kathedralen in den Himmel wuchsen

January 2021 •German

Kill Your TV: Jim Moir’s Weird World of Video Art

November 2019 •English

Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves) explores Video Art, revealing how different generations ‘hacked’ the tools of television to pioneer new ways of creating art that can be beautiful, bewildering and wildly experimental.

The Da Vinci Code: The Greatest Story Ever Sold

May 2006 •English

After Dan Brown's publishing phenomenon The Da Vinci Code was cleared of plagiarism charges, this documentary explores the climate which has permitted a fictional story to make such an effective challenge to conventional history that it has forced a counter-attack from the Church, the art world and academics. Has Brown cracked the most difficult code of all our 21st-century cultural DNA?

Ich will da sein - Jenny Gröllmann

June 2008 •German

The film accompanies Jenny Gröllmann, a German actress, during the last two years of her life.

Bob and Roberta's Excellent Protest Adventure

November 2016 •English

British artist, academic, musician and activist Bob and Roberta Smith has been waging slightly odd political protests for years, in this documentary he investigates the age of activism and discovers what people are protesting about.

Hello My Dear

May 2021 •Turkish

The documentary is titled after Arkadaş Z. Özger’s poem “Hello My Dear” which had caused much controversy in the period it was first published. Considered to be in defiance of heteronormativity, the said poem includes references to the poet’s personality, his family, his relationship to the society, and his “unexpected” death, which came three years after its publication. Today, 50 years after it was written, the documentary follows these same lines in the poem utilising cinematic elements. The documentary also rediscovers the poetics; reaches out to the family, the comrades, the friendships, departing from the official historical accounts, cognizant of his experience of otherness, in pursuit of the “lost” portrait of Arkadaş Z. Özger.