Colors and Life

A Day on the Grand Canal with the Emperor of China or: Surface Is Illusion But So Is Depth

March 1988 •English

Director Philip Haas and artist David Hockney invite you to join them on a magical journey through China via a marvelous 72-foot long 17th-century Chinese scroll entitled The Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour (1691-1698), scroll seven . As Hockney unrolls the beautiful and minutely detailed work of art, he traces the Emperor Kangxi’s second tour of his southern empire in 1689.

Magicians of the Earth: Kings of the Water

June 1991 •English

Cyprien Tokoudagba is from the city of Abomey in the Benin Republic of West Africa, where he paints the religious houses of the vodun. Haas and his film crew follow Cyprien as he first paints and then takes part in the ceremony to open a new temple. The paintings include three vodun figures and several emblems, including a pipe and a duck. Cyprien explains his work in the context of the religion and takes the crew to film two other local ceremonies, one where the dead are believed to come back to instruct the living through wild dancing and, another, where women warriors perform their war dances.

Under the Weight of a Waking Dream

January 2025 •English

‘Under the Weight of a Waking Dream’ is Zefier's debut swan song to the ending year. Comprised of poetry and endless enumerations is a diaristic film chronicling the lessons and contradictions found throughout the human experience.

The Real Beauty and the Beast

June 2013 •English

It's a condition known as "hypertrichosis" or "Ambras Syndrome," but in the 1500s it would transform one man into a national sensation and iconic fairy-tale character. His name: Petrus Gonsalvus, more commonly known today as the hairy hero of Beauty and the Beast.

Quilty: Painting the Shadows

October 2019 •English

This fascinating exploration of the creative process follows one of Australia's leading contemporary artists Ben Quilty, as he completes one of his most challenging art works.

Le Mural

September 2024 •English

A documentary short by Barbara Bingley-Verseman about the creation of a monumental outdoor mural by her twin sister, LA-based Kat Bing, and Parisian artist Kekli in the lead up to the Paris 2024 Olympics

Tell Them We Were Here

May 2021 •English

Tell Them We Were Here is an inspirational feature-length documentary about eight artists who show us why art is vital to a healthy society and reminds us that we are stronger together.

Postmodernism: The Substance of Style

September 2011 •English

This film features some of the most important living Postmodern practitioners, Charles Jencks, Robert A M Stern and Sir Terry Farrell among them, and asks them how and why Postmodernism came about, and what it means to be Postmodern. This film was originally made for the V&A exhibition 'Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 - 1990'.

David Choe: High Risk

July 2015 •English

Artist David Choe has led a life of high risk, from hedonistic excesses to being imprisoned at a maximum security facility in a foreign country, and yet has been dramatically rewarded for his exploits. Life didn't change much when he traded a $60k fee in favor of stock in a start-up called The Facebook, but now he is estimated to be worth over $250 million, highlighting a colorful career filled with giant street art installations, porn star affairs and investigative reporting for companies like Vice and CNN. Director and childhood friend Harry Kim guides us through the fantastically surreal life of Choe featuring interviews and appearances by Kevin Smith, Eli Roth, Sasha Grey, Sean Parker, and Shepard Fairey.

Grandpa Called It Art

July 1944 •English

This MGM Passing Parade series short takes a look at changing definitions of art in the United States.

Too Many Captain Cooks

January 1989 •

For both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, Captain James Cook is a figure of great historical significance.

Manic Magic: a Poem in Four Parts

February 2025 •English

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

J'ai peint des Vermeer

December 1950 •French

Art documentary

Pictures at an Exhibition

January 1996 •German

What does modern art mean for ordinary visitors to an exhibition?

The Lost Portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Culture Show Special

February 2014 •English

In 2009, art detective Dr Bendor Grosvenor caused a national scandal by proving that the Scottish National Portrait Gallery's iconic portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the rebel Stuart who almost seized power in 1745, was not in fact him. Keen to make amends, and suspecting that a long-lost portrait of the prince by one of Scotland's greatest artists, Allan Ramsay, might still survive, Bendor decides to retrace Charles's journey in the hope of unravelling one of the greatest mysteries in British art.

I'm in Love with Pippa Bacca

March 2020 •Italian

Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo, better known as Pippa Bacca, was a 34 years old Italian artist. She crossed 11 countries involved in wars, hitchhiking with another Milanese artist, Silvia Moro, both wearing a wedding dress. This was a performance for peace, trust and hoping to prove that if you rely on others, you’ll receive good things only. After travelling many roads, the two artists decided to split for a while in Istanbul, planning to meet again in Byblos. Pippa left then, alone, and nobody heard from her again.

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.

Namatjira Project

September 2017 •English

From the remote Australian desert to the opulence of Buckingham Palace - Namatjira Project is the iconic story of the Namatjira family, tracing their quest for justice.

Vaciar el museo

Invalid date •Spanish

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.