Why Are We Creative?

Merton: A Film Biography

January 1984 •English

In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.

Wisdom of Happiness

November 2024 •English

A deeply intimate and highly cinematic documentary featuring the Dalai Lama, who, at nearly ninety year of age, offers practical advice for navigating the 21st century's challenges.

A Life for Movies: Lotte Eisner

February 2021 •German

Born in Berlin in 1896, Lotte Eisner became famous for her passionate involvement in the world of both German and French cinema. In 1936, together with Henri Langlois, she founded the Cinémathèque Française with the goal of saving from destruction films, costumes, sets, posters, and other treasures of the 7th Art. A Jew exiled in Paris, she became a pillar of the capital's cultural scene, where she promoted German cinema.

Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature

May 2025 •French

A documentary that focuses on Hayao Miyazaki’s deep connection to nature and the environmental themes expressed through his films.

By the Way, Woody Allen is Innocent

May 2020 •English

Cartoonist Rick Worley's in-depth and unapologetic analysis of the 1992 Woody Allen / Mia Farrow custody hearing and its (factually muddled) online reevaluation amidst the #MeToo movement.

Barbra Streisand: Becoming an Icon 1942–1984

April 2017 •French

Barbra Streisand grew up in working class Brooklyn, dreaming of escape from her tough childhood. A stellar student, she resisted the pressure to go to college as her sights were firmly set on Broadway. She was determined to become an actress and landed her first role aged 16, but it was two years later, when she started to sing, that her career took off. Subverting stereotypes and breaking glass ceilings, this programme looks at her rise to stardom and the remarkable achievements of her early career.

Die Hunde der Mächtigen - und eine Katze

September 2024 •German

QT8: The First Eight

October 2019 •English

A detailed account of the life and artistic career of legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, from his early days as a video club manager to the scandalous fall in disgrace of producer Harvey Weinstein. A story about how to shoot eight great movies and become an icon of modern pop culture.

Imagine: John Lennon

September 1988 •English

The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean.

Tina Turner - My Songs. My Life

July 2024 •German

Imagine Imagine

September 2003 •English

This British documentary is more than an analysis of John Lennon's song "Imagine" and its ramifications for the world we live in, it's a tentative documentary on John (and Yoko)'s art and songs' influence on a lot of people in all parts of the world and from all walks of life. As such, it should be better known and considered part of the Beatles "canon". The footage shows everything from a John Lennon Museum in Japan to a John Lennon elementary school in Liverpool to his influence on the thinking of a former Communist from Georgia (of the former USSR). It is provocative and very well made with a serious contribution from Yoko.

Dear Bowie

December 2023 •Portuguese

Flora Valverde, a non-binary student of Cinema and Audiovisual at UFPB, recounts in a video letter their experiences to their idol David Bowie, updating him on the events that happened after his death in 2016.

Godard Cinema

June 2023 •French

Jean-Luc Godard is synonymous with cinema. With the release of Breathless in 1960, he established himself overnight as a cinematic rebel and symbol for the era's progressive and anti-war youth. Sixty-two years and 140 films later, Godard is among the most renowned artists of all time, taught in every film school yet still shrouded in mystery. One of the founders of the French New Wave, political agitator, revolutionary misanthrope, film theorist and critic, the list of his descriptors goes on and on. Godard Cinema offers an opportunity for film lovers to look back at his career and the subjects and themes that obsessed him, while paying tribute to the ineffable essence of the most revered French director of all time.

La Traversée du désir

March 2009 •French

What was your first desire? What did you long for most? Arielle Dombasle put these questions to a wide circle of famous people.

Seeing Allred

January 2018 •English

Gloria Allred overcame trauma and personal setbacks to become one of the nation’s most famous women’s rights attorneys. Now the feminist firebrand takes on two of the biggest adversaries of her career, Bill Cosby and Donald Trump, as sexual violence allegations grip the nation and keep her in the spotlight.

I Am Alfred Hitchcock

May 2021 •English

Interviews and archival footage weave together to tell the story of the Master of Suspense, one of the most influential and studied filmmakers in the history of cinema.

Björk: Vespertine Live at the Royal Opera House

December 2001 •English

A live performance by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk recorded at the Royal Opera House in London, England on December 16, 2001. Björk performs tracks from her fourth studio album "Vespertine" along with songs from her previous solo albums.

Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn

October 2007 •English

The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making movies or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 & the myths live on. But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known - his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's Cuba

Let's Get Lost

September 1988 •English

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.

Hidden Eden

March 2021 •English

Exploring the concept of the Ecology of Emotions, this musical film portrays an inner journey through the secret garden of creativity put into frame by the nature of Iceland. Hidden Eden is a metaphor for our inner secret garden of creativity. This project bloomed during an art residency in Iceland, sparked by conversations around our shared philosophies on voice and emotional connection. The nature of Iceland inspired us to make the connection on how the landscape reflects the emotional states of creativity and how it helps manage the homeostasis of our inner emotional landscapes. This exchange between emotion and the landscape opens a space for healing. Creativity provides us with the tools to access a garden of our authentic being, nourishing and balancing us. Allowing ourselves to explore the spectrum of our emotions through the lens of our relationship with the Earth invites others to do the same. The creative process can affect our well being and is a key to human evolution.