Granite & Chalk

A Puff Before Dying

March 2021 •English

A wild night of drugs and drugged up driving ends in tragedy for three teenage girls that happen to be marionettes.

The Beauty President

March 2021 •English

In 1992, at the height of the AIDS pandemic, activist Terence Alan Smith made a historic bid for president of the United States as his drag queen persona Joan Jett Blakk. Today, Smith reflects back on his seminal civil rights campaign and its place in American history.

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.

If the Stars Are Falling

February 1978 •Russian

The Hedgehog and the Bear decide to wipe the dust off the stars so their brightness won't fade out.

The Grus

February 1970 •Russian

A little crane flies to Africa with other cranes. He likes it there very much, but later he realizes that he is only a stranger there and returns home.

How a Cossack Sought Happiness

February 1969 •Ukrainian

A Cossack wandered in search of a better life, and his lifelong dream was a fast and beautiful horse. He had to meet him on the way a fortune-teller and a swamp waterman, which traded a horseshoe to a bunch of red peppers with the Cossack; and he had to beat the devil in cards and eventually find peace of mind in the family life with a beautiful Ukrainian girl.

Kotyhoroshko

February 1970 •Ukrainian

The dragon Horynych attacks ordinary Ukrainian village residents. He takes young men and women, leaving only senior villagers. But a young boy named Kotyhoroshko decides to confront the dreadful Dragon. First, he needs to get appropriate weapons and call his friends warriors…

The Little Goat And His Grief

February 1976 •Ukrainian

Once there lived a cheerful little goat. He loved to play and have fun and was especially delighted by a new air balloon, on which he drew a pretty face. But the ball flew out to the clearing and then caught on a branch and burst. The world suddenly darkened for our little hero. Will he cope with this disaster?

The Guns of James Bond

September 1964 •English

Short 1964 black-and-white documentary featurette hosted by Sean Connery and featuring the real-life inspiration for the character of Q, Major Geoffrey Boothroyd with a discussion of the gun weaponry used by James Bond.

Carmen Torero z „Carmen-Suity”

July 1996 •Polish

Utterly astounding, iridescent sand animation from Aleksandra Korejwo based around Bizet's Carmen.

Cedric

January 2006 •German

Death as a global service provider? Unthinkable! So far Death has thought that too. But then his nephew Cedric had the crazy idea of founding the company AFTER LIFE while his uncle was away. This company takes over the craft of death with the latest technology and markets it worldwide.

O Conto da Sereia

April 2020 •Portuguese

Matopos

November 2006 •French

In a village, a young blind man, victim of a storm, will be iniated by a women to overcome his fears. Thanks to the musical quality of a flute, he will be able to exorcize their fears of the villagers and to offer a different perception of the natural elements.

Poppety in the Fall

October 2012 •French

In this animated short, a terrible curse deprives Balthasar's kingdom of its stories. Taking the unicorn's horn back into The Belly of the Earth is the solution. Poppety will lead an expedition, by chance uncovering a hitherto closely guarded family secret.

Cats

January 1956 •English

Short hand drawn representation of a cat

Puddles

August 2019 •English

An adventurous young boy discovers that puddles can be portals to a fantastical world, but struggles to get his sister's attention away from her phone to see the magic in the world around her.

Hair-Jitsu

August 2019 •English

A young girl faces off against an evil hairdresser as she goes through imaginative lengths to avoid her first haircut.

Lightning in a Bottle

August 2019 •English

During a thunderstorm, a young boy's effort to capture lightning in a glass bottle as part of a science fair project succeeds beyond his wildest expectations, but is shocked when he discovers the consequences of this unnatural feat.

The Race

August 2019 •English

Grim desperately needs one more soul to win his work competition, but his last scheduled collection at a rigorous bike race turns his world upside-down. At the finish line, he learns that life is not always about the trophy at the end of the race.

Lucky Toupée

August 2019 •English

This clever bit of balderdash lifts the lid on an original tale about a hijacked hairpiece, a gang of larcenous leprechauns, and a budding romance.