Darts in the Dark: An Introduction to W.O. Mitchell

Summer in the City

March 1970 •German

German writer Uwe Johnson lived for several years in the 1960s on Manhattan’s Upper Westside where he got to know his neighborhood very well, observing the goings-on in the streets, cafeterias, and parks. In 1968 German Television agreed to co-produce a film for broadcast featuring interviews with various neighborhood characters.

Grand Central Market

January 1963 •English

This film portrays activity in Grand Central Market in Los Angeles, California. Highlighted are vendors that represent the melting pot that is America, selling their wares to people of all ages and all walks of life. The film was directed by William Hale. Notably, the film also showcases some early work of famous cinematographer, Haskell Wexler.

Speeding, of Course

March 2025 •Finnish

70-year-old Timo makes the most of his short ride to work. Speeding up on a bicycle ends up in a ditch, but the adrenaline rush leaves a feeling of pleasure.

The Traffic Separating Device

April 2020 •Swedish

In order to rectify the poor bus accessibility at Slussen station in Stockholm, the city council, as per the municipal board’s recommendation, erects so-called ‘bus traps’ on the street.

Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here

May 1972 •English

On John's 31st birthday, Yoko held an art exhibit, "This Is Not Here", at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, N.Y.. The show was taped and aired on U.S. TV on May 11, 1972 as "John and Yoko in Syracuse, New York.

Land Without Bread

December 1933 •Spanish

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.

24 Frames per Century

August 2013 •English

This short piece by Athina Rachel Tsangari, commissioned for the seventieth edition of the Venice Film Festival in 2013, draws on Jean-Luc Godard's "Contempt" and functions as a meditation on the state of cinema, depicting two film projectors contemplating the uncertainty of their future.

The Captain

May 2022 •English

Of Maine’s more than 5000 commercial lobstermen only 4% are female. The Captain celebrates that fearless minority through the lens of Sadie Samuels. At 27 years old, she is the youngest and only female lobster boat captain in the Rockport, Maine harbor. Despite the long hours and manual labor of hauling traps, Samuels is in love — obsessed even — with what she calls the most beautiful, magical place on the planet. Her love for lobster fishing was imparted early in her childhood by her dad Matt, who has been her mentor and inspiration since she was a little girl in yellow fishing boots.

Wir sind im Bilde

January 1953 •German

Argini

January 1954 •Italian

A tribute not so much to the river that runs through the Eternal City, but to that part of Rome that very often remains invisible to the eyes of tourists-the suburbs, with their streets and rituals.

Release the Hound!

April 2015 •English

Documentary on the making of Hammer's adaptation of "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

Crushed

April 2024 •French

Through a powerful visual metaphor, Camille Vigny gives a first-person account of the domestic violence she suffered. The images and text interact with remarkable precision to convey the devastating impact of the cataclysm. It's a political gesture, brimming with courage, an icy cry that takes your breath away.

Ripple

March 2024 •English

Rae Ripple, a welder from the outskirts of West Texas transforms neglected metal into works of art and in the process finds healing from her traumatic past.

By the Lake

September 1994 •French

Bokanowski returns to the complex - and mind-bending - optical array of pinholes, mirrors, prisms, and refractive substrates of his earlier film, La Plage to create the whimsical and playful Au bord du lac. The film is composed of mundane, everyday scenes of recreation and leisure on an idyllic, sunny day at a park that overlooks a lake - rowing a boat, playing a game of volleyball, rollerskating, bicycling, reading a newspaper, sunbathing, riding on horseback, or strolling on the promenade - shot through optical distortions to create fractured and knotted images that resemble embellished, gothic fairytale illustrations or appear to resolve into morphing, geometric patterns of fluid motion. Evoking the vibrant colors and sun-soaked palette of an invigorated Vincent van Gogh in Arles, Bokanowski transforms the quotidian into an infinitely mesmerizing dynamic kaleidoscope of shape-shifting textures and self-reconstituting objects of organic, abstract art.

Young Man on the Bar Masturbating with Rage and Nerve

March 2015 •Spanish

Dance and prostitution play the same role for Cristhian’s body. Virtuosity, desire, technique, and sex intertwine, granting coherence to a way of life that offers many answers to few questions. A leitmotiv that reconciles opposites and contradictions. Answers that are sometimes painful, like all truths.

Children of Wind River

October 1989 •English

A film made by Victress Hitchcock and Ava Hamilton in 1989 on the Wind River Reservation for Wyoming Public Television.

Nicholas and the Baby

January 1980 •English

The first childbirth for children film ever made which launched a sibling preparation movement across the US.

Refuge

January 1972 •English

A documentary about the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in London.

Extreme Consequences: The Reality of Prison Life

January 2007 •English

A compelling look at the choices that lead to incarceration and the reality of being locked up in Pelican Bay State Prison.

A.

February 2025 •Spanish

Having lost her memory, A. could barely recall glimpses of her childhood in Argentina. After her death, her son visits the empty house for the last time. A sensory journey through a house without objects but filled with memory.