Informe+. Ilia Topuria, El Matador (2023)

Far from the Trees

An unprejudiced portrait of Spanish folklore and a crude analysis in black and white of its intimate relationship with atavism and superstition, with violence and pain, with blood and death; a story of terror, a journey to the most sinister and ancestral Spain; the one that lived far from the most visited tourist destinations, from the economic miracle and unstoppable progress, relentlessly promoted by the Franco regime during the sixties.

Afternoons of Solitude

The life of the bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey during a day of bullfighting, from the moment he dresses up to the moment he undresses.

Jamon Jamon

Jose Luis is an executive at his parents underwear factory where his girlfriend Sylvia works on the shop floor. When Sylvia becomes pregnant, Jose Luis promises her that he will marry her, most likely against the wishes of his parents. Jose Luis' mother is determined to break her son's engagement to a girl from a lower-class family, and hires Raul, a potential underwear model and would-be bullfighter to seduce Sylvia.

Bolero

Follows the tale of a young woman’s sexual awakening and subsequent journey around the world in pursuit of her ideal lover. Encounters include an Arabian sheik and a Spanish bullfighter. Her friend and butler accompany her and help to arrange her couplings.

Matador

A conflicted youth confesses to crimes he didn't commit while a man and woman aroused by death become obsessed with each other.

La querencia

Martirio, the mourner, falls in love with Sagrario, the bullfighter, when she sees her fighting the only bull of their little town. In order to get closer to her beloved, she will burn alive that bull to coincide the two of them at the funeral of the animal this way. There they will meet and will begin an intense relationship, where by night they will search the bull murderer all over the region. Finally it will be Martirio who will offer to accomplish the role of the bull on the motorcycle.

The Magnificent Matador

Karen Harrison is a spoiled, rich, American predator who falls head-over-heels for the brooding, tormented, about-to-retire matador, Luis Santos who has inexplicably run away prior to a corrida that was to occasion the "alternativa" of a young, up-and-coming bullfighter.

Fiesta

When a matador leaves town to focus on his music, his twin sister takes on his identity in the bullfighting ring.

Blood and Sand

Bullfighter Juan Gallardo falls for socialite Dona Sol, turning from the faithful Carmen who nevertheless stands by her man as he continues to face real danger in the bullring.

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

Pandora Reynolds is a woman who has never fallen in love – but one who men kill and die for. When she meets dashing and mysterious ship's captain Hendrik van der Zee, he pushes her to commit the ultimate act of love.

The Bullfighters

Bumbling detective Stan Laurel disguises himself as a famous matador in order to hide from the vengeful Richard K. Muldoon, who spent time in prison on Stan's bogus testimony.

Long Live Madrid, Which Is My Town!

The bullfighter Marcial Lalanda financed and starred in this film about the rivalry between two bullfighters for the ill-fated love of the same woman. It features scenes of bullfights shot by Enrique Blanco using polychromatic film for the first time in Spain. Considered one of the greatest Spanish silent films.

Talk to Her

Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.

Brilliantine the Bull Fighter

Brilliantino the Bullfighter (originally titled Flood and Sand) is one of the first spoofs of Blood and Sand, Paramount’s smoldering matador melodrama that set box offices ablaze. Like Mud and Sand, starring Stan Laurel, the Banks parody was rushed into theaters in November 1922, while memory of the Valentino vehicle was fresh. The concept of Monty Banks impersonating the passionate matador must have been innately hilarious to audiences who had seen the original picture.

Ni sangre ni arena

Cantinflas enjoys the bullfight show, and wants to crash in every of these spectacles. Also, there's a professional bullfighter, Manolete, who is identical to Cantinflas. Manolete has to give a bullfight show in a village, but Cantinflas arrives first as a stowaway in a train, and he'll be mistake by the real bullfighter. Cantinflas will give us a demonstration of courage.

The Brave Bulls

A matador must recover his courage after being gored in the ring.

Señor Droopy

The wolf, the champion toreador, and Droopy, the challenger, are competing to see who is best in the bullring in the hopes of winning the hand of actress Lina Romay (who appears in a live action shot).

The Moment of Truth

Miguel, a poor young man living in Franco's Spain becomes a bull fighter to escape starvation.

Blancanieves

A black and white silent movie, based on the Snow White fairy tale, that is set in a romantic version of 1920s Seville and centered on a female bullfighter.

The Bobo

Unsuccessful singing bullfighter Juan arrives in Barcelona to try his luck in a big town. He finally persuades a devious local impresario to book him, but only on the condition that Juan first manages to spend an evening with Olimpia, a "shrewd merciless beauty" who seems effortlessly to collect apartments and Maserati sports cars while leaving a trail of broken hearts behind her. Juan approaches the challenge by pretending to her he is an emissary for a rich count. Written by Jeremy Perkins

Uncle Hyacynth

Hyacinth, a former matador who lives miserably with his nephew Pepote, receives a letter reminding him that, as agreed a few days before, he must participate in a bullfight to be held that same afternoon.

The Spaniard

In England, Don Pedro de Barrego meets Dolores Annesley, and he decides he must have her. Dolores, however, refuses to have anything to do with him. Later, when she visits Spain, she discovers he is a famous bullfighter.

Bullfighter and the Lady

An American takes up bullfighting to impress the ladies but learns to respect the sport.

What's the Matador?

The stooges are actors traveling to perform at a fiesta in Mexico. After they accidentally switch suitcases with that of Dolores, a lovely senorita they met on trip down, they must sneak into her house to retrieve their suitcase. When they are confronted by her jealous husband he vows to kill them if he sees them again. At the fiesta where they are performing a comedy bullfight (Curly is the matador, Moe and Larry are in a bull costume) the husband bribes the attendants to let a real bull into the ring. Curly knocks the bull out with a head butt and becomes a hero.

The Kid from Spain

Eddie and his Mexican friend Ricardo are expelled from college after Ricardo put Eddie in the girl's dormitory when he was drunk. Per chance Eddie gets mixed up in a bank robbery and is forced to drive the robbers to safety. To get rid of him they force him to leave the USA for Mexico, but a cop is following him. Eddie meets Ricardo there, Ricardo helps him avoid being arrested by the cop when he introduces Eddie as the great Spanish bullfighter Don Sebastian II. The problem is, the cop is still curious and has tickets for the bullfight. Eddie's situation becomes more critical, when he tries to help Ricardo to win the girl he loves, but she's engaged to a "real" Mexican, who is, unknown to her father, involved in illegal business. While trying to avoid all this trouble, Eddie himself falls in love with his friend's girl friend's sister Rosalie, who also want to see the great Don Sebastian II to kill the bull in the arena.

Tommy the Toreador

Tommy is a happy sailor, travelling the world, singing his favourite songs. When he visits Spain, he gets mistaken for a famous bullfighter. Tommy finishes up in the bull-ring facing a VERY angry bull and cheered on by the crowd. What will he do now?

The Picasso Summer

A San Francisco couple travels to France in search of Pablo Picasso.

Spanish Clair de Lune

Two lovers perform a fandango dance. A jealous quarrel follows and the heart-broken swain decides to end it all. He throws himself from the window of his room, but instead of falling to his death, the anchor of a passing balloon intercepts his flight and he is taken high into the clouds. Laughing at his plight, the moon arouses the anger of the desperate lover and a battle between the two ensues.

The Trumpet Blows

In Mexico, a former bandit settles down and picks out a beautiful young dancer to be his wife. His younger brother also comes home after having spent years in the U.S., and falls in love with his brother's intended fiancé. Rather than cause problems, the younger brother goes to Mexico City to become a matador. While there, he gets word that the police, who have been hunting his brother, have finally captured him.

Half Sour

A group of young skateboarders find direction in their lives when they move to New York and start a pickle business.

Chambord: The Leonardo Da Vinci Mystery

A building lost in the midst of a 5 000 hectare park, that's the equivalent of the surface of Paris, Chambord is the castle of all superlatives. Having required nearly 220,000 tonnes of stone to build, the Chateau de Chambord, in the Loir-et-Cher department, is an architectural gem. 156 metres of facade, it has more than 70 staircases, 282 fireplaces and 426 rooms. The castle commissioned by Francis 1st in the 16th century is also the most mysterious. The majestic monument has its share of mysteries: identity of its architect, influence of the Florentine painter Leonardo da Vinci in its design, location in the middle of marshes in the heart of the forest and even longevity because it has survived through time without being damaged since the beginning of its construction in September 1519.

Live Aid Against All Odds

Documentary which traces the story of Live Aid from its humble beginnings, a pop tune cobbled together in the back seat of a taxi, to the eve of the biggest televised event ever. Artists from the time tell the story of the day that music rocked the world. Organiser Bob Geldof recalls how after 12 weeks of manic preparation, the big day finally arrived.

The Drowned

The film details the independent electronic scene of the 80s and 90s in the industrial city of Izhevsk (USSR). Today so called "Izhevsk electronic wave" is an important underground phenomenon in the history of modern Russian music. Appearing: "СД", "Стук бамбука в XI часов", "Красивая пришла", Rodesia, "Самцы дронта", "Организация сна", "Новые испанские кролики", Velvet & Velvet Dolls, "Вторая африканская охота", Lancer, Virgo Intacta, Birdwood, Digital Meet, "Юка".

The Crossroad Of Rock

Documentary film written by music critic Artemiy Troitskiy. It depicts the variety of Soviet and Baltic rock music and offers its viewer an idea that all this forbidden music is not really dangerous for society. Featuring music bands: "Круиз" (Tambov), "In Spe" (Estonia), "Новый мир" (Estonian hard-rock), "Великие Луки" (punk-rock from Tallinn). Moscow music scene represented by: "Тупые", "Нюанс", "Звуки Му". Leningrad music scene: "Джунгли", "Алиса". Also appearing: "Воплі Відоплясова" from Kiev and "Антис" from Lithuania. Not credited: Roman Neumoev with "Инструкция по выживанию" and Oleg Sudakov with "Гражданская оборона".

Dig!

A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.

In the Realms of the Unreal

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

Les yeux dans les Bleus

This documentary follows the French soccer team on their way to victory in the 1998 World Cup in France. Stéphane Meunier spent the whole time filming the players, the coach and some other important characters of this victory, giving us a very intimate and nice view of them, as if we were with them.

Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story

Archival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of legendary NHL tough guy Bob Probert.

Nanook of the North

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. This first half of her two-part film opens with a renowned introduction that compares modern Olympians to classical Greek heroes, then goes on to provide thrilling in-the-moment coverage of some of the games' most celebrated moments, including African-American athlete Jesse Owens winning a then-unprecedented four gold medals.

Olympia: Part Two – Festival of Beauty

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. Where the two-part epic's first half, Festival of the Nations, focused on the international aspects of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, part two, The Festival of Beauty, concentrates on individual athletes such as equestrians, gymnasts, and swimmers, climaxing with American Glenn Morris' performance in the decathalon and the games' majestic closing ceremonies.

Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

Cop Shop

A documentary on the police station near the Guangzhou Train Station.

Mussum: Um Filme do Cacildis

The trajectory of musician and comedian Mussum as vocalist of the group "Os Originais do Samba" and later in cinema and TV as a member of "Os Trapalhões", a group that revolutionized the way of making humor on Brazilian television.

I Am Katya Golubeva

The question is, whether Katya Golubeva, an icon of the European underground cinema, determined her fate with the parts she played, or the fate of her characters affected her own fate?

Hollywood on the river Scheldt

Overview of the history of cinema in Flanders.

Once I Was a Dragonfly

The film follows a 24-year-old Miikka Friman who has grown up with dragonflies.