Study for Three Streams (2024)

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.

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

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.

Vito-Man

Vito is a sweet little boy with Down syndrome, and this short documentary puts his energetic, jolly personality on full display as he interacts with his loving family. By showing Vito’s dignity and inherent value, Vito-Man tackles the difficult conversation that is the eradication of people with Down syndrome, proving that an extra chromosome should not be a death sentence.

Daybreak Express

Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.

More So-called Caryatids

A super short film to accompany the earlier documentary of the same name. A photoplay of various caryatids to be found in Paris.

Shannon Amen

Shannon Amen unearths the passionate and pained expressions of a young woman overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith. A loving elegy to a friend lost to suicide.

The Red Tide

The Red Tide follows a life changing move to Florida. Exploring a new home located near famous earthworks by Robert Smithson, the enormous art collection-turned-museum of John Ringling, and beaches plagued by a toxic phenomenon called the ‘red tide’. Beginning with a recreation of Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson’s 1969 film, Swamp, the film describes a confusion between multiple anxieties: art’s legacy, climate change, and a longing to stay connected. Taken From Sally Lawton's Website: http://www.sallylawton.net/the-red-tide.html

Land Without Bread

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.

Night and Fog

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

I Was Only 14

Filmmaker Froukje van Wengerden’s 86-year-old grandmother shares a powerful memory from 1944, when she was just 14. As her story unfolds, we see a group of contemporary 14-year-old girls. Their procession of portraits permits the spectator to see simultaneously forward and back, into the future and towards the past. A miraculous testimonial that uses eye contact to focus the viewer inward and evoke unexpected emotions.

6-18-67

6-18-67 is a short quasi-documentary film by George Lucas regarding the making of the Columbia film “Mackenna's Gold”. This non-story, non-character visual tone poem is made up of nature imagery, time-lapse photography, and the subtle sounds of the Arizona desert.

Dolphins

From the banks of the Bahamas to the seas of Argentina, we go underwater to meet dolphins. Two scientists who study dolphin communication and behaviour lead us on encounters in the wild. Featuring the music of Sting. Nominated for an Academy Award®, Best Documentary, Short Subject, 2000.

The Mexican Football Coaching Guide

In this comedic docufiction, Javier (Javier Raphael) is a young man who has always wanted to be a football coach like his idol “El Chelís” (José Luis Sánchez Solá), but has never done anything to fulfill his dream. Now, guided by a nosy narrator (Jorge Pietrasanta), he will look for some of the most unorthodox amateur football coaches in Mexico, and for his beloved "Chelís", so that each one can give him lessons until he is fully trained to manage a match and thus become a true "Mexican football coach".

The Ossuary

A non-narrative voyage round Sedlec Ossuary, which has been constructed from over 50,000 human skeletons (victims of the Black Death).

Chase Miller Takes Over The World

Financially and creatively bankrupt, aspiring actor Chase Miller is sleeping on his friends' couch and increasingly desperate for fame. Deciding to record his every move, Miller documents an unorthodox Oscar campaign.

Hurricane on the Bayou

The film "Hurricane on the Bayou" is about the wetlands of Louisiana before and after Hurricane Katrina.

XY Anatomy of a Boy

Can you be a virgin, gay and into girls? This film is an intimate study of six homosexual boys. In the changing room some of the uncertainties and embarrassment's of youth emerge, such as the tale of hunky Peter, romance and the naff value of losing your virginity during a Disney movie.

I Needed Color

Jim Carrey exhibits his talent as a painter and reflects on the value and power of art.

Roundhay Garden Scene

The earliest surviving motion-picture film, and believed to be one of the very first moving images ever created, was shot by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince using the LPCCP Type-1 MkII single-lens camera. It was taken on paper-based photographic film in the garden of Oakwood Grange, the Whitley family house in Roundhay, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire (UK), on 14 October 1888. The film shows Adolphe Le Prince (Le Prince’s son), Mrs. Sarah Whitley (Le Prince’s mother-in-law), Joseph Whitley, and Miss Harriet Hartley walking around in circles, laughing to themselves, and staying within the area framed by the camera. Roundhay Garden Scene is often associated with a recording speed of around 12 frames per second and runs for about 2 to 3 seconds.

Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge

A film by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, shot in late October 1888, showing pedestrians and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge.

Tous Les Jours

In rocky Newfoundland, renowned French artist Jean Claude Roy gathers his paints and sets off to face the day. Whether it be freezing snow, violent wind, or pouring rain, he commits vibrant colors to canvas and conquers the day by weaving crooked beauty out of difficulties.

Knife Skills

Edwin’s Restaurant is determined to become one of America’s top French restaurants, with a staff unlike any other in the country. Brandon Edwin Chrostowski prepares to open his Cleveland, Ohio fine dining establishment with a staff composed nearly entirely of recently released prisoners in search of an opportunity to get their lives back on track. They sign up for a classical French food boot camp to learn the ins and outs of fine wine, sauces, and more.

Salam Aleikum, Ingush people!

Documentary film about ethnic cleansing in the Prigorodny district in October-November 1992.

Memories Revealed

Over the course of 10 months, a camera travels to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Hanover, Germany to meet with Magalí, María Belén, Ivana and Carla, the founding members of the Archivo De La Memoria Trans Argentina, the first existing Trans Archive in the world. Taking the shape of a photo-novel, the documentary not only recounts the founding members lives as trans women under the Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983), the AIDS epidemy, state repression and mass assassinations but also years of fighting for their rights, sorority and the exaltation of life and laughter in times of death. Filming each one of them is filming them embracing their new role as curators, archivists and historians while a collection of 7,000 photos goes through the filter of their memories.

Tshiuetin

Take a breathtaking train a ride through Nothern Quebec and Labrador on Canada’s first First Nations-owned railway. Come for the celebration of the power of independence, the crucial importance of aboriginal owned businesses and stay for the beauty of the northern landscape.

this river

Join a grassroots collective of volunteers as they search Winnipeg’s Red River and its banks for clues to find out what happened to their missing family and friends. The documentary demonstrates the devastating experience of searching for a loved one who didn't come home with profundity and humanity.

NiiSoTeWak: Two Bodies, One Heart

NiiSoTeWak means “walking the path together.” Tapwewin and Pawaken are 10-year-old brothers trying to make sense of the world, their family and each other. They’re already grappling with some heady questions about identity. What does it mean to be a twin? What does it mean to be Cree? How do you define yourself when you’re forever linked to someone else? The twins discuss these questions with their two elder brothers — 22-year-old actor Asivak and 20-year-old basketball player Mahiigan — and their parents, Jules and Jake.

Golden Hands

A documentary about traditional Ukrainian arts and crafts and folk applied art, shot by Sergei Parajanov on commission from the Kyiv Television Studio. Ukrainian masters of pottery, carving, embroidery, painting, and other arts and crafts demonstrate their work in documentary and specially filmed scenes.

Se Siembran Flores

In the midst of the social unrest caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in Calpan, Puebla, there is a small corner where hope is harvested daily: the people's asylum.

Shotplayer

"Shotplayer" is an impressionistic journey into the mind of Wilfred Rose, one of New York City's most notorious pickpockets. As he returns to the subway for the first time in many years he reflects on a life of crime in a society that has left many of its citizens behind. "Shotplayer" asks, when is it ok to push back against that society? What does it mean to live as a criminal? What does it mean to live one’s life on an invisible plane? To live at all?

Remembering Surrounded Islands

For the 35th anniversary of Surrounded Islands - a monumental temporary art installation by world renowned environmental artists Christo & Jeanne-Claude that wrapped eleven small islands in Biscayne Bay with 6.5 million square feet of bubble gum pink woven polypropylene plastic - Perez Art Museum Miami presented a documentary exhibition about the work entitled Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, 1980–83 | A Documentary Exhibition. This was the first time the exhibition was on display in North America.

Extreme

EXTREME is a visually stunning 45-minute journey into the soul of adventure featuring a cast of world champion athletes. Combining incredible extreme sport action with narration from the athletes and an eclectic, contemporary soundtrack, EXTREME explores the paradox of human nature: facing fear from the edge of life.

Great North

This film takes viewers through the rich, white majesty of the Inuit Great North. Along with doing justice to the breathtaking and awesome landscape of the freezing, snow-covered environment, Great North also looks into the long-standing traditions, such as fishing and hunting, of the Inuit tribes.

Mountain Gorilla

Mountain Gorilla takes us to a remote range of volcanic mountains in Africa, described by those who have been there as ""one of the most beautiful places in the world"", and home to the few hundred remaining mountain gorillas. In spending a day with a gorilla family in the mountain forest, audiences will be captivated by these intelligent and curious animals, as they eat, sleep, play and interact with each other. Although gorillas have been much-maligned in our popular culture, viewers will finally ""meet the legend"" face to face, and learn about their uncertain future.

Ocean Men, Extreme Dive

For more than 10 years, world champion freedivers Pipin Ferreras and Umberto Pelizzari have been vying for world records. Their love of the sea without compromise is what unites these two rivals. However, it is their different personalities and opposing diving philosophies that separate them. Pipin is the "No Limits" man who wants to go deeper and deeper. Umberto, the purist, seeks harmony in the ocean's depth. Ocean Men takes you into the world of these two awe-inspiring freedivers through the use of breathtaking underwater photography, enchanting music, and insightful animation.

Super Speedway

We follow the Newman-Haas (Andretti) racing team through the process of building, testing, and racing for a season. This includes extensive race speed on-track footage, including some pre-race footage with a full squad of cars. From time to time, we check in with a small shop building/restoring one of the first roadsters Mario Andretti raced; the finale includes him taking it for a spin.

Polycephaly in D

Informed by an underlying sense of anxiety and anguish, Michael Robinson’s Polycephaly in D nestles fragments of narrative within a collage of sound, image, and text that oscillates between the elegant and the discordant.