: Music and its History (2023)

Innovations in Film: 65mm Black and White Film in Oppenheimer

FotoKem gives in-depth tour of the new scientific and artistic workflows that had to be invented in order to realize Christopher Nolan's unique vision of using both color and black & white 65mm film in the same motion picture

Beyond the Water's Edge

A man and his spirit navigate in harmony with nature. By day, by night, by the upheavals of unpredictability, he navigates the river as we all navigate our lives.

Breaking Rachmaninoff

A humorous documentary about the search for a great composer who managed to overcome his depression by spelling his own name wrong.

The Burden

A shopping center along a large highway is the scene of an apocalyptic musical. Animation with a strong sense of form set to auto-tuned music by Klungan. About liberation through great catastrophy.

Zubin Mehta: Conductor and Citizen of the World

Zubin Mehta is one of the most charismatic conductors of our time. A citizen of the world with many facets: Indian culture and Parsi spirituality, North American lifestyle and European musical tradition. The portrait accompanies Zubin Mehta to current places of activity and important stages of his life. [arte.de]

Conductivity

Conductivity is a film about creative leadership told through the story of three young conductors at the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland; I-Han Fu (Taiwan), Emilia Hoving (Finland) and James Kahane (France). When stepping on the podium, they are put under a magnifying glass. Conductor training, in essence, is leadership training. The film gives a unique viewpoint to follow the students, as this is the first film about conductor training at the Sibelius Academy.

The Ride to the Abyss

‘La course à l’abîme’ is a depiction of the final ride into hell from ‘La Damnation de Faust’ (1846) by Hector Berlioz.

Remember To Enjoy The Light Before It’s Gone

In this reflective short film, the Weeknd speaks to his younger self, encouraging him to ask questions about the future and remember the light before it's all gone.

No Crying at the Dinner Table

Filmmaker Carol Nguyen interviews her own family to craft an emotionally complex and meticulously composed portrait of intergenerational trauma, grief, and secrets in this cathartic documentary about things left unsaid.

Now Is the Time

When internationally renowned Haida carver Robert Davidson was only 22 years old, he carved the first new totem pole on British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii in almost a century. On the 50th anniversary of the pole’s raising, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter steps easily through history to revisit that day in August 1969, when the entire village of Old Massett gathered to celebrate the event that would signal the rebirth of the Haida spirit.

Les sentiers culturels

Plot unavailable

Off the Record

Young singer-songwriter Astor Grey struggles to break free of a toxic relationship with a infamous bad-boy rock star who threatens to destroy her after promising her the world.

Refugee Poetry

The Kurdish Iraqi poet and actor Zeravan Khalil travels with his dog through an Alpine gorge after fleeing from IS war and genocide. As he remembers the abomination, he writes a poem with the title “You drive me mad” in Kurmanji Kurdish. In his home country, Yazidic Kurds are forbidden to work in his profession. Then he eats his apple and wanders through Europe’s middle with more hope.

A Última Sala

Plot unavailable

Stuck in the Groove

A Documentary film exploring the history and evolution of vinyl records. Featuring Interviews with the experts, musicians and fans alike, 'Stuck in the groove' takes you on a journey of vinyl-mania, music and nostalgia.

Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square

This film illustrates the life of the film director, Shui-Bo Wang in The People's Republic of China. We learn of the life of the director in his own words and images from a child steeped in the values of Chinese communism exemplified by Chairman Mao, to a young man striving to live up to those ideals both as an artist and a soldier.

How to Make a Sandwich

Based on the popular phone service, "How To Make a Sandwich" is a short film directed by Drake Sanderson that depicts the rise of media star, Peter Willard, and his acclaimed sandwich-making skills. From breads to meats to condiments, follow Peter as he teaches you how to make the perfect sandwich!

Speeding, of Course

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.

Sœur Sourire: Who Killed the Voice of God?

1962. A crystalline voice becomes a planetary tube. A Belgian nun jostles Elvis and the Beatles on the world charts. Her name: Sister Smile. A popstar with the trajectory of a comet who understands her success no more than the double meaning of her words… The harder the fall will be. Even God does not protect sharks' appetites or pretenses of success! Who killed the little voice of God? Here is the tragic story of an innocent voice, of an extraordinary fate, almost of a curse ...

Swan Lake

Ballerina Polina Semionova performs the mythic parts of Odette and Odile (white swan and black swan) with her great partner Stanislav Jermakov. The Zurich Opera House Orchestra is conducted by Russian musical director Vladimir Fedoseyev acclaimed in this repertoire.

How Do You Measure a Year?

For 17 years, filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt filmed his daughter Ella on her birthday in the same spot, asking her the same questions. In just 29 minutes, we watch her grow from a toddler to a young woman with all the beautiful and sometimes awkward stages in between. Each phase is captured fleetingly but makes an indelible mark. Her responses to her father’s questions are just a backdrop for a deeper story of parental love, acceptance, and ultimately, independence.

Naive Cinema

An essay film on the editing of erotic movies.

Norte

Plot unavailable

Cavedigger

Ra Paulette digs cathedral-like, 'eighth wonder of the world' art caves into the sandstone cliffs of Northern New Mexico. Each creation takes years to complete, and each is a masterwork. But patrons who have commissioned caves have cut off nearly all of his projects due to artistic differences. Fed up, Ra has chosen to forego all commissions to create his own Magnum Opus, a massive 10-year project.

Sapiens, et la musique fut

Plot unavailable

Balada Para Un Loco

Astor leads a normal life with his girlfriend and his job as a publicist, but everything changes when, for no apparent reason, he wakes up unable to stop dancing and singing.

Man of the Woods

At night, in the dark recesses of the woods, a male cellist lures in viewers with a performance of Bach's "Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major." It stars Paul McCoy Drutz-Hannahs, a professional cellist with the Johns Hopkins University Orchestra.

Bye Bye

After graduating from high school, Julien left his hometown to build a bigger life in the capital, leaving his memories behind. And then one day, he had to come back, and that day his memories jumped out at him from between two packets of Pépito cookies.

Mother

Stole Popov's Oscar-nominated Dae depicts a group of Roma celebrating St. George's Day. The documentary doesn't contain dialogue, just footage of the festivity.

Experimental Animation

Len Lye scraped together enough funding and borrowed equipment to produce a two-minute short featuring his self-made monkey, singing and dancing to 'Peanut Vendor', a 1931 jazz hit for Red Nichols. The two foot high monkey had bolted, moveable joints and some 50 interchangeable mouths to convey the singing. To get the movements right, Lye filmed his new wife, Jane, a prize-winning rumba dancer.

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, one veteran dies by suicide in America every 80 minutes. While only 1% of Americans has served in the military, former service members account for 20% of all suicides in the U.S. Based in Canandaigua, NY and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Veterans Crisis Line receives more than 22,000 calls each month from veterans of all conflicts who are struggling or contemplating suicide. This timely documentary spotlights the traumas endured by America’s veterans, as seen through the work of the hotline’s trained responders. CRISIS HOTLINE captures extremely private moments, where the professionals, many of whom are themselves veterans or veterans’ spouses, can often interrupt the thoughts and plans of suicidal callers to steer them out of crisis.

Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty

Known for his mournful "Adagio for Strings," Samuel Barber was never quite fashionable. This acclaimed film is a probing exploration of his music and melancholia. Performance, oral history, musicology, and biography combine to explore the life and music of one of America’s greatest composers. Features Thomas Hampson, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop and many more of the world's leading experts on Barber's music, with tributes from composers Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and William Schuman. The film was broadcast on PBS, and screened at nine film festivals internationally, with three best-of awards. It was named a Recording of the Year 2017 by MusicWeb International.

Spectral Ascension

Music by Byron Westbrook, 16mm film by Paul Clipson.

30 Years of Argentine Rock

Aided by archival footage and interviews with its key figures, this documentary delves into the history of Argentine rock music from its origins up to the mid-1990s.

Birders

Bird watchers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border share their enthusiasm for protecting and preserving some of the world's most beautiful species.