Pacing the Pacific (2023)

#17 - To Finish The Barkley Marathons

An unprecedented look into the psyche of Karel Sabbe in his attempt to finish the legendary Barkley Marathons. As the first documentary focusing on a finisher, it unveils Sabbe's mental fortitude and physical resilience in tackling the brutal course. Through intimate interviews and captivating footage, viewers gain invaluable insights into the mindset required to endure the grueling challenges of the Barkley.

The Edge of Possible: A Barkley Marathons Tale

The Edge of Possible: A Barkley Marathon Tale takes you deep inside the legendary Barkley Marathons, the world’s most elusive and punishing ultramarathon. Set in the unforgiving terrain of Frozen Head State Park, this film follows elite ultrarunner Harvey Lewis as he battles the course, his limits, and time itself. Halfway through, we meet Jasmin Paris, whose grit and endurance add another layer to this epic test of human resilience. With insights from race founder Lazarus Lake, past Barkley finisher John Kelly, Gary Robbins and others, this documentary is an unprecedented look at the fine line between ambition and impossibility.

Dreama Team

Dreama Team is a film about a mom and amateur runner named Dreama Walton, as she competes in America's biggest ultra-marathon: The Western States 100. As she pushes to finish the historic race in under 24 hours, she draws inspiration from painful experiences in her youth, and the positive influence of others in the present. Dreama is determined to prove to her daughter the value of doing hard things.

Solace

On | Solace – Running the Alps in 30 days – Karel Sabbe's Via Alpina FKT In the summer of 2021, ultrarunner Karel Sabbe ran the Via Alpina trail in just 30 days. Averaging two marathons on a daily basis, he navigated the route 14 days faster than anybody else. As well as the Alps, Karel overcame sleep deprivation, illness and extreme weather. And he did it all with a camera crew in tow, documenting every step.

Brian Reynolds: The Leadville Trail 100

Brian Reynolds, a double amputee below the knee athlete, has triumphed over numerous challenges throughout his life. Growing up without a role model to guide him, he has embarked on a mission to empower para athletes by demonstrating that nothing is beyond reach. Join us in this documentary as we follow Brian's journey to make history by becoming the first double amputee to conquer the legendary Leadville 100 Ultra Trail Marathon in Colorado.

To Die Alone

After suffering a terrible injury while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Irving must find a way to escape the woods alive and confront her inner demons with the help of a stranger.

Briser le code

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Pressing On: The Letterpress Film

Why has letterpress printing survived? Irreplaceable knowledge of the historic craft is in danger of being lost as its caretakers age. Fascinating personalities intermix with wood, metal, and type as young printers save a traditional process in Pressing On, a 4K feature-length documentary exploring the remarkable community keeping letterpress alive.

Kolébka hokeje

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The Vasulka Effect

The opening of The Vasulka Effect couldn’t be more apt: Steina Vasulka addresses her husband Woody through various TV screens. He does the same and replies. A perfect image of the relationship between the free-spirited, groundbreaking pioneers of video art. After meeting in Prague in the early 1960s, they relocated from Czechoslovakia to New York, where they later founded The Kitchen, their legendary art and performance gallery.

Looking Good

Rare workout video from the 1980s hosted by Laura Gemser, delivering her instructions to a team of toned and athletic dancers as they sweat and groove on a set drenched in abstract 80s design sensibilities.

Something Self Explanatory (15x)

An educational film about an aspect of political economy. The concepts of use value, barter value and labor as a commodity are the subjects; they are intended to introduce the process of understanding the theory of value of work and the law of values, alienation and fetish.

Days of Rage: The Rolling Stones' Road to Altamont

The decade that began with peace and love was shattered in the late 1960s amidst riots, assassinations and a war that wouldn't end. The Rolling Stones became the voice of this new era, which came to a horrific end at the Altamont festival.

The Last Taboo

Hard to imagine, but true: According to current estimates, out of 500,000 active male football professionals worldwide, under ten (10) are openly homosexual. While homosexuality hardly plays a role in other areas of life today, the topic seems to be completely taboo in professional football. The feature-length documentary THE LAST TABOO lets those who broke exactly this taboo tell their very personal stories alongside Thomas Hitzlsperger. Like the British professional footballer Justin Fashanu (*1961 in London; † 1998 in London), who broke this taboo for the first time in 1990 and paid for it with his life. His niece Amal tells his story. Marcus Urban, on the other hand, was about to make the jump to the Bundesliga as a teenager and, by deciding to come out, he also went against his big dream. The stories of the US professional Collin Martin and the British player-coach Matt Morton, on the other hand, suggest that normality is not far away.

The Typewriter and Other Headaches

This third opus will take us into the homes of some of the Adamant and Averroes & Rosa Parks’ protagonists, during the visits led by their caregivers.

Sahara Vertical

The climbing couple Heinz Mariacher and Luisa Iovane abandon their usual winter training spot to go in search of places more conducive to free climbing in Algeria in the Sahara desert, more precisely in the Hoggar massif, which saw pass the cream of world climbing Lionel Terray, Roger Frison-Roche, Lucien Bérardini, Michel Vaucher, Pierre Mazeaud, Guido Monzino, Patrick Edlinger, Patrick Berhault and many others. Their objective, to climb the east face of Garet El Djenoun, 500 m high, failed because the wall was too smooth and the cracks unstable. The journey continues in the Hoggar massif towards other peaks, where they find the climbing conditions they were hoping for. An overhang in the face of Tizouyag Nord will prove to be a major challenge for Heinz Mariacher.

The Search for the Ocean's Super Predator

There's a mysterious predator lurking in the depths of Australia's wild Southern Ocean, a beast that savagely devoured a great white shark in front of cinematographer David Riggs 11 years ago. Riggs's obsession to find the killer leads him to an aquatic battle zone that's remained hidden until now. Here, killer whales, colossal squid and great white sharks face off in an underwater coliseum where only the fiercest creatures of the marine world survive.

The Bug Trainer

The Bug Trainer explores Starewitch’s creative ideas and concepts of his work, along with opinions from film critics and other animation directors to help us understand why he is considered one of the greatest creators of the animation world.

The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?

The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? feature film documents the process of development of the ill fated "Superman Lives" movie, that was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the man of steel himself, Superman. The project went through years of development before the plug was pulled, and this documentary interviews the major filmmakers: Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Jon Peters, Dan Gilroy, Colleen Atwood, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and many many more.

Through the Graves the Wind Is Blowing

If there is anyone who embodies the current state of life in Croatia, it is the police detective Ivan Peric. The son of a fisherman, he became a detective as a way of avoiding working in the only really prospering industry of present-day Croatia – tourism. Now his life is consumed by trying to solve a series of essentially unsolvable murders of tourists. Because the tourists are so widely despised, no one will help Ivan. Evidence disappears into the labyrinth of bureaucracy. He is humiliated in public and online. In the local press, his boss even labels him an “uhljeb”, the Croatian slur for a “lazy bureaucratic parasite”. All of this takes place in the city of Split, where the breakup of Yugoslavia has left its mark.

If It Were Love

Fifteen young dancers of various origins and horizons. They are touring Crowd, Gisèle Vienne's dance piece on the 90s rave scene. Following them from theatre to theatre, the film documents their work as well as their strange, intimate relationships. As the line becomes blurry, the stage seems to contaminate real life – unless the opposite is happening. Little by little dance grows into a troubling journey into our nights, our parties, our loves.

Subject to Review

SUBJECT TO REVIEW charts the rise of the instant replay system Hawk-Eye in professional tennis, probing how the technology exposes deeper questions of spectacle, justice, and imperfect human knowledge.

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.

Alan Pakula: Going for Truth

"Alan Pakula: Going for Truth" encompasses the personal and professional life of Alan J. Pakula, a lauded filmmaker and extremely private man, who was unflinching in his commitment to bringing some of the most memorable movies of the last half of the 20th century to the big screen.

Searching for Skylab, America's Forgotten Triumph

The first American space station Skylab is found in pieces scattered in Western Australia. Putting these pieces back together and re-tracing the Skylab program back to its very conception reveals the cornerstone of human space exploration.

Road to Roma

Director Alfonso Cuarón reflects on the childhood memories, period details and creative choices that shaped his Academy Award-winning film 'ROMA.'

Flug über Berlin

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Children of Flameco

This film tells a story about two young talented artists coming from different ethnic and family backgrounds whose paths cross because of their unusual talent and passion for flamenco music. Amós is twelve and grows up in Salamanca. A rising star recognized by Paco de Lucía, Amós has been playing guitar and composing since he was three. Abraham is a twelve year old flamenco singer from the Gypsy community in Madrid's periphery. He grows up in an extended family where flamenco singing is a part of everyday life and passed on from generation to generation. This is a moving story about child fame, the road taken to get there and the vibrant subculture of flamenco.

Kreator - Hate & Hope

From a school band from Essen to an internationally celebrated thrash metal legend: To mark Kreator's 40th anniversary in 2024, frontman Mille Petrozza plans to re-record his greatest hits at the famous Hansa Studios in Berlin together with greats from the metal scene such as Metallica, Sepultura, Slayer, Anthrax and many more. With exclusive private archive material, the story of Kreator is told for the first time.

Billy Connolly: Portrait of a Lifetime

Celebrating Billy Connolly's 75th birthday and 50 years in the business, three Scottish artists - John Byrne, Jack Vettriano and Rachel MacLean - each create a new portrait of the Big Yin. As he sits with each artist, Billy talks about his remarkable life and career which has taken him from musician and pioneering stand-up to Hollywood star and national treasure.

Michelangelo: Love and Death

The spectacular sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo seem so familiar to us, but what do we really know about this renaissance genius? Who was this ambitious and passionate man?