Skimsters (1959)

Pumping Iron

Amateur and professional bodybuilders prepare for the 1975 Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe contests as five-time champion Arnold Schwarzenegger defends his Mr. Olympia title against Serge Nubret and the shy young Lou Ferrigno.

Path of the Paddle: Solo Basic

This short film from canoeist Bill Mason illustrates the joy and poetry of paddling solo. All the basic strokes used to control the canoe are rendered with perfect clarity through animated lines. Part of 'Path of the Paddle: Quiet Water', in Bill Mason's Path of the Paddle Series.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

In this hilarious arcade showdown, a humble novice goes head-to-head against the reigning Donkey Kong champ in a confrontation that rocks the gaming world to its processors! For over 20 years, Billy Mitchell has owned the throne of the Donkey Kong world. No one could beat his top score until now. Newcomer Steve Wiebe claims to have beaten the unbeatable, but Mitchell isn't ready to relinquish his crown without a fight. Go behind the barrels as the two battle it out in a vicious war to earn the title of the true King of Kong.

Air Guitar Nation

If your bedroom has become too small a stage for your air guitar antics, take inspiration from the competitors featured here as they battle their way from the inaugural U.S. Air Guitar Championship to the world championship in Oulu, Finland. Along the way, filmmaker Alexandra Lipsitz documents the fierce rivalries that develop as would-be rock legends vie for top honors in technical accuracy, stage presence and "airness."

Stripper

A strippers' convention and a major contest. The movie focuses on a few strippers, each with her own strong motive to win.

Mad Hot Ballroom

Eleven-year-old New York City public school kids journey into the world of ballroom dancing and reveal pieces of themselves and their world along the way. Told from their candid, sometimes humorous perspectives, these kids are transformed, from reluctant participants to determined competitors, from typical urban kids to "ladies and gentlemen," on their way to try to compete in the final citywide competition.

Bots High

Bots High is an exciting documentary following the adventures of three high school robotics teams battling for first place at a national robotics competition in Miami, Florida. It's a no-holds-barred fight to the death with robot carnage everywhere you look. Genius inventor Will builds robots so powerful they're unstoppable...if only they don't destroy themselves first. The Mechanical Misfits are an all girls team stumbling through their first foray into combat robotics and Elizabeth and Danielle are a formidable pair looking to reign supreme during their last year of high school. Bots High follows these students as they design, build and compete at Nationals - all while surviving high school, first love and teenager procrastination. A FilmBuff Presentation.

Tom Daley: Illegal to Be Me

Tom Daley visits the most homophobic countries in the Commonwealth to explore how gay athletes are facing extreme persecution. What can the Commonwealth Games do to help?

Dust to Glory

An action-adventure documentary chronicling the most notorious and dangerous race in the world--the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Rivaling the Indy 500 and 25 Hours of Daytona, the race across Baja's peninsula is unpredictable, grueling and raw--just like the uncharted American West of yesteryear.

Merci Bocuse

A young and ambitious team of chefs face the life-changing challenges of competing in the world's most prestigious culinary competition.

Every Little Step

Follows the plight of real-life dancers as they struggle through auditions for the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line and also investigates the history of the show and the creative minds behind the original and current incarnations.

Eiffel's Race to the Top

Behind the iconic Eiffel Tower lies the story of an incredible challenge to erect a thousand-foot tower that went far beyond a design competition, and marked a major turning point in engineering history. It was the beginning of radical transformation where iron was pitted against stone, engineering against architecture, and modern design against ancients. Press campaigns, lobbying, public conferences, denigration of opposing projects, bragging about big names - all participants engaged in a fierce battle without concession. Using 3D recreations, official sources (reports, letters, drawings...) and intimate archives obtained from their descendants, this film will bring to life this vertical race through a fresh and visual way to mark the centenary of Eiffel death.

Spellbound

This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C.

Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary

Filmmaker S.R. Bindler profiles Texas contestants trying to win a truck by keeping one hand on it longer than everyone else.

Primal Scream: The Lost Memphis Tapes

The programme shows Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie's fascination with music from an early age, listening to the sounds of Elvis and Aretha Franklin before graduating to punk. He talks about his passion for music and how to keep creativity on the right track. In the early 90s the UK music scene was changing - with Oasis and Blur emerging, this alternative rock band was recording in Memphis but suddenly sounded out of step with the music scene.

Pressure Cooker

A committed, passionate teacher tries to make all the difference in the lives of disadvantaged students.

Kings of Pastry

The collar awarded to the winners of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France) is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef - it is a dream and an obsession. The 3-day competition includes everything from delicate chocolates to precarious six foot sugar sculptures and requires that the chefs have extraordinary skill, nerves of steel and luck. The film follows Jacquy Pfeiffer, founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago, as he returns to France to compete against 15 of France's leading pastry chefs. The filmmakers were given first time/exclusive access to this high-stakes drama of passion, sacrifice, disappointment and joy in the quest to have President Sarkozy declare them one of the best in France.

Senna

The remarkable story of Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna, charting his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off, his quest for perfection, and the mythical status he has since attained, is the subject of Senna, a documentary feature that spans the racing legend's years as an F1 driver, from his opening season in 1984 to his untimely death a decade later.

Mass-market retailing: The end of a system?

The supermarket chains used to seem unbeatable, capturing the lion’s share of the grocery market. But for some years now they have been in crisis. In the wake of a fierce price war, retailers are resorting to increasingly aggressive commercial negotiation methods at the expense of suppliers, farmers and producers. Further competition is coming from the tech giants as Amazon and Alibaba invest in the food industry. What are the implications of all these changes on working conditions, the quality of our food and the future of our planet?

Ariane: A Space Epic

The history of the Ariane rocket is a space epic that has seen Europeans unite and innovate to make a place for themselves in the space race. Faced with Soviet and then American supremacy, men and women from the four corners of Europe have achieved the impossible. Ariane has become a true monument, thanks to the passion of those who dreamed of it and to their tenacity in the face of the various obstacles that stood in their way. This undeniable European success is now at a turning point in its history. The new Ariane 6 program is currently being developed to meet the challenges of tomorrow: will it be able to meet the challenges of a more competitive environment than ever before?

4 Waves 1 Hour

The 2013 ASP World Championship was a battle between Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning that came down to just four waves in two 30-minute heats. Join Mick as he describes his journey to the title.

Wild Shetland: Scotland's Viking Frontier

Ewan McGregor narrates a captivating portrait of wild Shetland and traces the course of a breeding season as the animals on these remote islands battle for survival.

Wordplay

From the masters who create the mind-bending diversions to the tense competition at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Patrick Creadon's documentary reveals a fascinating look at a decidedly addictive pastime. Creadon captures New York Times editor Will Shortz at work, talks to celebrity solvers -- including Bill Clinton and Ken Burns -- and presents an intimate look at the national tournament and its competitors.

Become Successful and be the Master of the World

Filmed mostly on a Mini DV camera Gavin has thought of a quick way to become successful and be the master of the world but he has to wait for it all to fall into place… he has to wait for the postman to start production documenting the process of being master of the world.

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.

Around the World

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Odyssey

Six California kids test their brains and talents against students in Odyssey of the Mind, a problem-solving competition requiring mechanical, creative and intellectual skills. With little money and zero adult participation, the teens build a robot to tell a story about bullying, exclusion and mental health. But how does their solution measure up?

The Fittest

In 2019 the fittest athletes on earth took on the unknown and unknowable during four intense days of competition at the CrossFit Games. "The Fittest " captures all the drama as chiseled athletes descend on Madison, Wisconsin, to face a series of trials. On top of the physical challenges, this year the sport grew from 40 men and women, to over 100 of each. But with this new format came cuts of the field, so for the final half of the weekend, only 10 men and 10 women move on to determine who is the fittest. The best among them enter the pantheon of CrossFit giants and earn the right to call themselves the "Fittest on Earth."

A Wee Bit of Scotland

In this Traveltalk series short visit to Scotland, we visit several places with familiar names, including Inverness, capital of the ancient Pictish Kingdom; Loch Ness, home of the famous elusive monster; and Saint Andrews, the birthplace of golf.

Brooklyn Castle

Brooklyn Castle is a documentary about I.S. 318 – an inner-city school where more than 65 percent of students are from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level – that also happens to have the best, most winning junior high school chess team in the country. (If Albert Einstein, who was rated 1800, were to join the team, he’d only rank fifth best.) Chess has transformed the school from one cited in 2003 as a “school in need of improvement” to one of New York City’s best. But a series of recession-driven public school budget cuts now threaten to undermine those hard-won successes.

Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo

Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo' goes behind prison walls to follow convict cowgirls on their journey to the 2007 Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo. In 2006, female inmates were allowed to participate for the first time. In a state with the highest female incarceration rate in the country, these women share common experiences such as broken homes, drug abuse and alienation from their children. Since 1940, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary has held an annual 'Prison Rodeo'. Part Wild West show and part coliseum-esque spectacle, it's one of the last of its kind - a relic of the American penal system. Prisoners compete on wild-broncs and bucking bulls, risking life-long injuries. For inmates like Danny Liles, a 14-year veteran of the rodeo, the chance to battle livestock offers a brief respite from prison life. Within this strange arena the prisoners become the heroes while the public and guards applaud

Renée

"Renee" tells the story of Renee Richards' battle to enter the 1977 U.S. Open as the first transgender tennis player. Simultaneously, it follows her today as she struggles to cope with a life of contradictions and personal conflict. Through interviews with tennis legends, family, friends and experts from the transgender field, a story of perseverance, breakthrough and hardship unfolds.

Scotland: Contains Strong Language

Schooled in Fife, coming of age in a rock ’n’ roll band, then finding her forte was directing temperamental actors, Cora Bissett is no stranger to theatrical Scottish swearing. So who better to present a celebration of Caledonian cursing? This documentary sees Cora sing, swear and scrutinise why Scotland swears so well. Cora begins with the first hurdle – how does one discuss swear words on the BBC? Aunty Beeb is the institution that has been historically priggish about language - always bleeping words and apologising for those that slipped through. So Cora runs a list past BBC Scotland’s head of editorial standards to see what she can get away with.

Space and Light

An award-winning wordless documentary that explores the architecture of the then new St. Peter's Seminary which is now seen as one of the most important post-war buildings in the United Kingdom. The film was made in celebration after architect Jack Coia was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1969. Winner of the Medalla de Bronce at the Fifth Union of International Architects Festival in Madrid (1975).

Night Mail

This documentary short examines the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland on the overnight run from Euston, London to Glasgow.