Paris exposition films (1900)

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

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.

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.

Midnight Ramble

A documentary chronicling the pioneering efforts of black filmmaker William D. Foster in the early years of the industry and Oscar Micheaux's controversial impact on the subsequent "race movies".

Man with a Movie Camera

A cameraman wanders around with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling inventiveness.

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.

Eiffel Tower: Building the Impossible

In 1889, Gustave Eiffel decides to attempt the impossible for the Universal Exhibition in Paris: to build the tallest tower in the world. Before this project, this pioneer and visionary had created more than 300 metal structures around the world.

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.

Dark Days

A cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.

Cinéastes de notre temps : Jean Vigo

Plot unavailable

Once Upon a Vilnius

Vilnius is a city of notable historical heritage and unique character currently undergoing considerable changes. Some of the life fragments our camera has recorded are no more. The film, therefore, is a testimony to that which has faded into oblivion, and a glimpse into what is to come.

À l'Assaut de la Tour Eiffel

Four experienced mountaineers climb the three floors of the Eiffel Tower through the pillars of the building. A police officer, overwhelmed by the events, does not succeed in arresting the intrepid who reach the summit with agility under the stunned eyes of tourists. They then abseil and happily throw themselves into the Seine to celebrate the feat.

Decasia: The State of Decay

A meditation on the human quest to transcend physicality, constructed from decaying archival footage and set to an original symphonic score.

Broads

The social democrats of the sixties and seventies worked on their grand plan to build a highway network in Germany that every German citizen could reach within five minutes of their home. The little film hangs around between and on the streets of this network - where the country discos, pedestrian zones, shopping centers, hospitals and roads home are behind noise barriers.

Eiffel, les derniers secrets

Plot unavailable

Don't Call It "Ghost Town"

Two unique perspectives on the city of Liverpool come from interviews with the director's parents.

The Magic of Méliès

A walk through the life and work of the brilliant French filmmaker Georges Méliès (1861-1938), pioneer of special and visual effects.

The Ground We Won

With great bawdiness and backbone, a rugby team made up of farmers strive to redeem themselves from a long run of bitter losses. In the face of the hefty demands of farming and fatherhood, the Saturday game becomes the focus of the men’s passions and the ground on which their worth is proved. ‘The Ground We Won’ is a highly authentic, slice of life film about the challenges and joys of manhood, as seen through the rites and rituals of a rural New Zealand rugby club.

Coombs

Routine Pleasures, Slow Cinema.

Meet Me in Paris

Three single friends travel to Paris for ten days for the journey of a lifetime and in search of true love. From 'meet cutes' at the Luxembourg Gardens, to strolls down the tree-lined Champs-Élysées, will first dates lead to happily ever after or heartbreak?

Elementa

A black-and-white visual meditation of wilderness and the elements. Wildlife filmmaker Richard Sidey returns to the triptych format for a cinematic experience like no other.

Valparaiso

In 1962 Joris Ivens was invited to Chile for teaching and filmmaking. Together with students he made …A Valparaíso, one of his most poetic films. Contrasting the prestigious history of the seaport with the present the film sketches a portrait of the city, built on 42 hills, with its wealth and poverty, its daily life on the streets, the stairs, the rack railways and in the bars. Although the port has lost its importance, the rich past is still present in the impoverished city. The film echoes this ambiguous situation in its dialectical poetic style, interweaving the daily life reality (of 1963) with the history of the city and changing from black and white to colour, finally leaving us with hopeful perspective for the children who are playing on the stairs and hills of this beautiful town.

The True Legend of the Eiffel Tower

This movie is a docudrama relating the early history of the Eiffel Tower: From the planning to its first military use.

Monty Python: Before the Flying Circus

Discover how six seemingly ordinary but supremely talented men became Monty Python, sketch comedy's inspired group of lunatics who turned such unlikely sources of inspiration as Spam, dead parrots and the Inquisition into enduring punch lines. This entertaining documentary includes interviews with members of the troupe, as well as home movies, photos and rare recordings from Monty Python's early years.

Häxan

Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen's legendary film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious-- instead it's a witches' brew of the scary, gross, and darkly humorous.

The Extraordinary Voyage

An account of the extraordinary life of film pioneer Georges Méliès (1861-1938) and the amazing story of the copy in color of his masterpiece A Trip to the Moon (1902), unexpectedly found in Spain and restored thanks to the heroic efforts of a group of true cinema lovers.

The Forest and The Sea

A short film featuring a coastal forest and the rocky coastline of downeast Maine.

Tide Pools

The sun rises over the tide pools of coastal Maine.

Accordion Player

The last remaining film of Le Prince's LPCCP Type-1 MkII single-lens camera is a sequence of frames of his son, Adolphe Le Prince, playing a diatonic button accordion. It was recorded on the steps of the house of Joseph Whitley, Adolphe's grandfather.

Dickson Experimental Sound Film

William K.L. Dickson plays the violin while two men dance. This is the oldest surviving sound film where sound is recorded on the phonograph.

Demolition of a Wall

Auguste Lumière directs four workers in the demolition of an old wall at the Lumière factory. One worker is pressing the wall inwards with a jackscrew, while another is pushing it with a pick. When the wall hits the ground, a cloud of white dust whirls up. Three workers continue the demolition of the wall with picks.

Rain

A lyrical portrait of Amsterdam and its changing appearance during a rain-shower.

An American in Tangier

Made in the sunset years of Paul Bowles’ life, the film sees the eccentric author and composer reminisce on how he ended up in Morocco.