Blaxploitalian: 100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema (2016)

The Devil and Father Amorth

William Friedkin attends an exorcism with Father Gabriele Amorth, as he treats an Italian woman named Cristina for the ninth time. Prior to filming, Cristina had purportedly been experiencing behavioural changes and “fits” that could not be explained by psychiatry, and which became worse during Christian holidays.

The Real Beauty and the Beast

It's a condition known as "hypertrichosis" or "Ambras Syndrome," but in the 1500s it would transform one man into a national sensation and iconic fairy-tale character. His name: Petrus Gonsalvus, more commonly known today as the hairy hero of Beauty and the Beast.

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.

Sexo en el plató

How are the sex scenes filmed? What tricks are used to fake the desire? How do the interpreters prepare and feel? Spanish actors and directors talk about the most intimate side of acting, about the tricks and work methods when narrating exposed sex. In Spain the general rule is that there are no rules. Each film, each interpreter, faces it in very different ways.

For the Love of Cats

In the small mountain town of Barga, Italy, a group of four filmmakers speak with local cat lovers and immerse themselves in the unique world of street-trotting felines and Gattaras.

Visioni di case che crollano

The countryside around the Po delta is dotted with abandoned houses and farmhouses. The landscape appears desertic, almost humanless. Some people shares stories about their bond with the land while the italian writer Gianni Celati documents the tragedy and the loss of values in this new landscape of desolation, with a superb narrative style.

Cinemania

This documentary about the culture of intense cinephilia in New York City reveals the impassioned world of five obsessed movie buffs. These human encyclopedias of cinema see two to five films a day, and from 600 to 2,000 films per year. This is the story of their lives, their memories, their unbending habits and the films they love.

I Stay Home

On the morning of 10 March 2020 all Italians woke up in quarantine. Io Resto a Casa ("I Stay Home") depicts the filmmaker's first 14 days of the Italian lockdown, without ever leaving the house, made entirely on the web through the stories of five Youtubers and dozens of videos and photographs made and shared all over Italy. Fourteen days of fears, hopes, enthusiasm, boredom, normality and extraordinariness. Fourteen days that we will always remember.

My Voyage to Italy

World-renowned director Martin Scorsese narrates this journey through his favorites in Italian cinema.

Marcello Mastroianni, irrésistiblement libre

The 1960s opened with La Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini and its unforgettable lead: Marcello Mastroianni. The actor seemed to glide effortlessly through his roles — and through life — as if to say that life is not all that serious, or perhaps that it is far too serious not to be laughed at. But what kind of man was hiding behind the actor with the handsome, boyish looks, who appeared so gentle and nonchalant?

Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies

Hollywood is a town of tinsel and glamour; but there is another Hollywood, a place where maverick independent exploitation filmmakers went toe to toe with the big guys and came out on top.

Ferrari 312B

In a race against time and all odds, the revolutionary F1 racing car Ferrari 312B will get back on the Monaco circuit, 46 years later, under the wing of it’s creator, the genius engineer Mauro Forghieri.

Never Be Boring: Billy Wilder

A funny walk through the life story of Billy Wilder (1906-2002), a cinematic genius; a portrait of a filmmaker who never was a boring man, a superb mind who had ten commandments, of which the first nine were: “Thou shalt not bore.”

The Celluloid Closet

Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Film contains fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s.

Die Ludolfs - Der Film

The four brothers Peter, Uwe, Manni and Günter live together in the German town of Dernbach and run what is probably the most chaotic car recycling business in Germany. Nothing is the same here as in other junkyards. Over four million spare parts lie in huge piles in the brothers' warehouse. Nevertheless, they manage to find just the right spare part time and time again and get a car back into shape.

Belmondo, le magnifique

With more than 70 films and 160 million cumulative tickets in France, Jean-Paul Belmondo is one of the essential stars of French cinema.

We Remember Marilyn

We Remember Marilyn. Marilyn Monroe transforms from Norma Jean, a cuddly teenager, into the most recognizable face and body in the world in these home movies, photos and film clips which span her early bit parts to her most known roles.

About Max

The intimate and passionate portrait of the late Max Croci in a documentary that recalls the human and cultural depth with the testimonies of friends and colleagues.

Speaking of Buñuel

Surrealist master Luis Buñuel is a towering figure in the world of cinema history, directing such groundbreaking works as Un Chien Andalou, Exterminating Angels, and That Obscure Object of Desire, yet his personal life was clouded in myth and paradox. Though sexually diffident, he frequently worked in the erotic drama genre; though personally quite conservative, his films are florid, flamboyant, and utterly bizarre.

Sad Hill Unearthed

Province of Burgos, northern Spain, October 2015. A group of fans undertake the titanic task of restoring the location of the last scene of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the mythical spaghetti western directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone in 1966.

The Beast Within: Making Alien

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Alien,” the terrifying classic about a spaceship crew trapped with a hideous monster that's hunting them one by one.

The Eyes of Dante

He is considered the greatest European poet of the Middle Ages and his work unfolds the whole panopticon of occidental education – theology, philosophy, sciences, politics and literature. But who has really read it, the “Divine Comedy”? Who knows more of its creator Dante Alighieri than that he had an eagle-like profile and was in love with a woman named Beatrice? 700 years after Dante’s death, the filmmaker Adolfo Conti travels through Italy with Dante’s words in mind and eyes to see the world as Dante did. As the film encounters the beauty of arts and the Tuscan landscape, the forces of nature, a dramatic life story is unfolded.

Charlie Chaplin: A Tramp's Life

A biographical documentary about the great British actor and director Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977), from rags to riches, from the slums of London to glory.

100 Years of Japanese Cinema

The story of the first century of Japanese cinema from the point of view of the controversial Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Ōshima.

Sherlock Holmes Against Conan Doyle

130 years after he was created, Sherlock Holmes is a literary character who exceeded his author's expectations and is known throughout the world. Find out the true story behind the author, Conan Doyle, and his struggle to come to terms with the phenomenon that is Sherlock Holmes.

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One

In Manhattan's Central Park, a film crew directed by William Greaves is shooting a screen test with various pairs of actors. It's a confrontation between a couple: he demands to know what's wrong, she challenges his sexual orientation. Cameras shoot the exchange, and another camera records Greaves and his crew. Sometimes we watch the crew discussing this scene, its language, and the process of making a movie. Is there such a thing as natural language? Are all things related to sex? The camera records distractions - a woman rides horseback past them; a garrulous homeless vet who sleeps in the park chats them up. What's the nature of making a movie?

Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool

Friends, family, co-stars and admirers of actor Steve McQueen talk about his life and his movie career.

La trattativa

What are we talking about when we talk about negotiations? About the state's concessions to the Mafia in exchange for ending the massacres? About who assassinated Falcone and Borsellino? Of the eternal coexistence between the Mafia and politics? Between the mafia and the church? Between the Mafia and law enforcement? Or is there more? A group of actors enacts the most relevant episodes of the affair known as the Mafia-state negotiation, impersonating mobsters, secret service agents, high officials, magistrates, victims and murderers, Freemasons, honest and courageous people, and courageous people up to a point. Thus one of the most intricate events in our history becomes an exciting tale.

Azzurri: Road to Wembley

A docu-film that traces the victorious ride of Mancini's Azzurri, from the debut match to the final against England. A troupe lived with the Azzurri for a month, to bring the spectators into the lives of the players and all the members of the staff, between training sessions, matches, travels and celebrations. An adventure told through the voices of the protagonists, who confided dreams, joys, pains and hopes to the cameras. "Blue Dream, the road to Wembley" is the completion of a project started a year ago together with the FIGC, to tell the national team's approach to the European Championships through the 4 episodes aired in the days immediately preceding the European Championship, bringing the new television language of the docu-series to one of the most important time slots of the first generalist network. "Blue Dream, the road to Wembley" is a project of the New Formats Development Department

Una festa per la città - Venezia 1973

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Disney: Through the Looking Glass

Tito del Amo, a passionate 72-year-old researcher, takes the final step to unravel the enigma about the alleged Spanish origin of the American cartoonist Walt Disney, making the same journey that his supposed mother made to give him up for adoption in Chicago. A journey that begins in Mojácar, Almería, Spain, and ends in New York. An exciting adventure, like Alicia's through the looking glass, to discover what is truth and what is not, with an unexpected result.

BaadAsssss Cinema

With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.

Here I Am...Here You Are

Eccomi ... Eccoti unfolds as a virtual road trip navigating between Italy and Lebanon. Conditioned to live in a long-distance relationship with his partner because of strict European visa regulations, the director patches together the shared moments in an attempt to create a possible day-to-day reality for their couple. With a lyrical, ambient soundscape set atop a dreamy, atmospheric visual style that oscillates between still photography and moving images, the film explores what it means to be gay in contemporary Beirut and existential discomfort that blocks one from reaching a sense of complete-ness. Does such in-completeness have to do, in particular, with being gay? Or is it related to a grander malaise endemic to the human condition?

Eldorado

Drawing inspiration from his personal encounter with the Italian refugee child Giovanna during World War II, Markus Imhoof tells how refugees and migrants are treated today: on the Mediterranean Sea, in Lebanon, in Italy, in Germany and in Switzerland.

Suddenly, Last Winter

Luca and Gustav, two men in their 30s, have been a stable couple for eight years. Nothing to get worked up about in a western European country, you would think – and you’d be wrong. Even in Euroland there are places where the acknowledgment of the basic civil rights of same-sex couples is a hot issue. Suddenly, Gustav’s and Luca’s quiet private life has been turned upside down. When the Italian center-left coalition initiates legislation about same-sex partnerships in Italy, a national debate is triggered instantly. In a matter of days it turns into the hottest political and cultural issue on the national agenda while intolerant homophobic attacks increase dramatically.