The Art of Acid (2018)

Bomb It

Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action on five continents, the documentary tells the story of graffiti from its origins in prehistoric cave paintings thru its notorious explosion in New York City during the 70’s and 80’s, then follows the flames as they paint the globe.

Quilty: Painting the Shadows

This fascinating exploration of the creative process follows one of Australia's leading contemporary artists Ben Quilty, as he completes one of his most challenging art works.

Enrico Caruso: A Voice for the Ages

Born in 1873 in a poor neighbourhood in Naples, Enrico Caruso conquered the world with his singing voice. At the age of 27 he got a contract at the Scala in Milan, and his already considerable popularity skyrocketed thanks to the invention of the gramophone. He sold millions of records, and garnered international acclaim. In 1903 he moved to New York to perform at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera, in the role of Radames. But his riches and fame attracted the attention of the Mafia, who started blackmailing him. He felt trapped by his fame and died at just 48 years old. Biographer Francesco Canessa, the music critic Jürgen Kesting and the composer Micha Hamel explain the ups and downs of the man behind the timeless Italian voice.

Satan in the Suburbs

Satan in the Suburbs tells the shocking story of a grisly ritualistic murder in the quiet bedroom community of Northport, Long Island in the summer of 1984. The killing, it soon emerged, was linked to a teen satanic cult. Perhaps more disturbing than the details of the murder itself was the revelation of a conspiracy of silence among the town's teenagers, many of whom had been aware of the, e killing in the two weeks before an anonymous call finally tipped off local police. 17- year-old Ricky Kasso was arrested and confessed to the crime; five days later, he hung himself in his holding cell. Kasso's friend Jimmy Troiano also. confessed, but was acquitted after jurors learned that he was beaten by local police. The murder shocked the local community and reverberated nationally, with some uninformed observers rushing to scapegoat rock music as the cause.

Epifania

A young man, in his epiphany, shares a brief journey from his youth, revealing what drives him to grow through art.

Faces Places

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

Semi Colin

Challenging all notions of genre, Semi Colin is a living, breathing art installation. Part performance, part art, part social comment, Colin philosophizes on his life's obsessive work as an erotic artist.

Shunga: The Lost Japanese Erotica

In the foundation of the culture of Japanese MANGA and animation, there lies the humor filled art form, shunga. Shunga is a type of Japanese art by famous ukiyo-e artists of the Edo Period, such as Utamaro, Hokusai, and Kiyonaga, but the artform’s development was thwarted by social norms that tabooed sex. The film Introduces the world of shunga through enthusiasts - collectors, curators, and scholars, including Andrew Gerstle who inspired The British Museum’s historical shunga exhibition in 2013 and Michael Fornitz who owns an auction house in Denmark. Exploring the significance of shunga by analyzing it from historical, cultural, artistic and contemporary female points of view.

Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition

With loans from across the world, this major retrospective will bring together Vermeer’s most famous masterpieces including Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Geographer, The Milkmaid, The Little Street, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, and Woman Holding a Balance. This film invites audiences to a private view of the exhibition, accompanied by the director of the Rijksmuseum and the curator of the show.

The Price of Everything

Featuring collectors, dealers, auctioneers and a rich range of artists, including market darlings George Condo, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, this documentary examines the role of art and artistic passion in today’s money-driven, consumer-based society.

How Do You See Me?

How Do You See Me? is a Brazilian documentary feature that entwines both experienced actors and beginners to explore the hardships and the happiness that are inherent to the job when detached from the glam and glitz of the gossip industry, creating a diverse and comprehensive mosaic of what it means to be an actor in Brazil, a country so full of contradictions. The film brings forward a reality that the masses usually don't get to know: the men and women moved by a deep passion for acting and touching people. With Julio Adrião, Matheus Nachtergaele, José Celso Martinez, Cássia Kis, Nanda Costa, Babu Santana, Luciano Vidigal and Letícia Sabatella, among others.

Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace

Known for his vibrant reinterpretations of classical portraits featuring African-American men, New York-based painter Kehinde Wiley has turned the practice of portraiture on its head and in the process has taken the art world by storm.

Reverón

Directed by Margot Benacerraf, Reverón is a poetic and visually striking documentary that delves into the life and artistic vision of Venezuelan painter Armando Reverón. Set in the sun-drenched coastal landscape of Macuto, where the artist lived in near isolation, the film captures his eccentric lifestyle and unique creative process. Through evocative imagery and a contemplative narrative, Reverón explores his deep connection to nature, his experiments with light and texture, and his profound artistic genius. This seminal work stands as a tribute to one of Venezuela’s most influential painters and a landmark in Latin American documentary filmmaking.

What Did You Take?

Stresses recognition and treatment of drug abuse emergencies, accurate identification of symptoms, and immediate clinical procedures. Presents scenes of actual cases in the emergency room and adjoining physician's offices of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. Viewers observe emergency treatment of patients in the major classes of drugs commonly abused, opiates, depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens. The film demonstrates to health professionals that successful management of drug overdoses can save most lives and avert additional organic and psychiatric complications.

Narcotics, Why Not?

This film presents a series of extemporaneous interviews with teenagers and young adults who have taken narcotics for "kicks," "association," or "curiosity." Residents of the California Rehabilitation Center relate how they were introduced to narcotics, why they wished they had not used drugs or narcotics, and what the future holds for them. Film is shot in Hollywood, Calif.

Ashes and Snow

Ashes and Snow, a film by Gregory Colbert, uses both still and movie cameras to explore extraordinary interactions between humans and animals. The 60-minute feature is a poetic narrative rather than a documentary. It aims to lift the natural and artificial barriers between humans and other species, dissolving the distance that exists between them.

Kokoschka: Work and Life

Painter, poet and playwright, teacher and freethinker, lover and traveler, Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) was a rare individual who remained lucid and passionate throughout his long life.

Pablo Picasso et Françoise Gilot : la femme qui dit non

Painter Françoise Gilot shared Pablo Picasso's life from 1943 to 1953. This union nourished their respective artistic creations.

Max Gimblett: Original Mind

Max Gimblett: Original Mind documents the life and process of eccentric, creative genius Max Gimblett. One of New Zealand’s most successful and internationally prominent living painters, Gimblett has been working in America since 1962. The filmmakers spent a week in Gimblett’s Soho loft where he and his devoted studio assistants generously revealed the techniques and philosophy behind his beautiful art.

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.

Crumb

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.

Pedro

'Pedro', Liora Spilk's debut feature, paints a humorous and emotional portrait of Pedro Friedeberg, a Mexican plastic artist who became famous in the sixties for the creation of the hand chair. Between grumblings, ironies, reflections on art and disagreements, 'Pedro' achieves an endearing portrait of Friedeberg, and at the same time presents a tribute to friendship and creation.

What the Darkness Cannot Extinguish: The Storytelling Madness of Clifford George

A feature-length documentary celebrating the life and work of Trinity Bay artist and storyteller Clifford George.

Namatjira Project

From the remote Australian desert to the opulence of Buckingham Palace - Namatjira Project is the iconic story of the Namatjira family, tracing their quest for justice.

LSD: The Beyond Within

This refreshingly frank and impartial study of the discovery and development of the notorious hallucinogenic drug is notably free of moral judgmental, and features contributions from such legendary heroes of psychedelia as Albert Hoffman - the Swiss scientist who discovered the drug - Aldous Huxley - author of 'The Doors of Perception' - Ken Kesey - author of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.