An Act of Affection (2020)

Liminality & Communitas

After the sunset, a man wonders between the edges of the highways gathering edible roadkill animals.

Behind the Lens

When a student documentary crew decides to interview Julia, a puzzling young woman willing to share her sensitive past, the project grows increasingly uncomfortable for the subject as the director's relentless scrutiny and unethical transgressions soon start to blur the lines between reality and performance.

Black Girl in Bloom

St. Louis florist Darien Burress launches her small business while preparing to compete at Art in Bloom, the St. Louis Art Museum's annual festival celebrating floral design and the fine arts.

A Portrait of N. B.

Through his own photographs, the Basque artist Néstor Basterretxea (1924-2014) is portrayed by the art critic and exhibition curator Peio Aguirre, a great connoisseur of his work and personal archives.

Events in a Cloud Chamber

In 1969, Akbar Padamsee, one of the pioneers of Modern Indian painting, made a visionary 16mm film called Events in a Cloud Chamber. This was one of the only Indian experimental films ever made. The print is now lost and no copies exist. Over 40 years later, filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia worked with Padamsee, now 89 years old, to remake the film.

Seven Years in May

One night seven years ago, Rafael came home after work and discovered that people he did not know had come looking for him. He immediately fled, without looking back. From that moment on, his life changed, as if that night had never ended. One evening, around an improvised fire near a factory, he decides to confide his journey to a stranger. Rafael’s intimate account meets the collective testimony of an entire nation oppressed by poverty, police repression and institutional corruption.

Hating Peter Tatchell

The powerful and inspiring true story of the controversial human rights campaigner whose provocative acts of civil diso bedience rocked the British establishment, revolutionised attitudes to homosexuality and exposed world tyrants. As social attitudes change and history vindicates Peter's stance on gay rights, his David versus Goliath battles gradually win him status as a national treasure. The film follows Peter as he embarks on his riskiest crusade yet by seeking to disrupt the FIFA World Cup in Moscow to draw attention to the persecution of LGBT+ people in Russia and Chechnya.

The Jump

At 22, Alain is already a living legend in Marseille. Of all the young divers who jump from the Corniche, he is the only one to dive head and neck forward "to break the water". If the jump allows him to control his impulses, he knows that he will not be able to brave forever the fear of heights.

Good morning, Margarita

«All my mom’s teeth fell out, I’m only going for about three months and I return» was what Pancho dreamed of fulfilling when he crossed the US border without papers, but an accident during the trip transformed his life and his aunt Margarita.

AIDS Diva: The Legend of Connie Norman

Seizing her power as she confronts her mortality, trailblazing trans activist Connie Norman evolves as an irrepressible, challenging and soulful voice for the AIDS and queer communities of early 90's Los Angeles.

Mermaid

Documentary that tells the story of Vianney Trejo, a young woman who struggles every day despite her disability. We go through her daily routine, as well as her passion, swimming, where she has consistently achieved triumphs and has been considered for international competitions.

Wig

Spotlighting the art of drag, and centered on the New York staple Wigstock, this documentary showcases the personalities and performances that inform the ways we understand queerness, art and identity today.

Night and Fog

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

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.

Ruptured City

Filmed mostly with drones, this short film shows what happened before, during and after the devastating earthquake that struck Mexico City in September 19, 2017. Through sound recordings of the rescue operations, accounts from survivors and journalistic chronicles, this film reflects the uncertainty and bewilderment caused by the quake.

The Mute's House

A building in Israeli Hebron, which has been deserted by its Palestinian occupants, is called 'The Mute's House' by the Israeli soldiers stationed there and by the tour guides who pass by daily. The building's only occupants are a deaf woman, Sahar, and her 8-year-old son, Yousef. The family's unique story, in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, unfolds through the eyes of the young and charismatic Yousef, as he goes through his daily routine on both sides of the torn city.

Vivre nos vies

Through the spoken stories and testimonies of 4 LGBTQ+ people over 40 years old about their lives, their joys, their hopes, their struggles, and their advice, this documentary aims to contribute to an archive, to the construction of a queer history. But also to the bridging of the communication gap between generations, showing young queer people that it is possible to have a long and happy life. What are the differences and similarities between their lived experience and the one of younger LGBTQ+ people? What can we learn from them and what should we aim to overcome? What links unify this 'community' and what debates split through it? But more than anything: what does it mean to grow old whilst being gay, lesbian, bi, trans, non-binary...? What does that look like? What does the future, which is sometimes so complicated to imagine, have on hold for us?

Revealed: Otto By Otto

Inspired to make an original, intimate family portrait, Gracie Otto directs a feature length documentary on her father, Barry Otto, whose career in Australian theatre, film and television has spanned more than 50 years. Baz as he is affectionately known is one of a kind - a truly creative, endearing and extremely eccentric personality who embraces the serious and the silly. This story is about Gracie's relationship with her father, in the twilight of his career and his life, as she tries to capture his memories, before his memory disappears. This is not a traditional biopic, but a deeply personal, artistic and cinematic reflection. Sometimes poignant in its exploration of deteriorating health, the film looks at the world through Baz's eyes, an ode to living a passionate life, that both honours him and preserves his memory.

Paparazzi

Paparazzi explores the relationship between Brigitte Bardot and groups of invasive photographers attempting to photograph her while she works on the set of Jean-Luc Godard's film Le Mépris (Contempt). Through video footage of Bardot, interviews with the paparazzi, and still photos of Bardot from magazine covers and elsewhere, director Rozier investigates some of the ramifications of international movie stardom, specifically the loss of privacy to the paparazzi. The film explains the shooting of the film on the island of Capri, and the photographers' valiant, even foolishly dangerous, attempts to get a photograph of Bardot.

Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story

A former U.S. Navy Seal seeks life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness living life as a transgender woman.

That Guy Dick Miller

Documentary about veteran character actor Dick Miller, whose career in and outside of Hollywood has spanned almost 200 films across six decades, featuring a diverse range of interviews with directors, co-stars, and contemporaries.

What Is a Woman?

Matt Walsh's controversial doc challenges radical gender ideology through provocative interviews and humor.

The World's Worst Place to Be Gay?

Scott Mills travels to Uganda where the death penalty could soon be introduced for being gay. The gay Radio 1 DJ finds out what it's like to live in a society which persecutes people like him and meets those who are leading the hate campaign.

Le Clitoris

Women are lucky, they get to have the only organ in the human body dedicated exclusively for pleasure: the clitoris! In this humorous and instructive animated documentary, find out its unrecognized anatomy and its unknown herstory.

I Love You, East Garrison (A Video Essay by Haley Hoult)

Haley Hoult, a student of Est Harrison High, creates a sarcastic video essay about his school.

The Romance of Celluloid

Several behind the scenes aspects of the movie-making business, which results in the enjoyment the movie going public has in going to the theater, are presented. They include: the production of celluloid aka film stock, the materials used in the production of which include cotton and silver; construction crews who build sets including those to look like cities, towns and villages around the world; a visit with Jack Dawn who demonstrates the process of creating a makeup design; the screen testing process, where many an acting hopeful gets his/her start; the work of the candid camera man, the prying eyes behind the movie camera; a visit with Adrian, who designs the clothes worn by many of the stars on screen; and a visit with Herbert Stothart as he conducts his musical score for Conquest (1937). These behind the scenes looks provide the opportunity to get acquainted with the cavalcade of MGM stars and their productions that will grace the silver screen in the 1937/38 movie season.