Dark Side Of The Lens (2010)

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.

Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston?

Daniel Johnston stars in this psychedelic short film about an aging musician coming to terms with the dreams of yesteryear.

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.

A 3 Minute Hug

As daylight breaks between the border cities of El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, undocumented migrants and their relatives, divided by a wall, prepare to participate in an activist event. For three minutes, they’ll embrace in no man’s land for the briefest and sweetest of reunions.

Haida Carver

On Canada's Pacific coast this film finds a young Haida artist, Robert Davidson, shaping miniature totems from argillite, a jet-like stone. The film follows the artist to the island where he finds the stone, and then shows how he carves it in the manner of his grandfather, who taught him the craft.

Riding Giants

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

White Earth

An oil boom has drawn thousands to America’s Northern Plains in search of work. Against the backdrop of a cruel North Dakota winter, the stories of three children and an immigrant mother intertwine among themes of innocence, home, and the American Dream.

In Memoriam

A hotel room and a few sweets, their wrappers stacked like gold leaf... An interview with Chantal Akerman and ongoing coverage of the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, and what emerges is a genuine tragedy, as simple as Racine's.

To Thine Own Self Be True

An experimental study of nature through three stories and how we have destroyed it.

Cosmic Voyage

The Academy Award® nominee Cosmic Voyage combines live action with state-of-the-art computer-generated imagery to pinpoint where humans fit in our ever-expanding universe. Highlighting this journey is a "cosmic zoom" based on the powers of 10, extending from the Earth to the largest observable structures in the universe, and then back to the subnuclear realm.

Somos animales

Tania and Cocteau, a cat that comes from the not too distant future, tell the story of the passage of animals through the world and their relationship with humans.

Buba

This documentary film is about one of Georgia's regions - Racha. The title of the film is taken from the name of one of Racha's high mountain villages. It tells about the poorest in society living in the mountains and the rise of the SSSR. The product of a remarkable collaboration between the first Georgian female filmmaker and the leading Georgian avant-garde artist David Kakabadze.

CATANAS POINT - A Surf Documentary

"CATANAS POINT - A Surf Documentary" portrays the reality of the sport of surfing in Angola and compares it with what surfing was like in Brazil from the 1980s to the present day.

Lua Morales - The Documentary

Documentary about the creative process of photographer Lua Morales, produced by the studio Bad Chinchilla.

Winged Migration

This documentary follows various migratory bird species on their long journeys from their summer homes to the equator and back, covering thousands of miles and navigating by the stars. These arduous treks are crucial for survival, seeking hospitable climates and food sources. Birds face numerous challenges, including crossing oceans and evading predators, illness, and injury. Although migrations are undertaken as a community, birds disperse into family units once they reach their destinations, and every continent is affected by these migrations, hosting migratory bird species at least part of the year.

Vios

“At which point do you let go?…” – This is the central question of “Vios”, a short documentary that tracks the last days of a dog suffering from terminal cancer and how its owners struggle with the critical decision: whether or not to euthanise her. Shot over a 6-month period by the owners, Wendy and Ler, this intimate documentary is an unfettered access into the lives of the flmmakers, exposing their deepest vulnerabilities in face of this crisis, which had crushed their fnances and strained their relationship. Through their personal story, Wendy and Ler hope to create more awareness for dogs with cancer in Singapore and around the world.

Wings of Kyrgyzstan

As „wings of men“ they became the faithful companion of a great nomadic nation thousands of years ago. Today, 28 years after the Soviet occupation, the little horse is an essential part of the cultural heritage and the search for identity of the modern Kyrgyz people. Based on its own story, a so called „good brown horse“ leads through the film and offers an insight of what it could mean to be „todays wings of men“. Told by a horse’s voice and through its eyes, this short film still is a documentary, but also a poetic journey to a nomadic culture.

Half a Life

After a traumatic encounter, a young gay Egyptian joins the LGBT rights movement. When his safety is jeopardized, he must choose whether to stay in the country he loves or seek asylum elsewhere as a refugee. "Half a Life" is a timely story of activism and hope, set in the increasingly dangerous, oppressive, and unstable social climate of Egypt today.

Under an Arctic Sky

Six fearless surfers travel to the north coast of Iceland to ride waves unlike anything they've ever experienced, captured with high-tech cameras.

The Dark Hobby

The Hawai'ian Islands are ground zero for the aquarium trade who capture and traffic reef fish for hobbyists’ tanks, decimating the reef, ocean and earth’s oxygen. Native Hawai'ians, conservationists, scientists, aquarium fish collectors and breeders are locked in a controversy over the stunning “treasure of Hawai'i” – the ornamental fish.

I Like It Like It Was

In 1991 three teen girls called Midi, Maxiand Efti became celebrities over night and the suburb Akalla was suddenly known all over Sweden. Fifteen years later two old friends try to make a film about the phenomenon. But Midi, Maxi and Efti no longer have contact, and they are not at all interested in talking about the past. A melancholically journey to the past by two friends who have a hard time letting go. "I like it like it is and I like it like it was but I'm not so sure any more any any more..." From the song "Bad Bad Boys" by Midi, Maxi & Efti.

The First Photo of Mine Ever Taken

A one-frame long experimental short film from Yugoslavia.

Brasil At A Glance

A short filmed in Brasil (Brazil). The short showcases the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, mainly the country side.

The Role of Chance

"The Role of Chance" ("La part du hasard") focuses exclusively on drawing and painting techniques used by the painter Henri Dimier. Shot over several weeks in the same artist's studio, the film shows works in their different phases, processes rarely explained or little known. It also addresses many practical issues (choice of paper, pigment grinding, reports drawings, put the tiles, cliches, etc) as well as broader questions of method and inspiration (use of space, the role of contours, power of suggestion perspectives, use of random processes). Patrick Bokanowski sought with this film to restore the spirit of this teaching, showing how to bend a note or sometimes revealing an essential mystery of creation.