documentaries
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- DirectorWillem BaptistStarsStefanie SchneiderStephen HerchenChris BonanosINSTANT DREAMS tells the story of a group of scientist who are trying to unravel the chemical formula of Polaroid and the Polaroid-users that eagerly await its rebirth. Each in their own way tries to keeps their instant dream alive.
- DirectorRichard BergeBonni CohenNicole NewnhamStarsJoan AllenE. Randol SchoenbergMaria AltmannThe story of Nazi Germany's plundering of Europe's great works of art during World War II and Allied efforts to minimize the damage.
- DirectorVanessa GouldStarsErik D. DemaineMartin L. DemaineVincent FlodererDepicts a cast of fine artists and eccentric scientists (from MIT and NASA) who have devoted their lives to the unlikely medium of modern origami. Through their determination to reinterpret the world in paper, they arouse a fascinating mix of sensibilities towards art, form, expressiveness, creativity and meaning.
- DirectorChristina ClausenStarsFab 5 FreddyJeffrey DeitchJulia GruenA portrait of New York artist Keith Haring.
- DirectorJohn MullenStarsAndrew Graham-DixonDocumentary in which Andrew Graham-Dixon reveals how the Medici family transformed Florence through sculpture, painting, and architecture and created a world where masterpieces fetch millions today.
- DirectorRandall WrightStarsDavid HockneyMichael BovaArtist David Hockney discusses his theory that artists were secretly using optical devices such as mirrors and lenses in creating their work as early as the 15th century. Examples from Flemish and Italian art are studied as he examines how famous paintings have had their noted mysteries newly solved; he also makes comparisons to modern film and digital imagery.
- DirectorJean-Christophe AvertyStarsGala DalíDonyale LunaTony KinaA documentary about surrealist artist Salvador Dali, narrated by Orson Welles.
- DirectorDavid BickerstaffMonet is perhaps the most famous painter of gardens, but there were many artists who were inspired by cultivated nature including Van Gogh, Bonnard, Pissarro and Matisse.
- StarsRoger ScrutonContemporary philosopher Roger Scruton presents a fascinating argument for the importance of beauty in our art and in our lives, and explores what truly is and is not beautiful, regardless of its beholder.
- DirectorJohn W. WalterStarsJoseph IalacciRichard FeigenFrances BeattyInterviews with Christo, Chuck Close, Roy Lichtenstein, Judith Malina, James Rosenquist and others help illuminate the life and work of Warhol contemporary Ray Johnson.
- DirectorMartin LavutStarsPeter MillerMickey BarnettCharlotte LaceyDiscover an American master portrait photographer, his influence on the modern Manhattan art world, and the legacy he left behind in his hometown of Heber Springs, Arkansas.
- DirectorJill NichollsThe story of Vivian Maier a nanny in 60-70's New York and Chicago who, unbeknownst to many, had a secret passion for photography. Her incredible body of work, only discovered after her death, lives on and has established her as one of the master street photographers.
- DirectorThom AndersenFay AndersenMorgan FisherStarsDean StockwellEadweard MuybridgeA documentary film about the English photographer Eadweard Muybridge.
- DirectorJesper WachtmeisterStarsPeter CookJacque FrescoBuckminster FullerThis film takes the viewer on a journey through possible and impossible architecture projects - from the beginning of the 20th century to today. From concrete illusions of grandeur to round grass covered dwellings under ground. The viewer will meet world famous architects and visionaries like Buckminster Fuller and Le Corbusier and experience their visions and ideas of how to build us a better world. With the help of animations unrealized projects come to life in this documentary that shows astounding visions of a world - as it could have been. Since the end of the 19th century industrialized man has been confronted with new kinds of possibilities and problems, all of which in one way or another are the consequences of a storm of technological progress. Amidst the smoke and wars, architects and artists saw early on that this was a world full of possibilities, with plenty of room for visionary ideas. They were motivated and driven by the problems of the day, be it a shortage of housing, urban decay or pollution. Their visions brought changes in our ways of living and dwelling that challenged our concepts of the good, the true and the beautiful. In this documentary we encounter the Anthroposophist head quarters in Switzerland, the functionalist cities of Le Corbusier and Archigram's projects where pop-art meets architecture. We also meet the self-taught inventor Buckminster Fuller and his light weight constructions, and Antti Lovag - the protector of round houses. Also we visit Habitat 67 - a building conceived from LEGO, Superstudio and their world without objects, Paolo Soleri's crystal like cities in the desert, and ecological housing under ground. Great Expectations is a film about architecture projects and visions which have brought changes in our ways of living and dwelling that challenged our concepts of the good, the true and the beautiful.
- DirectorDavid BickerstaffStarsXavier BrayJoanna DunnGabriele FinaldiA cinematic tour de force based on the National Gallery's exhibition Goya: The Portraits.
- DirectorMarco PianigianiStarsKate BryanFranco CardiniMartin MclaughlinA rich and stimulating study into the themes, historical context and far-reaching influence of Dante Alighieri's Inferno, the first part of his 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy.
- DirectorHeddy HonigmannStarsYoshino KimuraBertrand BeyernCamille SolariForever is a film about the power and vitality of art and a place where love and death go hand in hand and beauty lives on: the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
- DirectorMick GoldStarsAntonin ArtaudJoan BakewellSimon CadellDada came out of the craziness of World War One. "The birth of Dada was not the beginning of art but of disgust." Surrealism tried to systematize Dada's anarchy into an artistic blend of Freudian psychoanalysis and Marxist provocation. In the interests of conquering the irrational, Salvador Dali opened exhibitions dressed in a diving suit, Marcel Duchamp turned himself into woman, Benjamin Peret assaulted priests, and Yves Tanguy ate spiders. Andre Breton, nicknamed "the Pope of Surrealism", led an inspired gang of artists, lunatics and writers. By the 1950s they were denouncing each other for betraying the movement, but their ideas had infected Hollywood, advertising agencies and were turning up as TV humor and album covers.
- DirectorMorag TintoStarsAntony GormleyMaxime AubertAdam BrummThe British sculptor travels across the world to view early examples of art in France, Spain, Indonesia and Australia as he seeks to find out where art first began.
- DirectorIan McCluskeyStarsChristine BernstenEric DiIlioFrank DiMarcoShe was beautiful, smart, and searching. He was an emerging genius in the world of photography. When they met, they fell instantly in love. Setting off across the West with camera and typewriter in the depths of the Great Depression, Charis Wilson and Edward Weston transformed photography, and each other. Now age 90, Charis Wilson recounts her years with Weston with great humor, candor, and some regret. Combining insight from leading scholars, rare archival images, and convincingly authentic reenactments, Eloquent Nude presents a remarkable true story of love and loss, travel and adventure, and an intimate look at the making of Modern photography.
- DirectorJude HoStarsAlastair SookePeter BlakeJohnson ChangA visual history of the significance and impact of the Pop Art movement in the Sixties and beyond.
- StarsBill RatnerKonstantin AkinshaKenneth AlfordThe end of the Second World War in Europe, and the aftermath: war criminals to be brought to trial, stolen art treasures to be returned to their rightful owners.
- DirectorWaldemar JanuszczakStarsWaldemar JanuszczakArt Critic Waldemar Januzczak presents this documentary which details french artist Toulouse-Lautrec's life.
- DirectorSafaa FathyStarsJean-Luc NancyJacques DerridaAn exploration of the life and ideas of Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), arguably the most important philosopher of the 20th Century.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsJames HetfieldKirk HammettLars UlrichThe iconic metal band struggles for two years to create their album St. Anger, dealing with alcoholism, the loss of their bass player, and the challenge of working with a psychotherapist.
- DirectorRobert BaharAlmudena CarracedoStarsMaría MartínFrancisco FrancoAdolf HitlerThe Silence of Others reveals the epic struggle of victims of Spain's 40-year dictatorship under General Franco, who continue to seek justice to this day. Filmed over six years, the film follows the survivors as they organize the groundbreaking 'Argentine Lawsuit' and fight a state-imposed amnesia of crimes against humanity, and explores a country still divided four decades into democracy. Seven years in the making, The Silence of Others is the second documentary feature by Emmy-winning filmmakers Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar (Made in L.A.). It is being Executive Produced by Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar, and Esther García.
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsMatt DamonGylfi ZoegaAndri Snær MagnasonTakes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsMelina AbdullahMichelle AlexanderCory BookerAn in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
- DirectorJohn MaloofCharlie SiskelStarsVivian MaierJohn MaloofDaniel ArnaudA documentary on the late Vivian Maier, a nanny whose previously unknown cache of 100,000 photographs earned her a posthumous reputation as one of the most accomplished street photographers.
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsDarlene LoveMerry ClaytonLisa FischerBackup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.
- DirectorIan BonhôtePeter EttedguiStarsAlexander McQueenJoyce McQueenJohn HitchcockThe life and career of fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen: from his start as a tailor, to launching and overseeing his eponymous line and his untimely death.
- DirectorTamra DavisStarsJean Michel BasquiatJulian SchnabelLarry GagosianDirector Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in this definitive documentary but also delves into Basquiat as an iconoclast. His dense, bebop-influenced neoexpressionist work emerged while minimalist, conceptual art was the fad; as a successful black artist, he was constantly confronted by racism and misconceptions. Much can be gleaned from insider interviews and archival footage, but it is Basquiat's own words and work that powerfully convey the mystique and allure of both the artist and the man.
- DirectorGiuseppe TornatoreStarsEnnio MorriconeSilvano AgostiAlessandro AlessandroniA documentary on the legendary film composer Ennio Morricone.
- DirectorSuzanne RaesStarsAbbie VandiverePieter RoelofsGregor J.M. WeberMuch has been written, but little is known about Johannes Vermeer, painter of iconic paintings and crowd pleasers such as The Milkmaid and Girl with a Pearl Earring. His small oeuvre is almost everything he left behind. Dicht bij Vermeer (Close to Vermeer) follows Gregor Weber, a globally renowned Vermeer expert and flamboyant curator at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In the year before he retires, he works on his big dream: the largest Vermeer exhibition ever. Together with Weber, a number of Vermeer enthusiasts and experts go in search of what truly makes a Vermeer a Vermeer. Through new discoveries and by dissecting the work layer by layer, this film brings us closer to the painter to understand the decisions he made and the steps in his oeuvre.
- DirectorMadeleine GavinStarsHyeonseo LeeSung-eun KimSo-yeon LeeThe story of several families as they attempt to escape oppression in North Korea, revealing a world most of us have never seen.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsAnselm KieferDaniel KieferAnton WendersAnselm Kiefer is one of the greatest contemporary artists. His past and present diffuse the line between film and painting, thus giving a unique cinematic experience that dives deep into an artist's work and reveals his life path.