The Bionic Eye

ALHIVE

One morning, Leonardo Galicia wakes up with a dull pain and an intense fever. After a pandemic experience that made him aware of his mortality, the last thing Leonardo expected was an HIV-reactive result.
 The illness caused by the virus takes hold of Leonardo's body and forces him to take an indefinite break while recovering in a hospital. There, he meets a mysterious young man, Augusto. By sharing common thoughts, hopes, and dreams, the two will find refuge in each other's arms.

Junkopia

Filmed along the Emeryville Mudflats near San Francisco, Junkopia captures a landscape of sculptural installations made from driftwood and discarded materials. Chris Marker, John Chapman, and Frank Simeone transform these ephemeral artworks—set against highways and the distant city—into a quiet meditation on art, decay, and the modern environment.

Roadliners

Roadliners is a film about inspiration and craft, and the uncelebrated typographers of the road. With filmmakers Pretend Lovers we documented a day in the life of Glasgow roadliner Thomas ‘Tam’ Lilley. While looking for inspiration for O Street’s new brand we stumbled on a typographer whose work was uniquely relevant to our company—one whose work embodied the values we hold dear: honesty, beauty, humility, and intelligence.

Lake

Lake gazes down at a still body of water from a birds-eye view, while a group of artists peacefully float in and out of the frame or work to stay at the surface. As they glide farther away and draw closer together, they reach out in collective queer and desirous exchanges — holding hands, drifting over and under their neighbors, making space, taking care of each other with a casual, gentle intimacy while they come together as individual parts of a whole. The video reflects on notions of togetherness and feminist theorist Silvia Federici’s call to “reconnect what capitalism has divided: our relation with nature, with others, and our bodies.”

A Bee's Diary

Bees are one of the most important species on the planet. A look at the trials and tribulations of two particular honeybees over two years from birth to death.

"The Ornithopter Story: Fly, Hiyodori Tengu!"

The Private Life of a Cat

An intimate study of the life of a domestic cat, taking place over a period of months as she gives birth to a litter of kittens and cares for them as they grow.

Pontevedra, cuna de Colón

Speculative historical essay defending the theory, sustained by Spanish historian Celso García de la Riega (1844-1914) and his followers, that the famous explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was born in a small village near the city of Pontevedra, in the region of Galicia, Spain. (A new version was released in 1930.)

Journey to Kenya

Award winning short documentary by Ibrahim Snoopy, tracks the journey of the MTC martial arts team, which decides after a civil revolution that occurred in Sudan (2018-2019). Facing of lack of the state support and weak financial means, ambitious athletes found themselves forced to travel by land from Sudan to Kenya through Ethiopia to participate in an international championship "LionHeart 2019 Nairobi Open" in Nairobi, Kenya. A journey filled with determination, resilience, hope, and full of difficulties and challenges in order to raise the name of Sudan high in international sports forums and to solidify the art of Jiu-Jitsu in Africa.

Glückstag

Munich in summer. Pensioner Gerd roams the streets collecting empty returnable bottles. He meets the working, partying and bathing city dwellers as an open and friendly man who always has a funny saying at the ready. But not everyone seems to be well-disposed towards Gerd. Bernhard Wohlfahrter's sensitive short fiction film unobtrusively criticizes society and questions privileges.

Mi pesadilla fue que me mataba la guerrilla

Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint

In this short follow-up to "Roger & Me," Michael Moore revisits Flint, Michigan to reconnect with residents impacted by General Motors’ mass layoffs. Checking in on figures such as the “Bunny Lady” and Deputy Fred, the film documents the city’s continued economic decline while reflecting on the aftermath of Moore’s original documentary.

Sister Hearts

Maryam Henderson-Uloho spent thirteen years in prison in Louisiana, seven in solitary confinement. After her release she struggled to find housing or employment. She began selling secondhand goods out of a suitcase on a street corner in New Orleans. In just three years, she grew her business to a brick-and-mortar thrift store—one that also provides housing and employment for other formerly-incarcerated women. She calls those women—and her store—Sister Hearts.

Azzel

This short documentary looks at Azzel, one of the Niger Department of National Education’s first schools for nomads. The film describes the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Tuareg and the changes brought about by these government-run boarding schools.

The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes

At a morgue, forensic pathologists conduct autopsies of the corpses assigned. "S. Brakhage, entering, WITH HIS CAMERA, one of the forbidden, terrific locations of our culture, the autopsy room. It is a place wherein, inversely, life is cherished, for it exists to affirm that no one of us may die without our knowing exactly why. All of us, in the person of the coroner, must see that, for ourselves, with our own eyes. It is a room full of appalling particular intimacies, the last ditch of individuation. Here our vague nightmare of mortality acquires the names and faces of OTHERS. This last is a process that requires a WITNESS; and what 'idea' may finally have inserted itself into the sensible world we can still scarcely guess, for the CAMERA would seem the perfect Eidetic Witness, staring with perfect compassion where we can scarcely bear to glance." – Hollis Frampton

Marijuana

Sonny Bono appears onscreen to tell kids that marijuana is a "bummer" that turns you into a "weedhead" and will make you "trip out" (the fact that, based upon his performance, Sonny appears to have ingested unknown substances before the cameras started rolling tends to limit the film's crediblity somewhat).

Romances

The film, based on the artistic-documentary aesthetics, is about the fate of three sons of the Javanshir dynasty, who are connected to Karabakh and this corner of Azerbaijan - Mahammad bey Ashiq, who lived in the 18th century, Abdussamad bey Ashiq, who lived in the 19th century, and Khosrov bey Javanshir, who lived in the 20th century. These three personalities, influential poets and public figures of their time, were subjected to persecution and repression during the Russian and Soviet empires.

The Face of a City

The stories of four Iranian families who emigrate to Canada and the city they leave behind. As departure time approaches, social spaces become places of memory, fading into the distance.

Broadway by Light

An experimental meditation on Times Square's marquees and iconic advertising that captures the concurrently seedy and dazzling aspects of New York's Great White Way.

Sudan's Forgotten Films

Benjamin and Awad run Sudan's national film archive. The two men, who have worked together for more than 40 years, are devoted to protecting their country's visual memories. Home to some 13,000 films, the archive preserves pivotal moments of Sudan's turbulent history and is one of the largest in Africa. But the archive is in a fragile state. Following years of neglect and poor storage, many film reels are turning to dust in Sudan's unforgiving tropical climate. The two friends are determined to turn it around and embark on a mission to save the old films. Will they succeed in preserving Sudan's visual history for future generations before it's too late?