Catherine de Médicis

The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

From a small Italian community in 15th-century Florence, the Medici family would rise to rule Europe in many ways. Using charm, patronage, skill, duplicity and ruthlessness, they would amass unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. They would also ignite the most important cultural and artistic revolution in Western history -- the European Renaissance. But the forces of change the Medici helped unleash would one day topple their ordered world.

The Conclave

In 1458, five years after the fall of Constantinople to the Turk, eighteen cardinals meet to elect a new pope. Rodrigo Borgia, a 27 year old cardinal learns to play a very dangerous game.

Prince of Foxes

In 1500, Duke Cesare Borgia hopes to marry his sister to the heir apparent of Ferrara, which impedes his conquest of central Italy. On this delicate mission he sends Andrea Orsini, his sister's lover and nearly as unscrupulous as himself. En route, Orsini meets Camilla Verano, wife of the count of Citta' del Monte, and sentiment threatens to turn him against his deadly master, whom no one betrays twice...

Romola

In Renaissance Florence, a Florentine trader meets a shipwrecked stranger, who introduces himself as Tito Melema, a young Italianate-Greek scholar. Tito becomes acquainted with several other Florentines, including Nello the barber and a young girl named Tessa. He is also introduced to a blind scholar named Bardo de' Bardi, and his daughter Romola. As Tito becomes settled in Florence, assisting Bardo with classical studies, he falls in love with Romola.

The Inventor

The insatiably curious and headstrong inventor Leonardo da Vinci leaves Italy to join the French court, where he can experiment freely, inventing flying contraptions, incredible machines, and study the human body. There, joined in his adventure by the audacious princess Marguerite, Leonardo will uncover the answer to the ultimate question – "What is the meaning of it all?"

The Profession of Arms

In autumn of 1526, the Emperor, Charles V, sends his German landsknechts led by Georg von Frundsberg to march towards Rome. The inferior papal armies, commanded by Giovanni de'Medici, try to chase them in the midst of a harsh winter. Nevertheless, the Imperial armies manage to cross the rivers along their march and get cannons thanks to the maneuvers of its Lords. In a skirmish, Giovanni de'Medici is wounded in the leg by a falconet shot. The attempts to cure him fail and he dies. The Imperial armies assault Rome. The film is beautifully but unassumingly set, and shows the hard conditions in which war is waged and its lack of glory. It ends straightforwardly with the declaration made after the death of Giovanni de'Medici by the commanders of the armies in Europe of not using again fire weapons because of their cruelty.

Geniale Frauen - Malerinnen von der Renaissance bis zum Klassizismus

Tales of Canterbury

Father of English literature, the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, involved in storytelling a rainy night at an inn.

If Paris Were Told to Us

Historical film directed and written by Sacha Guitry follows the the history of Paris from its founding through the significant events in the city's history.

Patrimonium

Short story from Renaissance period dedicated to fulfillment of duty, friendship and passing the heritable patrimony on.

Bride of Vengeance

The tiny independent duchy of Ferrara is located between Casare Borgia's Rome and Venice, and Borgia has plans to conquer Venice via Ferrara. He murders his sister's husband and makes it appear that Alfonso D'Este of Ferrara was behind the killing. To avenge herself against Ferrara and D'Este, Lucretia Borgia marries D'Este and intends to poison him. But...she falls in love with him.

Lorenzino de' Medici

Lorenzino de 'Medici manipulates Alessandro ruler of Florence to save his beloved Bianca.

Monna Vanna

Donatello: Renaissance Genius

Portrait of the Italian sculptor Donatello (1386-1466), a precursor of the High Renaissance who considerably influenced sculptural art with his innovative way of conceiving space. Donatello is already a legend in his own lifetime. The sculptor is the forefather of the High Renaissance and pioneer for artists such as Raphael or Michelangelo. His bronze sculpture of the "David" or the "Pazzi Madonna" in marble are icons of art history and testify to his sculptural power of renewal.

Leonardo Da Vinci The Tragic Pursuit of Perfection

A portrait of the artist as a "sublime demon with the archangel's face", with an innovative musique concrète soundtrack.

Concentus Moraviae 2010

Orlando

With an original staging of text and music, Orlando follows the trail of one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance: Orlando di Lasso (also known as Roland de Lassus). His life and masterful oeuvre continue to move people to this day. Although he was a European star at the time, di Lasso had to endure the indignities of his social status as a servant. This documentary explores the relationship between art and power, musically accompanied by the ensemble La Tempête.

Keepers of the Kingdom

This documentary, produced in 2001, profiles the unique characters found at Texas Renaissance Faires. It screened at a few festivals and was accepted to screen at New Yorks' IFP (Independent Feature Project).

The Experiencer

After taking a wrong turn, a young man somehow falls into a mysterious cave and becomes hopelessly lost. As he searches for a way out, the journey he experiences forces him to confront the deepest parts of himself.

A Work Of Heart

In Renaissance Italy, a gifted painter becomes entranced by a merchant's wife when commissioned to paint her necklace. Their forbidden connection fuels a creative fire, resulting in a masterpiece that transcended art as we know it.