What's Wrong With This Building?

Traces: The Kabul Museum 1988

The Kabul National Museum, once known as the "face of Afghanistan," was destroyed in 1993. We filmed the most important cultural treasures of the still-intact museum in 1988: ancient Greco-Roman art and antiquitied of Hellenistic civilization, as well as Buddhist sculpture that was said to have mythology--the art of Gandhara, Bamiyan, and Shotorak among them. After the fall of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, some seventy percent of the contents of the museum was destroyed, stolen, or smuggled overseas to Japan and other countries. The movement to return these items is also touched upon. The footage in this video represents that only film documentation of the Kabul Museum ever made.

99 days

Two instants separated by 99 days conflict with each other.

Out of the City

"A young filmmaker studying at the Alexandria Higher Institute of Cinema (AHIC) struggles with an internal conflict; torn between his deep loyalty to his hometown of Alexandria and his burning desire to immerse himself in the vibrant film scene of Cairo, the bustling capital. He discusses the matter with a fellow AHIC student, where they share their thoughts and questions about the meaning of success and their personal aspirations. This shared exploration becomes a search for a guiding light, a clue that reveals whether their chosen paths will lead them to their desired futures.

Nice, les artistes et l'azur

Zloděj spánku

It used to be dark at night and light during the day, which is far from the case now. Light pollution and excessive use of light, especially in cities, negatively affects the health of not only humans, but also insects, animals and plants... The main topic of the documentary film Sleep Thieves is the issue of light pollution and the effect of light on sleep. We are accompanied through the film by two main experts, a chronobiologist, who mainly contributes knowledge about sleep and the effect of light on sleep, and a lighting engineer, who introduces us to wrong and right lighting. The next part is dedicated to e.g. the explanation of circadian rhythms, hormones associated with sleep, the importance of alternating light and dark, the effect of light on sleep, the issue of light pollution and correct and incorrect lighting both outdoors and indoors.

Moravian Hellas

Karel Vachek’s graduate film offers us a documentary essay which is both a light-hearted and aggressive little piece and also a parody of investigative film journalism. The Strážnice folk festival, backed by the cultural Party apparatus of the time, for years had little to commend itself to authentic folklore. In the film the event assumes the form of a bizarre stage spectacle with almost surrealistic elements that Vachek reinforces with unconventional approaches (commentary appearing as titles on screen, singing, declamations into the camera, feature etudes, the fusion of news coverage and fiction). The result is a stirring film collage depicting various characters, from crowd-pleasers, Easter egg decorators, kitsch artists and peddlers, to museologists and local residents, all of whom come up against the eccentric "identical” twin reporters Karel and Jan Saudek and a bored actress who appears as an extra. Using their special blend of irony and wit, they present us with the sad truth.

The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism

Taking its lead from French artists like Renoir and Monet, the American impressionist movement followed its own path which over a forty-year period reveals as much about America as a nation as it does about its art as a creative power-house. It’s a story closely tied to a love of gardens and a desire to preserve nature in a rapidly urbanizing nation. Travelling to studios, gardens and iconic locations throughout the United States, UK and France, this mesmerising film is a feast for the eyes. The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism features the sell-out exhibition The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement, 1887–1920 that began at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and ended at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Tangled Roots

An intimate look into Demers family's experience raising children while dealing with the societal stigmas around disabilities and the consequences of Alberta's forgotten experiment in eugenics.

Glories of Medieval Art: The Cloisters

Philippe de Montebello, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1977 to 2008, guides viewers through The Cloisters, pointing out Romanesque and Gothic architecture and artwork, beautiful tapestries, and the diverse species in the gardens. He outlines the history of the building and it's many influences and highlights significant works of art in the collection. It was produced in 1989 by The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Office of Film and Television.

Faces Places

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

Do Chile za zatměním Slunce

Hide and Seek

This documentary follows two long-lost Ukrainian friends, Arsalan and Nastya, as they reconnect in Germany after russia's full-scale invasion against Ukraine. Arsalan, an actor now in Frankfurt after time in a refugee camp, and Nastya, journalist and producer who stayed in Kyiv, reflect on the divergent paths their lives have taken due to the war. Through their conversations and therapy sessions, the film explores themes of displacement, identity, and the emotional impact of war on youth.

Hry prachu

Film in hand. Carnival in the global village.

to boyhood, i never knew him

Archive footage from 2006 - 2010 of a young girl growing up during the ages of four to eight. Only fragments of what is remembered exists. Words from a transgender man float to the surface as fleeting memories go on.

Mi Vida Me Pasa

Arturo Urbiola, independent singer/songwriter, talks about the influence music has had on his life, it's impact, and what's in store for his artistic career after becoming a father.

Vianočný dar

The Louvre

Lucy Jarvis -- the plucky camerawoman known for becoming the first Westerner to film inside communist China -- breaks barriers once again with this exclusive look at the world-famous Musée du Louvre, a place that previously barred access to all filmmakers. Charles Boyer is your host on this personalized tour of the museum's most prized possessions, including works by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Vermeer and Van Eyck.

The Faces of Parkinson

The Faces of Parkinson shows the people who suffer from Parkinson's disease and the impact it made on their life and people around and close to them. As it also asks the question how one continues to stay positive with such a destructive disease.

ABSOLUTE CINEMA

A fresh out of university film graduate decides he is fed up with the current state of cinema, with big releases only ever being franchise films or reboots. A documentary crew follows him as he sets out to create the greatest film of all time.

Louvre Behind the Scenes

Despite being closed to the public, on Tuesdays at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the day is busier than ever.