Looney Lens: Tenth Avenue, NYC

Information Violence

Shinya Kimura @ Chabott Engineering

The story of Shinya Kimura, a creator of custom motorcycles which he designs with a unique philosophy of love, life and simplicity.

Etilaat Roz

For ten years, the journalists of the Etilaat Roz have been making the most widely circulated daily newspaper in Kabul—entirely transparent, and constantly on the lookout for abuses in society and politics. But what do you do when this work becomes practically impossible? This film follows the team as the city is recaptured by the Taliban.

International Dances

A short dance film in Pathécolor, also know as stencil colouring. The editing cuts correspond with the dancers' costume changes. More about stencil colouring at http://zauberklang.ch/filmcolors/timeline-entry/1218/.

Never Look Away

CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth fearlessly captures footage of war zones. After receiving catastrophic injuries in the crosshairs of battle, she returns to work with more courage than ever. An intimate portrait of a trailblazing female photojournalist. Features interviews with Moth’s family and friends, including CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. A Sundance film festival premiere directed by Lucy Lawless.

At the Edge of Russia

Alexei is a nineteen year old recruit being flown in to perform his military service on the frontier of northern Russia. The base is one of few such remaining outposts on the Arctic Ocean. There are five other seasoned and long serving soldiers stationed here, each with their own personal story or secret that has caused them to retreat from the real world. Their training and breaking in of the new arrival is sometimes humorous, at times harsh. Gradually, they each reveal something of themselves in their daily interactions and private moments as they continue their absurd duty in this snow covered no man's land, hundreds of miles from the nearest human settlement.

Tokai (street cleaner)

A glimpse into the lives of thousands of street cleaners who sweep the streets of Kuwait

Looney Lens: Split Skyscrapers

The warping lens used to photograph 10th Avenue seems to puzzle the filmmakers.

Football 40 Years Ago

Pop Warner shows 1890s football equipment and explains to his modern 1931 team how the game was played.

Landfill Harvest

Mandaue Landfill, The Philippines: the 50 families who call this home are the bottom of their society; the lowest of the low. But material wealth is not the only kind of riches, and where there is hope and resourcefulness there is always the chance of a better life.

A Coral Reef Revival

In recent decades, humans have lost 25 to 40 percent of the world's corals due to seawater temperature rise and ocean acidification. Dr David Vaughan has been studying corals his whole life, but until eight years ago, could only watch the crisis unfold. After an accident one day in the lab, Vaughan discovered a secret of coral reproduction, and is now working to replant dwindling coral reefs at an astonishing rate. The Atlantic visited Dr Vaughan in the Florida Keys to uncover how the process works and understand how much hope there is to revitalize our reefs.

No Ordinary Life

In a field dominated by men, five pioneering camerawomen Mary Rogers, Cynde Strand, Jane Evans, Maria Fleet and Margaret Moth went to the frontlines of wars, revolutions and disasters to bring us the truth. As colorful as accomplished, these brave photojournalists made their mark by capturing some of the most iconic images from Tiananmen Square, to conflicts in Sarajevo, Iraq, Somalia and the Arab Spring uprising. But the world doesn’t know it was these women behind the camera. In the midst of unfolding chaos, the pictures they took for CNN both shocked and informed the world. This feature documentary by director Heather O’Neill tells their remarkable story.

Sea Blind, the Price of Shipping Our Stuff

17 of the largest ships emit more sulfur than all the cars on the planet. How is this possible?

Us and Them

Seedbed

“In this legendary sculpture/performance Acconci lay beneath a ramp built in the Sonnabend Gallery. Over the course of three weeks, he masturbated eight hours a day while murmuring things like, "You're pushing your cunt down on my mouth" or "You're ramming your cock down into my ass." Not only does the architectural intervention presage much of his subsequent work, but all of Acconci's fixations converge in this, the spiritual sphincter of his art. In Seedbed Acconci is the producer and the receiver of the work's pleasure. He is simultaneously public and private, making marks yet leaving little behind, and demonstrating ultra-awareness of his viewer while being in a semi-trance state.” – Jerry Saltz (via: http://www.ubu.com/film/acconci_seedbed.html)

I can only show you the color

Year 2009 Northwest of the Peruvian jungle, near the border with Ecuador, a mining company enters the depths of the virgin forest in search for mineral resources, regardless of the damage it can cause. The entry is made with the approval of the government without the consent of the indigenous people living there Awajún. Known for their courage and bravery, the Awajún hold back the invaders; but in the struggle for their land, they are brutally beaten by the ultra-liberal government. Violence begets violence. Through a video workshop aimed at awajún, the director follows the trail of an irreparable injury.

OXI, an Act of Resistance

The popular resistance to the current Greek economic crisis explored and expressed through the ethical and political writings of Ancient Greece.

Tabatô

Mutar, who fought in the war, is back in Guinea. In his luggage, he brings strange objects. Fatu, his daughter, takes the opportunity of Mutar's absence to open his bag. Shortly afterwards, Fatu's boyfriend Idrissa finds Mutar with his hand soiled in blood and Fatu dead. It is then that Idrissa picks up a drum.

Garabatos

Based on two poems by Rafael Alberti, Garabatos (“Scribbles”) is a reflection on childhood, education and the demise of innocence. Music by Pierre Henry, Pierre Schaeffer and Edgard Varèse.

Yesterday's Witness

For the first 50 years of film history, the newsreel was a fixture in American movie theaters. From 1911 to 1967, these shorts proved an influential source of information – and misinformation – for generations of American moviegoers. Television news and public affairs programs became a great improvement over the scanty information offered by the newsreels. This documentary offers insight into a medium which has disappeared.