Images of the Mind: Cinematic Visions by Raymond Durgnat

Cidade Dorme

Night falls and the noisy and chaotic population of the city of Rio de Janeiro goes to their homes, preparing for a new day. But while most people sleep, how does the city function? Early morning seems, to unaccustomed eyes, something lonely and even scary. What is life like, then, for those who work and live while the city sleeps?

Twilight

Filming for this picture took place in Russia over the course of a quarter of a century: in 2000, 2010 and 2022. The film is preceded by an epigraph: “The fate of every person depends on the country where they live, just as the fate of a country depends on its citizens”.

No abras los ojos y tendrás mi piel

Paper City

Just after midnight on 10 March 1945, the US launched an air-based attack on eastern Tokyo; continuing until morning, the raid left more than 100,000 people dead and a quarter of the city eradicated. Unlike their loved ones, Hiroshi Hoshino, Michiko Kiyooka and Minoru Tsukiyama managed to emerge from the bombings. Now in their twilight years, they wish for nothing more than recognition and reparations for those who, like them, had been indelibly harmed by the war – but the Japanese government and even their fellow citizens seem disinclined to acknowledge the past.

Echoes of a Lost Gaza

Mariam Shahin has been making films about Gaza for over thirty years. When she moved to Gaza in 2005, she felt a powerful sense of optimism following the Israeli withdrawal. But by 2009, war had badly damaged its infrastructure, neighbourhoods, businesses and communities – and that optimism had evaporated. Now, in the wake of the even more destructive war that began on 7th October 2023, Mariam seeks out the people she has met in Gaza over the years – and reflects on the wasted potential and devastated lives after sixteen years of blockade and a year of one of the most destructive wars in Middle East history.

Artificial Love

A lonely man falls in love with his ChatGPT companion, challenging the boundaries of love and what it means to be human.

Hill

In 1996, Damon Hill claimed the Formula 1 world championship—defying the odds and overcoming familial tragedy to step out of his father’s shadow and become a racing legend in his own right.

Return To Retro

A short documentary exploring the reason behind the return of analog media, specifically vinyl. The documentary focuses on Gabriella, the main participant, and her experiences and personal viewpoints.

The Making of A Very Tickle Christmas

Four friends with with little to no musical talent set out to make a christmas album.

Out of the Woods Life and Death in Dirty Dave's Homeless Camp

Dirty Dave grimsley is a pint size blend of Randall McMurphy and "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" and George clooney's, Ulysses Everett McGill in "oh brother where art thou" also known as 'dammit man" and "Tom Sawyer" because of his profane hucksterism, Dave is a hard drinking leprechaun with the gift of gab, a heart of gold and not a pot to piss in. He runs a homeless camp while waiting for local authorities in Volusia county, Florida to donate public land for tiger Bay village, a community of services for adults who fall through the cracks.

I'm not unhappy

Film student Laïs Decaster trains her camera on her close-knit group of friends to capture daily life in the suburb of Argenteuil, near Paris.

Burden of Dreams

The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging a huge steamboat up a mountain, while Herzog embraces the path of a certain madness to make his vision come true.

John Singer Sargent: Fashion and Swagger

Filmed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Tate Britain, London, the exhibition reveals Sargent’s power to express distinctive personalities, power dynamics and gender identities during this fascinating period of cultural reinvention. Alongside 50 paintings by Sargent sit stunning items of clothing and accessories worn by his subjects, drawing the audience into the artist’s studio. Sargent’s sitters were often wealthy, their clothes costly, but what happens when you turn yourself over to the hands of a great artist? The manufacture of public identity is as controversial and contested today as it was at the turn of the 20th century, but somehow Sargent’s work transcends the social noise and captures an alluring truth with each brush stroke.

Portrait: The Making of Henry

Making of documentary from the Ultra HD Blu-ray edition of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer released on the movie's 30th anniversary.

Infinity: The Universe of Luigi Ghirri

In this poetic portrayal of Luigi Ghirri (1943–1992), a master of contemporary photography, the director gives voice and, in particular the image, to the protagonist. The photographer takes the audience on a tour of the outskirts of daily life as seen from the corner of his eye, the area in between what is artificial and authentic or grand and small – the meso-scale.

CASTELO

In this documentary the poet Nelson Castelo is filmed in the intimacy of his home and reflects a little about himself.

Upside Down, Inside Out: An Appreciation of the Films of Quentin Dupieux by Elena Lazic

An analysis of Quentin Dupieux's film "Incredible But True" by film critic Elena Lazic.

Create or Die

In an industry that is becoming increasingly competitive, what drives indie filmmakers to keep creating their art, even when there is no promise of money or fame? CREATE OR DIE explores the insatiable passion to create despite the overwhelming odds through the lens of South Carolina writer and filmmaker David Axe, as he and his band of cast and crew head out into the backwoods of Georgia to shoot his low budget passion project ACORN. But when tragedy strikes on set, doubt and tension threaten to bring an end to their production and their dreams.

La Chine, rêves et cauchemars

All I Had Was Nothingness

Forty years after the release of Claude Lanzmann’s monumental film Shoah, Guillaume Ribot reveals the director’s relentless pursuit to tell the untold, using only Lanzmann’s words and unseen footage from the masterpiece.