The Hobby

SHOOTER

January 2024 •Italian

A short audiovisual portrait of Giulio Nick Piacentini, a young sound engineer with a hobby for nature photography. Realized for the Filmmaking Laboratory at DAMS RomaTre with Antonietta De Lillo.

Joanne Martin: A Life in Miniature

October 2017 •English

A septuagenarian woman from St. Louis, Missouri has been a miniaturist, businesswoman, museum president, Girl Scout leader, teacher, student, mother, daughter, and most of all, an indomitable human spirit. Life is what you make it.

CrazyHot

April 2020 •English

Hot & spicy food is enjoyed around the world, but for some people, ultrahot peppers are more than a flavor profile, they're an obsessive passion. Join filmmaker Eric Raine as he travels across 3 continents to talk with the leading farmers, scientists, and food alchemists as well as the community of devoted "chileheads" who are using peppers in countless ways.

Bricks in Motion

January 2016 •English

BRICKS IN MOTION is a feature length documentary that explores the lives of individuals involved in the hobby of creating stop-motion animated films with LEGO® bricks and other building toys. Filmed in five countries around the world, the film is a journey through the creative life and struggles of a diverse community of storytellers as they bring their spectacular visions to life.

The Gleaners and I

July 2000 •French

Varda focuses her eye on gleaners: those who scour already-reaped fields for the odd potato or turnip. Her investigation leads from forgotten corners of the French countryside to off-hours at the green markets of Paris, following those who insist on finding a use for that which society has cast off, whether out of necessity or activism.

Hints and Hobbies No.11

February 1926 •English

Jiu-jitsu for ladies, how to get ink off a white apron and other life essentials courtesy of the 'Hints and Hobbies' team.

Cosplay, más que disfrazarse

Invalid date •Spanish

Rarity: Retro Video Game Collecting in the Modern Era

October 2021 •English

Interviews with casual retro game collectors to collectors with the most expensive retro game collections in the world

Cinemania

July 2002 •English

This documentary about the culture of intense cinephilia in New York City reveals the impassioned world of five obsessed movie buffs. These human encyclopedias of cinema see two to five films a day, and from 600 to 2,000 films per year. This is the story of their lives, their memories, their unbending habits and the films they love.

Princely Toys: One Man's Private Kingdom

December 1976 •English

A made for TV BBC documentary exploring Jack Donovan's antique automaton collection. The documentary focuses on the toys themselves, displaying their range of movements in plain settings while the narrator weaves stories and comments about them to the synth sounds of library music.

Lost Records

January 2020 •Portuguese

A documentary that follows a middle-aged Azorean record obsessive who has lost the vinyl collection of his youth, and so seeks to reconnect with it through talking with the fellow island collectors he grew up with about the music scene of their wilder years.

Meráki

June 2023 •Portuguese

Die-Cast Mania

June 2024 •English

A behind-the-scenes look at the world of diecast collectibles and the fan obsession with collecting small collectible reproductions of iconic NASCAR race cars.

Making Fun: The Story of Funko

January 2018 •English

From a small garage in Redmond, Washington, to the furthest corners of the earth, Funko's story is one that is centered around the fans and the global community that arose from their unique passion - a story that spans twenty years full of joy, ambition, adversity, and... well... toys.

The Director is Busy

September 1945 •Swedish

About hobbies. The Swedish King Gustaf V enjoys embroideres. The CEO Arvid Öhlin plays with his toy trains. The countess Ebba Bonde collects porcelain parrots, white the count Carl Bonde is fond of miniature books. And so on.

The Pigeon People

Invalid date •English

Directed by Patrick Gramm, 'The Pigeon People' (2023) takes you deep into Arizona's underground pigeon racing scene as racing rivals prepare for and compete in the Grand Canyon Classic - a 350-mile pigeon race from Utah to Arizona that crosses over the Grand Canyon.

Toys Are Us: A Revolution in Plastic

January 2006 •English

Get a glimpse of the fascinating world of designer vinyl toys, featuring interviews with some of the most creative pop culture artists working today who specialize in producing distinctive vinyl figures, often for die-hard adult collectors. This documentary features luminaries in the popular field such as Frank Kozik, Patrick Ma, Tara McPherson and others, and was filmed on location at their studios and at Comic Con International 2006.

Kayak

January 1970 •English

A non-narrated view of the sport of kayaking. Slow-motion sequences with men and kayaks twisting through rolling rapids and gliding over placid lakes are intercut in this film to capture the excitement and beauty of the sport. The film is not designed to teach skills. - acmi.net

Bubble

November 2020 •English

A tropical fish shop in the East End of London, the last of what used to be many. Tiny, watery dramas inside fish tanks accompany the thoughts of local fish-keepers, while father and son Big Tel and Little Tel work to keep the shop alive.

Grey Ambition

September 2014 •English

Canadian seniors over 65 are staying active through philanthropy, the arts, volunteerism, education, entrepreneurship, or the workplace. Profiled here are a fashion tycoon gone back to school in his 80s, a 95 year old who builds and flies airplanes, a competitive darts player and painter without hands, an entrepreneur, an avid community volunteer, and a couple in their 90s who continue to teach roller skating.