The Making of The Documentary II

What We Ask of a Statue is That It Doesn’t Move

May 2024 •Greek

Athens. Nothing seems to move. The locals seem as still as statues. While at the same time, somewhere, a caryatid is escaping from a museum and a small group of people demands the destruction of all antiques. Would film be the only way to avoid stone-cold indifference?

Southern Brides

January 2025 •Spanish

Women of mature years talk about their marriage, their first time, their intimate relationship with sexuality. In the repetition of these ancestral rituals, the director questions her own lack of marriage, of children, and with it, a chain of mother-daughter relationships that is dying out.

Oh butterfly, what dou you dream of when you flap your wings?

October 2020 •Spanish

The work of taxonomists hides more secrets than can be perceived.

Of Another Place

Invalid date •English

On a Summer afternoon, Pedro packs the last few boxes before having to leave his apartment in New York. 12 years ago, Pedro and Ana had arrived in America from Portugal, in search of a dream. Now, Ana's voice describes, from the other side of the ocean, that same country to which they are returning. As the rooms are emptied, Pedro bids farewell to one life, welcoming another. But the dream that brought him will remain forever in the city that never sleeps, awaiting his return.

Lua

March 2024 •Portuguese

Joseph Wilson meets the dance teacher fighting transphobic violence through voguing in Rio’s favelas.

Find Fix Finish

January 2017 •German

Find Fix Finish delves into the stories of three US-Drone pilots revealing the clandestine operational strategies practiced by the US Government.

Despejadas

November 2018 •Portuguese

Choice Bouquets

September 1910 •English

A display of flower bouquets, rotating to show the Kinemacolour process.

The Dream Is Alive

June 1985 •English

The Dream Is Alive takes you into space alongside the astronauts on the space shuttle. Share with them the delights of zero gravity while working, eating and sleeping in orbit around the Earth. Float as never before over the towering Andes, the boot of Italy, Egypt and the Nile. Witness firsthand a tension-filled satellite capture and repair and the historic first spacewalk by an American woman.

Olive

November 2023 •English

“Olive” is a short documentary that follows Olive Hagemeier, an energetic woman, on her daily routine of salvaging, repackaging and redistributing food, and occasional other types of “waste”, across Atlanta, GA. Presented in a quiet observational style, this film is both a character study of a committed and enigmatic volunteer, as well as an ethnographic work that places the audience in the heart of a decentralized, volunteer-run mutual aid network in a “post-COVID” American city.

Salvador Dalí at Work

November 2006 •English

Filmmaker Jonas Mekas follows the surrealist artist around the streets of New York documenting staged public art events.

Perfect Image?

January 1989 •English

Two actresses take us through a series of 'raps' and sketches about what it means to be beautiful and black.

Winter's End

October 2022 •English

A short film shot on Super 8 which captures the last days of winter.

Visions of Europe

May 2004 •English

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Welles' Language

January 1990 •Portuguese

Orson Welles acted in Brazilian culture and music by deeply researching Brazil's historical geology, consciously completing a legendary cultural mission. Although being turned down by Hollywood producers, he developed a triumphantly accomplished mission in the language domain - three friends of Welles' testified his love for cinema, his passion for Brazilian music and people and his obstinate endurance against formidable pressures coming from inside and outside Hollywood regarding his unfinished "It's All True".

Elgin Park

February 2015 •English

Michael Paul Smith is a unique character. He has spent most of his reclusive life struggling through bullying, prejudices and health issues until he found a way to eliminate it all. His answer was to create a fictional town called Elgin Park. We go deep into the mind and the magic behind Michael's 1/24th-scale recreation his town.

The Sacred Food

February 2007 •English

A short documentary about the Ojibwe Native Americans of Northern Minnesota and the wild rice (Manoomin) they consider a sacred gift from the Creator. The film tells the Creation and Migration stories that are central to the tribe's oral history and belief system while showing the traditional process of hand-harvesting and parching the wild rice. Biotech companies are currently researching ways to genetically modify the rice and the community is fighting to keep it wild.

One Second in Montreal

September 1969 •English

A silent succession of black-and-white photographs of the city of Montreal.

Rambling 'Round Radio Row #1

June 1932 •English

Jerry Wald has to write about radio, visiting Sid Gary gives him the tip it might be more easy for him to write this article at the radio station than at his newspaper office. At the studio they listen to the Boswell Sister's rehearsal, which is interupted by some not so friendly remarks by orchestra leader Abe Lyman, they listen at the door, where a Colonel Stoopnagel broadcast is prepared, as well as to the rehearsal of a new song for an broadcast by Kate Smith.

Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra

October 1938 •English

In a nightclub setting, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with two of his vocalists, perform four of the group's best known songs. For the complete list of songs, check the soundtrack listing.