The Presence

War on War

January 1983 •Arabic

The camera wanders through streets standing witness to a war that has destroyed a city and an entire nation. Bagdadi goes to war against the Lebanese civil war, exploring different locations and situations in a country faced with its own demise. The poetic text raises questions of life and death through contrasting images of violent death and the will to live.

Thoughts and Visions of a Severed Head

January 1991 •French

The theme of death is heavily interwoven in Smolder’s surreal salute to Belgian painter Antoine Wiertz, a Hieronymus Bosch-type artist whose work centered on humans in various stages in torment, as depicted in expansive canvases with gore galore. Smolders has basically taken a standard documentary and chopped it up, using quotes from the long-dead artist, and periodic statements by a historian (Smolders) filling in a few bits of Wiertz’ life.

The Day When...

January 1997 •French

Chantal Akerman reads a script detailing the woes that befell her on the day she thought about "The Future of Cinema". The camera continuously rotates 360 degrees around her apartment as she rereads the script at an exponentially increasing speed. At its heart, an homage to Godard.

Feeler

June 2016 •English

16mm film by Paul Clipson, and music by Sarah Davachi. Filmed in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Brisbane, Krakow, Sidney, Portland, Napa, Oakland and San Francisco.

Empire

April 2005 •French

The Pax Americana takes care on our peace, ensures our comfort, guarantees our prosperity… An idyllic postcard of the new Empire.

The Making of 'The Thing'

June 1982 •English

Destination Dune

January 1984 •English

A short documentary that was originally produced to promote the film at conventions and publicity events in the lead-up to its release.

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

June 1896 •French

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Notes on the Circus

May 1967 •English

The short film is a montage of sped up clips of The Ringling Brothers Circus in action set to a musical track. The film is separated into four segments, each segment which focuses on different acts within the circus. The later segments often incorporate clips from earlier segments, mostly as background to the featured acts. The speed of the clips match the tempo of the soundtrack music.

Otherland

March 2018 •English

A vogue dancer performs at a Voodoo Carnival Ball, an important dance contest where he will have to prove himself to be accepted by the local ballroom community. Based upon the biographical story of Elvin Elejandro Martinez.

Lake

December 2019 •English

Lake gazes down at a still body of water from a birds-eye view, while a group of artists peacefully float in and out of the frame or work to stay at the surface. As they glide farther away and draw closer together, they reach out in collective queer and desirous exchanges — holding hands, drifting over and under their neighbors, making space, taking care of each other with a casual, gentle intimacy while they come together as individual parts of a whole. The video reflects on notions of togetherness and feminist theorist Silvia Federici’s call to “reconnect what capitalism has divided: our relation with nature, with others, and our bodies.”

A Bee's Diary

October 2020 •English

Bees are one of the most important species on the planet. A look at the trials and tribulations of two particular honeybees over two years from birth to death.

Visions of Europe

May 2004 •English

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

Becoming The Queen of the North

January 2022 •English

The plot follows professional wrestler Gia Adam and Teacher Gabrielle Brown as they slowly unite and face their biggest challenge to date.

Letter to Hong Kong

March 2018 •Korean

Away from her home in Hong Kong, Vivi records her daily life as a member of Loona in a video letter to her parents.

Women at the stake

October 2023 •Portuguese

"Granddaughters of Witches"? A discussion about the reality of the modern woman. Featuring anthropologist Carla Cristina Garcia and artist MC Tha.

Megha's Divorce

January 2019 •Hindi

Lac

Invalid date •French

Kellou, in her forties, lives in Bol, the capital of Sahel’s province. She’s a fisher, profession transmitted from mother to daughter. She learned it from her mother. But since a few years, Lake Tchad has been shrinking, and fish has become rare. Kellou’s job is threatened. One day, after an un- successful catch, her 12 year old daughter Mouna gives her an idea: pick up plastic bags invading the lake and make ropes out of it to sell them on the market. By this simple gesture, Kellou gets to, in her own way, fight against plastic pollution and adapt to the new conditions brought about by climate change.

4.1 Miles

February 2017 •Greek

A coast guard captain on a small Greek island is suddenly charged with saving thousands of refugees from drowning at sea.

Archive of Life

June 2024 •English

This documentary short-film follows the story of The White Bus Cinema based in Southend-on-Sea. They keep the process of projecting real celluloid film alive by showing films from their archive of over 3,000 films, ranging from Super 8, 16mm, and 35mm prints. The film argues why it's important to continue the shooting and projection process of film in our current age of digital shooting and projection in modern Hollywood, amidst the chaos of studios removing films from their streaming services.