Back in Time

Notes on an American Film Director at Work

January 2008 •English

Filmmaker Jonas Mekas follows his friend, film director Martin Scorsese, and his cast and crew, through various locations during the shooting of his film The Departed, released in 2006.

Rire (enfin) au féminin

January 2024 •French

The Ability Exchange

September 2016 •English

A documentary about an innovative Disability Studies class at NYU Tandon School of Engineering where engineering students and adults with cerebral palsy learn to communicate, connect, and cultivate their abilities by making movies.

The Yes Men

September 2003 •English

A comic, biting and revelatory documentary following a small group of prankster activists as they gain worldwide notoriety for impersonating the World Trade Organization (WTO) on television and at business conferences around the world.

DIYSEX

November 2019 •Spanish

DIYSEX is a film that reflects on the use of the image and the language of mainstream pornography, and wonders how far this use can transcend when making your porn film.

Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters

January 2020 •English

The documentary that tells us the full story from where it all started through to the future of the "Ghostbusters" franchise.

Watch Out for Orcas! Danger Off Gibraltar?

February 2024 •German

Since the summer of 2020, boats along the Atlantic coast from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Bay of Biscay in the north have been repeatedly attacked by orcas. The whales purposefully attack the rudders and destroy them. Researchers are trying to find out what drives them. Curiosity? Competition for food? Or play?

Building Star Trek

September 2016 •English

When "Star Trek" first aired in 1966, it expanded the viewers' imaginations about what was possible in their lifetimes. Today, many of the space-age technologies displayed on the show, like space shuttles, cell phones, and desktop computers, have already gone from science fiction to science fact. Other innovations, like warp drive, teleportation, and medical tricorders are actively in development. Join us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of "Star Trek" - a show that continues to inform, enrich, and inspire.

Sunset over Mulholland Drive

May 2019 •German

Hidden away at the end of Mulholland Drive, just north of Los Angeles, lies the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Its residents were once the backbone of American showbiz. The Fund gives them a home and new meaning in their old age. Still going strong in their own studio, they produce short films and pursue other creative projects. This documentary follows one such project from the first brainstorming session all the way to the premiere, revealing enduring dreams and hopes beyond the limelight — and lessons in life and love.

The Five Obstructions

November 2003 •Danish

Lars von Trier challenges his mentor, filmmaker Jørgen Leth, to remake Leth’s 1967 short film The Perfect Human five times, each with a different set of bizarre and challenging rules.

F. You All: The Uwe Boll Story

November 2018 •English

Honing his craft as an indie filmmaker in Germany in the early 90s, Uwe Boll never could have imagined the life that lay before him. From working with Oscar-winning actors and making films with US$60million budgets to having actors publicly disparage him and online petitions demanding he stop making films, Boll continued to work; he has a filmography of 32 features, a career that has led to his new life as a successful high-end restauranteur. Already a cult legend, he will be remembered forever in the film world; for some, as a modern-day Ed Wood, who made films so bad, they're good, while for others, a prolific filmmaker who came from a small town in Germany and never compromised his integrity while forging his own unique Hollywood trajectory.

Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary

February 2002 •German

Documentarians Andre Heller and Othmar Schmiderer turn their camera on 81-year-old Traudl Junge, who served as Adolf Hitler's secretary from 1942 to 1945, and allow her to speak about her experiences. Junge sheds light on life in the Third Reich and the days leading up to Hitler's death in the famed bunker, where Junge recorded Hitler's last will and testament. Her gripping account is nothing short of mesmerizing.

Counter Shot: Departure of the Filmmakers

February 2008 •German

James Gandolfini: Tribute to a Friend

December 2013 •English

In the half-hour tribute, friends and colleagues remember the three-time Emmy winner, who died June 19 at age 51. The special features clips of Gandolfini’s work as well as behind-the-scenes footage.

The Wandering Company

January 1984 •English

Documentary about Merchant Ivory Productions, including interviews with the principals of the film production company and actors which have appeared in their films.

Orchestrated Mayhem: The Making of Invisible Target

June 2008 •

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Benny Chan's Invisible Target (2007) including interviews with the major stars of the film and the production crew.

Mickey Reece’s Belle Île

September 2020 •English

Against a collage of excerpts that span thirty-four films, a filmmaker reflects on the community he has built over more then a decade of low-budget movie making in Oklahoma City.

Starz Inside: Sex and the Cinema

November 2009 •English

Sex and Cinema is a steamy trip through the looking glass of the camera lens, depicting how sexually charged films reflect our own sexual liberation. It will unzip America's obsession with sex, both from a cinematic and social perspective, exposing the hypocrisy inherent in our culture's war against eroticism (be it film, art, literature or song lyrics). The special will look at many films that push the boundary, from mainstream studio films to product that in its time has been considered pornographic.

Studs Terkel: Listening to America

May 2009 •English

For over 60 years, Studs Terkel elevated the voices and experiences of everyday Americans through his skillful interviews on radio, in books and on TV. This documentary takes a fond and illuminating look back at one of America's most influential authors and media personalities whose curiosity about people never dimmed over the course of a long and brilliant career.

Mifune: The Last Samurai

December 2016 •English

An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.