Jewel's Catch One

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice

August 2016 •English

In 1936, 18 African American athletes dubbed the "black auxiliary" by Hitler defied Nazi Aryan Supremacy and Jim Crow Racism to win hearts and medals at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. The world remembers Jesse Owens. But, Olympic Pride American Prejudice shows how all 18 are a seminal precursor to the modern Civil Rights Movement.

Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations

April 1938 •German

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. This first half of her two-part film opens with a renowned introduction that compares modern Olympians to classical Greek heroes, then goes on to provide thrilling in-the-moment coverage of some of the games' most celebrated moments, including African-American athlete Jesse Owens winning a then-unprecedented four gold medals.

Olympia: Part Two – Festival of Beauty

June 1938 •German

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. Where the two-part epic's first half, Festival of the Nations, focused on the international aspects of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, part two, The Festival of Beauty, concentrates on individual athletes such as equestrians, gymnasts, and swimmers, climaxing with American Glenn Morris' performance in the decathalon and the games' majestic closing ceremonies.

Pasolini, el poeta en la playa

November 2000 •Spanish

Along the Coast

November 1958 •French

Tongue-in-cheek look at the French Riviera, especially in summer when it overflows with tourists. Reviews its history and famous visitors; displays its faux-exotic buildings, its crowded beaches, its trees and monuments; and, pokes fun at the colors women wear and the vagaries of fashion. The film celebrates the use of "Eden" as a place name, suggesting that paradise comes to the coast after all are gone, perhaps only on a remote island beach.

ITO – A Diary of an Urban Priest

November 2010 •Finnish

A biographical documentary following the life of a young Japanese priest and bar-owner.

A Short History of the Highrise

September 2013 •English

“A Short History of the Highrise” is an interactive documentary that explores the 2,500-year global history of vertical living and issues of social equality in an increasingly urbanized world. The centerpiece of the project is four short films. The first three (“Mud,” “Concrete” and “Glass”) draw on The New York Times's extraordinary visual archives, a repository of millions of photographs that have largely been unseen in decades. Each film is intended to evoke a chapter in a storybook, with rhyming narration and photographs brought to life with intricate animation. The fourth chapter (“Home”) comprises images submitted by the public. The interactive experience incorporates the films and, like a visual accordion, allows viewers to dig deeper into the project’s themes with additional archival materials, text and microgames.

Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?

Invalid date •English

George Clinton's somewhat absurdist take on Parliament-Funkadelic history. Features never-before-granted access to his archive and spotlights his alter egos and friends

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.

Keep on Walking: The Man and His Higher Course

November 2021 •Chinese

In Taiwan, director Lee Hsing's films have become a reflection of society and a collective memory of many. His dedication to film not only launched the careers of many movie stars and crew, but was also the foundation of the prestigious Golden Horse Awards. This documentary offers Lee Hsing's personal perspective on family, films, fate and beliefs, giving us a glimpse of the glory and rebirth of Taiwanese cinema.

Person

August 2007 •Portuguese

Person is a documentary about the life and work of filmmaker Luiz Sérgio Person. The documentary brings the reconstruction of the history of the São Paulo filmmaker through the personal journey of his daughter, Marina. Through interviews with friends, family, and people who worked with Person, she seeks to discover more than dates and biographical data.

Journey: Portrait of Věra Chytilová

June 2004 •Czech

Documentary about Czech filmaker Vera Chytilova.

Twin Sisters

November 2013 •Norwegian

In 2003, the infant Chinese twin sisters Mia and Alexandra were found in a cardboard box. They ended up in an orphanage and were put up for adoption, at which time the authorities apparently decided that it was a good idea to separate them, and to keep silent about the fact that they were twins. Twin Sisters tells their story from the perspective of both sets of adoptive parents: one from Sacramento, California, the other from a tiny village in picturesque Norway. Through a series of coincidences that they later attribute to fate, the parents meet each other during the adoption procedure in China and launch an investigation that reveals the little girls are sisters.

Le plafond de verre

January 2006 •French

This is the story of the few people who went ahead, beyond racial prejudice. And their struggle to open the workplace to other people.

The Homeland of Electricity

June 1967 •Russian

The Homeland of Electricity, Larisa Shepitko's adaptation of an Andrei Platonov story, was one of three short films collected in an omnibus work (Beginning of an Unknown Era) commissioned to honor the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution. Censors eventually shelved the film and it would not see the light of day until well after Shepitko's death, during Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika.

Balkan Baroque

November 1999 •French

Balkan Baroque is a real and imaginary biography of the Yugoslavian performance artist Marina Abramovic. Rather than a mechanical reproduction of the artist's work, the film tries to create a new reality by translating the performances into cinematographic images that intensify the fictional context of the film. Abramovic plays herself, but ,appearing in multiple forms, blurs her own identity. Memories and fantasies intermingle with day to day rituals. The chronological narrative often breaks to reflect the interior voyage of the protagonist from the present to the past and back to the present. The result is a visually impressive film. Balkan Baroque had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, 1999.

How to Cook Your Life

May 2007 •English

A Zen priest in San Francisco and cookbook author use Zen Buddhism and cooking to relate to everyday life.

Half Sour

April 2014 •English

A group of young skateboarders find direction in their lives when they move to New York and start a pickle business.

Dig!

May 2004 •English

A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.

Jesus Camp

September 2006 •English

Jesus Camp is a Christian summer camp where children hone their "prophetic gifts" and are schooled in how to "take back America for Christ". The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future.