Neil Breen 5 Feature Film Retrospective

Babylon

July 2012 •Arabic

After the insurrection erupted in Libya in the spring of 2012, more than a million people flocked to neighboring Tunisia in search of a safe haven from the escalating violence. When a massive refugee camp was hastily constructed near the Ras Jdir border checkpoint in Tunisia, a trio of filmmakers carried their cameras in and began filming with no agenda. This on-the-fly chronicle of the camp's installation, operation, and dismantling captures a postmodern Babel complete with a multinational population of displaced folk, a regime of humanitarian aid workers, and international media that broadcasts its “image” to the world. Visually stunning and refreshingly undogmatic, Babylon reveals a rarely seen aspect of the Arab Spring.

KISS Loves You

April 2004 •English

Ten years in the making, KISS Loves You is a film that began back in 1994 when the band KISS was at a career low and KISS fans around the world were starting tribute bands, uniting at unofficial KISS Conventions and growing increasingly more nostalgic for the 70's era classic KISS line-up. The zeitgeist exhibited at these conventions was not lost on the band and in 1996 they responded, rising up like a grease painted phoenix into a new era of success. On the surface, KISS fans got exactly what they longed for, but for some the return of their idols brought unexpected consequences. KISS Loves You follows a few KISS fans along the way.

Verdun - They will not pass!

February 2016 •French

A century ago, from February to December 1916, the French and Germans provided a superhuman effort to control a few hills in eastern France, located in front of Verdun . A frontal confrontation, conducted without the help of their allies, army against army, nation against nation. Today, this battle seems absurd to us. Because it has caused almost as many casualties in each camp and its strategic utility has never really been demonstrated. But in 1916, soldiers on both sides did not consider it absurd: they agreed to fight. Why ? By reliving the rare Herculean confrontation of our ancestors, using reconstructions made in the 1920s, using a large number of animated computer-generated images that recreate the topography of the battlefield, this documentary returns, with the help of the historical adviser Paul Jankowski , on the last great victory won alone by France against Germany.

The Blade Runner Phenomenon

May 2021 •German

Ridley Scott's cult film Blade Runner, based on a novel by Philip K. Dick and released in 1982, is one of the most influential science fiction films ever made. Its depiction of Los Angeles in the year 2019 is oppressively prophetic: climate catastrophe, increasing public surveillance, powerful monopolistic corporations, highly evolved artificial intelligence; a fantastic vision of the future world that has become a frightening reality.

Cycologic

August 2016 •English

And urban planner's journey to making the impossible possible.

1999

November 2017 •French

In the late 1990s, Moncton's Acadian community was forever marked when death struck an high school. In a sweet impressionist film, Samara returns to the city she fled as a teenager to immerse herself in memories that are still buried there, in various places and in dusty boxes containing diaries, photos and VHS tapes. 1999 is not a ghost story, although it is populated by ghosts. The snow-covered streets, corridors and locker rooms of the school are intact, as in a dream, but the absence left by the wave of teenage suicides still resonates with unanswered questions, trauma and regret. Samara meets inspiring people who carry with them great pain and who, 16 years later, can finally comfort each other by breaking a long silence. In the end, the film interweaves different voices and gives rise to a collective reflection on the internalization of mourning and the need to learn to affirm one's desire to survive.

Leaving Your Skin

April 2017 •English

Wanda Seux, one of Mexico’s most emblematic actresses and showgirls during the 80’s, has fallen into an abyss, dragged down by the death of her mother, her solitude, and the passage of time. Wanda, however, struggles every day to rise from that vacuum and walk through that dark tunnel into the light of plenitude.

Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy

June 2023 •English

This is not a documentary about the making of Midnight Cowboy. It is about a humane and groundbreaking masterpiece and the flawed but gifted people who made it. It is about a troubled era of cultural ferment, social and political change, about broken dreams and strivers, then and now. It is about an era that made a movie and a movie that made an era.

The NHL: 100 Years

November 2017 •English

A documentary chronicling the highs and lows of the first century of the National Hockey League, featuring interviews with noteworthy players, coaches and experts.

Buddy Holly: Rave On

May 2017 •English

Documentary following the life of rock 'n' roll legend Buddy Holly.

Making 'M*A*S*H'

January 1981 •English

An in-depth look at the highly successful TV series, including a study of the philosophical approach of the program.

El silencio roto

October 2017 •Spanish

As Cartas Psicografadas Por Chico Xavier

November 2010 •Portuguese

Breaking the Taboo

June 2011 •Portuguese

Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this groundbreaking new documentary uncovers the UN sanctioned war on drugs, charting its origins and its devastating impact on countries like the USA, Colombia and Russia. Featuring prominent statesmen including Presidents Clinton and Carter, the film follows The Global Commission on Drug Policy on a mission to break the political taboo and expose the biggest failure of global policy in the last 50 years

Trek Nation

November 2011 •English

Trek Nation is a documentary film directed by Scott Colthorp examining the positive impact that Star Trek and creator Gene Roddenberry may have had on people's lives as seen through the eyes of his son, Eugene Roddenberry, Jr. ("Rod"). It includes interviews with castmembers and crew from all five Star Trek shows, as well as various fans and celebrities who were markedly influenced by the show while growing up. Rod Roddenberry also visits Skywalker Ranch to interview George Lucas on the influence that Star Trek had on him. Lucas shares how he had gone to Star Trek conventions prior to creating Star Wars.

We Were Once Kids

June 2021 •English

In the early nineties, before the massive gentrification of many of New York's then slums, several young people from very disparate backgrounds left their broken homes and ventured onto the brutal streets of the city. United by their love of skateboarding, they formed a family and built a unique lifestyle that eventually inspired Kids, a groundbreaking and outrageous film directed by photographer Larry Clark and released in 1995.

Chops

January 2009 •English

In this Tribeca Film Festival selection, filmmaker Bruce Broder trains his camera on a crop of talented young jazz musicians as they play their way through the Essentially Ellington high school jazz band competition. Sponsored by the Jazz at Lincoln Center program, the prestigious contest gives the kids the chance to rub shoulders with legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis -- and put their budding improvisational skills to the test.

Koran by Heart

October 2011 •English

In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year-old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. Up against much older students, these youngsters have committed the 600 pages of the Koran to memory, and will put their skills to the test before the elite of the world’s Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. In the midst of this intense international competition, the three young competitors –two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and one girl from the Maldives – face uncertain futures at home, as they are caught between fundamentalist and moderate visions of Islam. The children discuss their recitation techniques – with accompanying, completely improvised melodies – and talk about their nerves and excitement as they finally compete before a panel of judges.

These Amazing Shadows

January 2011 •English

Tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.

Candyman: The David Klein Story

January 2010 •English

Candyman tells the amazing true story of David Klein, an eccentric candy inventor from LA, who came up with the concept of Jelly Belly® jellybeans. These colorful beans became a pop culture phenomenon, revolutionized the candy industry and were personally endorsed by Ronald Reagen. However, David's eccentric personality and peculiar sense of business led him to leave Jelly Belly just as it was about to explode and grow into a billion dollar enterprise. Is there room for eccentric genius in the modern corporate world? The film tells how Klein may have lost his beans, but kept his soul.