Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

In 1846, Anthony Hope sails into London with the mysterious Sweeney Todd, a once-naive barber whose life and marriage was uprooted by a corrupt justice system. Todd confides in Nellie Lovett, the owner of a local meat pie shop, and the two become partners, as Todd swears revenge on those that have wronged him and decides to take up his old profession.

1995-10-31 | ca

The Derby 1895

A stationary camera, looking diagonally across a racetrack toward the infield, records the horses as they race past. Once they are out of view and the race is over, police officers run onto the infield. The crowd moves around.

1895-11-20 | en

Paul Newman: The Restless

Multi-talented, Paul Newman is one of the greatest American actors of all time. With his silhouette of a Greek statue and his unreal blue eyes, he embodied the quintessential Hollywood star. But he never seemed satisfied. The son of a Jewish sporting goods retailer who despises him and a Catholic mother who adores him, driven by self-doubt and an inherited need for approval from his childhood, he has worked throughout his fifty-year career to break the image of the pretty boy. He made his first experiences in the famous Actors Studio. The breakthrough as a screen star came in 1958 with "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". From then on he preferred characters on the edge of the American dream. With archive images and film excerpts, the documentary paints a portrait of a socio-politically committed man with many facets and also pays tribute to the role of his wife Joanne Woodward.

2023-06-11 | fr

Xavier de Maistre und die Harfe

2020-12-17 | de

Ailey

Alvin Ailey was a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. Told in his own words and through the creation of a dance inspired by his life, this immersive portrait follows a man who, when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him, determined to build one that would.

2021-07-23 | en

Lavender Men

Taffeta, a contemporary queer person of color, summons Abraham Lincoln to perform an elaborate historical fantasia within her own head — only to learn that she can’t hide from her own present-day demons in the shadows of someone else’s past.

2025-05-02 | en

La Véritable Histoire du comte de Monte Cristo

2020-12-15 | fr

Adrift at Sea

The Story of the three Japanese castaways Otokichi, Kyukichi and Iwakichi. After their ship the Hojunmaru was damaged, they drifted to America and landed on the US-Westcoast in 1834. They had the wish to return to Japan, a long journey was awaiting them.

1983-12-03 | ja

Hans Memling, Painter of the Madonna

1939 short documentary by Belgian filmmaker on pianter Hans Memling.

1939-12-01 | fr

Lord Roberts Leaving For South Africa

An actuality and reportage film. This film captures Lord Frederick Roberts (British Army rank Field Marshal) departing England for South Africa on 23rd December 1899, where he commanded British forces for a year in the Second Boer War. The ship in this film is the RMS Dunottar Castle. Going with Roberts is his chief of staff, Lord Kitchener, whose future role as Secretary Of State for War during World War One awaits him. This film was produced and distributed by the Warwick Trading Company, a London based company at its peak at this time, involved in the majority of British films.The Warwick Trading Company specialised in travel, reportage and actuality films and had substantial catalogues. Charles Urban had taken over as managing director in 1897 and was in that role when this film was produced. According to the BFI programme entry, the company had a large amount of resources already in South Africa. This meant they could capture historic moments as part of its Boer War coverage.

1899-12-23 | en

Paul Auster: What If

A look at the world of US writer Paul Auster, on the occasion of the publication of his new novel, an exploration of human identity and the soul of New York, the city that Auster has portrayed as no one else has ever done.

2019-02-12 | de

Halftime

Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.

2022-06-08 | en

Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit

An account of the life of actress Jeanne Moreau (1928-2017), a true icon of the New Wave and one of the most idolized French movie stars.

2018-04-02 | fr

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.

2019-10-25 | en

L'Extrême Droite dans l'Histoire : Du général Boulanger à Jean-Marie Le Pen

2002-04-27 | fr

Namibia: The Story of a German Colony

Germans colonized the land of Namibia, in southern Africa, during a brief period of time, from 1840 to the end of the World War I. The story of the so-called German South West Africa (1884-1915) is hideous; a hidden and silenced account of looting and genocide.

2019-04-22 | de

Seijun Suzuki: kabuki & yakuzas

Film director and screenwriter Seijun Suzuki (1923-2017), who in the sixties was the great innovator of Japanese cinema; and his collaborator, art director and screenwriter Takeo Kimura (1918-2010), recall how they made their great masterpieces about the Yakuza underworld for the Nikkatsu film company.

2002-01-10 | es

The Elephant Man

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

1980-10-09 | en

Frankenstein

In the early 19th century, Dr. Frankenstein discovers the secret of life – how to create a perfect man – powerful, intelligent and immune to disease. But something goes wrong in the laboratory and the doctor’s hideous creation disappears into the night. At first, Frankenstein hoped that the horrible monster would perish in the wilderness, but now he senses that it’s alive and sets out for him. Dr. Frankenstein tracks the creature to the Arctic, where the two must battle to decide who will become the master of the other’s life…or death.

1993-12-02 | en

Frankenstein

An investigation into a serial killer leads two detectives to discover that Dr. Frankenstein and his creature are still alive after two centuries of genetic experiments.

2004-10-09 | en