The Ability Exchange

Toil And Trouble: Making 'Macbeth'

September 2014 •English

A new documentary on the Criterion Collection edition of Roman Polanski's 1971 adaptation of Macbeth featuring interviews with the director, producer Andrew Braunsberg, assistant executive producer Victor Lownes, and actors Francesca Annis and Martin Shaw.

My True Brilliant Friend

December 2018 •Italian

A unique portrayal of two young amateur actresses embarking on a journey that will forever change their lives as they star in the most eagerly anticipated new show of 2018, Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend.

Society of the Snow: Who Were We on the Mountain?

January 2024 •Spanish

An in-depth look at the creative process behind "Society of the Snow," featuring cast, crew, director J.A. Bayona and even real-life survivors.

Director Z, el vendedor de ilusiones

April 2018 •Spanish

A documentary film about cult director José María Zabalza. How he made pictures with very little money and was granted little recognition.

Sex and Buttered Popcorn

January 1989 •English

Actor Ned Beatty hosts a look at the genre known as "exploitation" films. Interviews with some of the producers and directors of these films are shown, along with scenes from and trailers for some of these films.

How to Prepare a Class Report

January 1953 •English

This educational film from the 1950s instructs viewers how to prepare for a class report.

A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later

September 2011 •English

George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back at The Empire Strikes Back 30 years later.

Polanski Meets Macbeth

January 1972 •English

A 1971 documentary by Frank Simon featuring rare footage of the film’s cast and crew at work.

Precious Knowledge

May 2012 •English

Disenfranchised high school seniors become academic warriors and community leaders in Tucson, Arizona's embattled Ethnic Studies classes while state lawmakers attempt to eliminate the program.

Cinemagic

March 2017 •Russian

Aspiring directors Lev Zaretski (a sadist) and Ruslan Romanov (an anime MC) will show you how to properly write a screenplay; cast actors; do a film shoot; and answer questions from annoying film festival attendees.

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.

How Summerhill Works

June 2021 •English

An entertaining video filmed over two years. Kids, teachers, heads, parents, ex-pupils tell the story of this unique experimental school. “Kids don’t have to go to lessons at Summerhill and can wear and do mostly what they want. How does that work??!!

Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams

June 2013 •English

Documentary presented by Professor Simon Schaffer which charts the amazing and untold story of automata - extraordinary clockwork machines designed hundreds of years ago to mimic and recreate life. The film brings the past to life in vivid detail as we see how and why these masterpieces were built. Travelling around Europe, Simon uncovers the history of these machines and shows us some of the most spectacular examples, from an entire working automaton city to a small boy who can be programmed to write and even a device that can play chess. All the machines Simon visits show a level of technical sophistication and ambition that still amazes today.

Run Wrake's Guide to Animation

June 2007 •English

Run Wrake is an English filmmaker, animation director, and music video director. He studied graphic design at Chelsea College of Arts before completing a master's degree in animation at the Royal College of Art in London. In this interview for the BBC's Channel 4, he describes some of his films, their inception, and their production. He also comments on technological and cultural developments that have changed how animated films are produced and perceived.

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.

Bienvenido Mr. Heston

November 2016 •Spanish

Spain, 1961. Life in the small village of Torrelobatón, in the province of Valladolid, was turned upside down when the cinematic magic circus of a future Hollywood blockbuster, produced by Samuel Bronston, the rogue mogul of his own film empire, came to town: its inhabitants became participants and witnesses of the shooting of “El Cid,” a film directed by Anthony Mann, starring mythical actors Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. Those days, legends came alive.

Jak vzniká film

January 1926 •Czech

Engineering The Impossible

June 2002 •English

Just how far can engineering go? This program explores the feasibility of constructing several extraordinary projects such as a Europe to Africa Bridge or a tunnel across the Straights of Gibraltar. Could engineers really construct a mile high skyscraper or floating ocean cities? State of the art computer graphics and real world scientists help to explain these technological dreams. Current engineering advances, like revolutionary new vacuum, make these engineering marvel's a distinct possibility!

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.

Piaget’s Developmental Theory: an Overview

January 1989 •English

The work of Jean Piaget has become the foundation of current developmental psychology and the basis for changes in educational practice. David Elkind, author of The Hurried Child and Miseducation, and a student of Jean Piaget, explores the roots of Piaget’s work and outlines important vocabulary and concepts that structure much of the study of child development. Using both archival film of Dr. Piaget and newly shot sequences of Dr. Elkind conducting interviews with children of varying ages, this film presents an overview of Piaget’s developmental theory, its scope and content.