Takumi: A 60,000 Hour Story on the Survival of Human Craft

The Last Day's Work

August 1987 •English

Work is becoming more service oriented and more and more services rely upon us doing harm to each other. In most people's lives, work operates as a degrading and debilitating force. It disables people's critical and perception capacities. Unless workers assume responsibility for evaluating the meaning and implications of the work they do, there will never be the capacity to redirect the modern work institutions from their courses of violence and exploitation. Built in seven parts which correspond to each day of the week, this film studies the relationship between work being done and the nature of the people that are doing it.

Magical Imperfection

June 2020 •English

'Magical Imperfection' tells the inspirational story of world-renowned Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama. Imprisoned in his own country during the 1940s because of his race, Ray found the strength to combat injustice by devoting his career to social justice and equality.

The Joy of AI

September 2018 •English

Professor Jim Al-Khalili looks at how we have created machines that can simulate, augment, and even outperform the human mind - and why we shouldn't let this spook us. He reveals the story of the pursuit of AI, the emergence of machine learning and the recent breakthroughs brought about by artificial neural networks. He shows how AI is not only changing our world but also challenging our very ideas of intelligence and consciousness. Along the way, we'll investigate spam filters, meet a cutting-edge chatbot, look at why a few altered pixels makes a computer think it's looking at a trombone rather than a dog and talk to Demis Hassabis, who heads DeepMind and whose stated mission is to 'solve intelligence, and then use that to solve everything else'. Stephen Hawking remarked 'AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation. Or the worst'. Jim argues that AI is a potent new tool that should enhance our lives, not replace us.

Machine of Human Dreams

June 2016 •English

A.I. guru Ben Goertzel grew up in a hippie community in Oregon during the Vietnam War. Inspired by science fiction, he imagined a perfect rational world that would transcend 1970s’ America. Ben has dedicated his life to developing OpenCog, a software that models the human mind. If Ben’s design works, OpenCog will become a human-like general intelligence. But for OpenCog to work, it needs a body.

I Am From Chosun

December 2021 •Korean

After 15 years of knowing Chosun people in Japan I met on Mt. Geumgang in 2002, I face the history of colonization and division that I had not known before. They’ve been to North Korea many times, but never to South Korea. They tell us why they want to live as Chosun people despite the discrimination in Japanese society. 

The Hanbok on the Court

September 2020 •Korean

The Next Black

October 2014 •English

An exploration of the future of clothing, profiling forward-thinking companies at the forefront of redefining how and what we wear.

Dans les bureaux

January 1982 •French

The gestures, the words, the rites of a day like any other in the offices of a large insurance company.

Intelligenza artificiale - Una rivoluzione per l'umanità ?

July 2023 •Italian

A journey into the world of artificial intelligence, to understand its operating logic and current and future applications. The TV program explains what AI is, its history, its current and future applications. It also illustrates the figure of Pepper, a humanoid robot that is the subject of important research at the University of Palermo. The TV program also talks about future developments of AI, the opportunities and possible social risks that it could entail: an aspect to focus on, both for the need to arrive at a correct algorithm, and to achieve an indispensable regulation of the sector.

Island Shunters

January 1977 •English

Short documentary on the shunters in the Darling Island, Sydney, Australia railyard. Filmed in 1977.

Let's Visit the World of the Future

August 1973 •English

A travelogue inviting viewers of today to come visit the future. The person who found this mysterious 16mm film in his basement in 1973, Rev. Ivan Stang, later ran The SubGenius Foundation, the Slack Prophecy religion devoted to Texas cult religion salesman J.R. "Bob" Dobbs.

The Best Thing I Ever Done

October 2010 •English

Hailed as the “godfather of Brooklyn pizza,” for forty five years Domenico DeMarco, Italian émigré and father of seven, has been slinging pizzas in his legendary corner shop, Di Fara. Employing five of his children, Dom works tirelessly from morning until night hand crafting each and every pizza himself while his kids take orders and manage the mob of devoted pizza aficionados. The Best Thing I Ever Done is a portrait of DeMarco and his beloved pizzeria, an exploration of his rise to fame and an ode to pizzaioli who take their time to 'make it right.'

The End of the Endless

April 2001 •Portuguese

"Fim do Sem Fim" is a feature-length documentary that has as its backdrop the imminent disappearance of certain trades and professions in Brazil. Shot in 10 Brazilian states, the film is a dive into the inventiveness and resistance of men in the face of technological and cultural changes.

Veränderung

April 2020 •German

Wim Wenders ponders about the future of our society and film making amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yohji Yamamoto: Dressmaker

June 2016 •English

Yohji Yamamoto | Dressmaker is an intimate and delving portrait of one of fashion's most revered stalwarts. For a man who creates clothing as armour, Yamamoto opens up as never before to share the core values that shape his life and work. Interviews with family, friends, employees and confidants reveal further insight about this complex and enigmatic figure.

Musician

May 2007 •English

Common sense says you can't make a living in America playing avant-garde improvisational jazz. But Ken Vandermark does it anyway. Among musicians, Vandermark's work ethic is almost mythic. The Chicago reed player has released over 100 albums with nearly 40 ensembles, spends over eight months per year on the road, and lives every other waking moment composing, arranging, performing—and trying to discipline his two hyperactive canines. Though Vandermark was the recipient of a 1999 MacArthur genius grant, he still spends most of his life in smoky clubs and low-budget recording studios, hoping people will plunk down hard-earned cash to hear his wholly non-commercial music. Following the artful cinéma vérité style of the internationally acclaimed Sheriff (Work Series #1), Musician (Work Series #2) forgoes all interviews and voice-overs. It is a fly-on-the-wall time capsule that expertly captures every subtle sound and texture of this most American of art forms.

Made by Machine: When AI Met the Archive

September 2018 •English

Dr Hannah Fry and a virtual host present a new way of making television, as the BBC uses artificial intelligence to delve into the treasures of the BBC Archive.

Haus und Hof

December 1980 •German

Agricultural scientist and mother Isolde struggles with the dicrepancies between her personal convictions and the political realities in East Germany.

Schlaue neue Welt - Das KI-Wettrennen

February 2024 •German

Tag für Tag

November 1979 •German

36 year old welder Karin works at an agricultural factory in Mecklenburg, Germany.