Building the Ancient City: Rome

The Conclave and Election of Pope Pius XII

December 1939 •Italian

A short documentary covering the conclave and election of Pope Pius XII.

Il museo degli orrori di Dario Argento

December 2022 •Italian

Newly edited version of Luigi Cozzi's 1997 documentary "Il mondo di Dario Argento 3: Il museo degli orrori di Dario Argento" focusing on the museum-part of the "Profondo Rosso" shop.

Gladiators: Back from the Dead

June 2010 •English

Up to one million gladiators are thought to have died in arenas across the Roman Empire. And, although fascination with gladiators has been high, the details of their lives and deaths remain fragmentary. Now, with the discovery of an ancient Roman burial site containing 80 skeletons thought to be gladiator warriors, National Geographic recreates the world of the Roman arena and how six gladiators lived, fought and died.

Colpi di testa

November 2005 •Italian

Rome, 1968. A football passionate PE teacher formed the first woman team. Thirty eight years later, these women players remember with proud and a tinge of nostalgia how they stood up against all prejudices at a time when a woman wearing shorts was absolutely outrageous.

The Real Antony and Cleopatra

January 2016 •English

Expert interviews, dramatic reconstructions and location shooting bring to life the iconic legend of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in this historical documentary.

Hannibal v Rome

January 2005 •English

A documentary about Hannibal Barca - the general and ruler of New Carthage, who crossed the Alps in the fight with Rome. It covers the period from before the Punic Wars to the defeat of Carthage.

The Antiquities of Rome

November 1989 •French

Rousseau's first full-length feature, and one of the best documentaries/experimental films of the past few decades, sprung equally from Robert Bresson, Michael Snow, and Jean-Marie Straub (who has called Rousseau one of the three best working artists in modern Europe). Again hard places played against drifting sounds from unseen sites beyond the image; the images and sounds, repeated, become inflections of each other. But this time there are historical inflections; Rousseau's film, like Straub's, takes place in a sort of meta-history as characters and ancient sites each become products of outside light and shadow.

Mirage

September 2020 •Italian

Mali - Algeria - Libya - Italy. Issa’s escape from West Africa to the European mainland lasted ten years. Everything was supposed to be better here. But when he arrived in Rome, the only thing waiting for the young man was a life of homelessness and unemployment – which meant no money to send home. Drissa and Sekou share a similar fate, waiting in Italian asylum centres for a residence permit. Then there’s Bubu, who, forced to move from job to job, is unable to settle down. And lastly comes Alassane, who lives without identity papers in a state of constant uncertainty in a refugee camp near Rome. They all have one thing in common: after a gruelling odyssey, none of them has found the Italy they were hoping for when they arrived. Disillusioned, they find themselves in a vacuum of waiting, reflecting on the time they live in and the time that lies ahead.

Brot und Spiele – Wagenrennen im alten Rom

February 2019 •German

Io sono nata viaggiando

November 2013 •Italian

A journey back through Dacia Maraini's and her trips around the world with her close friends cinema director Pier Paolo Pasolini and opera singer Maria Callas. An in-depth story of this fascinating woman's life. Maraini's memories come alive through personal photographs taken on the road as well as her own Super 8 films shot almost thirty years ago.

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Primo piano. Personaggi e problemi dell'Italia d'oggi

January 1967 •Italian

Portrait of Pier Paolo Pasolini and his literary and cinematographic activity in the proletarian Rome.

Hadrian - Empire And Conflict

July 2008 •English

Documentary released to coincide with the British Museum's exhibition dedicated to the man who ruled the Roman Empire from 117 to 138 AD. The programme explores the life, achievements, passions and legacy of the emperor who was both soldier and poet and responsible for that most famous construction - Hadrian's Wall. The documentary was produced in conjunction with the exhibition Hadrian: Empire and Conflict at the British Museum 24 July - 26 October 2008.

Rome's Invisible City

June 2015 •English

With the help of a team of experts and the latest in 3-D scanning technology, Alexander Armstrong, along with Dr Michael Scott, explores the hidden underground treasures that made Rome the powerhouse of the ancient world.

The Last Days of Jesus

April 2017 •English

For almost two thousand years, the story of Jesus’ final days has been celebrated by Christians the world over. From Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, through to his eventual crucifixion six days later, the key moments have been immortalized in countless films, pieces of music, and works of art. But in recent years, some historians have begun to question inconsistencies in the Gospels’ version of events. They believe that the Gospels could hide a very different story; one that casts the historical Jesus in an entirely new light. Based on a new interpretation of contemporary historical events in Rome, "Last Days of Jesus" peels back thousands of years of tradition, to explore a new political context to the events in Jerusalem. "Last Days of Jesus" explores how dramatic political events in Rome could have played a crucial role in shaping Jesus’ destiny, and examines an extraordinary political alliance that altered the course of history.

The Roman Empire in the First Century

January 2001 •English

Two thousand years ago, at the dawn of the first century, the ancient world was ruled by Rome. Through the experiences, memories and writings of the people who lived it, this series tells the story of that time - the emperors and slaves, poets and plebeians, who wrested order from chaos, built the most cosmopolitan society the world had ever seen and shaped the Roman empire in the first century A.D.

Desolate Rome

October 1995 •French

Chronicles of a male homosexual drug addict in 1980's in voice-over with long take scenes from Rome, television snippets of news of Gulf War and commercials.

Revelation - The Bride, The Beast & Babylon

November 2013 •English

Going to the very heart of the Bible's most challenging Book, this one hour documentary decodes the visions of Revelation 12 and 17 for everyone to understand. Journeying from the birth of Christ through the Christian era, this amazing video pulls aside the veil of hidden history to reveal the rise of Babylon, the persecution of the bride of Christ, and the real-world identity of the beast. Educational and inspiring, Revelation delivers the keys to understanding the epic conflict between Christ and Satan and what it means for your life today.

I Ramones

January 1980 •English

I Ramones is a half-hour of concert footage captured in Rome in 1980, just after the release of the Phil Spector-produced album End of the Century. Shot on film, it laid forgotten in the vaults of an Italian television station for two decades after its one-time broadcast.

Judgement in Hungary

April 2013 •Hungarian

Hungary was the site of serial murders on ethnic basis. Over the course of one year, the murderers killed and seriously injured Roma children and adults. The state charged 4 men with committing the crime with racial motivation. This historical trial started March, 2011, and ended August, 2013 in Budapest. The 167 days of hearings was only documented continuously by our crew. We had exclusive permission to use multiple cameras in the court-room. The film is a classical chamber-drama, taking place in a small, claustrophobic court room, in the middle of Europe. What will be the outcome of the marathon, 3 year-long trial?

Syndrome K

October 2019 •English

Syndrome K is the true story about a highly contagious, highly fictitious disease created by three Roman Catholic doctors during the holocaust to hide Jews in a Vatican-affiliated hospital.