Backyard Epics: A Retrospective of Curranator Productions

Nostradamos

July 2011 •French

Citizens living in the city of Amos, Quebec, Canada and its surroundings are preparing for the worst. They have to act fast and make some quick decisions.

Rough Cut

December 2013 •English

Rough Cut, the debut feature from London-based artist Jamie Shovlin, explores the re-making of an exploitation film that never was. At its dark heart is Hiker Meat, an archetypal 1970s slasher movie imagined by Shovlin, complete with hitchhiking heroine, charismatic commune leader and a group of teens who disappear one by one. This tantalising film-within-a-film serves to both deconstruct and pay affectionate homage to the often-maligned exploitation style. Having created a full screenplay, score and cut-and-paste prototype for Hiker Meat, Shovlin filmed key sections and a full trailer in an intense shoot in the Lake District in summer 2013. Rough Cut contrasts these re-made sequences with on-set footage and insights into the development of Hiker Meat’s script, soundtrack and design, to create a compelling mash-up of self-referencing processes, behind-the-scenes viewpoints and time-honoured slasher tropes.

Fieldwork Footage

January 1928 •English

Under the tutelage of anthropologist Franz Boas (her former Columbia professor) and Harlem Renaissance arts patron Charlotte Osgood Mason, Zora Neale Hurston spent nearly two years, from 1927 to 1929, studying the folkloric customs, work songs, spirituals, and vernacular language of African American communities along the River Road and from New Orleans to Florida.

Sala de Roteiristas

August 2019 •Portuguese

What is the difference between a story and a good story? In this short documentary, ten of the greatest screenwriters in Brazil answer this and other questions, guiding us through the universe of creative writing and all its possibilities.

The Great Martian War 1913–1917

December 2013 •English

Documentary-drama recounting the Martian War of 1913–1917. Europe was on tenterhooks in the 2nd decade of the 20th century, everyone was expecting a Great War between the major European powers. But then, in 1913, something crashed into the forests of SW Germany. Troops were sent to investigate but were wiped out. Martian fighting machines began making their way across Western Europe and the countries of Europe combined forces to resist them. With aspects taken from ‘The War of the Worlds’ by H.G. Wells and from WWI itself, this dramatisation presents a documentary style look at events as they unfolded and the effect they had of our world today. Lots of references to real events including the mass attacks and defeats as men were thrown against machines on the Western front, the Christmas truce and the Angel of Mons, America's isolationism and late entry into the conflict, the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic that killed more people than the war, and many other things.

Dark Side of the Moon

October 2002 •French

A French documentary or, one might say more accurately, a mockumentary, by director William Karel which originally aired on Arte in 2002 with the title Opération Lune. The basic premise for the film is the theory that the television footage from the Apollo 11 Moon landing was faked and actually recorded in a studio by the CIA with help from director Stanley Kubrick.

Niños del paraíso

January 2000 •Spanish

In the Juan Fernández Archipelago, 700 kilometers from the central coast of Chile, is Robinson Crusoe Island. There, a group of children who are in their last year of primary school will soon graduate, leaving the island where they learned to live.

Return

February 2023 •Spanish

Documentary about emigration between the Canary Islands and Cuba during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition

November 1994 •English

Phil Hartman hosts this retrospective look back at the legacy and making of the classic 1966 holiday special 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'

Attacking the Darkness

October 2015 •English

American religious extremism collides with independent filmmaking when Harmony Hope Bryant sets out to create a cautionary movie about the dangers of roleplaying games.

Yo quise hacer Los bingueros 2

January 2016 •Spanish

Onyx: Kings of the Grail

March 2019 •English

Egypt, 11th century. When a famine ravages the country, the prosperous Andalusian kingdom of Denia comes to the aid of the sultan, who, in gratitude, gives Denia the most sought-after and coveted object in all of Christendom.

Look Closer: The Rise and Fall of Robert Benfer

December 2018 •English

In 2013, online clay animator Robert Benfer scammed hundreds of fans out of thousands of dollars and has continued to become less of the independent film icon he used to be, though his unique influence on video creators remains to this day. This film not only sheds light on how Benfer's films impacted young filmmakers, but also how a talented independent artist can fall from grace no matter how obscure they are.

Journey Through the Labyrinth

August 2007 •English

A retrospective look back at Jim Henson's 1986 fantasy film 'Labyrinth'.

Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal'

August 2007 •English

A retrospective look at Jim Henson and Frank Oz's 1982 fantasy film 'The Dark Crystal'.

Alexa Boulton: Cinema

January 2023 •French

Alexa Boulton interviews the students and teachers of Kelvin High School to uncover the possibilities for the future of cinema

Nothing As It Seems: The Films of Nicolas Roeg

January 1982 •English

Documentary on Nicolas Roeg

Raising Bertie

June 2017 •English

Raising Bertie is a longitudinal documentary feature following three young African American boys over the course of six years as they grow into adulthood in Bertie County, a rural African American-led community in Eastern North Carolina. Through the intimate portrayal of these boys, this powerful vérité film offers a rare in-depth look at the issues facing America's rural youth and the complex relationships between generational poverty, educational equity, and race. The evocative result is an experience that encourages us to recognize the value and complexity in lives all too often ignored.

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.

No Country For Young Men

May 2022 •Italian

A retired bricklayer wants his grandson, who lives hundreds of miles away, to stay with him. Will he convince the young man despite the lack of opportunities in the country?