The Illumination

When Gordon Gund went blind in 1970 at age 30 due to retinitis pigmentosa, he resolved to find a cure for the disease and created the Foundation Fighting Blindness. After decades of scientific research, a major breakthrough emerged, and this short film showcases the inspirational story of a 17-year-old Belgian boy who is a beneficiary of this work.

La Sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

They

An intimate portrait of a couple raising their child gender neutral.

the backroads

A reflection on the beauty of the roads less traveled.

Nuit et Brouillard

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

Eurotrauma: Skinny Puppy Live in Europe 1986

A hand-filmed 32-minute documentary of the Skinny Puppy's 1988 'Head Trauma' tour of Europe by Dwayne Rudolph Goettel. Edited by Nivek Ogre in 2005.

Birders

Bird watchers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border share their enthusiasm for protecting and preserving some of the world's most beautiful species.

welcome_home.exe

As technology accelerates, our species' collective imagination of the future grows ever more kaleidoscopic. We are all haunted by temporal distortion, perhaps no more than when we attempt to remember what the future looked like to our younger selves. As the mist of time devours our memories, the future recedes; each of us burdened by the gaping mouth of entropy. Yet, emerging technology provides a glimmer of hope; transhumanism promises a future free from mortality, disease and pain. Does our salvation lie in digital simulacra? We're here to sell you the answer to that question, for the low, low price of four hundred and seventy seconds.

Stille Nacht im fremden Land

By comparing the St. Nicholas celebrations in Islamic and Protestant communities in Berlin, the relationship between the religions is explored.

JENNY@7-11

In a convenience store, the door of the storage room is a two-way mirror, reflecting a romantic story of love at first sight.

Here We Have Idaho

On a visit home to Idaho, Matt documents family dynamics and recalls scattered memories from childhood. “Here We Have Idaho,” is a witty self-portrait about small-scale resentments and feeling undervalued amongst loved ones. He leaves his “high-octane, balls-to-the-wall” life as a New York City alt comic to spend some time with the fam. But soon he learns there’s no room for him to stay in the house — he’s been demoted to sleeping in a trailer in the driveway, a fact that he stews on for days.

Burlesque Queen

Tassel-spinning showgirl Tina stars in this rare 60s British burlesque stage show reel.

Grandpa's in the Tuff Shed

It adroitly tells the story of a "counter culture" young man who when his grandfather dies, packs the body in dry ice, and stores him in a Tuff Shed, waiting for the time when advances in modern medicine can bring him back to life. I am not making this up. Then our young men gets deported back to Norway on unrelated charges. Then, quite a while later, people look up and take notice ... "Hey ... there appears to be a frozen dead guy in that shed over there."

Éloge du chiac

Taking the form of a conversation between a young teacher at a French school in Moncton and her students, the film shows how hard it is for francophones to preserve their language in a society where English is everywhere and has been for centuries.

Kylvan, le pup sourd

Kelvan describes his daily life as a deaf person in Montreal, with one small detail: he's part of the puppy community. Puppy-Play is a kind of role-playing game in which you adopt the personality and mentality of an animal, and is present in the LGBTQueer+ community.

Dear Valued Guests

Forty four years ago, it seemed like a good idea to build a squat, concrete motel in downtown Columbia, Missouri. But within a few years, guests were calling for a do-over. Now, with the downtrodden building’s fate sealed, the Rabid Hands artist collective arrives on the scene as hospice workers, assisting in the passing of the building’s soul. What ensues is a New Orleans-style voodoo celebration of a previously unsung piece of architecture.

Cisza

A portrait of a family living in a village in Masuria.

Contra a Maré

Every day, fishermen venture out into the polluted waters of Sepetiba Bay to provide for their families, searching for what remains of the region's marine life.

Die 7 Todsünden des Staatsbürgers

A Slice of Lynch

David Lynch, Mädchen Amick, Kyle MacLachlan and John Wentworth reminisce about "Twin Peaks" while seated at a diner counter.