Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty

Known for his mournful "Adagio for Strings," Samuel Barber was never quite fashionable. This acclaimed film is a probing exploration of his music and melancholia. Performance, oral history, musicology, and biography combine to explore the life and music of one of America’s greatest composers. Features Thomas Hampson, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop and many more of the world's leading experts on Barber's music, with tributes from composers Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and William Schuman. The film was broadcast on PBS, and screened at nine film festivals internationally, with three best-of awards. It was named a Recording of the Year 2017 by MusicWeb International.

A Symphony of Noise

Treating a trumpet as if it was a portion of fish and chips is not basic culinary research but an audio-activistic intervention that lends a voice to British fishermen’s opinion towards Brexit. And the title ‘audio activist’ is very fitting for the British composer Matthew Herbert. ‘A Symphony of Noise’ provides an insight into Herbert’s thoughts about how we should hear the world and presents amplified sounds of teeth being pulled out, a pig being born, and a swimmer crossing the English Channel. The controversial and political samples become a part of a live performance at the Berlin night club Berghain, which makes the listeners both grate their teeth and dance along. Matthew Herbert wants us to listen to the world afresh, and it is a pretty fantastic experience.

Destruction of the Berlin Wall

Filmed in Berlin, July 1990. Images of workers taking down the wall and street peddlers selling pieces of it to make a living.

Uma Nova Onda de Liberdade: A História do Madame Satã

In operation to this day, the mansion known as Madame Satan began its activities in 1983, and in the 1980s was the main hub of avant-garde artists of the city, from which came out disparate and essential names for music, performing arts, visual arts, journalism, photo and video of Sao Paulo, as well as mythical characters of the night of São Paulo who made history with their absurd and impactful performances.

De tijd

The point of departure for this film is the 1981 composition De Tijd by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. Van der Keuken leaves the music undisturbed as an autonomous soundtrack and has the images engage in a sort of battle with it. These images are associations, fragments of events, scenes and situations. The film is preceded by a text by Bert Schierbeek.

Your War (I'm One of You): 20 Years of Joan of Arc

Your War (I'm One Of You) chronicles the life and career of Chicago's Tim Kinsella, frontman of ever-shifting band Joan of Arc and '90's pioneers Cap'n Jazz. With appearances from Tim's friends, family, and admirers, we learn what has made his legacy so unique and enduring for more than 20 years.

The Road Forward

The Road Forward is an electrifying musical documentary that connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history—the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s—with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. Interviews and musical sequences describe how a tiny movement, the Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood, grew to become a successful voice for change across the country. Visually stunning, The Road Forward seamlessly connects past and present through superbly produced story-songs with soaring vocals, blues, rock, and traditional beats.

Unarmed Verses

Toronto filmmaker Charles Officer profiles the young people of Villaways Park, a housing project on brink of historic change.

Frank Sinatra Memorial

Frank Sinatra, the greatest entertainer of the 20th century, is remembered by some of the brightest stars in Hollywood in this television memorial which celebrates his life and mourns his passing. Exclusive flashback interviews with Sinatra, his friends and his family, reveal little known facts about his overwhelming generosity and the sensationalized image created by the press. * In-depth interviews with those who knew him best... Ed McMahon, Tommy Sands, Shecky Green, Phyllis McGuire, Quincy Jones, & Betty Garrett, among others. * See highlights from some of Sinatra’s last films and farewell perfomances.

The Making of Grace

A newly expanded version of the original Grace documentary, featuring new interviews with band members and producer Andy Wallace as well as unseen footage of Jeff and the band at Bearsville Studio recording Grace. Included in Grace (Legacy Edition), a newly remastered version of the album.

Переверни пластинку

Flipside is a documentary about the world of wax records in Russia. The film unveils the story of the legendary medium for records, very popular in the USSR, undeservedly forgotten in the years of the perestroika and raised from the ashes nowadays. What is the place of the wax record in the world of digital technologies? Who are the people that collect, sell and buy wax records today, and why do they do this? Who are those that try their best to impede them? Why do disk jockeys and musicians continue to idolize wax records? How did the wax record players make it back from garbage cans to the luxury HI-END shops? You will find answers to all these questions in a unique film for music fans, a trip through the world of music in the 20th century, at high speed, to the most sincere and humane format of the music.

Blue Extra

Mac Dre: Legend of the Bay

Bay Area rapper Mac Dre began his career at 18 and quickly became an influential force in early west coast hip-hop. In 1992 he was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank robbery when his lyrics were used against him in court. He left prison with a new lease on life, founded an independent record company, and then was murdered just when he began to emerge as a star. For the first time ever, his mother Wanda reveals the true experiences of a hip-hop legend.

Storočnica – Eugen Suchoň

Come Worry with Us!

Acclaimed Montreal band Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra is one of a growing number of rock groups to have accepted an infant into their touring tribe. Touring with children is both costly and complicated, yet SMZ are determined to combine family life and being on the road with the band's deep political commitment.

Shine a Light

Martin Scorsese and the Rolling Stones unite in "Shine A Light," a look at The Rolling Stones." Scorsese filmed the Stones over a two-day period at the intimate Beacon Theater in New York City in fall 2006. Cinematographers capture the raw energy of the legendary band.

A Star-Spangled Story: Battle for America

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is known by all, treasured for its powerful melody and stirring lyrics. And yet, only about 40% of U.S. citizens know all the words. And even fewer know their meaning. Join us as we travel back to 1814, when Washington D.C. was under British attack during the "Second War of Independence," and the very bricks and mortar of American democracy were reduced to smoking rubble. We examine the battle that inspired witness Francis Scott Key to immortalize its final moments, then reveal how his poem transformed into an anthem.

This Is It

A compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of Michael Jackson as he prepared for his series of sold-out shows in London.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

The 29th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place on Thursday, April 10, 2014 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The 2014 Ceremony was open to the public, as it had been for the Induction Ceremonies in Cleveland (2009, 2012) and Los Angeles (2013). This was the first time that the event was held in New York. With performances by Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, KISS, Nirvana, Linda Ronstadt, and Cat Stevens.

The Last Waltz

Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.