The Fairytale Castles of King Ludwig II

Ludwig II of Bavaria, more commonly known by his nicknames the Swan King or the Dream King, is a legendary figure - the handsome boy-king, loved by his people, betrayed by his cabinet and found dead in tragic and mysterious circumstances. He spent his life in pursuit of the ideal of beauty, an ideal that found expression in three of the most extraordinary, ornate architectural schemes imaginable - the castle of Neuschwanstein and the palaces of Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. Today, these three buildings are among Germany's biggest tourist attractions. Dan Cruickshank explores the rich aesthetic of Ludwig II - from the mock-medievalism of Neuschwanstein, the iconic fairytale castle that became the inspiration for the one in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, to the rich Baroque splendour of Herrenchiemsee, Ludwig's answer to Versailles. Dan argues that Ludwig's castles are more than flamboyant kitsch and are, in fact, the key to unravelling the eternal enigma of Ludwig II.

Die Jahrhundertflut

After several days of rainfall, the watchword in wide parts of Bavaria in early June 2013 is: Land submerged! Within the shortest time, the flood catastrophe is taking its course: The regions around Kolbermoor, Deggendorf, and Passau are the hot spots. For the local population, these are dramatic days of hope and fear, for the aid workers it means work around the clock. In those days, Bavaria closed the ranks: Volunteers from all regions come in order to lend a hand and help. The Bayerische Fernsehen commemorates the dramatic days and weeks in the early summer of 2013 with the documentary “Die Jahrhundertflut” (“The flood of the century”).

The Manchester Pusher

A look at the number of canal deaths in the Manchester Region.

Mother Tongue

"Mother Tongue" chronicles the first time a documentary film about Guatemalan genocide in Guatemala was translated and dubbed into Maya-Ixil—5.5% of whom were killed during the armed conflict in the 1980s. Told from the perspective of Matilde Terraza, an emerging Ixil leader and the translation project’s coordinator, "Mother Tongue" illuminates the Ixil community’s ongoing work to preserve collective memory.

Tiverton Canal Co. 50th Anniversary

A short documentary comemmorating 50 years of the Tiverton Canal Co. operating on the Grand Western Canal in Tiverton, Devon.

Fall 2

Bas Jan Ader rides his bike into a canal in Amsterdam.

Logistics

Logistics or Logistics Art Project is an experimental art film. At 51,420 minutes (857 hours or 35 days and 17 hours), it is the longest movie ever made. A 37 day-long road movie in the true sense of the meaning. The work is about Time and Consumption. It brings to the fore what is often forgotten in our digital, ostensibly fast-paced world: the slow, physical freight transportation that underpins our economic reality.

Big Rig

Big Rig (2008) is a documentary film by Doug Pray about long-haul truck drivers. The film consists of a series of interviews with different drivers, focusing on both their personal life stories and also the life and culture of truck drivers in the United States.

Reimagining A Buffalo Landmark

The Richardson Olmsted Campus, a former psychiatric center and National Historic Landmark, is seeing new life as it undergoes restoration and adaptation to a modern use.

Triumph des Willens

A showcase of German chancellor and Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler at the 1934 Nuremberg Rally.

Spider Murphy Gang – Glory Days of Rock 'n' Roll

In this documentary, which features unreleased demo tapes and very personal interviews, the band looks back at its beginnings, at major achievements, and at hard times.

Ship Happens

Residents of an idyllic island town off the coast of Georgia demand answers after the largest shipwreck removal in US History doesn't go as planned.

Nuremberg : des images pour l'histoire

In 1945, two young American soldiers, brothers Budd and Stuart Schulberg, are commissioned to collect filmed and recorded evidence of the horrors committed by the infamous Third Reich in order to prove Nazi war crimes during the Nuremberg trials (1945-46). The story of the making of Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today, a paramount historic documentary, released in 1948.

Non Scordarti

15 Miles On The Erie Canal (Part 1)

The Erie Canal was an engineering marvel in its time and remains so today. This documentary travels from Palmyra to the Genesee River, stopping along the way to visit the people and places that make the canal so special. Canal historian Thomas Grasso offers insight into the canal’s past while the Golden Eagle String Band provides the music track.

15 Miles On The Erie Canal (Part 2)

Highlighting the canal’s quiet beauty and fascinating people, Part 2 travels from the Genesee Waterways to Spencerport, Brockport, Holley, and Lockport– taking to the trails and the water, on everything from the historic Sam Patch tour boat to Luxury cabin cruisers. Dr. William Hullfish, a SUNY Brockport associate professor, musician and the expert in Erie Canal Songs.

Ni Hao Holland

Two Chinese tourists swap their megacity for the Dutch village of Giethoorn where the hosts work hard to provide for them the authentic Dutch experience.

Der Nürnberger Prozess - Tribunal des Todes

Die Hugenottenstadt Erlangen. Eine der interessantesten Städteanlagen Deutschlands

A silent documentary film about the history and the architecture of the town of Erlangen in the Middle Franconia region in Bavaria, Germany.

Die Dichter und die Räterepublik

Documentary film with play scenes about the rise and fall of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919 from the perspective of various well-known poets and writers who experienced the events as contemporary witnesses.