Video Letter

An Intervention(en)

Chelsea Bledsoe and her husband Graig throw a surprise intervention for her old high school boyfriend, Henry, with a mismatched group of acquaintances from back in the day to fill out the guest list.

Vive la crise !(fr)

Dark Side of the Moon(fr)

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.

Balnearios(es)

An album of odd and humorous stories on small places exclusively dedicated to idleness, which are empty in winter and crowded in summer: the spa towns. Cities under water, luxury hotels, mermaids, sea animals, sand castles, people who worship water, praying for health.

D@bbe: The Possession(tr)

Ahead of her wedding, Kübra is possessed by demons. When an examination reveals more horror, her friend, a psychiatrist, tries to perform an exorcism.

Tokyo Poltergeist(ja)

I have captured something unbelievable. Are you brave enough to see real ghosts? 1. The smell of incense sticks in a room 2. Curtains and whiteboards swaying in an empty room 3.vibrating and flashing lighting fixtures 4. wall clock blows 5. don! Don! and the sound or voice that hits the wall violently 6. a mirror that spouts water 7. Human voices and bells that shouldn't be there 8. A ball suddenly thrown from the ceiling 9. white human hand floating in the mirror 10. and finally! A white hand appeared in front of us from a place no human can enter! ! *No CG or editing has been added to the ghost images in this movie.

The Road Movie(ru)

Anything can happen on Russian roads and is precisely shot by the dashboard camera. Super-objective video registration grows into the strong image of Russian national character – with its permanent awaiting for the miracle and habitual approach to real dramas. A forest on fire as a symbol of Russian hell, a military tank at a car wash and car chase in the vicinity of Kremlin shot with a dashboard cam at the same time when Boris Nemtsov, the leader of political opposition, was shot dead near Kremlin. Dashboard cam depicts life in it’s purity as an unbiased observer.

Their Houses(en)

Filmmaker Cam Archer examines and explores his ordinary, suburban neighborhood in search of hidden truths, new narratives and a better understanding of his fading, creative self. Combining heavily degraded video with personal photographs and real life neighbors, Archer re-imagines the concept of 'home video'. In an attempt to distance himself from his subjects, actress Jena Malone narrates the piece as Archer in the first person.

Orpheus(fr)

A famous poet in postwar Paris, scorned by the Left Bank youth, is in love with both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess. Seeking inspiration, the poet becomes obsessed and follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead.

1013 Briar Lane(en)

In 2008, a real-life mystery began to unfold when a real estate company (name withheld by request) discovered video footage shot in one of its vacant properties. The tapes were acquired by local documentary filmmakers Jarrod Rogan and Haman Movafagh, who began piecing together a series of bizarre instances recorded by a man living in the house. Apparently waiting for his wife and daughter to join him from out of state, the man began documenting strange activity that kept him from sleeping for days on end. The eerie recordings have become the subject of much controversy among paranormal investigators, and are finally being released to the general public. This first documentary from Son of Jason Films challenges audiences to explain what happened in the house on Briar Lane.

The Tree House(vi)

In 2045, a filmmaker lands on Mars and tries to make a film. “Home… Far away from home”, he recalls faces of people, thus a collection of moving images emerge.

Collaboration: Ron Padgett(en)

In 2002, Sophie Constantinou and Bill Weir interviewed Padgett about his life and works, specifically his friendship and collaborations with the New York School of Poets. These moments were captured as part a series of short films catalyzed by Kenward Elmslie. His vision was to illustrate the artistic spirit of and collaborations among American writers, poets and artists from the late 50s to today.

State of Bacon(en)

State of Bacon tells the kinda real but mostly fake tale of an oddball group of characters leading up to the annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival. Bacon-enthusiasts, Governor Branstad, a bacon queen, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, members of PETA, and an envoy of Icelanders are not excluded from this bacon party and during the course of the film become intertwined with the organizers of the festival to show that bacon diplomacy is not dead.

Diary of the Dead(en)

A group of young filmmakers encounter real zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.

Farce of the Penguins(en)

In this spoof of "March of the Penguins," nature footage of penguins near the South Pole gets a soundtrack of human voices. Carl and Jimmy, best friends, walk 70 miles to the mating grounds where the female penguins wait. The huddled masses of females - especially Melissa and Vicki - talk about males, mating, and what might happen this year. Carl, Jimmy, and the other males make the long trek talking about food, fornication and flatulence. Until this year, Carl's sex life has been dismal, but he falls hard for Melissa. She seems to like him. A crisis develops when Jimmy comes upon something soft in the dark. Can friends forgive? Does parenthood await Carl and Melissa?

Willatuk: The Legend of Seattle's Sea Serpent(en)

Seattle filmmaker Oliver Tuthill Jr. directs this deadpan mockumentary that imparts the legend of Willatuk, a fictitious sea serpent that American Indians first spotted swimming in the waters off Puget Sound in 1736. Narrator Graham Greene explores the history of the mysterious creature that's considered sacred by a Pacific Northwest Indian tribe, which vows to protect it from the competing interests of local hunters.

Merton: A Film Biography(en)

In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.

Legend of the Demon Cat(zh)

During the Late Tang Dynasty, a manor is invaded by a demon cat and a sense of unrest befalls the capital of Changan. A poet is charged with investigating the case and meets up with a monk. The two work together and pull apart the thread of clues to reveal a history of truths leading to the events.

Wrinkles the Clown(en)

In Florida, parents can hire Wrinkles the Clown to scare their misbehaving children.

Faces of Death(en)

What question has plagued mankind more than the mystery—and terror—of death? This forbidden pursuit has driven Dr. Frances B. Gröss to the brink of madness, but in his obsession, he has amassed a uniquely comprehensive collection of films that depict life in its final, grueling moments. From the savagery of cold-blooded murder to the perverse realities of war, tragic accidents, and the everyday lives of those who collect, dissect, and bury the dead, this descent into morbidity lays bare a truth that all of us will one day face.

Powaqqatsi(en)

An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.

Naqoyqatsi(en)

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

Blue(en)

Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue.

Pastoral: To Die in the Country(ja)

A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan.

Koyaanisqatsi(en)

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

Cult(ja)

Three female idols appear on a television show to investigate an exorcism. An exorcist with psychic powers named Unsui claims that the show’s subjects, the Kaneda family, are cursed by a demon that’s too powerful for him to banish on his own, so he calls in a fellow exorcist to help. Soon, a reckless ghost hunter enters the fray as the three idols witness a series of terrifying events.

Van Gogh: Painted with Words(en)

A drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. Every word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters that Van Gogh sent to his younger brother Theo, and of those around him. What emerges is a complex portrait of a sophisticated, civilised and yet tormented man.

Belladonna of Sadness(ja)

An evil feudal lord rapes a village girl on her wedding night and proceeds to ruin her and her husband's lives. After she's eventually banished from her village, the girl makes a pact with the devil to gain magical ability and take revenge.

Lemonade(en)

The second "visual album" (a collection of short films) by Beyoncé, this time around she takes a piercing look at racial issues and feminist concepts through a sexualized, satirical, and solemn tone.

House(ja)

Hoping to find a sense of connection to her late mother, Gorgeous takes a trip with her friends to visit her aunt's ancestral house in the countryside. The girls soon discover that there is more to the old house than meets the eye.

Kermit's Swamp Years(en)

At 12 years old, Kermit the Frog and best friends Goggles and Croaker travel outside their homes in the swamps of the Deep South to do something extraordinary with their lives.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey(en)

Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.

In the Realms of the Unreal(en)

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

We Live in Public(en)

In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.

Cardcaptor Sakura: The Sealed Card(ja)

All of the Clow Cards have been captured, and Sakura Kinomoto, the new Master of the Cards, is preparing to play the lead in the play for the town festival. However, a new evil force is causing mysterious events all over Tomoeda, including the disappearance of Sakura's cards. With Syaoran's help, Sakura must figure out the cause of these events, and save her town.

Avatar Spirits(en)

Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creators of the hit television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, reflect on the creation of the masterful series.

Life in a Day(en)

A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki(ja)

A look at legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki following his retirement in 2013.

Tuesday(en)

A mother and her teenage daughter must confront Death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking bird.

Seven Up!(en)

A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.