The Volunteer Archivists

The End of Memory(fr)

Each day, some 2.5 trillion bytes of data are exchanged, a deluge known as "big data." How can we classify, store, and give meaning to this mass of digital information? Will our digital society remain capable of producing a lasting memory? Learn the fate of memory storage in the future.

Nani Ma(or)

Musamoni Panigrahi (1920s–2017), fondly called “Nani Ma” by her neighbours, appears in the centre of this first film in the Baleswari dialect of India's Odia language. The story revolves around folklore and folk songs narrated by Nani Ma. Born in the 1920s in pre-independent rural India in a coastal village in the Balasore district of Odisha, she never got to go beyond the first few days of school. The film is an alternate history of a society broken through colonization, Brahminical patriarchy and a post-famine (Orissa famine of 1866, killing nearly 5 million people, one-third of the population), and the dominance of formal writing over spoken tongues. Three academics -- Damayanti Beshra, PhD (recipient of India’s fourth civilian award, “Padma Shri”), Panchanan Mohanty, PhD (noted linguist), and Laxmikanta Tripathy, PhD, DLitt (anthropologist and author) -- also appear in the film to provide contextual commentary on patriarchy, oral history and the sociolinguistic diversity.

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project(en)

Marion Stokes secretly recorded television 24 hours a day for 30 years from 1975 until her death in 2012. For Marion taping was a form of activism to seek the truth, and she believed that a comprehensive archive of the media would be invaluable for future generations. Her visionary and maddening project nearly tore her family apart, but now her 70,000 VHS tapes are being digitized and they'll be searchable online.

Beyond Paper(en)

At a critical moment in the history of the written word, as humanity’s archives migrate to the cloud, one filmmaker goes on a journey around the globe to better understand how she can preserve her own Romanian and Armenian heritage, as well as our collective memory. Blending the intellectual with the poetic, she embarks on a personal quest with universal resonance, navigating the continuum between paper and digital—and reminding us that human knowledge is above all an affair of the soul and the spirit.

Victorian Britain on Film(en)

Offers audiences a unique window into a bygone era when a thrilling new invention, the motion picture camera, first captures a nation on film.

A Life's Work(en)

What’s it like to dedicate your life to work that won’t be completed in your lifetime? Fifteen years ago, filmmaker David Licata focused on four projects and the people behind them in an effort to answer this universal question.

Resurrecting Sinistar: A Cyber-Archaeology Documentary(en)

Two-years in the making, SynaMax takes viewers on a journey into the extensive cyber-archaeology research involved with restoring the source code and documenting the development history to the 1983 arcade game, Sinistar. Featuring exclusive interviews with project lead and software engineer Noah Falstein, sound engineer Mike Metz, and video game designer John Newcomer, this video offers a very comprehensive glimpse into one of the most innovative video games from the early '80s.

Note al centro(it)

Hakim Babu(or)

A man from lower social background qualifies and gets an administration job and to match his higher social occupation, he leaves his family, friends, and fiance. But gradually he understands his mistake and returns for his people. Finally he finds his wrong decision for the mining in his village has lead to the destruction and down fall of his people and everyone lives the village and him behind alone.

Ananta(or)

"Randi Pua Ananta" follows the journey of Ananta, a notorious troublemaker who undergoes a remarkable transformation into a selfless hero. When a devastating flood threatens his village, Ananta makes the ultimate sacrifice to save his people, proving that redemption can come in the most unexpected ways.

Byaase Sunucha(or)

A Carefree Artist confronts The Pioneer of Odia literature Byaasakabi Fakir Mohan, to lament about the current state of the Odia Language and how it has been looked down upon by the elites of the state. Will his voice be heard?

Bringing Down a Mountain(en)

A rural village never wanted to be a city’s landfill or a distant blur in Reels but rather home to new imaginations. Bringing Down a Mountain dissects the intersecting themes of access, abolition and caste through the experiences of residents of a rural village and that of a hyper-urban city. The film follows the village residents’ dreams—of mobile data, digital payment and relief from menial work. What happens when the landfill is full, and dreams want to break free?

Keeping Company(en)

A diary.exe of her pixelf- isolation echoes through Robbie's webcam.

Carpenter(ku)

An old Kurdish man Hussein Mahmood who is a carpenter tries to make artificial legs for people who have lost their legs.

Nancy Cartwright: The Voice of Success(en)

Voice actress Nancy Cartwright, best known for her work on FOX's "The Simpsons", attended Ohio University on a scholarship in 1976. In 1978, she left OHIO to follow her dreams in Hollywood. This film documents Nancy's trip back to Ohio University as she gives advice to the graduating class on how to be successful in life.

Mad Max Exposed(en)

Step into the world of the original Mad Max movie and take a rare behind the scenes look at the making of this groundbreaking film.

Cut: Exposing FGM Worldwide(en)

Taking more than six years to complete, The Cut is a feature-length documentary that conclusively proves that female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM) can be found as a native practice on all inhabitable continents. From war zones in the Middle-East to bucolic Middle America, the film visits 14 countries and features key interviews with FGM survivors, activists, cutters, doctors and researchers to uncover an often secret practice shrouded in centuries of traditions, mysticisms and irrationalities.

DAEWON(en)

DAEWON is a documentary covering the career highlights and uncertain life moments throughout the 30 year career of legendary skateboarder Daewon Song. A film by Joe Pease. In association with adidas skateboarding.

Sentinels in the Air(en)

This short shows the important role played by members of the U.S. Air Force Reserve in the USA's defense against enemy attack.

Afraid of People(en)

This documentary follows the lives of several extraordinary people who have been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. Through personal interviews, viewers learn about the symptoms, emotions, and challenges these people face and about the treatments available to help people on their road to recovery.

Downloaded(en)

A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library(en)

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

Superheroes(en)

A journey inside the world of real life caped crusaders. From all over America, these self-proclaimed crime fighters, don masks, homemade costumes and elaborate utility belts in an attempt to bring justice to evildoers everywhere.

John Candy: I Like Me(en)

Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.

All That Breathes(en)

Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.

Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes(en)

Serial killer Dennis Nilsen narrates his life and horrific crimes via a series of chilling audiotapes recorded from his jail cell.

Junun(en)

A documentary capturing the creation of the album Junun inside Rajasthan’s 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort. Paul Thomas Anderson follows Jonny Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur, Nigel Godrich, and the Rajasthan Express as they record a cross-cultural fusion of Indian, Israeli, and Western music.

Night Will Fall(en)

When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".

My Mom Jayne(en)

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

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.

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski(en)

Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.

Nothing Like a Dame(en)

BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.

Elstree 1976(en)

A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.

Atlantis Rising(en)

James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici go on an adventure to find the lost city of Atlantis by using Greek philosopher Plato as a virtual treasure map.

14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible(en)

In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.

The Battered Bastards of Baseball(en)

Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.

Racing Extinction(en)

An unlikely team of activists and innovators hatches a bold mission to save endangered species.

The Imposter(en)

In 1994, a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later, he is found alive in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.

The Crash Reel(en)

The Crash Reel tells the story of a sport and the risks that athletes face in reaching the pinnacle of their profession. This is Kevin Pearce’s story, a celebrated snowboarder who sustained a brain injury in a trick gone wrong and who now aims, against all the odds, to get back on the snow.

Unknown: Cave of Bones(en)

Scientists examine underground clues from over 250,000 years ago that raise questions about our early relatives — and what it truly means to be human.