Animation Outlaws

Walt Disney said “We have created characters and animated them in the dimension of depth, revealing through them to our perturbed world that the things we have in common far outnumber and outweigh those that divide us.” Outside of Walt himself there are few people who have brought together and united more animators in the history of the genre than Craig "Spike" Decker and Mike Gribble, known to all as Spike & Mike. They created an animation festival that helped launch the careers of John Lasseter, Peter Lord, Will Vinton, Bill Plympton and Mike Judge to name just a few. Their Spike & Mike festival had an enormous impact on animation that was felt the world over. The festival was known as much for the breakthrough animation it presented as the outrageous antics of the founders.

The Critic

A portrait of film critic Carlos Boyero, one of the most followed and feared figures in Spanish cinema, surrounded by controversy and both love and hate.

Sodankylä Forever

The Midnight Sun Film Festival is held every June in the Finnish village of Sodankylä beyond the arctic circle — where the sun never sets. Founded by Aki and Mika Kaurismäki along with Anssi Mänttäri and Peter von Bagh in 1985, the festival has played host to an international who’s who of directors and each day begins with a two-hour discussion. To mark the festival’s silver anniversary, festival director Peter von Bagh edited together highlights from these dialogues to create an epic four-part choral history of cinema drawn from the anecdotes, insights, and wisdom of his all-star cast: Coppola, Fuller, Forman, Chabrol, Corman, Demy, Kieslowski, Kiarostami, Varda, Oliveira, Erice, Rouch, Gilliam, Jancso — and 64 more. Ranging across innumerable topics (war, censorship, movie stars, formative influences, America, neorealism) these voices, many now passed away, engage in a personal dialogue across the years that’s by turns charming, profound, hilarious and moving.

A Forbidden Orange

Spain, 1970s. A Clockwork Orange, a film considered by critics and audiences as one of the best works in the history of cinema, directed by Stanley Kubrick and released in 1971, was banned by the strict Franco government. However, the film was finally premiered, without going through censorship, during the 20th edition of the Seminci, the Valladolid Film Festival, on April 24, 1975. How was this possible?

Cult of Terror

A journey of years through many countries and film festivals; a nostalgic, adrenaline-fueled and rock-spirited immersion into the universe of cinephilia, in search of genre specialists, fans and filmmakers who speak of their shared passion for fantastic cinema; a whole international spiritual community united under the cathartic shadow of horror.

Steelers: The World's First Gay Rugby Club

Told through the eyes of an Australian news reporter, Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, who moved to the UK to escape depression, the documentary, follows 3 characters on their journey to overcome their struggles as the club competes against 60 other gay clubs in the Bingham Cup in Amsterdam – the World Cup of gay rugby.

Gol Gana

Searching for Oscar

Óscar Peyrou is a veteran Spanish film critic who writes his reviews according to a very peculiar method: in his opinion, it is not really necessary to watch the films since it is possible to judge them simply by looking at their promotional poster.

Broken Palace

A short documentary about the rapidly disappearing era of heritage movie palaces and the film going experience once offered within those hallowed walls.

Danube

Argentina, 1968. In the midst of the Cold War, the dictatorship of Juan Carlos Onganía (1966-70) organizes the 9th Mar del Plata Film Festival in order to show the world its friendly face, while exercising censorship and repressing dissidence.

The Business of Creativity

Going into my interview with Laurel Greenfield, I thought the majority of our conversation would be about her inspiration for painting food and why she chose to pursue painting as a career. We spoke about that but ended up having a much bigger conversation about pursuing a creative career. We talked a lot about finding the balance between having a business plan and taking a leap of faith into the unknown, something anyone pursuing a creative field on their own can relate to.

Las cinéphilas

Six elderly retired women, two from Buenos Aires, Argentina; two from Montevideo, Uruguay; and two from Madrid, Spain, have something in common, despite their different interests and lives: they go to the movies almost every day.

Inherent Venice

a journey suspended between reality and fantasy during the Venice Film Festival.

Galore

Fighting for visibility and solidarity, Lady Galore has become vital to the European drag community. For Sander den Baas, the man behind Lady Galore, this devotion is starting to take its toll. Although his size is what makes Lady Galore stand out and brought her fame, Sander is struggling with more and more health problems. Gastric bypass surgery will help him regain a healthy weight. But what will remain of Lady Galore?

In Bed with Surrealism. Augusts Sukuts

The international film festival Arsenāls has been a fixture on the Riga scene for the last 20 years. It has introduced new film aesthetic and was one of the only creatively free events during Soviet times. Over the years the festival has influenced culture and society in Eastern Europe, continually dazzling us with its creativity. The film is a portrait of the director, the father of Arsenals and trusty knight of surrealism.

Więcej światła. Festiwal operatorów filmowych Camerimage '97

Filmové festivaly 1949

Eraser

Fear City: A Family-Style Comedy

A second-class horror movie has to be shown at Cannes Film Festival, but, before each screening, the projectionist is killed by a mysterious fellow, with hammer and sickle, just as it happens in the film to be shown.

Camera Buff

Filip buys an 8mm movie camera when his first child is born. Because it's the first camera in town, he's named official photographer by the local Party boss. His horizons widen when he is sent to regional film festivals with his first works but his focus on movie making also leads to domestic strife and philosophical dilemmas.