Vignettes of New England Steam

Vignettes of the New England Steam features the films of noted rail photographers Albert Michaud and William P. Price, as they document the handsome steam power (and the occasional pesky diesel) of the Grand Trump, Central Vermont, Boston & Maine, and New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroads. The mostly color and mostly 16mm production begins with the Grand Trunk in New Hampshire, then moves to the Central Vermont in the White River Jct vicinity, and the Boston & Maine and New Haven, primarily around Boston. Many wheel arrangements are featured, as is the passenger and freight rolling stock of the era ...including truss-rodded clerestory-roofed wooden maroon passenger cars on the B&M! So come along with Clear Block Productions as we journey back to the late 1940's and early 1950's to witness Steam's Final Stand in the Northeast in Vignettes of the New England Steam.

A Stone Story

Le regard de Georges Brassens

An atypical portrait of singer, songwriter, poet Georges Brassens.

Heartbreakers Beach Party

Documentary that captures Tom Petty and the band in 1982-1983 as they finish, promote, and tour around the “Long After Dark” album (their final with legendary producer Jimmy Iovine). It aired only once on MTV in 1983. After the long lost 16mm reels were finally found, a restored version with 19 minutes of extra footage was released in 2024.

Seagull dog child

A seagull, a dog, a child, a call to prayer; Looking through a window, the corridor of a train, the wall of a medina; Everyday life is momentarily paused through the eyes of a stranger in an unknown land.

Among the igloo dwellers

Expeditions in the Western Canadian Arctic

Struggle against drought

Shows the measures taken to combat the drought which leads to famine

Chris and Bernie

The story of two young single mothers who join forces to make a new kind of family unit for themselves and their children.

Winter Light

Sunlight in a winter forest.

Jasper Beach and The Salt Marsh

A short film featuring a pebble beach and coastal salt marsh in Maine.

Starlight

A golden sunrise brings light to the foggy hills and meadows of late summer.

Snowfall

As a winter storm approaches the shallow water crystallizes, ice builds up along the edges of a stream, and the first snowflakes of the storm layer over the newly formed ice. The following morning a soft light approaches through the snow covered forest.

New Clouds

Clouds forming and moving through the summer sky.

Two Trees

In the early 1900s commercial loggers cut down an old growth spruce tree growing on a small island surrounded by tide pools on the coast of Maine. Out of the trunk of this ancient tree grew two new trees, side by side.

Tree

Structural study of a tree. Light, water and air coax it out of the soil in a manner foregrounding time’s relativity to different forms of life on Earth. Made the day my brother got his fork-lift license.

i see myself in you

Amidst rising xenophobia, three South Asian settlers paint a more holistic picture of what Brampton is today. The film acts as a fleeting memory, creating vignettes of the ever changing cultural pocket, through multi language prose and 16mm film.

Hermeto, the Champ

Photographs present Hermeto Paschoal in the middle of the instruments he plays in the studio in his house. The rehearsals where the sounds are discovered and improvisation sets the tone. Hermeto's testimonies on the self-taught construction of his theoretical knowledge about music and his political position on the market. The musicians who are part of his band talk about the joint process of creation and the admiration they feel for the multi-instrumentalist. The creation of Hermetus from the sounds of bees and next to the frods. The use of unusual objects made of iron and the use of the body itself to generate new sounds.

Mandá in lunga

the film „mandà in lunga“ follows a journey from Val Poschiavo, a valley in the Italian-speaking part of the Swiss canton of Grisons, up to the highest point of the Morteratsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Bernina Range. Shot entirely on 16mm film and edited in-camera, the film captures the changing landscapes and atmospheric shifts along the way. The journey is musically accompanied by the organ drones and violin sounds of Laura and Luzius Schuler.

Herkules

Hercules travels by bicycle from Krefeld on the Lower Rhine to Olympus, the throne of ancient deities. The Hercules myth, as a primal myth of male power, is questioned through biographical reflections and the staging of mythological echoes. The dramaturgical structure of the hero's journey disintegrates in a multi-material perspective into questions about male identity, ideals and remorse.

if you seek amy

Images from 2000s music videos are transferred onto the film strip, torn and abstracted until the visuals convulse and shift—a tactile, poetic exploration of materiality, memory, and medium.

Fuck

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

The Class of ‘92

A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.

Downloaded

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.

A Decade Under the Influence

A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear

Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.

Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora

The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.

My Mom Jayne

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.

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

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

More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead

Retrospective documentary about the making of the horror cult classic "The Return of the Living Dead."

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button

A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.

Naqoyqatsi

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

In the Realms of the Unreal

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.

As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

Rich Hill

If you ever find yourself traveling down Interstate 49 through Missouri, try not to blink—you may miss Rich Hill, population 1,396. Rich Hill is easy to overlook, but its inhabitants are as woven into the fabric of America as those living in any small town in the country. This movie intimately chronicles the turbulent lives of three boys living in said Midwestern town and the fragile family bonds that sustain them.

LA Originals

Photographer Estevan Oriol and artist Mister Cartoon turned their Chicano roots into gritty art, impacting street culture, hip hop and beyond.

In Search of the Last Action Heroes

The most comprehensive retrospective of the '80s action film genre ever made.

Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home

JB Smoove and Martin Starr host a celebration of 20 years of "Spider-Man" movies, from the Sam Raimi trilogy to Marc Webb's movies and the trio from Jon Watts.

The Matrix Revisited

The film goes behind the scenes of the 1999 sci-fi movie The Matrix.

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski

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

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad

A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.