Just Hold Still

In his New York City landscape, Cohen finds inspiration in disturbance. Looking to life for rhythm and to architecture for state of mind, he locates simple mysteries. Just Hold Still is comprised of an interconnected series of short works and collaborations that explore the gray area between documentary, narrative, and experimental genres.

Bruno & Bettina

Masao Adachi, the author and director of experimental works and pinku-eiga in the 1960s, was a member of the Japanese New Left that shifted from being a filmmaker to a guerrilla fighter. In 1974, he joined the Japanese Red Army in Lebanon, which worked closely with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Filmmaker Lutz Dammbeck met Adachi in Tokyo in 2018 and talked with him about a wide range of topics, including art, revolution, the influence of western avant-garde art and American underground; the Japanese Red Army; collaboration with secret services; the role of the Left after 1968; and the reasons for failures of leftist ideas and strategies.

The Five Obstructions

In 1967, experimental filmmaker Jorgen Leth created a striking short film, The Perfect Human, starring a man and women sitting in a box while a narrator poses questions about their relationship and humanity. Years later, Danish director Lars von Trier made a deal with Leth to remake his film five times, each under a different set of circumstances and with von Trier's strictly prescribed rules. As Leth completes each challenge, von Trier creates increasingly further elaborate stipulations.

Porn

Thot-Fal'N

This film describes a psychological state "kin to moonstruck, its images emblems (not quite symbols) of suspension-of-self within consciousness and then that feeling of falling away from conscious thought. The film can only be said to describe or be emblematic of this state because I cannot imagine symbolizing or otherwise representing an equivalent of thoughtlessness itself. Thus the actors in the film, Jane Brakhage, Tom and Gloria Bartek, Williams Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Peter Olovsky and Phillip Whalen are figments of this 'Thought-Fallen Process', as are their images in the film to find themselves being photographed."

6-18-67

6-18-67 is a short quasi-documentary film by George Lucas regarding the making of the Columbia film “Mackenna's Gold”. This non-story, non-character visual tone poem is made up of nature imagery, time-lapse photography, and the subtle sounds of the Arizona desert.

Congo

An experimental ethnographic documentary that criticizes the colonizer view of anthropology.

Every Wall is a Door

Drawing on VHS tapes of a programme hosted by her mother on Bulgaria’s national television, the filmmaker gives a pop-style and in-depth chronicle of the gentle – even “over-gentle” – 1989 revolution.

Anônimo e incomum

Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box

This is a 1991 documentary film about the legendary artist and filmmaker, Joseph Cornell, who made those magnificent and strange collage boxes. He was also one of our great experimental filmmakers and once apparently made Salvador Dali extremely jealous at a screening of his masterpiece, Rose Hobart. In this film we get to hear people like Susan Sontag, Stan Brakhage, and Tony Curtis talk about their friendships with the artist. It turns out that Curtis was quite a collector and he seemed to have a very deep understanding of what Cornell was doing in his work.

Puenting (Leap of Faith)

A first feature based on sexual events. An actress undertakes her desire of directing her first movie, without a budget or any production company funding her project. She gathers a group of professional actors and actresses, and proposes a project based on a very particular experience: stepping on their fears through a metaphorical 'leap of faith'. As the project advances, individual conflicts will arise affecting the shoot, making the movie crew wonder whether or not they should go on. Will they take the leap of faith with all its consequences?

-YAMASE-

Film by Kenji Onishi. With friends. Mr. Yamase as main character, Sasakubo and Shinojima. And the girls having a good time. The camera is all you need. Looking still at the Mt. Buko which is disappearing.

Sebastian and Jonas Leaving the Party

"My last image of Jonas."—Ken Jacobs

Every Ambulation a Betrayal

Return to 'burn' only to find out you're already in that urn.

Photodiary

"The majority of my 8-mm works were made for the three-minute "Personal Focus" film special put on in Fukuoka. This film is an animation of photographs I had taken on a regular basis as a sort of diary, and was made to have a rough feel to it." - Takashi Ito

Leonora Carrington or The Ironic Spell

Cinema and painting establish a fluid dialogue and begins with introspection in the themes and forms of the plastic work of a woman tormented by the elongated specters, originating from her obsessions and nightmares.

Etats-Unis : les armes de la colère

Une certaine histoire du cinéma expérimental français

Let Us Persevere in What We Have Resolved Before We Forget

On the island of Tanna, a part of Vanuatu, an archipelago in Melanesia, strange rites are enacted and time passes slowly while the inhabitants await the return of the mysterious John.

The Bomb

Filmmakers use archival footage and animation to explore the culture surrounding nuclear weapons, the fascination they inspire and the perverse appeal they still exert.

A Wopbobaloobop a Lopbamboom

Luxembourg in the 60s. Youngsters from France come over to a small south Luxembourg village Dudelange to party there. And looking for girls. And then starts the fighting. Teenager love and rock 'n roll.

Brent Weinbach: Appealing to the Mainstream

Brent Weinbach is weird. In this show, Brent attempts to adjust his quirky personality so that he can fit in with the world around him, which would be valuable to his career as a comedian and entertainer. Through an absurd and abstract discourse, Brent explores the ways in which he can appeal to a broader, mainstream audience, so that ultimately, he can become successful in show business.

Re-Births

A documentary film depicting five intimate portraits of migrants who fled their country of origin to seek refuge in France and find a space of freedom where they can fully experience their sexuality and their sexual identity: Giovanna, woman transgender of Colombian origin, Roman, Russian transgender man, Cate, Ugandan lesbian mother, Yi Chen, young Chinese gay man…

Laura Pausini Festival de Viña del Mar

Theatre 1

Theatre 1 (Observational Film Series #3) is a feature length documentary, which closely depicts the world of Oriza Hirata, Japan's leading playwright and director, and his theatrical company, Seinendan. By depicting them, the film leads the audience to revisit fundamental but timely questions: What is theatre? Why do human beings act?

Dream Girl

Laura is about to marry Daniela, the girl of her dreams, when she realizes she is actually dreaming. Trying to avoid further embarrassment by carrying on the narcoleptic charade, Laura inadvertently insults Daniela and learns that sometimes you have to take care of your fantasies in order to find happiness in your reality.

Senritsu Kaiki File Super Kowa Too! Fear Adventure: Kokkuri-san

Based on the previous 'Final Chapter', world history has now been modified and reconstructed. Although Kudo was able to release himself from the curse caused by demon soldiers, he now has no money. Despite losing the memory of the previous world, Kudo, Ichikawa and Tashiro continue to work together in producing a horror documentary.

Vengeance Is a Golden Blade

Li Zhishan is a rich man, but wealth cannot keep the loyalties of his wife, who has been visiting the bed of a rival. She helps plot against him, and the Vicious Long Brothers invade his home and steal the Golden Dragon Blade - a sword that makes its wielder unbeatable. Zhishan, crippled in the attack, and his young daughter are whisked away by a devoted servant, and the trio soon find shelter in the home of an herbalist. Years pass, the daughter grows up to be a lovely young woman and a powerful fighter, and the Long Brothers use the Golden Dragon Blade to gain power in the region. Zhishan's family of sorts has managed to stay well hidden, but a trip into the city - the daughter's first - sets off an old power struggle as Zhishan's wife discovers her daughter is quite alive.

Mustard Fields

Peter loves nature, especially during summer. Known for his sense of humor, he enjoys the warmth and long days of the season. One day, his friend Lisa suggested a trip to the mustard fields in Alton, Hampshire. The two decided to go, and when they arrived, they were greeted by the stunning sight of blooming yellow mustard flowers. The fields were bright and beautiful, a perfect summer scene. This is the story of Peter and Lisa's visit to the mustard fields.

Three on a Limb

Scoutmaster Elmer Brown loses his heart to the pretty carhop who works in a drive-in diner. Complicating his romantic longings is her policeman fiancé. When he tries to eliminate Elmer by giving him traffic tickets for every conceivable violation, the girl takes pity on the martyred Elmer and they drive off together. She informs him that she is also fending off another suitor, Oscar; and to make matters worse, her father is backing the cop while her mother promotes Oscar. Eventually all three men wind up competing for her hand at a chaotic wedding ceremony that ends with Elmer winning his beloved.

Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89

Vladimir 518, uncompromising rapper, artist, stage designer and activist, is a rare phenomenon, who not only writes books, but publishes them as well. Today also a respected authority primarily on pre-1989 architecture, he has written not only a major publication on the subject, but also the story for two audiovisual works treating the same theme, which were shot by Jan Zajíček, renowned director of music videos. In addition to the recent TV series we have the eagerly anticipated feature-length film which, through its fascinating and impressive exploration of Czech and Slovak architecture of the latter half of the 20th century, offers exclusive insight into extraordinary buildings and unique individuals living below the Tatra Mountains. Karel Och (kviff.com)

Convicts

The short registers a sports spectacle of great importance (probably of soccer). We never see the spectacle itself but the people watching and reacting at the stadium.

Anybody's Nightmare

Based on the true story of Shelia Bowler, accused of murdering her elderly aunt.

The Important Witness

A freelance stenographer is hired for a job, but when she arrives at the address she was given, she finds that a murder has taken place there--and she is arrested for it.

Memories

Memories tells the story of Alex, a 19 year old boy who lives his life peacefully. Until one fateful day, his future could be compromised.

Mahi Mera Nikka Jeha

A short boy is in love with a tall girl for which he faces a lot of criticism from her family and friends. Eventually, they marry and he wins everyone's heart with his good character.

Showbiz: or how to become a celebrity in 1-2-3!

A young boy named Espen Søplekladden is leaving home. He starts to work at a jazz café named "Balla Jazzhus". But his evil brother is trying to make everything bad for him.

The Day The Americans Came

In 1942 American forces arrive on British soil. Stationed throughout Northamptonshire, Americans integrated into British society during the build up to D-Day, this documentary recounts the memories of local residents of the day the Americans came.