Art History

A documentary immersion into all things Umberto Eco, Davide Ferrario’s film takes us on a tour of Eco’s private library, guided by the author himself. Combining new footage with material he shot with Eco in 2015

The community of Provincetown, which has been clinging to a distinctly American - and yet increasingly rare - way of life. In his immersive documentary debut, Mischa Richter, whose artist family has been living there for nearly a century, explores his home through shared moments and conversations with locals, pilgrims, outcasts, fishermen, drag queens and spirit guides in an exploration of what freedom and community mean in America today.

This film explores Gillian Jagger's work, the relationship of that work to her life, and the role of art in society.

Penny Slinger: Out of the Shadows is the untold story of the British artist Penny Slinger and the events that led to the creation of her masterpiece, the 1977 photo-romance, An Exorcism. 

From acclaimed director Wang Xiaoshuai (Beijing Bicycle; So Long, My Son) comes a personal snapshot of contemporary China in all its diversity. Shot over the course of ten years on both film and video, the film consists of a series of carefully composed tableaus of people and environments, each one more extraordinary than the last. 

I’ve Got a Little Problem chronicles internationally renowned photographer and poet Ren Hang’s struggle with Chinese censorship, painful public scrutiny, and manic depression, that eventually sent his life spiraling out of control.

From the Sensory Ethnography Lab at Harvard University comes a postindustrial fable told in iron, rocks, and wood.  A unique look at Detroit artist Olayami Dabls’ installation “Iron Teaching Rocks How to Rust”

Brillo Box (3¢ off) follows a beloved Andy Warhol Brillo Box sculpture as it makes its way from a family's living room to a record-breaking Christie's auction, blending a humourous family narrative with Pop Art history, and exploring how we navigate the ephemeral nature of art and value.

Humorous and candid, Kartemquin Films' documentary Almost There is a fascinating portrait of eccentric "outsider" artist Peter Anton. Living in a home that has been consumed by mold and filth, the octogenarian has produced a startling collection of unseen paintings, drawings, and notebooks. The film’s remarkable journey follows this witty and gifted artist through startling twists and turns.

An elegantly crafted peek into the secret world of the master craftsmen behind the dazzling designs of Dior, Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent. A touching reflection on the disappearance of crafts, Handmade with Love in France examines the challenges these ateliers face as couture and luxury evolves, the pace of fashion and its impact on handcraft, and the continuing rise of technology and succession.

A captivating documentary that depicts the history of New York’s garment center, Dressing America explores how this business grew from humble beginnings into an industry that’s dressed America.

In 1945, when the Allies liberated the concentration camps, they discovered thousands of secretly created artworks. These drawings, hidden from the Nazis, offer an unparalleled understanding of life in the camps. Featuring interviews with surviving artists, this fascinating documentary considers the ability of art to capture, reflect and survive under unimaginable conditions.

A fascinating investigation into the work of photographer and cinema pioneer Eadweard Muybridge, Thom Andersen’s (Los Angeles Plays Itself, Red Hollywood, Reconversao) much-lauded documentary incorporates a biographical overview of its subject with a re-animation of his historic sequential photographs as well as concise and innovative analysis.

Filmed in an unofficial Palestinian Bedouin camp that was established in 1948 on a stretch of beach in South Lebanon, Terrace of the Sea uses a collection of family photographs taken over three generations as a prism through which to reflect on memory, loss and history.

"The Arab governments pushed us out of our homes… I was twelve years old… I’ve been here for 60 years." A beautiful, poignant, documentary, Still Life examines the effect a collection of personal photos showing life in Palestine before the 1948 displacement have on an elderly Palestinian fisherman living in exile in Lebanon.

An enthralling journey through the history of Indian cinema, Celluloid Man is a portrait of P.K Nair, the legendary founder-director of the National Film Archive of India. Featuring extensive interviews and film clips, this is a gorgeous cinematic tribute to 'India's Henry Langlois' and to the importance of preservation.

An in-depth chronicle of the birth, death and resurrection of Polaroid instant film, Time Zero is an illuminating documentary that looks at the impact this iconic American product has had photographers, families and popular culture over the decades - as well as the recent efforts to save it from obsolescence.

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the staging of a major operatic production, Verdi's masterpiece, "La Traviata," starring world-famous French coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay and directed by the celebrated Jean-Francois Sivardier.

When FSA photographer Arthur Rothstein came to Virginia in 1935, his assignment was to photograph local residents displaced by Shenandoah National Park. But as this documentary uncovers, Rothstein would play a role in the forced institutionalization and sterilization of many of the area's residents, establishing a disturbing connection between the American eugenics movement and Depression-era documentary work.