Cinematic Era: 1996 Vintage

A short films devoted to legendary philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s concept of the ‘pure optical and sound image’.

A young French girl's obsessions about her figure and complexion, but most of all her desire to lose her virginity.

A woman uses witchcraft to try to steal her daughter's youth.

Two guys move into an apartment, where the old owner causes them a lot of trouble.

This 1996 documentary was produced and directed by expatriate American Peter Stuart for BBC’s channel 4. The archival footage features highlights such as Martin Denny’s first live performance on the Dinah Shore show. To actually SEE Augie Colon voice those birdcalls is an unforgettable moment. Martin is also interviewed in the film, and we see one of the last interviews with James Michener. Original footage of the Disneyland Tiki room and the Kon Tiki voyage further document important Tiki moments in history.

This documentary is more than anything a film about punk ideology told by punk survivors. The characters have been faithful to the 70's riot, and have developed their aggression into reflective thoughts and opinions. In making our film we have discovered the extremes within this community and how, after more than twenty years, the music is still as popular today.

"X" is a confused young man who has chained his mentally retarded brother to a wall in the cellar. Haunted by hallucinations, "X" tries to compensate his guilty feelings towards his brother as well as vis-à-vis his own past. All persons who come too near his delusionary world are ruthlessly put out of the way...

Mirrored Measure features two women separated by a generation. The older woman ceremoniously lays a table – she repeatedly spreads a cloth and smoothes it out. The table is set and glasses and jug filled with water. A balanced and controlled ritual follows in which the jug is passed round and water is repeatedly sipped. Water becomes the lens through which we see and the medium through which the protagonists connect. The sense of connectivity is abruptly severed when the first glass tumbles.

Diwan's family gathers at his home when they hear he may pass away soon. But Dinanath disappoints them, as he not only appears hale and hearty, though confined in a wheelchair, but has a young and gorgeous nurse at his side, who he plans to marry soon. The family members, consisting of his brothers, their respective wives and children, conspire against Dinanath, and hire an imposter to masquerade as his lost grandson in order to inherit his wealth. Things don't go as the brothers' planeed, as the grandson, Amar, decides his loyalties lies only with himself, and wants to keep the entire inheritance for himself.

"I am far away on a distant journey through my own city", filmmaker Johan van der Keuken says at the end of his four-hour portrait of Amsterdam. The city is presented as a place where people from all corners of the world live, who all exert their cultural influence on the life in the city. With a motor courier as his central figure, the filmmaker introduces the audience to birds of different feathers. We see diverse cultural expressions, like the house scene, the entry of St. Nicholas and a Ghanese mourning ritual. The binding factor in the film is the concept of 'travelling', in other words Amsterdam as a global village. The camera travels through the film in three ways: over land, over water (canals) and through the air.

A special edition of the super celebrity quiz available only on video.

The first short film directed by António Ferreira, featuring Adolfo Luxúria Canibal (lead singer of Mão Morta).

A coffee house calamity involving all types of crazy caffeinated characters

Wendy Cooper and Charlie Simonds provide clear practical guidance on how to start or how to improve your video filming techniques while on vacation in Corfu, Greece.

An arts documentary examining the phenomenon of "chutney soca", a musical hybrid from Trinidad & Tobago which blends the traditions of the islands' two biggest ethnic groups - Indian and African. As much political as musical, "chutney soca" seems to offer a way for the two cultures, often perceived as being mutually antagonistic, to come together in a new exciting fusion of sounds. (Synopsis by Karen Martinez)

Romeo and Juliet story, with the romantic youngsters coming from two ranchera families enmeshed in an escalating feud.

Period Piece is a 30 min. documentary about menarche--a girl's first menstrual period--which is a fundamental experience in every woman's life, yet one that is rarely celebrated. Women of different ages (8-84) and multi-cultural backgrounds tell their menarchal stories.

Best known for his novels Animal Farm and 1984, which condemn totalitarianism in all its forms, English writer George Orwell was born in India. Financially unable to pursue higher education in England, Orwell spent five years with the Imperial Police in Burma, a job that led to his hatred of imperialism. Through period documents, artwork and other archival material, this program delves into the life and work of the passionate social critic.

After being chased down by an angry mob, the Frankenstein Monster is resurrected by the killer doll Chucky. The two monsters team up and people begin to die.

A film entirely devoted to the Audi Quattro, Lancia S4, Peugeot 205 T16 and the Ford RS200.

To escape from a world that seems to be closing in around him, a man builds a boat in his apartment. When the flood comes, he seizes his chance. And then happiness falls into his lap, as well.

UFO genderfuck sex and technology.

The film shows comic and tragic episodes of human life seen through the eyes of a fly. In the end, the fly becomes a victim of children playing in the sand.

Full review of the season presented by Steve Rider & Murray Walker

Its title translating to "Illusion of Safety", this documentary interviews several survivors from M/S Estonia.

In Sangha, through the window of her house, Germaine greets Djamgouno, her main informant. He then translates for her a conversation she has with a half-blind old man. She recounts her memories of a past party at which Amadigné worked with her as an informant. Later, in front of the cliff, Germaine, Djamgouno and Pangalé are sitting on rocks, and Germaine talks about the many caves that can be visited by climbing small spelunking ladders. Rouch intervenes during the interview, asking the protagonists about the settlement of the cliff by the Dogon, who learned from the Tellem how to climb the cliff. Rouch then asks about the Tellem's predecessors who lived there 2,400 years ago. Germaine admits the ignorance of researchers on the subject, and Rouch concludes by joking about the new task that now falls to Germaine Dieterlen.

Drama that includes recreated fragments of María de las Mercedes Barbudo, a Puerto Rican independence activist who was imprisoned by Governor Miguel de la Torre and banished from the island to which she was never able to return.

""Lily in Limbo" presents a one-woman tour-de-force by Sylvi Alli as an artist whose self-imposed isolation corrupts her senses into a state of bitterness and delusion. In her solitude, she loses herself in a series of bizarre dreams thick with haunting images and disturbing sounds (Sylvi created the film's quirky score), while the unlikely delivery of a curious birthday gift disrupts her comfortable world. A fascinating essay of a lost soul who is uncertain whether rescue is something she really wants." -- PHIL HALL for filmthreat.com

Included is Junji Inagawa's ghost story live performance titled "Mystery Night Tour '96" in August 1996. As a video bonus, many terrifying ghost photos are presented with Junji Inagawa's commentary.

As much as hair is directly linked to appearance, displaying personality and belonging to a group, it is also intimately linked to being. How many spiritual rites, practiced here as elsewhere, testify to this. The being and the appearance...we are faced with a troubling duality when we know that the hair can affirm, with as much intensity, one as the other. "...it is precisely this duality that I want to illustrate, by cutting of course "Les cheveux en quatre", to evoke as with Les seins dans la tête, fanfasms, obsessions and beliefs related to these parts of the body..." says the director.

They were American born and bred yet they had the face of the enemy.
 Spanning generations and wars, Looking Like the Enemy is a bold and daring exploration into the often horrifying yet always ironic predicaments faced by American soldiers of Asian descent who fought in World War II, the Korean and the Vietnam wars.

A County Fair, a free raffle drawing for $500, a lock box , a stolen ticket, The Good News Caboose, provide the elements in this intriguing drama. Cindi and Mark are confronted by Rocky who is determined to win the $500 by whatever means necessary.

In the closing years of the Yuan Dynasty in China, the courts were corrupted, natural disasters were rampant, there were uprising everywhere. The people live in fear. Many swordsmen and kung fu masters voiced their complaints, but they were not united. Rather, they fought for supremacy by trying to be the sole owner of the Dragonslayer Sword. Steven and Susan were from two different kung fu clans. Fate brought them together amidst chaos and mayhem for the Dragonslayer Sword. One driven by love, the other by doing the right thing, the two fought against all odds to live a normal life. Reality dealt them a hand that results in bloodshed and tragedy. It was up to their son Woody to discover the secret of the Sword...

A short drama looking at how a queer couple struggles with differing approaches to queer activism in the context of the AIDS crisis.

This film is devoted to the artistic heritage of a personality who ranked among the most extraordinary musicians of his time, even as a child. Menuhin was not a mere musician: he was a cosmopolitan, a peacemaker and a true humanist. French filmmaker Bruno Monsaingeon, who filmed this great retrospective, describes his work with Menuhin as follows: “He threw himself into it whole-heartedly, with great sense of humour and overwhelming humanity. This film also shows my heartfelt gratitude for a man who gave such decisive sense to my own existence.”

Pentti Linkola tells how the fisherman’s profession has changed over the years.

a romance between identical twins

A deft and cunning re-examination of John-Boy’s near-death experience at the sawmill. A homespun midnight deconstruction of an entire era of television mannerisms. The handheld camera doesn’t stray far from the TV screen, dividing attention between the show’s action and the off-camera activity in the apartment. (Video Data Bank)

Director: Hussein Kamal (Director) Amir Shaker (Executive Director) Writer: Youssef Maaty (Writer) Cast: Layla Olwi Mohamed El Sawy Hagag Abdel Azim Ahmed Rizk Ibrahim Yousry Hanem Mohamed

A short animated film about a lonely little girl and the adventures she has with her fantasy friends.

In 1971, Christo and Jeanne-Claude thought of wrapping the Reichstag. After endless meetings with Government officials, they were finally given permission to wrap the Reichstag in 1994. For 7 days, in June 1995, a steel framework was constructed, then a metalized material was bound with 17, 060 yards of blue rope. The Reichstag, wrapped in this shiny material, seemed to move in the wind. Five million people visited this extraordinary project.

Commissioned by the city of Kochi to mark the opening of its Museum of Modern Art, this experimental feature by Japan's foremost gay indie film-maker almost defies description. The film is divided into six 10-minute chapters (or 'boxes') which, says Oki, add up to an image of 'heaven'.

What is it made of? Who makes it? How and where is it made? Who is he? This sing-along adventure invites young viewers to tag along on a fast-paced factory where the coolest flavors meet big machines...and turn into fun!

A documentary telling the story of Jim Egan, an outspoken champion of gay rights in Canada since the 1940s and 50s. Egan and his partner, Jack Nesbit, took the Candian federal government to court in a historic attempt to win legal recognition for same-sex partnerships. An intimate and moving portrayal of a relationship that spans nearly 50 years of gay history in North America.

A man with a mission climbs the stairs of a haunted apartment building.

Suwisal has turned 40. He's a forgetful businessman, a philanderer, indifferent to life around him, including his young and lovely fiancée. A visit to the house of his childhood triggers memories that continue to cascade when he is called for jury duty to hear the case against Piyum, a servant he seduced and abandoned 20 years before. Now a prostitute, she is on trial for murder.

Singly-printed multi-colored watery "blobs" and "feathery" streaks of painted color, dominated by yellows and reds interweaving in complexity until there's an evolution of hard-edge autumn leaf patterns which dissipate into patterns similar to the beginning of the film.

Film made with Lisbon Theatre & Cinema students of 1995