Im Land des Schamanen

It may be the largest and most densely populated city on Earth, but Tokyo’s 14 million human residents share their home with an astonishing array of wildlife. From jewel beetles and goshawks in the city’s shrines to the forests of Okutama where bears, monkeys and tanuki feast, this film reveals the power of nature in Japan’s capital.

A short documentary on how people view art and its value in today's society.

In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.

Narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi - star of the landmark television series "I, Claudius" - this documentary explores art and culture around the Bay of Naples before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. The bay was then the most fashionable destination for vacationing Romans. Julius Caesar, emperors, and senators were among those who owned sumptuous villas along its shores. Artists flocked to the region to create frescoes, sculpture, and luxurious objects in gold, silver, and glass for villa owners as well as residents of Pompeii and other towns in the shadow of Vesuvius. The film concludes with the story of the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum from the 18th century onward.

Joe Brainard (1941-1994) was an artist particularly noted for his work in collage and comics. Brainard’s artistic career took off during his teenaged years in Tulsa, Oklahoma where, along with Ron Padgett and Dick Gallup, he produced The White Dove Review, an art and culture magazine. Both Brainard and Padgett serendipitously moved together to New York City, where Brainard was a prolific artist whose work was showcased in varied spaces such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum. He also frequently collaborated with members of the New York School of Poets, supplying book and cover art and bringing to life visual representations of poetry. Brainard’s writing also received acclaim, particularly his 1975 memoir I Remember.

This film, three years in the making, The remote forests of Kalkalpen National Park in Austria, the largest area of wilderness in the European Alps, have been left untouched by humans for nearly a quarter of a century in order to return to their natural, primeval state. The landscape regenerates itself in dramatic cycles of growth and decay, and this bold hands-off method of conservation yields salient results: the lynx, absent from the area for 115 years, has returned.

Trees talk, know family ties and care for their young? Is this too fantastic to be true? German forester Peter Wohlleben and scientist Suzanne Simard have been observing and investigating the communication between trees over decades. And their findings are most astounding.

Allegations of a significant elephant-poaching problem in Botswana have sparked a political row between the president and his predecessor. As Alastair Leithead reports, the issue has ignited a national debate over whether there are too many elephants and whether hunting should be re-introduced.

"Ski The Outer Limits" is a poetic exploration of man's "conquest of the useless," his quest to expand the limists of his abilities. Racing, clowning, teaching, flipping and flying - the world's finest skiers define their limits. A philosophical narration brings the story home to anyone wishing to explore their limits.

A science fiction fantasy on skis with spectacular glacier skiing, extraordinary acrobatics, unique optical effects, and an original score. The world's polarity is mysteriously reversed, requiring the skiers to regain the realm of normal perception by performing maneuvers inspired by the ambiguous nature of the "Moebius Strip."

Norval Morrisseau was the first Indigenous Canadian artist to be taken seriously in the art world. By the turn of this century his work commanded tens of thousands of dollars. So when Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Kevin Hearn learned his prized painting was a forgery, he sued. But as Jamie Kastner's doc reveals, there was a cottage industry in fake Morrisseaus, an industry that flourished unchecked for years, feeding on greed, exploitation, racism and contempt.

In a dark, ambiguous environment, minuscule particles drift slowly before the lens. The image focuses to reveal spruce trees and tall pines, while Innu voices tell us the story of this territory, this flooded forest. Muffled percussive sounds gradually become louder, suggesting the presence of a hydroelectric dam. The submerged trees gradually transform into firebrands as whispers bring back the stories of this forest.