In the Absence

An experimental study of nature through three stories and how we have destroyed it.

When Gordon Gund went blind in 1970 at age 30 due to retinitis pigmentosa, he resolved to find a cure for the disease and created the Foundation Fighting Blindness. After decades of scientific research, a major breakthrough emerged, and this short film showcases the inspirational story of a 17-year-old Belgian boy who is a beneficiary of this work.

For one-night-only blood was spilled in the mud.

Sabina Cervoni, member of Exit, provides assistance to whoever chooses to take its own life legally.

This film is a look at the disappearance of religious and industrial cultures in a small town (Scardovari) located in northern Italy (Po Delta). This erasure, together with the economic situation, pushes the men and women to return to the water to survive. The image as a representation of the memory of a place, of an inner landscape, of a mystery. A narrative that belongs to the world of exegesis, to an infinite world of relationships, of networks where each image enters into correspondence with another, opening up the meaning ever more and breaking the unity of history.

Ocean Oasis is a fascinating journey into the bountiful seas and pristine deserts of two remarkably different, but inextricably linked worlds — Mexico's Sea of Cortés and the Baja California desert.

A group of writers from Hidalgo get together to generate their works and create a community around literature.

Sound progression of two opposite landscapes.

Documentary about four Chinese lesbian women who seek contract marriages with gay men, and form of their lesbian and gay community and fulfill their desires.

On the morning of her birthday, eight-year-old Katja learns what she has been afraid of for a long time: her parents want to separate. Instead of going to school, she takes the train into town to visit her older sister. Her sister tries to explain to Katja why everything happened and how things might continue.

The SS Central America, a steamer carrying a cache of gold, sank off the southeast coast of the United States in 1857. Part mystery, part adventure story, the film recounts how a group used Bayesian theory to find the ship — and the gold.

Lost Worlds looks at untouched aspects of nature in parts of the world where humans rarely tread. From plants, to animals, to geology, this artfully photographed documentary presents facets of the biological world that you are not likely to see anywhere else.

This short travelogue depicts snippets of locations in Hollywood, California, most of them as seen from the streets. Considerable time is taken showing the kinds of architecture of private homes. There are images of various important buildings, and a depiction of the Hollywood Bowl. Finally, there is a sequence revolving around the premiere of the film “Dirigible” (1931) at the famed Chinese Theatre.

One of Han Ok-hee’s renowned pieces called The Hole uses the flicker, oblique angles, the cross-cutting of reality and fantasy to express inner entrapment and the desire for liberation. Han Ok-hee’s The Hole, The Rope and Untitled not only experimented with cinematic forms of expression, but also played an important role in the protest against forms of expression in experimental films and the artistic protest against the social suppression and censorship in 1970s Korea. (Art Cinema OFFoff)

This short film illustrates a day in the life at Forillon National Park. Situated on the Gaspé peninsula in Quebec, the park offers spectacular views of sea, mountain and forest. A monumental landscape not to be missed. A film without words.