John Was Trying to Contact Aliens

In 1967, de Andrade was invited by the Italian company Olivetti to produce a documentary on the new Brazilian capital city of Brasília. Constructed during the latter half of the 1950s and founded in 1960, the city was part of an effort to populate Brazil’s vast interior region and was to be the embodiment of democratic urban planning, free from the class divisions and inequalities that characterize so many metropolises. Unsurprisingly, Brasília, Contradições de uma Cidade Nova (Brasília, Contradictions of a New City, 1968) revealed Brasília to be utopic only for the wealthy, replicating the same social problems present in every Brazilian city. (Senses of Cinema)

A 10-minute portrait of modernist poet and de Andrade’s godfather, Manuel Bandeira, is clear in its affection for it subject, though like many New-Waveish films of the time, depicts the modern urban landscape as an ominous and alienating force.

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.

Sharing her journey from child to teen activist, Georgie Stone looks back at her life and historic fight for transgender rights in this documentary.

Animated training film depicting the fundamentals of electricity and how electrical signals can be used to keep an airplane on correct course and altitude through an autopilot.

Since Rosa was little, people used to say around town that her grandfather was a black dog. The legend, belonging to the Valley of Oaxaca, spoke of a man who had the ability to turn into a black dog and roam the streets at night. Through images of the town, interviews with the brothers and animated interventions, the documentary tells the story of the myth and its importance in the collective memory.

A short documentary about the press of GoldenEye.

In 1969, Akbar Padamsee, one of the pioneers of Modern Indian painting, made a visionary 16mm film called Events in a Cloud Chamber. This was one of the only Indian experimental films ever made. The print is now lost and no copies exist. Over 40 years later, filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia worked with Padamsee, now 89 years old, to remake the film.

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

Two young women try to adapt to a new city: nostalgia, loneliness, friendship and family are mixed throughout the emotional process of both characters. A reflection on the sense of belonging and the experience of being a foreigner.

A young man living with his parents in Wisconsin comes face to face with a terrifying monster while searching for the elusive cryptic known as the Hodag.

The hotel overlooks the city hall. The city hotel returns the glance. Glances bounce off each other, become directions and points headed towards, together, and outwards all just one frame apart in between the hotel and city hall.

Two countries, two restaurants, one vision. At Gabriela Cámara's acclaimed Contramar in Mexico City, the welcoming, uniformed waiters are as beloved by diners as the menu featuring fresh, local seafood caught within 24 hours. The entire staff sees themselves as part of an extended family. Meanwhile at Cala in San Francisco, Cámara hires staff from different backgrounds and cultures, including ex-felons and ex-addicts, who view the work as an important opportunity to grow as individuals. A Tale of Two Kitchens explores the ways in which a restaurant can serve as a place of both dignity and community.

A tour of the United States. A Circarama (360 degree) film which originally opened at the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958 and was brought to Disneyland in 1960.

Florence is a contemplative study of light and shadows, textures and planes, that makes beautiful use of the tonal qualities of black and white film. (mubi.com)