Lyon-Turin : Le Dernier Tunnel XXL

Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer

1975 · ★ 7.2

Thom Andersen's hour-long documentary adroitly combines biography, history, film theory, and philosophical reflection. Muybridge's photographic studies of animal locomotion in the 1870s were a major forerunner of movies; even more interesting are his subsequent studies of diverse people, photographed against neutral backgrounds.

From the Realm of the Crystals

1927

'Uit het rijk der kristallen' is one of several scientific films made ​​by J.C. Mol. In the film, the crystallization processes of various chemicals are shown. There are different versions of Uit het rijk der kristallen: the original silent film was given a soundtrack in the 1930s, and there is a colour version of the film which was made ​​using Dufay colour. A clip from the film, or other shots of identical crystallization processes, can be seen in Mol’s other films. The film was not only screened at educational and scientific presentations, but also resonated within avant-garde circles. The film was screened at the first show presented by the Harlem branch of the Filmliga. This was followed by a screening at Amsterdam’s Filmliga, and at ‘Studio 28’ in Paris. There, the film was screened as a ‘triptyque’, with three projectors side by side.

Black Suns: An Astrophysics Adventure

BLACK SUNS: AN ASTROPHYSICS ADVENTURE is a documentary about chasing eclipses and science dreams. It chronicles the lives of two globetrotting African American astrophysicists, Dr. Alphonse Sterling and Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, as they follow the two solar eclipses that occurred in 2012. Dr. Alphonse Sterling of NASA, stationed in Japan, had early success in the US, but left his home country to further cultivate his wide-ranging interests. Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi of the Florida Institute of Technology, is a scientist who beat the odds of poverty, and a poor early education, to get where he is today. The film is hosted by award-winning cultural astronomer Dr. Jarita Holbrook.

Future My Love

2012 · ★ 5.1

Directed and narrated by Maja Borg, Future My Love is a unique love story challenging our collective and personal utopias in search of freedom.

Voyage En Face Sud

1977 · ★ 10

Voyage en face sud (Journey to the South Face) is a mountaineering documentary by Patrick Cordier and Jacques Ramouillet that shows the first solo ascent of the south face of the Aiguille du Fou in 1976 by Patrick Cordier himself. The climb was filmed by Jacques Ramouillet from a nearby ridge. Pierre Torlasco was tasked with belaying Jacques Ramouillet while he filmed. For this filmed ascent, Patrick Cordier opted for the dress code of his time—white clothing, bell-bottom trousers, and a headband—rather than the traditional mountaineering attire. The film was presented at the Trento Film Festival in 1977 and at the Gala de la Montagne (Mountain Gala) at the Salle Pleyel in Paris.

Earth: Seen From The Heart

2018 · ★ 6.6

For more than twenty years, Hubert Reeves has put science, his media influence, and his energy at the service of a cause: biodiversity.

The Extraordinary Genius of Albert Einstein

2010 · ★ 7

The core of the video is a pedagogical workshop on the Theory of Special Relativity as part of the educational process conducted by our youth leadership. Not for the sake of understanding the theory itself, but using Einstein's particular discovery as a case study to demonstrate and walk people through real human thinking, as being something above sense perceptions or opinions. We end with reflecting on the principle of relativity in terms of social relations and individual identities or thought processes, asking the question - how was Einstein able to make his breakthrough?

A Universe from Nothing

2009 · ★ 2.8

Lawrence Krauss gives a talk on our current picture of the universe, how it will end, and how it could have come from nothing. Krauss is the author of many bestselling books on Physics and Cosmology, including "The Physics of Star Trek."

Les Habitants des Flammes de Pierre

1959 · ★ 10

"Les Habitants des Flammes de Pierre" is the making-of documentary for the film "The Pillar of Solitude," which recounts Walter Bonatti's historic 1955 ascent of the southwest pillar of the Drus (the Bonatti Pillar) in the Mont Blanc massif, an 800-meter-high vertical face, climbed solo in six days, despite having only three. In the film, the renowned Swiss mountaineer Michel Vaucher portrays Bonatti. Unlike the film "The Pillar of Solitude," which was shot in black and white, the making-of documentary was filmed in color.

The Singularity Is Near

2010 · ★ 6.3

The onset of the 21st Century will be an era in which the very nature of what it means to be human will be both enriched and challenged as our species breaks the shackles of its genetic legacy and achieves inconceivable heights of intelligence, material progress, and longevity. While the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes will be profound, and the threats they pose considerable, celebrated futurist Ray Kurzweil presents a view of the coming age that is both a dramatic culmination of centuries of technological ingenuity and a genuinely inspiring vision of our ultimate destiny.

La Liste : Everything or Nothing

2021 · ★ 4

Follows freeskiers Heitz and Anthamatten as they travel to the world’s high-altitude mountain ranges and attempt to make their distinct mark on those giant peaks, exploring the absolute limit of human possibility.

Secrets of the Super Elements

2017

In the first BBC documentary to be filmed entirely on smartphones, Mark Miodownik reveals the weird materials that have built our high-tech world.