All Films

Stefan Półchłopek was born in 1916 in Krosno, and twenty years later began studying law at Jagiellonian University. And it was this former chairman of the national council who, having resigned from prominence honors, took up running dance evenings at a holiday home in Krynica. "Giving people joy, smiles, and maybe even happiness" - this is the goal of the elderly ringleader. The message of the film takes on additional meaning with the director's dedication.

A private detective caring for his wife who is suffering from dementia investigates the disappearance of a young girl. Soon, however, he begins digging up the girl's dark family secrets.

Winnie is a mentally handicapped woman who lives with her elderly mother (Cora) and aunt (Ida). They visit the cemetery where Winnie’s father is buried. Also in the cemetery are two art students, one of whom (Liz) asks if she can take a photograph of the three women. She takes it while they are not prepared, making them look ridiculous (Cora is putting her make-up on, Winnie is staring at the camera with her mouth open). Cora is angry, and Liz takes another of them properly posed. But she enters the first photograph for a competition, where it wins a prize

The Pedlar is a dramatic film based on the short story by W.D. Valgardson, A Place of One's Own. Tired of the rootless, lonely existence of a travelling merchant, a man searches for a place to settle down, and someone to share his life.

Les is an aimless young man, unemployed and still living with his mother. He decides to give her a present - her name tattooed on his arm…

Short film about the dangers of doing drugs.

Joe, who has been pushing drugs at his high school, expands his business to include the ski team. Rick, one of Joe's new customers, has some apparent improvement in his skiing, until, despite the intervention of Bill, he endures a serious injury. Bill, with his father's backing, then blows the whistle on Joe.

Young Vincent Malloy dreams of being just like Vincent Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams that annoy his mother.

A humorous criminal story about a dog that knew how to read, appreciated classical music and spoke a foreign language. His primitive master hates his dog's superiority and tries to liquidate it physically.

Nancy Savoca’s second student film follows two twelve-year olds, Bobby (Joey D’Arelli) and Denise (Kelly Cinnante) who run away to Hollywood. They land at an open mic night in a New Jersey bar where Bobby’s aunt and uncle (once aspiring actors) lay out the realities of life as a working actor. The film was inspired by performers Savoca met while making her first student film, most notably William DaPrato. Filled with wry humor and quiet revelations about the pursuit of artistic dreams, Bad Timing also features Marianne Leone and the on-screen debut of future Academy Award winner Chris Cooper.

A tribute to the surf movies of the early 60's with some touches of visual surrealism.

A German officer visits his Danish mistress after the occupation of Denmark has ended.

Goggle V must prevent Deathdark from using their new laser weapon to destroy Tokyo. This movie takes place some time between episodes 8 and 14 of the Goggle V TV series.

First Winter is a 1982 Canadian short film directed by John N. Smith. With the father away, an Irish immigrant family struggle to survive their first winter in the Canadian wild. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

Excellent documentary about the very early LA hardcore punk scene that almost seems accidental. Upon visiting LA in the summer of '81 the film maker notices that strangely enough Punk doesn't seem to be dead in L.A., but on the contrary, there seems to be a massive teenage movement going on. He decides to make a short documentary about it. As he says (not without irony); "Since everything happens a few years earlier in the US, I can show the parents back home what's in store for them". He was ofcourse witness to the baby steps of the hardcore scene. This is the only documentary of the era that is not sensationalizing or mythologizing. It doesn't talk to any of the scene "stars" but rather follows a few disenfranchised suburban kids and runaways (in Venice beach I think). A rare look into a self destructive and nihilistic scene, where the main motives seem to be restlessness and soul crushing boredom. Perhaps one of the very few documentaries that give this era a human face.

The historical musical made in the Inca citadel in 1981 with texts by Pablo Neruda and music of The Jaivas. Special Guest: Mario Vargas Llosa in the presentation.

Urge to Build is a 1981 American short documentary film directed by Roland Hallé about individuals building their own homes. They share the experience and the different phases of construction, providing a background for more human issues: stress, confidence, and control of one's own life. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Tuning In – A Film about Karlheinz Stockhausen was produced for the BBC in 1981. Directed by Robin Maconie, who authored The Works of Karlheinz Stockhausen, this documentary is a lively and informative introduction to the work and process of a man who shook music and consciousness up.

This short animated film looks at the last of the great dinosaurs to stalk the central plains of North America. Lifelike models of ornithomimus, edmontosaur, and triceratops recreate the late Cretaceous period, offering a view of how our world may have looked 64,000,000 years ago.

In the north of Egypt, communities living near the salty lakes of El Borrolos during a treacherous drought.

Karl Kels' first film is a playful short piece comprised of shots of haystacks in the countryside. Quick repetitions of frames and the dance-like rhythm in which the frames are combined create an illusion of movement within the single shot in which no actual movement takes place, save for one passing car. The combination of different images in short sequences forces a new reality upon the haystacks, making them move in every possible direction. Short as it is, this debut already puts its finger upon some of the characteristics that have remained of great importance throughout Kels' entire work so far: the inseparable world of the single frame and time as an artistic controlling device.

An attempt to confuse the relationship between the film's material surface and the images recorded on it. As a man continues to walk in circle, where three scratches are made on the film. Xenogenese is a biological term meaning heterogenesis.

Vivienne Dick's first film after the New York series takes her back to her native Ireland. Using Super-8 film as a parody of the 'travelogue' or home-movie style film, Dick takes a expatriate, tourist look at her homeland. The narrative follows Margaret Ann Irinsky as the American tourist trekking from a Dublin populated by Hare Krishnas and rock music, to the horse-drawn carriages in the west of Ireland and the kissing of the Blarney stone. The quaint perception of Ireland and the Americanization of the native culture are contrasted with interviews from sectarian prisoners and footage of political marches. As in all her work, Dick uses a mixture of verité shots which capture the essence of the locality and intersperses them with images which have a totally different feel. This method is used to highlight issues in a subtle way wherein the camera takes an active rather than a voyeuristic role.

Bringing offerings of rice, flowers, and woven coconut leaves, clients visit Jero in her household shrine to determine the cause of their son's death. Jero lights an incense brazier, sprinkles holy water, and recites mantras as preliminaries to trance. Several ancestors and finally the young son speak through her voice, revealing the nature of his premature death (witchcraft) and his wishes for cremation. In contrast to other films about Balinese trance which focus on spectacular, community performances, this film provides an intimate view of a fascinating process of communication between Jero, the spirits, and her clients who are at one point moved to tears. (der.org)