Non-Narrative Documentaries
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- DirectorGodfrey ReggioImage and music are intertwined in this third collaboration between director Godfrey Reggio and composer Philip Glass. The film was produced to celebrate the World Wildlife Fund's Biological Diversity Campaign. The film combines images of nature with pulsing rhythms in a Microcosmos (1997) meets Koyaanisqatsi (1983) spectacle.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsPatrick DisantoA collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsBalinese Tari Legong DancersNi Made Megahadi PratiwiPuti Sri Candra DewiFilmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
- DirectorRon FrickeCarefully picked scenes of nature and civilization are viewed at high speed using time-lapse cinematography in an effort to demonstrate the history of various regions.
- DirectorGodfrey ReggioStarsEdward AsnerPat BenatarJerry BrownA collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
- DirectorGodfrey ReggioStarsChristie BrinkleyDavid BrinkleyPatrick DisantoAn exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
- DirectorGodfrey ReggioStarsBelladonnaMarlon BrandoElton JohnA visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
- DirectorBilly MalleryA unique look at total eclipses, capturing the experience within the scenery of a wide range of settings around the planet, from ancient ruins to city skylines. Totality is constantly growing as a film, as it represents "a lifelong dance with the Moon's shadow". Thus far the film has been shot on location in Venezuela, France, Turkey, China and Easter Island. Mallery also composes the original score for each segment as the film progresses.
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
- DirectorWalter RuttmannStarsPaul von HindenburgThis movie shows us one day in Berlin, the rhythm of that time, starting at the earliest morning and ends in the deepest night.
- DirectorClaude NuridsanyMarie PérennouStarsKristin Scott ThomasJacques PerrinA documentary on insect life in meadows and ponds.
- DirectorJacques PerrinJacques CluzaudMichel DebatsStarsJacques PerrinPhilippe LabroDocumentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents.
- DirectorPatrice LeconteDirector Patrice Leconte weaves an impressionistic, sensorial tapestry of existence in and around early 21st-century Cambodia. Journeying through the country's farmlands, factories, streets and rural villages, camera-in-hand, Leconte glimpses the people and the elements of the landscape that make Cambodia so culturally specific, and gently contrasts modes of life found there.
- DirectorLuc BessonAtmospheric soundtrack follows this compilation of nature footage that focuses on the ocean and various life forms that live, mate and die in it.
- DirectorPetur Kristjan GudmundssonIceland's first non-narrative full-feature film's focus is set on presenting Iceland in a way it has never been presented before, using various elements of high-end cinematography.
- DirectorDaniel SmukallaStarsIngyeong BaeYeon Bae ByunDaeryun ChangSouth Korea has undergone a massive political, economic, and social shift since it was liberated from Japan at end of World War II. It dealt with rediscovering its own identity while working to shape its own for the future, which resulted in a devastating civil war in the 1950s. The following decades after the war experienced massive economic growth that stunned experts around the world. The 80s were full of political turmoil and protests against the government, and then the 90s experienced the results of those protests with democratization. It was then followed by an economic crisis that brought to a halt the economic growth Korea was continuing to experience. However, in the early 2000s the Korean economy was back on track. Now the Korea of today is one of the most technologically advanced and prosperous countries in the world and continues to grow and evolve. This documentary does not focus on how, or why those changes took place; however, that accelerated transformation of a country serves as the backdrop of the film. Korea's quick growth resulted in much contrast between the old and young, and rural and urban. This documentary visually shows the different aspects of Korean life, and is narrated over by Koreans of all ages and backgrounds that are a part of it. Their narration examines their thoughts of the Korea around them, of the different generations, and of all of the changes they have seen and experienced throughout their lives. All of this is blended together to show the diverse aspects of one country that has tremendously transformed in such a short time.
- DirectorParam Tomanec"Some see this film as amazing, some describe Rasa Yatra as amazing and some hear about it as amazing, while others, even after watching it many times, do not understand it at all."
- DirectorEric CroslandDave MossopStarsCallum PettitKye PetersenJ.P. AuclairThis is a story of rising to the ultimate challenge. Having the courage to risk fatal expo- sure and the perseverance demanded on the quest for achievement. These are not solely physical feats, they are mental conquests.
- DirectorGodfrey ReggioDirector Godfrey Reggio reveals humanity's trance-like relationship with technology, which, when commandeered by extreme emotional states, produces massive effects far beyond the human species.
- DirectorIlisa BarbashLucien Castaing-TaylorIn the summer of 2003, a group of shepherds took a herd of sheep one final time through the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, in the extreme north-west of the United States. It was a journey of almost three hundred kilometres through expansive green valleys, by fields of snow, and across hazardous, narrow ridges - a journey brimming with challenges. The aging shepherds do their very best to keep the hundreds of sheep together; the panoramic high mountains are teeming with hungry wolves and grizzly bears.
- DirectorFebian Nurrahman SaktinegaraEpic Java is a visual of the universe and human culture. A searching process of the mysteries of life and everything related to it. A contemplative depiction that will take us into God's power.
- DirectorSimon PummellSimon Pummell's epic movie tells the story of a human life, using found footage from the last 100 years of cinema, cut to a powerful score by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.
- DirectorRenaud DelourmeStarsBernard GiraudeauNils HugonYann Arthus-Bertrand has flown over hundreds of countries to create an extraordinary aerial portrait of our planet as never seen before. This DVD from the Panoramica Motion Gallery is 'Ambient' in concept, there is no storytelling, no narratives, just a constant stream of compelling beauty.
- DirectorVictor KossakovskyWhat would be the shortest route between Entre Rios in Argentina and the Chinese metropolis Shanghai? Simply a straight line through the center of the earth, since the two places are antipodes: they are located diametrically opposite to each other on the earth's surface. During his visits to four such antipodal pairs, the award-winning documentary filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky captured images that turn our view of the world upside down. A beautiful, peaceful sunset in Entre Rios is contrasted with the bustling streets in rainy Shanghai. People who live in a wasteland are connected to people dwelling next to a volcano. Landscapes whose splendor touches the soul are juxtaposed with the clamor of a vast city. These antipodes seem mythically connected, somehow united by their oppositeness. Kossakovsky's movie is a feast for the senses, a fascinating kaleidoscope of our planet. VIVAN LAS ANTIPODAS! - Long Live The Antipodes! What is happening on the point of the earth diametrically opposite to where we are now, what awaits us there? Fascinated by this question, Victor Kossakovsky conducted an experiment, and in the course of his unique project visited four coupled antipodes - in Argentina and China, Spain and New Zealand, Chile and Russia, Botswana and Hawaii. Thanks to a keen sense of the magic of his eight locations, Kossakovsky captures unforgettable images. He follows the menacing glow of a volcano's lava, contemplates the majestic flight of a condor, documents human attempts to rescue a stranded whale. A sunset in Argentina's Entre Rios is juxtaposed with rush hour in Shanghai. Tranquil silence and amber light contrast with noisy industriousness and metallic hues. The movie approaches its subject playfully, and Kossakovsky's deployment of the camera is innovative: the earth's surface bends right in front of our eyes, images upside down.
- DirectorGogol LobmayrFascinating Nature is a nonverbal landscape documentary film of images from around the world.
- DirectorDenis CôtéAlong the rhythm of the seasons, beasts and humans regard each other. 'Bestiary' unfolds like a picture book about mutual observation. A contemplation of a stable imbalance, and of loose, tranquil and indefinable elements.
- DirectorHarold MonfilsA musical, visual journey. Recorded and filmed on location, it resurrects ancient and forgotten folk music from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, India and Myanmar. The experience is brought to life for a contemporary audience through a minimalist orchestration of modern electronic waves and flows, thereby preserving the integrity of the music. The musicians come primarily from the coastal communities, towns and villages practically wiped of the world map by the Tsunami of December 26, 2004. It's beauty lies in it's purity and simplicity, a non-judgmental point of view. For the international team who came together, Laya Project is a personal and collective tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.
- DirectorDavid HannanExplore the vibrant colors and alien-like creatures of the coral reef.
- DirectorMartin H. SchmittIn this nonverbal documentary film the industrial footage as well as the musical style of sitar master Al Gromer Khan create the film's base for an immersion into the highway spheres.
- DirectorMartin H. SchmittThe non-verbal documentary Robot World depicts the evolution of robots from a mechanical somnambulist to an autonomous sensorium.
- DirectorRichard SideyA non-verbal visual journey to the polar regions of our planet portrayed through a triptych montage of photography and video. Landscapes at the World's Ends is a multi-dimensional canvas of imagery recorded above the Arctic Circle and below the Antarctic Convergence, viewed through the lens of whom is realistically an alien in this environment, the polar tourist. Filmed during several artist residencies on-board three expedition vessels, New Zealand nature photographer and filmmaker Richard Sidey documents light and time in an effort to share his experiences and the beauty that exists over the frozen seas. Set to an ambient score by Norwegian Arctic based musician, Boreal Taiga, this experimental documentary transports us to the islands of South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula, Greenland and Svalbard.
- DirectorPavol BarabasUp there, above the clouds, one can feel a mysterious alliance with the universe.
- DirectorJames BenningJames Benning's worrying and also reassuring vision of the Ruhr Valley, shot in 7 fascinating takes of a tunnel, a factory, a forest near an airport, inside a mosque, a graffiti wall, a street and an industrial chimney.
- DirectorJames BenningEmploying natural sound and contemplative proscenium shots, Benning skillfully composes a series of pure and majestic images that at once evoke a sense of nostalgic splendor as well as deliver a subtle, yet penetrating, political commentary. Benning tells the story of how water irrigates this valley and how the produce is carted away in boxcars for the nation's consumption. He shows the lifestyle of a modest and growing rural community, whose concerns are often drowned out by the powerful railroads, oil companies and insurance conglomerates which own the farms and ranches and benefit from undocumented immigrant labor while insisting on imprisoning an American population of color.
- DirectorJames BenningShots of 13 great lakes in the USA, with each shot containing half water and half sky or land.