The Costume Designer

This short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The costume designer must design clothing that is correct for the film historically and geographically, and must be appropriate for the mood of the individual scene. We see famed costume designer Edith Head at work on a production. The Costume Designer was part of The Industry Film Project, a twelve-part series produced by the film studios and the Academy. Each series episode was produced to inform the public on a specific facet of the motion picture industry. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Harlan County U.S.A.

This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastovers refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with New York Women in Film & Television in 2004.

Appointment in Tokyo

Produced by the Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, with the cooperation of the Army Air Forces and the United States Navy, and released by Warner Bros. for the War Activities Committee shortly after the surrender of Japan. Follow General Douglas MacArthur and his men from their exile from the Philippines in early 1942, through the signing of the instrument of surrender on the USS Missouri on September 1, 1945. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

The Art Director

A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing. This short film walks the viewer through art directors' responsibilities and the demands on their talents. They read a script carefully and design a set to capture the time and place, the social strata, and the mood. They must be scholars of the history of architecture, furnishings, and fashion. They choose the colors on a set in anticipation of the lighting and the mood. Their work also sets styles, from Art Deco in the 20's to 30s modernism. Then it's on to the next project. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Hoop Dreams

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.

Sikkim

Satyajit Ray's poetic documentary was commissioned by the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim at a time when he felt the sovereignty of Sikkim was under threat from both China and India. Ray's documentary is about the sovereignty of Sikkim. The film was banned by the government of India when Sikkim merged with India in 1975. The ban was finally lifted by the Ministry of External Affairs in September 2010. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.

God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance

Les Blank's poetic documentation of 1967's Los Angeles Easter Sunday Love-In. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2002.

The Town

The Town was a short propaganda film produced by the Office of War Information in 1945. It presents an idealized vision of American life, shown in microcosm by Madison, Indiana. It was created primarily for exhibition abroad, to provide international audiences a more well-rounded view of America, and was therefore produced in more than 20 translations. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

The Sun's Gonna Shine

A lyrical recreation of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ decision at age eight to stop chopping cotton and start singing for a living. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

Fighting the Fire Bomb

Documentary short explaining proper techniques for handling and disposal of incendiary bombs. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, from the Academy War Film Collection, in 2009.

On the Pole: Eddie Sachs

The documentary traces Eddie Sachs (one of the most popular drivers in the history of the Indianapolis 500) in a behind-the-scenes look at the race from his perspective, starting from a week before the race through the day after the big event. You can feel the fervor and anticipation build (*pay close attention to the scaffolding that collapses with too many people on it during the race) as Eddie prepares to keep his place, "on the pole." Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

Manzanar

Short film about the Manzanar Japanese American internment camp. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2011.

Primary

Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occurring. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.

California's Golden Beginning

A description and enactment of the discovery of gold by James Marshall, and the role played by John Sutter. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

Portrait of Jason

Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.

Tuesday in November

A propaganda short about the 1944 United States presidential election, produced by the Office of War information, for overseas distribution. It is meant to explain how the democratic process in America works. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.

The Man Who Skied Down Everest

This Oscar-winning documentary tells the story behind Japanese daredevil Yuichiro Miura's 1970 effort to ski down the world's tallest mountain. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

Kristallnacht

A bewitching, mysterious work of enveloping beauty, the film’s ominous title and a dedication to Anne Frank deeply inform our reading of its haunting subtext. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with the National Film Preservation Foundation, in 2009.

I Don't Know

A truly major work, I Don’t Know observes the relationship between a lesbian and a transgender person who prefers to be identified somewhere in between male and female, in an expression of personal ambiguity suggested by the film’s title. This nonfiction film – an unusual, partly staged work of semi-verité – is the first of Spheeris’s films to fully embrace what would become her characteristic documentary style: probing, intimate, uncompromising. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2014.

Two Down and One to Go

Documentary short film produced by the U.S. Army, intended to enlighten the American public on the final thrust of the Allied war effort in Europe and on the plans for the return home of American forces. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2008.

Six Steps... to the World Record

This documentary tells the story about the athlete Vera Nikolić, Europan champion at 800 m, who trains hard in order to break the world. She is missing just a little bit…

Happy Birthday!

An unlucky Birthday boy must fight for his life against a masked psychopath.

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An unknown girl breaks out of her daily grind by undergoing an intense audio-visual trip.

Destruction Inc.

Superman has to thwart wartime saboteurs tampering with things at the Metropolis Munitions Plant...who have captured Lois Lane and loaded her into a torpedo!

Michael Lives Alone

A young photographer's home is haunted by it's former residents.

Bond '89

Interviews with cast and crew on the Villa Arabesque Mexico set of the James Bond movie Licence to Kill (1989).

Le Pirate

Drums of Fu Manchu

The nefarious Dr. Fu Manchu searches for the keys to the tomb of Genghis Khan, in order to fulfill a prophecy that will enable him to conquer the world. His nemesi, Dr. Nayland Smith and his associates fight to keep the evil doctor from getting his hands on the keys. In 1943 the serial was edited together into a feature movie also called Drums of Fu Manchu.

Birds of Exile

Tahir Agha sells all his assets when his business in Maraş deteriorates. He immigrates to Istanbul with his wife Hatice, sons Selim, Murat, Kemal and daughter Fatoş, where he sets his mind to open a repair shop. But in the metropolis, things don't go as planned.

Call

A woman is taking an old elevator up to her new apartment that she has just moved into. The oddly old and ringing phone inside the cabin is freaking her out. Over the line she is told about nightmares that are about to become true.

Geisha Girl

Two American G.I.s visiting Tokyo find themselves mixed up with espionage, a pretty flight attendant, a mad scientist, geisha girls, and a goofy magician-hypnotist and his white rabbits.

Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas Live

A Twisted Christmas Live, recorded at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey, encompasses seven heavy-metalized Christmas classics by the legendary New York metal band, plus an additional collection of Twisted Sister's best-known songs.

Hocico: Die Hölle Über Berlin (Live 2013)

A Case of Conscience

A man in crisis just doesn’t know how to fix things with his conscience.

Jogo Sem Gandula

A not very good little digital still camera, our little neighbours and a football. Home movie.

Inculture(s) 1 - La Culture

Slink Pink

The Pink Panther sneaks into a house on a cold night, soon to learn it belongs to a hunter. The hunter's dog soon learns of the panther's presence, and unsuccessfully tries to prove this to his owner.

À dix minutes de nulle part

The Stievenart family decides to spend their vacation far away and puts an ad on the internet. The Mailon family responds by offering to exchange homes. But the Stievenart family has an environmentally friendly house, while the Mailons consume a lot of energy.