Other Duties as Assigned

Shake Hands with Danger

1980

This short cautionary training film examines dangers associated with earthmoving equipment operation, showing many simulated accidents on construction sites.

Où sont-elles donc ?

1983

L'Envers des choses

1983

A verlan discussion in a cafe between two young people about a motorbike and girls.

Αιδ' εισ' Αθήναι, η πριν πόλις

1980

A documentary that captures the loss of Athens’ neoclassical houses, portraying a city caught between its past identity and modern transformation.

Tehran Is the Capital of Iran

1966

Tehran Is the Capital of Iran (1966-79) documents life in a deprived district in the south of Tehran. The images of destitution in Tehran's poor areas is accompanied by a variety of spoken accounts: the official viewpoint on the district's living conditions, what the inhabitants have to say, and occasional extracts read out of school manuals. The key element in Shirdel's film is the counterpoint effect he creates with image and sound. His impressively powerful portrayal of social unease helps reinforce the impact of his astonishing documentary images and social themes.

Under a Bridge

1974

In this tape, Ko Nakajima and Video Earth Tokyo interview a homeless man. The subject is initially angry and frustrated, but gradually opens up and shares stories about his life. Under A Bridge was later broadcast on cable television.

Apart

2019

Adults reflect on the experience of losing a parent at a young age.

Corpsicles

2008

Alan Sinclair aspires to be a human popsicle, literally. For this film is about the weird and wacky world of cryonics. Instead of burial or cremation get yourself put in a freezer, wait a few hundred years, get defrosted and off you go. Just keep your fingers crossed there's not a power cut.

Manzanar

1972

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

H.P. Lovecraft - Ipotesi di un viaggio in Italia

2004

A documentary about the possible ties between H.P.LOVECRAFT and the Polesine region (Italy), stimulated by the casual discovery of a mysterious manuscript attributed to the great American horror writer died in 1937.

Zwiesprache

1990

A mother wants to tell her daughter her opinion via video, but because she is untrained in using the new technology, she returns to the familiar letter form.

The Letter League

Invalid Date

A short documentary that tells the story of queer artist Heather Spooner and the adult pen pal program she created during the pandemic, featuring the poignant and humorous stories of connection and humanity that came from it.

The Sun's Gonna Shine

1969

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.

The Illumination

2017

When Gordon Gund went blind in 1970 at age 30 due to retinitis pigmentosa, he resolved to find a cure for the disease and created the Foundation Fighting Blindness. After decades of scientific research, a major breakthrough emerged, and this short film showcases the inspirational story of a 17-year-old Belgian boy who is a beneficiary of this work.

Multiple Man

1969

A many-faced view of humanity, of global man in all his forms and interests. Produced originally in 70 mm (with stereophonic sound) for showing at Man and His World, the Montréal fair that succeeded Expo 67, this film employs the multi-image technique. People of all places, origins, cultures, secular and religious, are here united and seen side by side, creating an impressive, inspiring and challenging portrait. The film's title appears in seven languages. Film without words.