Out of the Interior: Survival of the small-town cinema in British Columbia

Gurdeep Singh Bains

1977

Gurdeep is a thirteen-year-old Canadian Sikh whose family runs a dairy farm near Chilliwack, British Columbia. They have retained their language and religion. Attendance at the Sikh temple, playing soccer with his schoolmates, and working on the farm are all part of Gurdeep's well-integrated life, but sometimes he feels a little different from the other children because he wears a turban. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.

Le Théâtre National Populaire

1956

Queen of Hearts

2019

The story of ten trans girls who form a co-op theatre to be able to stop working as prostitutes. The protagonists tell us their dreams, show their daily struggles and share their experiences and realities to be accepted and belong to society as well.

Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace

2019

Celebrating the splendor and grandeur of the great cinemas of the United States, built when movies were the acme of entertainment and the stories were larger than life, as were the venues designed to show them. The film also tracks the eventual decline of the palaces, through to today’s current preservation efforts. A tribute to America’s great art form and the great monuments created for audiences to enjoy them in.

A Farra do Circo

2013

This documentary highlights the evolution of Brazil's Circo Voador venue from homespun artists' performance space to national cultural institution.

Guten Tag, RDA !

2012

Grisha

1996

An up-close look into the life of the often misunderstood movie director Grigori Kromanov through the lens of old friends and colleagues.

Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire

1991

Actress Sally Field looks at the dramatic life and successful career of the superb actress Barbara Stanwyck (1907-90), a Hollywood legend.

Màscares

2009

Comrades in Dreams

2006

Four lives that could not be more different and a single passion that unites them: the unconditional love for their cinemas, somewhere at the end of the world. Comrades in Dreams brings together six cinema makers from North Korea, America, India and Africa and follows their efforts to make their audiences dream every night.

Music Palace

2005

Previously a central part of communal life, the movie palaces of New York’s Chinatown are now extinct. This documentary short takes us inside the title theater located on the Bowery, as it’s about to close its doors, with its caretakers ruefully looking back at the life that once was. Eric Lin’s poignant first film serves as a glimpse into the usually private—and, according to the Music Palace’s projectionist, “lonely”—operations of a theater, and mourns the loss of a once-vital movie-going locale.

Haida Modern

2019

In the 50 years since he carved his first totem pole, Robert Davidson has come to be regarded as one of the world’s foremost modern artists. Charles Wilkinson (Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World) brings his trademark inquisitiveness and craftsmanship to this revealing portrait of an unassuming living legend. Weaving together engaging interviews with the artist, his offspring, and a host of admirers, Haida Modern extols the sweeping impact of both Davidson’s artwork and the legions it’s inspired.

Islands of Forgotten Cinemas

2016

A poetic documentary about the lost film culture in the small villages on the Croatian islands during the SFR of Yugoslavia.

The Water Dwellers

1963

This short documentary introduces us to a town where no one pays rent: Simoom Sound in central British Columbia, where loggers live on sturdy river craft. Every week there are visitors: the general storekeeper, the flying postman and most importantly, the forest ranger, who is ever alert to the threat of fire.

Covidwood

2021

A French documentary on how Covid-19 affected Hollywood and the cinema industry in the United States.