Social & External
The people behind it
Atanas Kurtenkov
self
Milen Vasilev
Lachezar Kolev
Anton Stamenkov
A Hungarian girl dreams of conquering international men’s chess. After a 15-year battle against world champion Garry Kasparov and her domineering father, Judit Polgár revolutionizes the sport’s patriarchal culture to become one of the greatest chess prodigies in history and the greatest woman chess player of all time.
Through the eyes of International Chess Master Paul Cassidy, this documentary traces a lifetime of strategy, triumph, and heartbreak, from representing Ireland on the world stage to confronting the loss that nearly ended his career, and ultimately rediscovering joy through the enduring support of the Dun Laoghaire Chess Club.
Can exercise sharpen the brightest minds? In this ground-breaking experiment, four world-class gamers, competing in eSports, Chess, Mahjong and Memory Games, put this to the test.
Angela Su’s fictional artist Rosie Leavers is the last remaining person to upload her consciousness to a video game. Contemplating during a pandemic year which also saw people’s resistance movements in many parts of the world, the work pinpoints the uncanny affinities between gaming and warfare strategies. They have mutually informed the infrastructure of both worlds since time immemorial when diplomatic conflicts played out on the battlefield of the 64 squares of a chess board to flight simulation technologies which were adapted to shape gaming experiences as we know it now. When the conflict is between the state and its people, she speculates that gaming strategies empower civilians in resistance movements to counter imperialism through its own operative logic. But once we upload our consciousness, are we able to return to the sensibilities and political motivation that inspired the revolution to begin with?
In 2003, Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh became the first World Champion of Chessboxing. This brain-busting combination of alternating rounds of chess and boxing was in fact an art performance calling for more balance in a world of extremes, and the audience reaction was so electric that it inspired Rubingh to push it as a real sport. Rubingh’s methodical ability to achieve balance in the ring is put to the test outside of it when impulsive British TV Producer Tim Woolgar takes up the sport and his opposing vision for success creates a rift between them, endangering chessboxing’s future.
Interwoven portraits of Anatoli Karpov and Garry Kasparov, whose 25-year bitter rivalry accompanied the fall of the USSR. The story of a duel between two chess giants, fighting a personal war in a world gone to ruin. This battle of black and white was more than a face-off over a chessboard. Part psychological drama, part political thriller, the film brings to life their hostilities, nested like Russian dolls. Karpov vs. Kasparov represents the battle between the faltering empire and the young liberals several steps ahead of the game, checkmating the old guard. Or how two stories – the societal one and the personal one – started out separately and ended up superimposed, twining together into one tale.
Magnus Carlsen, widely regarded as the greatest chess player of all time, is challenged by Hans Niemann, a rising star who capitalizes on the meteoric growth of online chess. Niemann’s ascension culminated in an epic, controversy-shrouded victory over Carlsen at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, which eventually led to allegations and revelations of cheating. Determined to clear his name, Niemann fights his way back to the top of the chess world, setting the stage for a high-stakes rematch with Carlsen in 2024.
With capitalism and corruption becoming more entrenched in Russia, a father and his teenage son gear up for a yearlong political campaign to unseat President Putin in the 2008 elections and shift the country back toward socialism. Aliona Polunina's thoughtful documentary follows Anatoly and Andrei in their struggle to recreate a revolutionary fervor in a society that seems to be embracing the materialist values of the West.
Follows the journey of a young Latina chess enthusiast, Bianca Mitchell-Avila, as she explores life's lessons through the lens of the game.
Based on a chess set made of ivory, which came to the Habsburg court in Vienna from China, thoughts of Confucius, taken from the Book of Lun-Yü, are recorded.
In the early 1980s, CHESS was poised to be the next big thing. It was a collaboration between two of the world’s most famous pop icons, a renowned lyricist, and a legendary director. A musical about a championship chess match set against the backdrop of the Cold War, CHESS had all the right pieces for success. But things didn’t play out quite as expected. In this new feature length documentary from Wait in the Wings, go behind the scenes to explore how a dream musical descended into a political nightmare. This is a story of high stakes, high tension, and ticking clocks; of a lyricist’s battle for independence, of a director’s battle for control, and of how the two guys from ABBA decided to write a musical. But above all else, this is a story about CHESS.
In the streets of Hanoi, the fiercest battles are fought neither with weapons nor in the shadows, but in broad daylight. Here, gray-haired “street fighters” face off with the intensity of legendary duelists, only to become old friends again moments later, sharing a cup of tea. Balancing fierce competition with unshakable camaraderie, Hanoi Street Fighters reveals a way of life in which every battle is, above all, an excuse to never truly be alone.
A documentary about the top Dutch chess players of 1979
The story of the 1978 World Chess Championship between the Soviet Communist Party's protege, Anatoly Karpov and the traitor and Soviet defector, Viktor Korchnoi. One of those instances in life where truth is stranger than fiction.
The making of CHESS - from first reading to first night.
Marcel Duchamp and French director Jean-Marie Drot discuss life, art, and chess.
Three weeks to make three films. Filmed in my last semester before College. "Time", "One Night", "8x8".
Four blind Indian boys compete to become chess masters.
Brooklyn Castle is a documentary about I.S. 318 – an inner-city school where more than 65 percent of students are from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level – that also happens to have the best, most winning junior high school chess team in the country. (If Albert Einstein, who was rated 1800, were to join the team, he’d only rank fifth best.) Chess has transformed the school from one cited in 2003 as a “school in need of improvement” to one of New York City’s best. But a series of recession-driven public school budget cuts now threaten to undermine those hard-won successes.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.
From his days of testifying at the Watergate hearings to advising recent presidential candidate Donald Trump, Roger Stone has long offended people on both sides of the political fence as a force in conservative America. Outspoken author, pundit, ahead of his time election strategist, this is his story.
Serial killer Dennis Nilsen narrates his life and horrific crimes via a series of chilling audiotapes recorded from his jail cell.
A portrait of the day-to-day operations of the National Gallery of London, that reveals the role of the employees and the experiences of the Gallery's visitors. The film portrays the role of the curators and conservators; the education, scientific, and conservation departments; and the audience of all kinds of people who come to experience it.
A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.
A sexual wellness company gains fame and followers, then members come forward with shocking allegations.
The most comprehensive retrospective of the '80s action film genre ever made.
A heartfelt documentary focusing on the day-to-day lives of professional wrestlers, some on the rise, some on the wane, and others fighting for their lives.
