A Documentary on the Creation of OVO, by Cirque du Soleil
Social & External
Himself
Sara Greene is a 20-year circus industry veteran with a big dream—to start her own tented circus. As the summer moves along on Weirs Beach, Sara faces serious obstacles in fulfilling her dream, and in sharing that dream with her ailing step-mother, to whom her show was dedicated.
One man, one camera, one goal...to capture the essence of adventure. An experimental, often abstract new type of filmmaking process creating color rich visuals combined with a lush soundtrack that grounds the project. A unique cinematic experience.
Short dramatised documentary showing the ups and downs of daily life on a circus farm. “The only light comes from the flames of the funeral pyre that consumes a dead circus elephant shortly after its corpse has been unceremoniously dragged across a field by 50 carthorses.” (BFI)
"Who is Weary Willie?" explores the life of the once-famous circus character Weary Willie and his story tied to controversy and confusion over identity between his creator, Emmett Kelly Sr., and his son, Emmett Kelly Jr.
Two real-life daredevils test the limits of their love and trust by illegally scaling one of the world's tallest buildings to perform an acrobatic stunt.
As Cirque du Soleil reboots its flagship production, O, more than a year after an abrupt shutdown, performers and crew members face uncertainty as they work to return to their world-class standards in time for the (re)opening night in Las Vegas. With unfettered access, filmmaker Dawn Porter captures the dramatic journey of the world's most famous circus act on its way back from the brink.
French filmmaker Laurent Chevallier always wanted to make a documentary on an African circus, but there were no native circuses on the continent. So Chevallier decided to help found a circus in Guinea. 36 young people were chosen from the city of Conakry to participate in what would become Circus Baobab. A group of French circus artists were imported to train the participants for 2 years in acrobatics and trapeze. Then the group took their show on the road. This film is Chevallier's account of the troupe's inaugural tour in Guinea, from March 1 - April 11, 2000.
This film was produced as an extension of a research film on the metamorphosis of the fly. It successively shows the hatching of the eggs, the nutrition and growth of the larvae, swarming and underground penetration, the formation of the pupa, metamorphosis and organization of the adult insect.
Untangling the web of cultural and historical ties underlying Japan's deep fascination with insects.
An intimate portrait of Mariano "Cronopio" Gedwillo, an Argentinian clown in Riga, as he transforms ordinary life into wonder through the magic of the circus — and teaches others to do the same, all while battling his own loneliness.
While writing a book on the circus, author John Shawcross reflects upon the great acts he has seen over the years and the mystique of circus people. He recalls the solo trapeze act of La Mara; Tarzan, Sahib, and their elephant; Marco's sword-balancing act; an archery act in which Grey Arrow shoots an apple off the head of Zuni, his wife; the Mascott Sisters' head-to-head balancing act on a high ladder; the juggling of Rudy Cardenas; high bar specialists, the Tongas; Gunther Gebel Williams with his tiger; the flying bar act of the Laribles; Carl Sembach-Krone's trained horses; lion tamer Pablo Noel; the Gaonas and the Four Titos on the trampoline; the Flying Armors on the flying trapeze; Frieda Krone and her elephants; Fredy Knie, Sr., and his Lippizaner; the Francesco Clowns; Lilly Yokoi on her bicycle; Mendez and Seitz on the tightrope; and Pauline Schumann on the trick horse.
In 1908, amateur naturalist and pioneering filmmaker Percy Smith stunned early cinema goers with his footage of the juggling fly. Hailed as the father of Natural History film, Smith was a hugely influential visual pioneer, inventing many techniques that are still used today. Being both a genius and an eccentric, we follow his life from his earliest films, to the collapse of his house from his mould experiment to his ultimate suicide. We also meet Natural History icon Sir David Attenborough, who was so amazed by Smith’s films in the 1930s that they inspired him to get into natural history.
Since 1993, Cirque du Soleil has produced seven original, permanent shows in Las Vegas, creating a garden of delights that has transformed the very nature of entertainment in this desert oasis. Cirque du Soleil: Flowers in the Desert presents mesmerizing performances, recorded in High Definition, of Mystère™, "O™", KÀ™, LOVE™, and their latest production, Viva ELVIS™, as well as sneak peeks of Zumanity™ and CRISS ANGEL® Believe™. Now the artistic universe of Cirque du Soleil is captured in a two-hour performance special, Cirque du Soleil: Flowers in the Desert, an extraordinary entertainment experience that is part of special programming premiering on PBS, check your local station for dates and times.
A young girl has already seen everything there is to see and her world has lost all meaning. Her anger shatters her world and she finds herself in the universe of QUIDAM, where she is joined by a playful companion, as well as another mysterious character who attempts to seduce her with the marvelous, the unsettling and the terrifying.
Alegría is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth - it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.
From the Italian 'saltare in banco' – which literally means 'to jump on a bench' – Saltimbanco explores the urban experience in all its myriad forms. Between whirlwind and lull, prowess and poetry, it takes spectators on an allegorical and acrobatic journey into the heart and soul of the modern city.
Corteo, which means "cortege" in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.
Icarus is the main character of Varekai, who falls to the ground, breaking his legs as he does. He is suddenly in a strange, new world full of creatures he has never seen before. Parachuted into the shadows of a magical forest, a kaleidoscopic world populated by fantastical creatures, this young man sets off on an adventure both absurd and extraordinary.
A scientist explains how the savagery and efficiency of the insect world could result in their taking over the world.
Short documentary about true bugs and humans. Short film is also a compassion practice and small journey from human perspective to other playful ways to see.
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
Behind the scenes look at fight choreography and action training.
In his most revealing performance yet, the one-hour special features an exploration into Blaine’s trademark style of street magic as he once again stuns his audience.
A documentary that follows six young dancers from around the world as they prepare for the Youth America Grand Prix, one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in the world.
Through outrageous, never-before-seen footage, witness the making of the Jackass crew's last go at wild stunts.
With exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen with Brando himself as your guide, the film will fully explore the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely from Marlon's perspective, entirely in his own voice. No talking heads, no interviewees, just Brando on Brando and life.
Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.
A behind the scenes look into George Romero's groundbreaking horror classic Night of the Living Dead.
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.
Behind-the-scenes documentary about how Lionel Messi succeeded in lifting the World Cup – the only trophy to have eluded him in an incredible career.
A multi-part documentary about the making of the Jurassic Park trilogy. Each part walks through the making of part of one of the films, including the hurricane during the shooting of the first film, and how advances in CGI for Jurassic Park helped change the world of special effects forever. All interviews for these retrospective documentaries come with comments from Spielberg, Johnston, Neill, Dern, Goldblum, the effects crews, the child actors, and Peter Stormare. This documentary is broken into six parts: Dawn of a New Era (25 min), Making Prehistory (20 min), The Next Step in Evolution (15 min), Finding the Lost World (28 min), Something Survived (16 min), and The Third Adventure (25 min).
Storyteller and Conceptual Magician Derek DelGaudio attempts to understand the illusory nature of identity and answer the deceptively simple question 'Who am I?'
Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
The Captains is a feature-length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed starship captains in the Star Trek franchise.
A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.
JB Smoove and Martin Starr host a celebration of 20 years of "Spider-Man" movies, from the Sam Raimi trilogy to Marc Webb's movies and the trio from Jon Watts.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
