Social & External
Commentary (voice)
A study of the automobile and its pervasive effect on the history of North America. Focusing on the Ford dynasty, from the original Henry car through to Henry II, the film demonstrates how society has adapted to fit the needs of the automobile.
Former General Motors high-flyer John DeLorean had a plan to build a stylish European sports car, at a price that would make it attractive to the American market. The site he chose for his state-of-the-art factory was on the outskirts of Belfast, a city best-known for sectarian violence and high levels of unemployment. The unexpected marriage of high-tech glamour with the gritty reality of 1970s Northern Ireland captured the public's imagination but this early optimism would end in failure. Although the cars looked great, the windows leaked and the engines seized; as his financial problems mounted the maverick DeLorean faced charges of drugs trafficking. Adrian Dunbar narrates the story.
Aston Martin is a name that has personified high quality, hand-built cars since early in the 20th century. Cars which have proudly carried the British Racing Green to a World Sports Car Championship and victories in major races around the world. Take a look back at one of Aston Martins most iconic models.
A mix of Rock and Roll and Blues are the secret for successful rebellion. When I took my camera to the middle of France where the GM&S factory was threatened by a permanent shut down, I felt like something extraordinary was about to take place. And it did. The lyrics were written by workers who have had enough! The tune was composed by people not afraid to go against even the rules of revolt! The volume was loud enough to attract the media. Their working-class concert spread across France like wild fire. I sat out of sight, camera in hand, filming like catching fish in a barrel.
"In Pursuit of Excellence" is the story of the oldest and most well know automobile company in the world. Tracing the extensive history of Mercedes Benz from its first car, the three-wheeler, built before 1900 through the Indy winning race cars of the 1990s. Our cameras take you on a journey to meet the men and machines behind this legendary brand. In Pursuit of Excellence also includes exclusive interviews with senior company management and access to the Mercedes Benz company archives (one of the largest corporate archives in the world). We take you inside "The Hidden Garages" to see what can best be described as the Holy Grail for Mercedes Benz enthusiasts, as well as extensive footage from the Mercedes Benz Classic Car Restoration center in Fellbach, Germany, and material shot at the official Mercedes Benz Museum in Germany.
An environmental account of Henry Ford’s Amazon experience decades after its failure. The story addressed by the film begins in 1927, when the Ford Motor Company attempted to establish rubber plantations on the Tapajós River, a primary tributary of the Amazon. This film addresses the recent transition from failed rubber to successful soybean cultivation for export, and its implication for land usage.
The remarkable story of how luxury car maker Jaguar made its first electric car. With exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to Jaguar's state-of-the-art engineering laboratories and top-secret design studios, Going Electric shows what it takes to make a sophisticated new car and provides an intriguing, inside view of one of the world's most iconic companies as it grapples with the future. It reveals a world where technical excellence meets exquisite craftsmanship – where testing is taken to the extremes and the car pushed to the limit. Going Electric was directed by award-winning filmmaker Ben Lawrie and narrated by Hollywood actor Mark Strong.
Station wagons were America's "workhorses on wheels." Today, they conjure images of outdated family photos, over-sized hairdos and unfashionable wooden siding. In 2011, Volvo - the leading premium wagon manufacturer - will discontinue the sale of its last wagon model in the United States. There are some, however, who still cling to these vehicles and what they stand for in American culture. Wagonmasters, a full-length documentary film, offers glimpses into the lives of such wagon enthusiasts, and tells the story of the station wagon as it represents a changing America over the last one hundred years.
Shows the interdependence of all workers, jobs, and mechanization in the manufacturing process from raw materials to finished product, focusing on the car industry, and argues that this leads to greater personal independence and freedom.
Everything Ford had hoped for - and more, much, much more. Not many cars become legends the moment they roll out of the factory but Ford's Escort RS Cosworth is one of them. Hand-built to take on the emerging Japanese dominance in World Rally, the "Cossie" proved a success on the forecourt as much as on the World's rally stages. But what is the true story behind this memorable car? Was the prototype really a hacked-about Sierra? Was it really driven incognito up and down the A12 This fascinating 1990s film, finally available on DVD, holds all the answers as the men behind the project explain its development… and the men behind the wheel show us what it was made of!
In this fascinating Oscar-nominated documentary, American guitarist Ry Cooder brings together a group of legendary Cuban folk musicians (some in their 90s) to record a Grammy-winning CD in their native city of Havana. The result is a spectacular compilation of concert footage from the group's gigs in Amsterdam and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, with director Wim Wenders capturing not only the music -- but also the musicians' life stories.
Actor Tony Curtis and his wife, Jill, discuss the important need to protect horses from consumption overseas in this documentary, which examines the couple's passionate struggle for equestrian rights and personal efforts to rescue horses. Featuring startling footage captured directly inside a slaughterhouse, this meaningful movie aims to celebrate horses and keep them shielded from cruel and senseless deaths.
A fascinating look into an obscure institution, this documentary visits the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, Calif. Comprising a collection of exhibits, dioramas and curios -- most of which seemingly have nothing to do with the Jurassic period or technology -- the museum offers an intellectual trip down the rabbit hole. The film includes interviews with founder and curator David Wilson and an extensive tour of the museum's oddities.
Filmed in Britain during the 2004 Babyshambles tour, director Roger Pomphrey's intimate portrait attempts to peel back the layers of Pete Doherty's media mask to reveal his true artistic identity. Simultaneously dubbed "the coolest man in rock" and "waster of the year," the controversial singer-songwriter -- a perennial favorite of the tabloid press -- embraces a murky duality. But just who is the man behind all the hype?
Three women whose paths never cross, yet are bound by the shared experience of losing their mothers during adolescence, exploring each one’s sometimes-complex relationship with her mother.
Vancouver-based voice artist Ashleigh Ball has been the voice of numerous characters in classic cartoons such as Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Cinderella and more. When Ashleigh was hired to voice Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash for Hasbro's fourth series to use the My Little Pony name - My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - she had no idea she would become an Internet phenomenon and major celebrity to a worldwide fan-base of grownups. Bronies are united by their belief in the show's philosophy. This documentary gives an inside view of the Pony fan-world, and an intimate look at the courage it takes to just be yourself...even when that means liking a little girls' cartoon.
Brothers addicted to speed at any price. Documentary following the motorcycle road racing careers, and fate, of the Dunlop family.
