People looking at the Mona Lisa in the Louvre – or are they just looking at themselves?
Social & External
The people behind it
Janina Ramirez explores the BBC archives to create a TV history of Leonardo Da Vinci, discovering what lies beneath the Mona Lisa and even how he acquired his anatomical knowledge.
Morgan Spurlock subjects himself to a diet based only on McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days without exercising to try to prove why so many Americans are fat or obese. He submits himself to a complete check-up by three doctors, comparing his weight along the way, resulting in a scary conclusion.
Elliott Erwitt has spent his entire adult life taking photographs, of presidents, popes and movie stars, as well as regular people and their pets. His work is iconic in world culture while his life is largely unknown.
A tribute to the cameramen of the newsreel companies and the service film units, in the form of a compilation of film of the cameramen themselves, their training and some of their most dramatic film.
A journey through four hundred paintings, all masterpieces, among the more than nine thousand treasured in the Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.
Antonia Quirke looks at the history of the colour film industry to find out who produced the first moving colour images.
Professor Jim Al-Khalili investigates the amazing science of gravity. As well sculpting our universe, gravity also affects our weight, height and even the rate at which we age.
A beautiful collection of pictures ties Frank Cancian, an elderly photographer and retired professor of anthropology, American with origin from Veneto, to the people of Lacedonia, a small town in southern Italy. Thanks to the rediscovery of the photos taken in 1957 by the young Cancian in that rural village where he had arrived almost by chance, the story resumes there where it was interrupted 60 years earlier. And the thread of memories ties back to people and places, bringing with itself some essential reflections on how photography can become an ethnographic look at small communities.
Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
An educational film about power sources that’s rendered as a lyrical meditation on heat and vapor, The Four Elements is a poetic and avant-garde documentary Curtis Harrington made for the United States Information Agency.
On the occasion of the fourty years anniversary of François Mitterand's election, a look back to the relationship between the President and artists, from admiration to manipulation.
In this documentary, wealthy entrepreneur Bryan Johnson puts his body and fortune on the line to defy aging and extend his life beyond all known limits.
An experiment and a dialogue about recording, the act of filming and the colors available to whoever points the camera somewhere.
A portrait of the artist as a "sublime demon with the archangel's face", with an innovative musique concrète soundtrack.
"Nocturnes at the Golden Gate" - invites us to discover the world and work of Irina Ionesco, a unique figure of contemporary photography. Since the early 70's, she photographer has been working in her apartment near the Porte Dorée, in Paris, principally with the female body. Scraps from the past and elements of the present come together to evoke the coherence and multiple meanings of Irina's baroque universe : the solitude of her Romanian childhood ; her youthful debut in the music hall ; her relationships with her models and her way of building images. Little by little, her work is illuminated and takes on different vibrations, though we have never left the apartment : her workspace, temple and museum.
"Flight Photographers" is an engaging look at the dynamic world of aviation photography, showcasing the passion and skill of both enthusiasts and professionals. Exciting stories and breathtaking images, highlight the art and adventure of capturing the beauty of flight.
Bunny Yeager, once heralded as the world's prettiest photographer, had a huge influence in 20th-century pop culture though few people know her name. Whether by popularizing the bikini, helping discover Bettie Page, shaping the image of Playboy or inventing the selfie, Bunny was a trailblazer whose work bucked against conservative 1950s America and helped pave the way for the feminist movement and the sexual revolution. Yet the very changes she helped usher in would soon render her a forgotten relic...till now.
Commentator-comic Bill Maher plays devil's advocate with religion as he talks to believers about their faith. Traveling around the world, Maher examines the tenets of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and raises questions about homosexuality, proof of Christ's existence, Jewish Sabbath laws, violent Muslim extremists.
Walker Evans/America profiles the great American photographer Walker Evans (1903-1975), whose style influenced a entire generation of photographers. He is best known for his collaboration with writer James Agee on the book "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men", which illustrated the plight of tenant farmers during the Great Depression. A pioneer of the documentary style of photography, Evans was the first photographer to have a one-man retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art. His photographs, from southern sharecroppers to New York subway riders, are point-of-view images that reflect his distinctive vision of America. Walker Evans/America contains rare interviews with Evans himself, recorded by filmmaker Sedat Pakay while a student at Yale University in the late 1960s.
Witness cycling’s top photographers in action at the world’s most beautiful bike race, as we go behind the lens with Ashley and Jered Gruber, Luca Bettini, and Zac Williams at the 2023 Giro d’Italia. Filmed during the race’s three epic final stages, learn how the photographers chase the action, doing their best to capture the pain and glory of the riders, and document the beauty of the mountains and towns across Italy. This is a thrill-a-minute, front row seat to the stunning finale of a race that will live long in the memory – and in the photographers’ beautiful imagery.
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.
Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. It was one of the largest scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: watched live by an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations. "It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid...!"
For decades, Freddy Krueger has slashed his way through the dreams of countless youngsters, scaring up over half a billion dollars at the box office across eight terrifying, spectacular films.
Taking inspiration from Peter M. Bracke's definitive book of the same name, this seven-hour documentary dives into the making of all twelve Friday the 13th films, with all-new interviews from the cast and the crew.
A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.
Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.
A live concert in tribute to Freddie Mercury, former lead singer of Queen. Mercury died of AIDS and so some of the proceeds of this concert went to AIDS research. Features performers such as Metallica, Def Leppard, Elton John, Axl Rose, Extreme, George Michael, and many others. Performers alternate between doing their own hits, covering Queen songs, or jamming with the surviving members of Queen.
The London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony took place at 9pm on 27 July 2012. Titled 'Isles of Wonder', the Ceremony welcomed the finest athletes from more than 200 nations for the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, marking an historic third time the capital has hosted the world’s biggest and most important sporting event. The Opening Ceremony reflected the key themes and priorities of the London 2012 Games, based on sport, inspiration, youth and urban transformation. It was a Ceremony 'for everyone' and celebrated contributions the UK has made to the world through innovation and revolution, as well as the creativity and exuberance of British people.
When the 'Big Four' - Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax - shared a stage together on 22nd June 2010 in Sofia, Bulgaria, the show was beamed live into over 550 theatres worldwide via satellite in a special HD cinematic event. The Big Four Live from Sofia includes full shows from all four bands as well as behind the scenes and interview footage. The legendary concert from the Sonisphere Festival was one of only 7 shows across Europe when the four monsters of metal shared a stage for the first time.
