A fascinating documentary from Trinidad and Tobago about the domination of Caribbean television by programs from the North, primarily the US. This film ambitiously weaves together interviews, indigenous poetry and music with clips from imported French and US television programs to show how Caribbean viewers receive a distorted view of the world that alienates them from their own cultural heritage. Also included is a glimpse of how Cuba has tackled the problem and the US response in the form of Radio Marti.Read More »
TV
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Anthony Hall & Christopher Laird – And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon (1992)
1991-2000Anthony HallCaribbean CinemaChristopher LairdDocumentaryTrinidad & TobagoTV -
Harold Pinter – Mountain Language (1988)
1981-1990BBCDramaHarold PinterTVUnited KingdomSynopsis:
‘Inspired by a visit to Turkey and Pinter’s experience of the suppression of the Kurdish language, this short, sharp shock of a play explores the increasing intolerance of dissent.
Written in cold fury, it’s a play that shows how, in dictatorial states, the suppression of language becomes an extension of physical brutality.’
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Federico Fellini – I Clowns (1971)
Arthouse1971-1980Federico FelliniItalyTVA ragout of real memories and mockumentary, as Fellini explores a childhood obsession: circus clowns.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid wrote:
The arc of Federico Fellini’s career is endlessly fascinating. He started as something of a neo-realist, and then his films grew in style and scope until they became bizarre, swirl-colored, phantasmagoric spectacles. Then at one point, he stepped back again and began making more intimate, personal projects in the last section of his career. Made for television, The Clowns seems to have been a crucial turning point; it came immediately after the overblown Satyricon, and it shows an interesting mix of that film, and the film that would come just a few years later, the wonderful Amarcord. It fits perfectly.Read More » -
Wim T. Schippers – Volk en Vaderliefde (1976)
1971-1980ExperimentalNetherlandsTVWim T. SchippersIMDB:
Otanes is certain that Smerdis, King of Persia is an impostor. He gathers together a group of people to stage a coup, only to face the question of which one of them will be worthy to take the thrown.Read More » -
Roy Battersby – Gentry (1987)
Drama1981-1990Roy BattersbyTVUnited KingdomSynopsis:
‘Gentry stars Roger Daltrey in a blackly comic suspense drama in which a couple buy a shabby house in an up-and-coming area but find themselves drawn into the aftermath of an armed robbery.’
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Catherine Binet – Film sur Georges Perec (1990)
1981-1990Catherine BinetDocumentaryFranceTVAn ultra-rare two-part documentary made for French TV about Georges Perec, directed by his former partner Catherine Binet (who is mostly known for her only feature film, The Games of Countess Dolingen of Gratz). It features a mixture of archival footage, scenes from Perec’s films and to-camera readings of excerpts from his work by various actors and friends of the author (Michael Lonsdale, Marina Vlady, Alain Cuny, Sami Frey, Edith Scob, Harry Mathews and others). Some consider this to be the best documentary about the author that has been made so far.Read More »
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Krzysztof Zanussi – Skarby ukryte z cyklu ‘Opowiesci weekendowe’ AKA Weekend Stories: Hidden Treasure AKA Hidden Treasures of the Weekend Stories Cycle (2000)
1991-2000DramaKrzysztof ZanussiPolandTVRose, an older woman living in Paris was born in Poland as a daughter of an aristocratic family. Her family house is now an impoverished home for the old people. Rose visited her property many times since the Berlin Wall collapsed and this time she arranged a meeting with an old palace employee, who earned big money having run a greenhouse business. Nevertheless, it remains a secret where the money to start this business came from. Not having a chance to speak to the employee, Rose meets his granddaughter – Jola – and enjoying her company, invites her to visit Paris. As Jola arrives in Paris, she gets acquainted with a young Arabian with whom she falls in love. Read More »
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Krzysztof Zanussi – Linia opózniajaca z cyklu ‘Opowiesci weekendowe’ AKA Weekend Stories: Dilatory Line (1998)
1991-2000DramaKrzysztof ZanussiPolandTVA young TV producer struggles with his conscience when he becomes convinced that his TV program is covering up a lie, but the more he tries to reveal the truth the more uncertainty he discovers.Read More »
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Krzysztof Zanussi – Dusza spiewa z cyklu ‘Opowiesci weekendowe’ AKA Weekend Stories: The Soul Sings (1997)
1991-2000DramaKrzysztof ZanussiPolandTVA classical singer who put his career on hold to raise a family gets a big break when a major company hires him for a televised New Year’s Eve concert, but his shot at fame is threatened when, against his better judgment, he goes out on a rainy night and gets a cold.Read More »