Albert Camus : The Madness of Sincerity - Un combat contre l'absurde - 1997

Opening with a childhood story from his life, the documentary above, Albert Camus: The Madness of Sincerity, tells us that the philosopher/journalist/novelist’s first love was “the howling and the tumult of the wind.”

A French/English documentary produced by ARTE, the French-German cultural channel which provides innovative programming for the European community. This documentary examines the life of the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Albert Camus and includes interviews with Camus's family members, friends, and colleagues, as well as home movie footage. Also featured are readings from some of his most celebrated novels, including The Stranger also published in English as The Outsider (1942), "The Plague" (1947), "The Rebel" (1951), and "The Fall" (1957). Topics discussed include the following, among others: the way he charmed and befriended women immediately; the mysterious and intriguing aura that surrounded him; the reason he was not ashamed of his womanizing; the way he treated his various lovers; his daily editorials for "Combat," the newsletter which grew out of the French Resistance in 1944; the way he met and felt love for young Maria Casares while he was happily married; the reason the entire community knew of his relationship with Casares, despite efforts to keep it a secret; the way people in the U.S. responded to him and his literary work; why reviews of "The Rebel" were extremely harsh, considering the subject matter and the escalation of the Cold War; the reasons he became involved in the theater as a respite from writing novels; how he was persuaded to appear on television to promote the play, "The Possessed," which he was directing; the way his wife's mental health began to deteriorate as they spent more and more time apart; his difficulty in comprehending the fact that his wife was having trouble dealing with their unfaithful marriage, even though from the start they had agreed to permit extramarital liasons; what receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature for "The Fall" was like; his ostracization for several years, after receiving the Nobel Prize, due to his strong views against communism; the reason he decided to live almost in exile during the late 1950s; the sort of relationship he had with his children; why a reader can understand Camus from his posthumously published novel, "The First Man"; and his portentous decision to write sentimental letters to his many lovers just days before the car accident that killed him in 1960.

Cataloging of this program was made possible by ARTE, The Cultural Services of the French Embassy, and the Goethe-Institut New York/German Cultural Center, 1997.

Sikkim (1971)

Sikkim is a 1971 Indian documentary about the nation of Sikkim, directed by Satyajit Ray. The documentary was commissioned by the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim at a time when he felt the sovereignty of Sikkim was under threat from both China and India. Ray's documentary is about the sovereignty of Sikkim. The film was banned by the government of India, when Sikkim merged with India in 1975. In 1975 Namgyal was deposed and Sikkim merged into India as a result of internal turmoil, Indian intervention and a referendum. The ban was finally lifted in September 2010. In November 2010 the director of the Kolkata film festival stated that upon screening the documentary for the first time, he received an injunction from the court of Sikkim again banning the film.

Juliet of the Spirits

In 1964, when LSD was still legal in Italy, Federico Fellini underwent a single guided session under the supervision of psychoanalyst Emilio Servadio.

He later said it shaped his classic film, Juliet of the Spirits.

Juliet of the Spirits (Italian: Giulietta degli spiriti) is a 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese, and Valeska Gert. The film is about the visions, memories, and mysticism that help a middle-aged woman find the strength to leave her philandering husband. The film uses "caricatural types and dream situations to represent a psychic landscape".[2] It was Fellini's first feature-length color film, but followed his use of color in "The Temptation of Doctor Antonio"

The Postcode Wars

"Postcode wars" refers to violent territorial disputes and gang rivalries where conflict lines are drawn by neighborhood boundaries or postal codes. These feuds, often centered around train stations and suburban shopping centers, frequently escalate to deadly stabbings and shooting. The phenomenon is notoriously prevalent across Sydney (such as conflicts between groups in Western Sydney) and Melbourne, where teenage gang violence has tragically claimed young lives.

A brutal conflict is playing out on the streets of Sydney, and the battle lines are drawn between postcodes.

Teens from across the western suburbs are being drawn into its violence, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Four Corners and Background Briefing go inside a powerful and dangerous criminal hierarchy, revealing how it stretches from the kids in the postcode gangs, into the lyrics of drill, and all the way up to some of Australia’s most notorious crime families.

Birds, Orphans 𝑎𝑛𝑑 Fools [𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟗]

Birds, Orphans and Fools (Slovak: Vtáčkovia, siroty a blázni) is a 1969 Czechoslovak fantasy film directed by Juraj Jakubisko. The film is about three people who are all orphaned by political violence. In an unspecified time and place, these three characters face a tough, violent world and survive by adopting a childlike philosophy of life and live a life of foolish, joyful denial.

The film released in 1969 and was shown that year at an international film festival in Sorrento, Italy. Soon after, though, it was banned by the communist authorities until the end of the regime in 1989.

Target for Today (1944)

Target for Today is an acclaimed 1944 documentary film produced by the First Motion Picture Unit for the United States Army Air Forces. Directed by William Keighley, the film documents an actual Eighth Air Force bombing mission, detailing the massive logistical effort behind a daylight raid on industrial targets in Nazi Germany.

Byron (2003)

Byron is a British television film based on the adult life of English poet Lord Byron. Written by Nick Dear and directed by Julian Farino, it features Jonny Lee Miller in the title role alongside Vanessa Redgrave who portrays Lady Melbourne. It was first aired by the BBC in two, 75 minute parts in September 2003.

Part 1: The Summer of a Dormouse

Part 2: The Eloquence of Action"

Writer: Nick Dear

Director: Julian Farino

Executive producers: Laura Mackie, Hilary Salmon & Andrea Miller

Producer: Ruth Baumgarten

Production company: BBC

Original network: BBC Two

Medea (1969) (English Subtitles)

Medea is a 1969 Italian film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, based on the ancient myth of Medea. The film stars opera singer Maria Callas in her only film role and is largely a faithful portrayal of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts and the events of Euripides' play Medea.

The film was received positively by critics but did not receive commercial success. According to film commentator Tony Rayns the film represents a committedly adversarial piece of art from the director who loved to challenge society. Rayns calls the film "a love song to Maria Callas" and describes the ending as "backing him (Pasolini) into a cul-de-sac" for the dark ending of the film which almost seems like a resignation from cultural production. Indeed, Pasolini's dramatic and adverse personality is very much alive in this film which depicts Medea's murder of her children born of Jason and his betrothed.

Pastoral - To Die in the Country (1974)

Pastoral: To Die in the Country (Japanese: 田園に死す, Hepburn: Den-en ni shisu; lit. 'To Die in the Countryside'), also known as Pastoral Hide and Seek (French: Cache-cache pastoral), is a 1974 Japanese experimental surrealist film written and directed by Shūji Terayama. Adapted from Terayama's 1965 tanka poetry collection and a 1962 television drama he scripted—both sharing the film's Japanese title—the film stars Kantarō Suga, Hiroyuki Takano [ja], Kaoru Yachigusa, and Isao Kimura. Employing a film-within-a-film structure, it depicts an adult director (Suga)—a stand-in for Terayama—who encounters resistance from his younger self (Takano) as he attempts to complete a cinematic reimagining of his rural adolescence.

Phantom (1975)

Toshio Matsumoto depicts an unreal world created by piecing together fragments of fantasies and delusions seen by a single woman. The mysterious color tones, which are far removed from the actual sense of color, are due to the use of color infrared film.