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Monday, December 31, 2018

Kashmir the story full documentary (The history of Kashmir) : India, Pakistan and China


The history of Kashmir is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of Central Asia, South Asia and East Asia. Historically, Kashmir referred to the Kashmir Valley.Today, it denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (which consists of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, and Ladakh), the Pakistan-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chinand the Trans-Karakoram Tract.

In the first half of the 1st millennium, the Kashmir region became an important centre of Hinduism and later of Buddhism; later in the ninth century, Shaivism arose. Islamization in Kashmir took place during 13th to 15th century and led to the eventual decline of the Kashmir Shaivism in Kashmir. However, the achievements of the previous civilizations were not lost.

In 1339, Shah Mir became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir, inaugurating the Shah Mir Dynasty. For the next five centuries, Muslim monarchs ruled Kashmir, including the Mughal Empire, who ruled from 1586 until 1751, and the Afghan Durrani Empire, which ruled from 1747 until 1819. That year, the Sikhs, under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir. In 1846, after the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo-Sikh War, and upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, became the new ruler of Kashmir. The rule of his descendants, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until 1947, when the former princely state became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.

Kashmir the story is a documentary which gives an insight into the conflict-ridden region, showcasing facts as they are. The purely observational piece of storytelling is an honest attempt to showcase life in the valley.

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Fallen Angels (1995) Wong Kar-Wai



Fallen Angels is the story of a professional killer in Hong Kong. It follows the in's and out's of his job and his partner in crime who he rarely sees. After 3 years of working together he wants out. Another sub-plot is about a mute (caused by eating expired cans of pineapples for a month, after he was heart broken) who breaks into restaurants, cafés and ice-cream trucks at night and forces people to buy his goods!

Fallen Angels was originally intended as the 3rd part of Chungking Express before it ended up being too long, great as a double feature!

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Tuning In- Karlheinz Stockhausen (Maconie, 1981)


The documentary Tuning In was produced by Barrie Gavin for the BBC “Horizon” series in considerably modified form from an initial proposal authored by Robin Maconie which was based entirely on prefilmed lecture material produced by Stockhausen’s London agent Robert Slotover (Allied Artists).

Saturday, December 22, 2018

The Oblivion Seeker - Isabelle Eberhardt

 

Civilization, that great fraud of our times, has promised man that by complicating his existence it would multiply his pleasures. ... Civilization has promised man freedom, at the cost of giving up everything dear to him, which it arrogantly treated as lies and fantasies. ... Hour by hour needs increase and are nearly always unsatisfied, peopling the earth with discontented rebels. The superfluous has become a necessity and luxuries indispensable. - Isabelle Eberhardt

Actress Juliet Stevenson retraces the journeys of turn-of-the-century traveler and writer Isabelle Eberhardt. BBC, 1994.

Isabelle Wilhelmine Marie Eberhardt (17 February 1877 – 21 October 1904) was a Swiss explorer and author. As a teenager, Eberhardt, educated in Switzerland by her father, published short stories under a male pseudonym. She became interested in North Africa, and was considered a proficient writer on the subject despite learning about the region only through correspondence. After an invitation from photographer Louis David, Eberhardt moved to Algeria in May 1897. She dressed as a man and converted to Islam, eventually adopting the name Si Mahmoud Saadi. Eberhardt's unorthodox behaviour made her an outcast among European settlers in Algeria and the French administration.

Eberhardt's acceptance by the Qadiriyya, an Islamic order, convinced the French administration that she was a spy or an agitator. She survived an assassination attempt shortly thereafter. In 1901, the French administration ordered her to leave Algeria, but she was allowed to return the following year after marrying her partner, the Algerian soldier Slimane Ehnni. Following her return, Eberhardt wrote for a newspaper published by Victor Barrucand and worked for General Hubert Lyautey. In 1904, at the age of 27, she was killed by a flash flood in Aïn Séfra.


Isabelle was a journalist and war correspondent. Her disguise helped her to penetrate the peoples of the Sahara to get to know their customs. In Aïn Sefra she met Lyautey, a general charged with the task of reestablishing order on the border between Algeria and Morocco. With him, Isabelle was able to enter the camps and observe the conflicts first-hand. Not only did she disguise herself as a man, she also observed military discipline and was treated the same way as the other soldiers. In 1904 Isabelle she met up with her husband in Aïn Sefra and in a flash flood their clay house collapsed on top of them. “I know that this way of life is dangerous, but the moment of danger is also the moment of hope,” she wrote. She published many articles during her lifetime, and after her death her diaries and fiction were published.


Yasmina et Autres Nouvelles by Isabelle Eberhardt translated by Ahcene Douas

Isabelle Eberhardt: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Nomad by HEDI ABDEL-JAOUAD

Feminize Your Canon: Isabelle Eberhardt at The Paris Review


The Genius of Beethoven (BBC)



A powerful, moving and accurate docudrama based on the life of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Paul Rhys's masterful portrayal of Beethoven is particularly noteworthy, doing well to vividly convey the isolation and despair Beethoven experienced throughout his life, while insightful narration from the popular conductor, composer and presenter Charles Hazlewood does well to add a sophisticated educational dimension to the series.

Our attraction to Beethoven is an attraction to a flawed, and therefore human artist. He failed at almost everything, but never gave up on music, or his ideals. His life was a disaster on so many levels: his rages, alcoholism and unhinged violence, his health, political vision, family, relationships, economically and as a public figure, were all disasters. But the music he produced was on another plane all together. For this we continue the cult of his personality, and we just listen to the music because it is an ethereal temple to the emotions, accessible to all humanity....just beyond brilliant.

Part Two

Part Three

Monday, December 17, 2018

The rainforest hermit who stepped out of the wild | Australian Story


Beetles, worms and lizards — Gregory Smith ate just about anything to stay alive in the forest. From a homeless hermit to a university lecturer, he's proven you can overcome anything in your search for a safe place. He shares his story with ABC’s Australian Story.

ONE OF the country's "Forgotten Australians" has graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in Lismore, after surviving institutional child abuse in the sixties and a decade of homelessness.

Dr Gregory Smith, who has testified for the ongoing Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, spent 10 years as a hermit in the bush before realising the benefits of a decent education.

"I didn't understand the dream when I was a boy, I was too busy surviving," he said in his gown and mortarboard as he held his newly awarded doctorate degree outside the Whitebrook Theatre at the Southern Cross University in Lismore.


Friday, December 14, 2018

The Clash - BBC Documentary



A long time ago there were Pirates...

Saturday, December 08, 2018

Salvador Dali and Disney Destino (1945) with Pink Floyd's Time (1973)


Destino is an animated short film released in 2003 by Walt Disney Feature Animation1. Destino is unique in that its production originally began in 1945, 58 years before its eventual completion in 2003. The project was originally a collaboration between Walt Disney and Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí, and features music written by Mexican songwriter Armando Domínguez and performed by Mexican singer Dora Luz. It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2003.

"Time" is a song by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It is included as the fourth track on The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and was released as a single in the United States. Bassist Roger Waters wrote the lyrics and the music is credited to all four band members. Keyboardist Richard Wright shares lead vocals (his last until "Wearing the Inside Out" on The Division Bell) alongside guitarist David Gilmour.

Monday, December 03, 2018

Revolution - the documentary (2012)


Revolution is a 2012 documentary film by Rob Stewart. It follows the filmmaker as he follows up on his earlier film, Sharkwater, and examines both looming environmental collapse and what people, especially young people, are doing to avert it.

Sunday, December 02, 2018

Lost in Space - The Time Merchant (1968)

Lost in Space was a American television series that ran between 1956 and 1968. It is loosely based on the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson, and on a comic book published by Gold Key Comics titled The Space Family Robinson. The series follows the adventures of the Robinsons, a pioneering family of space colonists who struggle to survive in the depths of space. The show ran for 83 episodes over three seasons, the first of which was filmed in black and white.The journey for the Robinson family began on October 16, 1997 when their ship, the Jupiter 2 lifted off.

The Time Merchant episode first aired on January 17, 1968. It is interesting for a few reasons. The concept of magnetic tape holding information is exploited in the plot of the episode. The time a person has in their life is kept on magnetic tape. These are the property of the time merchant of the title. Secondly, The subtext of family over business, love over capital is strong within the narrative. Finally, there is a strong reference to Salvador Dali's painting The Persistence of Memory (1931) in the visual presentation:



Early computing is frequently invoked in Lost in Space. Interestingly the computer on the Jupiter was a non-working Burroughs B205 computer.The Time Merchant also has the added dimension of frequent visual references to Surrealism. Reflective surfaces, a collapsing time continuums and the bizarre character of the time merchant himself make this episode one of the most psychedelic in the entire Lost in Space story. With lots of purple in the set.

The Psychedelic Computer keeping time in check.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Native People and the Environment


Mike Wilken-Robertson, Founder and Director Native Cultures Institute of Baja California (CUNA) explores the native people of Baja California and their use of natural materials.

Friday, November 23, 2018

The Wrong Empire


Simon Schama traces the steps of the empire-makers to tell the extraordinary story of how a small set of islands off the coast of Europe came to rule an empire that stretched around the globe.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Cultures Of Resistance (2010)


Does each gesture really make a difference?
Can music and dance be weapons of peace?

 In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, travelling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promoting change. This is their story.

Featuring: Medellín poets for peace, Capoeira masters from Brazil, Niger Delta militants, Iranian graffiti artists, women movement leaders in Rwanda, Lebanons refugee filmmakers, U.S. political pranksters, indigenous Kayapó activists from the Xingu River, Israeli dissidents, hip-hop artists from Palestine, and many more...

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Songlines, Dreamtime, and the Visionary Realm of the Aborigines

Songlines, Dreamtime, and the Visionary Realm of the Aborigines from Wade Davis on Vimeo.


National Geographic joins Wade Davis on a journey deep into the Australian outback to document the disappearing cultures of Australia's Aborigines, thought to be one of the oldest groups of peoples on earth. After losing clan members to disease, war, and famine-as well as battling enforced relocations-small Aboriginal clans must fight to keep traditions alive for the next generation.

Saturday, October 13, 2018

You Are Not I (1981) SUB-ITA



Not quite a short or a feature, Sara Driver’s long-lost 1981 production “You Are Not I” exists on some alternate plane that renders the distinction irrelevant. It’s more like a haunting cinematic journey that leads directly into its mentally disturbed protagonist’s head. “You Are Not I” adapts the Paul Bowles short story of the same name and turns it into a disorienting psychological experience where nobody’s sanity can be trusted, including that of the audience.

The entire 48 minutes that comprise “You Are Not I” take place from the perspective of Ethel (Suzanne Fletcher), a frightening head case whose main dialogue is mostly heard in voiceover. Shot in dreary black-and-white against the drab backdrop of suburban New Jersey, the minimal story finds Ethel wandering past a gruesome car accident buried in plumes of smoke. As hordes of firefighters scurry about, she happens upon the grim sight of bodies covered in sheets and takes the cryptic initiative to place rocks between their lips. That decision is an extension of the movie’s overall inscrutability, a status that demands repeat viewings.

Sara Driver (born December 15, 1955) is an American independent filmmaker from Westfield, New Jersey. A participant in the independent film scene that flourished in lower Manhattan from the late 1970s through the 1990s, she gained initial recognition as producer of two early films by Jim Jarmusch, Permanent Vacation (1980) and Stranger Than Paradise (1984). Driver has directed two feature films, Sleepwalk (1986) and When Pigs Fly (1993), as well as a notable short film, You Are Not I (1981), and a documentary, Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat (2018), on the young artist's pre-fame life in the burgeoning downtown New York arts scene before the city's massive changes through the 1980s. She served on the juries of various film festivals throughout the 2000s

Saturday, October 06, 2018

Einstuerzende Neubauten - Live 1990 HD


Einstuerzende Neubauten at the height of their powers. I saw them in 1990, and was stunned. Before this I thought music was something else. It then became everything.

Monday, October 01, 2018

The Woodmans [2010]


Francesca Woodman (April 3, 1958 – January 19, 1981) was an American photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring herself and female models. Many of her photographs show young women who are nude, blurred (due to movement and long exposure times), merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured. Her work continues to be the subject of much critical acclaim and attention, years after she killed herself at the age of 22.

"The Woodmans" focuses on a nuclear family of artists and exploring the effects of the prodigiously talented daughter’s suicide, C. Scott Willis’ elegiac debut feature is an inspiring portrait of working artists, fragile and resilient. The film picked up the best New York documentary prize at Tribeca.

Francesca Woodman, who died in 1981 at 22, was by all accounts exceptional, and the body of work she left behind — mostly haunting photographs, many of them surrealist-influenced nude self-portraits — attests to a visionary imagination.

The temptation for many observers is to imbue every piece with premonitions of her final, self-destructive act. But Willis, a veteran of nonfiction television who was granted full access to the prolific woman’s photos, videos and journals, is more concerned with the fulfilling but precarious realities of aesthetic devotion, a way of life Francesca learned from her parents.

Her journals express acute self-awareness, longing and disconnection — all common enough traits in creative people. One of the observations Willis highlights, “My parents are so very married,” speaks to the intense bond between ceramist/sculptor Betty and painter/photographer George, together now almost 60 years. With their clear-eyed assessment of parenthood — George characterizes children as “gift-calamities” — and their unapologetic insistence that art is their chief purpose, they’re fascinating, likable subjects.

Francesca’s work awed her parents and brother Charles as much as it did her classmates and teachers. It’s now highly valued and in a way overshadows that of George and Betty. In interviews for the film, the Woodmans are candid about the unavoidable professional rivalry; understandably, they’re more guarded about articulating their grief. Filling that gap are teary moments from a few of Francesca’s friends. And joining Betty and George on a Venice gondola, DP Neil Barrett zeroes in on a moment that’s bursting with heartache.



The above video shows a collection of Francesca Woodman's video works. These extremely rare videos have only recently been compiled by the estate and shown only occasionally. The videos reveal a singular glimpse into the working process of this extraordinary young artist.

A brief description of Francesca Woodman's Life and Pictures

Sunday, September 16, 2018

The Angry Brigade: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Britain's First Urban Guerilla Group (1972)


Between 1970 and 1972 the Angry Brigade used guns and bombs in a series of symbolic attacks against property. A series of communiqués accompanied the actions, explaining the choice of targets and the Angry Brigade philosophy: autonomous organization and attacks on property alongside other forms of militant working class action. Targets included the embassies of repressive regimes, police stations and army barracks, boutiques and factories, government departments and the homes of Cabinet ministers, the Attorney General and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. These attacks on the homes of senior political figures increased the pressure for results and brought an avalanche of police raids. From the start the police were faced with the difficulty of getting to grips with a section of society they found totally alien. And were they facing an organization—or an idea?

This documentary, produced by Gordon Carr for the BBC (and first shown in January 1973, shortly after the trial), covers the roots of the Angry Brigade in the revolutionary ferment of the 1960s, and follows their campaign and the police investigation to its culmination in the "Stoke Newington 8" conspiracy trial at the Old Bailey—the longest criminal trial in British legal history. Produced after extensive research—among both the libertarian opposition and the police—it remains the essential study of Britain's first urban guerilla group.

More Information:

http://www.pmpress.org/content/article.php?story=GordonCarr

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Angry_Brigade

https://my-blackout.com/2018/09/16/the-angry-brigade-communiques-and-documents/


Monday, September 10, 2018

The Capitalist Realism of Black Mirror


Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror offers dystopian visions of post-capitalist futures. This video examines Fifteen Million Merits and Nosedive, considers just how they fit within a Capitalist Realist framework, and determines just how these programs might give us a glimpse of post-capitalist societies.

Thursday, September 06, 2018

Four Corners - The Ice Age Documentary (2006)


Sydney, Australia in the early 2000s and the streets are awash with Ice or methamphetamine. Many thousands of people are taking it, some losing everything to it. Many lose a lot. It is an unforgiving substance that can destroy you while you feel like you are on top of the world, as long as the supply continues. As you gradually destroy your mental and physical health.

Burning Man 2018 Film: "Ignite"


Burning Man is more than a party. See why people call it home. Dive into a rabbit hole of fire and dust with one of the most captivating events in the world: Burning Man. Ignite is a documentary short film captured at the annual social experiment in Black Rock City, Nevada. Filmed during the 2017 event Radical Ritual, Ignite is directed and produced by filmmaker Ryan Moore featuring original score produced by the Grammy Award winning team behind "Mission Impossible: Fallout", "The Dark Knight" and "Inception". A cinematic experience into Burning Man, Ignite pays tribute to the community that builds this temporary desert world once each year. Short film 4K video.

Director/Producer: Ryan Moore ("Manny narrated by Liam Neeson")
Score Producer: Lorne Balfe (Mission Impossible: Fallout, The Dark Knight, The Crown, Genius)
Composers: Max Aruj and Steffen Thum (Mission Impossible: Fallout)
Directors of Photography: Jez Thierry and Neil Fernandez
Editors: Christian May, Gretchen Schroeder, Ryan Moore
Sound Design Mixer: Emmy Award winner Eddie Kim (Sonic Highways)
Opening Sequence Illustrator: Anthony Francisco (Marvel Studios)

Ignite is also dedicated to Larry Harvey, co-founder of Burning Man.
For more information visit https://www.IgniteMovie.com

Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Reilly: Ace of Spies

"Power is power it is the one element of the human condition you cannot fake." 
- Stalin, played by David Burke in Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983)

Sidney Reilly was born Zigmund Markovich Rozenblum (Rosenblum) on 24 March 1874 in Odessa. This is not for certain. By 1903 he was working for the British Secret Service in the ferment that was Europe before the First World War.

According to reports of the Okhrana, the tsarist political police, whose archives are preserved at the Hoover Institute, the young Rosenblum was arrested in 1892 for political activities and for being a courier for a revolutionary group known as the Friends of Enlightenment. Evidence indicates that the arrival of Rosenblum in London in December 1895 was from France, and was prompted by his unscrupulous acquisition of a large sum of money in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, a residential suburb of Paris, necessitating a hasty flight. According to this account, Rosenblum and Yan Voitek, a Polish accomplice, had waylaid two Italian anarchists on 25 December 1895 and robbed them of a substantial amount of revolutionary funds. One anarchist's throat was cut; the other, Constant Della Cassa, died from knife wounds in Fontainebleau Hospital three days later.

Regardless of whether the peripatetic Rosenblum arrived in Britain via Brazil or France, he resided at the Albert Mansions, an apartment block in Rosetta Street, Waterloo, London, in early 1896. Now comfortably settled in Britain, Rosenblum created the Ozone Preparations Company, which peddled patent medicines. Because of his knowledge of languages, he had become a paid informant for the émigré intelligence network of William Melville, superintendent of Scotland Yard's Special Branch, whom official sources identify as later overseeing a Special Section of the British Secret Service Bureau founded in 1909.

In 1897 Rosenblum began a torrid affair with Margaret Thomas (née Callaghan), the youthful wife of Reverend Hugh Thomas, shortly before the latter's death. Rosenblum first met Thomas in London via his Ozone Preparations Company. Thomas had a kidney inflammation and was intrigued by the miracle cures peddled by Rosenblum. Thomas introduced Rosenblum to his young wife at his manor house, and over the next six months, they began having an affair. On 4 March 1898, Thomas altered his will and appointed Margaret as an executrix. A week after the new will was made, Thomas and his nurse arrived at Newhaven Harbour Station. On 12 March 1898, Thomas was found dead in his hotel room.[44] A mysterious Dr. T. W. Andrew, whose physical description matched that of Rosenblum, appeared to certify Thomas's death as generic influenza and after signing the relevant documents proclaimed that there was no need for an inquest.

Records indicate that there was no one by the name of Dr. T. W. Andrew in Great Britain circa 1897.Margaret insisted that her husband's body be ready for burial 36 hours after his death. She inherited roughly £800,000. The Metropolitan Police did not investigate Dr. T. W. Andrew, nor did they investigate the nurse whom Margaret had hired, who was previously linked to the arsenic poisoning of a former employer. Four months later, on 22 August 1898, Rosenblum married Margaret Thomas at the Holborn Registry Office in London. The two witnesses at the ceremony were Charles Richard Cross, a government official, and Joseph Bell, an Admiralty clerk. Both would eventually marry daughters of Henry Freeman Pannett, an associate of William Melville. The marriage not only brought the wealth which Rosenblum desired but provided a pretext to discard his identity of Sigmund Rosenblum; with Melville's assistance, he crafted a new identity: "Sidney George Reilly." This new identity was key to achieving his desire to return to the Russian Empire and voyage to the Far East. It must be noted that Reilly "obtained his new identity and nationality without taking any legal steps to change his name and without making an official application for British citizenship, all of which suggests some type of official intervention" on his behalf.

It is from here the 1983 Thames Television series takes up the life of Reilly, Rosemblum.

In June 1899, the newly endowed Sidney Reilly and his wife Margaret traveled to Emperor Nicholas II's Russian Empire using Reilly's (forged) British passport—a travel document and a cover identity both purportedly created by William Melville. While in St. Petersburg, he was approached by Japanese General Akashi Motojiro (1864-1919) to work for the Japanese Secret Intelligence Services. A keen judge of character, Motojiro believed the most reliable spies were those who were motivated by profit instead of by feelings of sympathy towards Japan and, accordingly, he believed Reilly to be such a person. As tensions between Russia and Japan were escalating towards war, Motojiro had at his disposal a budget of one million yen provided by the Japanese Ministry of War to obtain information on the movements of Russian troops and naval developments. Motojiro instructed Reilly to offer financial aid to Russian revolutionaries in exchange for information about the Russian Intelligence Services and, more importantly, to determine the strength of the Russian armed forces particularly in the Far East. Accepting Motojiro's recruitment overtures, Reilly now became simultaneously an agent for both the British War Office and the Japanese Empire. While his wife Margaret remained in St. Petersburg, Reilly allegedly reconnoitered the Caucasus for its oil deposits and compiled a resource prospectus as part of "The Great Game." He reported his findings to the British Government which paid him for the assignment.

More on Reilly's life can be found here, or by watching the TV series, the first episode of which is above. Reilly was no doubt a thug, a liar, an egotist and opportunist. But he always dressed well and was polite to the ladies.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

A Conspiracy of Silence: The Killing Times of the Queensland Frontier


This is first systematic account of frontier violence in Queensland, Australia. Following in the tracks of the pastoralists as they moved into 'new' lands across the colony in the 19th Century, Dr Timothy Bottoms identifies massacres, poisonings and other incidents, including many that no-one has documented before.

Stealing Africa - Why Poverty?



Rüschlikon is a village in Switzerland with a very low tax rate and very wealthy residents. But it receives more tax revenue than it can use. This is largely thanks to one resident - Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, whose copper mines in Zambia are not generating a large bounty tax revenue for the Zambians. Zambia has the 3rd largest copper reserves in the world, but 60% of the population live on less than $1 a day and 80% are unemployed. Based on original research into public documents, the film describes the tax system employed by multinational companies in Africa.

Director Christoffer Guldbrandsen
Producer Henrik Veileborg
Produced by Guld­brandsen Film

Monday, August 20, 2018

Being Human: Cure and Catagion (2010)


Originally broadcast in 2010, this is episode 1 of series 2 of the UK series Being Human (2008-2013). The series follows the lives and struggles of three characters, Annie, Mitchell and George. At first glance they seem to be three late maturers who share an old house in Bristol in the UK. They have lived, and loved, but now rely on each other in what first appears to be fairly average lives. But then the depth comes in; George is a werewolf, Mitchell a vampire and Annie is a ghost. They struggle with who they are as they put almighty effort into being human, or at least appearing to be so. But as they struggle they discover there is more to being human than wearing the right clothes and saying the right things. There are emotional currents, allegiances, ethics and morals, choices and the need for love.

This episode deals with some of the heaviest aspects of being human; love, desire, honesty, memory and purpose. It pits characters against each other in love and war as they gradually reveal and learn the truth about themselves and those around them. Consequence is also a major theme in the story, with the result of actions made in ignorance revealed and then made part of relationships. It even has a backdrop of power as a way to control people, but also being a status desired by many. In my opinion Being Human was one of the most riveting and well written series to emerge from television in the past decades. It takes up themes of Shakespearean proportions and delivers them in the language and imagery of the early 21st century. The acting is powerful and precise and characters appear as fully developed entities that draw us, the audience, into the depths of the human psyche. If you do not want to watch all 5 seasons then just watch this episode 1 of series 2, Cure and Catagion. It will change the way you understand your own life and what you do with it.

The episode begins with Mitchell and George encountering husband and wife vampires Ivan and Daisy, who warn them of the likely power struggle after chief vampire Herrick's death and their own vulnerability. Annie gets work in a pub and takes home customer Nathan, and Mitchell befriends new doctor Lucy. At the full moon, whilst the sinister Kemp destroys a captive werewolf in a pressure chamber, Nina is horrified to find that, accidentally scratched by George, she too transforms into a werewolf. George is pursued by the flirtatious Daisy who wants him to enjoy the dark side and has sex with him. Smelling Daisy's perfume on him increases Nina's anguish but they make up and the other housemates pledge to support Nina. Whilst they are all out, Kemp comes to the house with a psychic, testing for supernatural presences, and sensing triumph.

The episode ends with a sense of community, be it threatened by the selfishness of aggressive and wrathful religion. 

Monday, August 13, 2018

Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon - 'Fractals and Consciousness'


Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon - 'Fractals and Consciousness' - Interview by Iain McNay

Nigel is a film maker who made the films: 'The Colours Of Infinity', 'Is God A Number?' and 'Clouds Are Not Spheres'. He talks about his life and how he discovered Fractals. He raises the question, Is God A Mathematician?

Nigel was part of the central node of the counter culture movement that emerged in London in the mid-1960s. He lived at the famous 101 Cromwell Road house, sharing space with members of various rock groups, including Pink Floyd. He participated and led several famous Happenings at the time and was at the forefront of the psychedelic culture. Since the 1970s he has been a writer and film maker. 

Tuesday, August 07, 2018

MUSHROOMS (PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE) - THE BIG LEZ SHOW

The mushroom Psilocybin mushrooms, also known as psychedelic mushrooms, are mushrooms that contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Common colloquial terms include magic mushrooms and shrooms. They are used mainly as an entheogen and recreational drug whose effects can include euphoria, altered thinking processes, closed and open-eye visuals, synesthesia, an altered sense of time and spiritual experiences. Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include Copelandia, Galerina, Gymnopilus, Inocybe, Mycena, Panaeolus, Pholiotina, Pluteus, and Psilocybe. Over 100 species are classified in the genus Psilocybe. Extreme caution should be practiced when selecting mushrooms, as 50% of all mushroom poisonings are fatal. Do not consume a mushroom you have the slightest doubt about the genus of.

Sunday, August 05, 2018

Paul Foot Speaks About the Revolutionary Shelley (1981)


In 1981, Paul Foot (1937-2004), the “finest campaigning journalist of his generation,” delivered an epic 90-minute speech on the subject of his hero, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Appearing at the London Marxism Conference, Foot’s speech was delivered extemporaneously from notes and has become legendary. Amazingly, it has never been published. We are fortunate that it was recorded and that an online copy of the speech exists. Using this recording, I have managed to transcribe what was said. The entire project involved over 200 hours of transcription and research. The transcription can be found here: http://www.grahamhenderson.ca/guest-contribution/paul-foot-speaks-speaks-the-revolutionary-percy-shelley

Paul Foot laboured long and passionately to recover the Radical Shelley, what he considered to be the real Percy Bysshe Shelley. He presents him to us both in his incisive, polemical and passionate book, The Red Shelley, and here in his speech. After his initial consideration of the development of Shelley’s reputation, Foot investigates Shelley's atheism and feminism. But he also reminds us that Shelley was by no means perfect, and he unflinchingly canvasses Shelley’s weaknesses. The portrait of Shelley that emerges is at once electrifying and sympathetic, and it tells us almost as much about Paul Foot as it does about Shelley.

 Foot’s objective is to reconnect the left with Shelley. He does so in a surprising and original manner which is altogether convincing. Foot ably and competently traces the evolution of the modern left and demonstrates how it became disconnected from “the masses,” from real people with real-world concerns and issues. He longs for the “enthusiasm” that Shelley brought to the table. If ever there was a convincing “call to arms” that involves educating one’s self in the philosophy of a poet dead for 200 years, this is it.

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Islamic Mysticism (Spirituality) - The Sufi Way By Huston Smith



Islamic Mysticism (Spirituality) - The Sufi Way By Prof. Huston Smith, Professor of Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Monday, July 30, 2018

Terence McKenna's True Hallucinations (Full Movie) HD


Terence McKenna's True Hallucinations is an experimental documentary about the chaos at La Chorrera, the imagination, time, the Logos, belief, hope, madness, and doubt. Created by Peter Bergmann, this project is an expansion of ideas first presented in "The Transcendental Object At The End Of Time".

In 1971, Terence McKenna, along with his brother Dennis and three other companions, ventured by plane, boat, and foot to the paradisical Colombian mission town of La Chorrera, where they hoped to encounter the elusive psychedelic oo-koo-hé. Fate would have it otherwise. Their attention soon turned to the large numbers of Stropharia Cubensis that they lucked upon, and before long, Terence and especially Dennis were formulating the psychopharmacological "experiment at La Chorrera" which would eventually give rise to Terence's expanded Jungian notion of the UFO as human oversoul, and his I Ching based TimeWave Theory which holds, among other things, that history as we know it is accelerating and, in fact, will come to a major concrescence.

Based on the underground classic book and talking book 'True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradise', this tale of alchemical understanding is a deep dive into the young minds of the McKenna brothers, and an effort to provide some kind of visual aid and emotional center to a much larger story, with details scattered through hundreds of talks. Featuring unearthed photos and notebook pages which have never been seen by the public since generated in 1971.

Special Thanks to Dennis McKenna, Klea McKenna, Kathleen Harrison and Stephanie Schmitz, since their contributions of documents, and approval were crucial in making this film a reality.

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Princess Margaret - a royal of passion and cruelty


The Princess Margaret and the The Gangster: John Bindon

John Dennis "Biffo" Bindon (4 October 1943 – 10 October 1993) was an English actor and bodyguard who had close links with the London underworld. The son of a London cab driver, Bindon was frequently in trouble as a youth for getting into fights, and spent two periods in borstal. He was spotted in a London pub by Ken Loach, who asked him to star in his film Poor Cow (1967).

Other film and television productions followed, with Bindon sought after to play gangsters or tough police detectives. He played a violent mobster alongside Mick Jagger in Performance (1970) and a London crime boss in Get Carter (1971). Philip Hoare described Bindon as "the archetypal actor-villain, and an all-round 'good geezer'".

He was also known for having many socialite girlfriends, such as Christine Keeler, the former Playboy "Bunny Girl" Serena Williams and Vicki Hodge, who had a 12-year abusive relationship with Bindon. Through Hodge, Bindon gained access to British aristocratic circles, which culminated with his meeting Princess Margaret in the late 1960s, at her home on Mustique in the Caribbean. Bindon claimed he had sex with the princess, whilst Margaret later denied the meeting ever took place despite photographic evidence.

Bindon lived his hard man persona on and off screen. He was believed to be running protection rackets in west London pubs and was alleged to have connections to the Kray twins and the Richardson Gang. In the late 1970s in addition to acting work he provided security for actors and musicians, most notoriously for Led Zeppelin on their 1977 US tour, where he was sacked for brawling backstage.

In 1978 Bindon was tried for the murder of London gangster Johnny Darke. Bindon pleaded self-defence and was acquitted, but the case damaged his reputation, and this coupled with being seen as difficult to work with by directors meant his acting career declined. In the 1980s Bindon became reclusive; he died in 1993 from AIDS related cancer.


The Secret Lives of Princess Margaret (1997)

Princess Margaret has had a low royal profile for nearly 20 years. At 66 her life provides few headlines. But recently she stepped back into the spotlight with a stinging rebuke to the Duchess of York. In a letter she told her

Not once have you hung your head in embarrassment. Clearly you have never considered the damage you have caused us all. How dare you discredit us like this, and how dare you send me those flowers!

But Margaret had herself already tarnished the royal image. When she returned from Mustique in 1976 she was in disgrace because she had been exposed by the press with a lover 17 years her junior. It was she who was the first member of the house of Windsor to divorce. She who was the first to be publicly criticised. Margaret has at times wanted to be the most royal of the royals at others a rebel. Her life has been spent trying to resolve these contradictions.

Princess Margaret’s morning routine c 1955


Margaret's life of excess, cruelty, desire, passion and self-abuse caught up with her. This is her at 70, just 6 months before her death:


Tuesday, July 24, 2018

A Technicolor Dream


"A Technicolor Dream" is the story of the underground movement during the Sixties leading up to its culmination at The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, a "musical happening" at Alexandra Palace, London on April 29th, 1967.

The story takes in CND marches in the early Sixties, the foundation of the London Free School and the Notting Hill Carnival. There are brand new interviews with Roger Waters and Nick Mason from Pink Floyd, John "Hoppy" Hopkins, Joe Boyd, Kevin Ayers, Barry Miles, Phil May from The Pretty Things and many more.

Two documentaries on Paul Bowles - author, traveler, musician, magician

Paul Bowles: The Complete Outsider (1995 Documentary)


Paul Bowles-An American in Tangier (1993)

Paul Frederic Bowles (/boʊlz/; December 30, 1910 – November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with Tangier, Morocco where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his life.

 Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making several trips to Paris in the 1930s. He studied music with Aaron Copland, and in New York wrote music for theatrical productions, as well as other compositions.

He achieved critical and popular success with his first novel The Sheltering Sky (1949), set in what was known as French North Africa, which he had visited in 1931. In 1947 Bowles settled in Tangier, at that time in the Tangier International Zone, and his wife Jane Bowles followed in 1948. Except for winters spent in Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) during the early 1950s, Tangier was Bowles' home for the remainder of his life.

He came to symbolize American immigrants in the city. Paul Bowles died in 1999 at the age of 88. His ashes are buried near family graves in Lakemont Cemetery, in upstate New York.

Monday, July 23, 2018

Two Documentaries Pink Floyd ( The Story 1994 ) BBC and The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story (2003)


Pink Floyd - The Story (1994). A superb made for TV documentary featuring interviews with the band and associates and rare footage from their career up to The Division Bell. Originally screened as BBC Omnibus. Stereo sound. Bonus feature is a rare Tomorrow's World piece from 1967 featuring Pink Floyd and Mike Leonard's light machines. 46mins


"The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story"The late Syd Barrett was a major cult figure and rock music legend. The charismatic and brilliant lead guitarist of the early Pink Floyd, he created a unique psychedelic sound and wrote wonderfully eccentric songs including the hits “Arnold Layne”, “See Emily Play” and “Bike”. Syd Barrett left Pink Floyd in 1968 when his increasingly erratic behaviour made his continued participation in the band impossible. After two extraordinary solo albums he disappeared from music altogether. “The Pink Floyd & Syd Barrett Story” tells the full bizarre, tragic but also celebratory story of Syd Barrett with contributions from all the members of Pink Floyd plus friends, managers and lovers.

Many lament of what became of Syd, but in my own opinion his mental and emotional state was not simply a disintegration. I seriously believe he was not where he wanted to be by 1968. He was not permitted to alter course due to the enormous reaction his musical work and presence had generation and the number of people who were now dependent upon it, not just him alone but the group he had founded. This excerpt from Nick Mason's book Inside Out; A Personal History of Pink Floyd, about the Floyd gives some idea of what was happening in the mind of Syd even in the earliest days of success:


Sunday, July 22, 2018

Red Dead Redemption Short Film by John Hillcoat (2010)


The director of The Road and The Proposition, John Hillcoat, brings you an entirely digital Western short film. It uses Rockstar's rich open world in Red Dead Redemption to tell the story of John Marston's struggle in the new American Frontier.

Phantom India


Louis Malle called his gorgeous and groundbreaking Phantom India the most personal film of his career. And this extraordinary journey to India, originally shown as a miniseries on European television, is infused with his sense of discovery, as well as occasional outrage, intrigue, and joy.

Friday, July 20, 2018

"One Step Beyond": The Sacred Mushroom


In this rather amazing episode, Newland travels to Mexico to eat magic mushrooms. This show aired less than a year after Timothy Leary had traveled to Cuernavaca and had his first experiences with psilocybin, making Newland, along with Leary, one of the handful of high profile pioneers of psychedelia and one of the first public figures to praise psilocybin’s mind expanding properties.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

The Embrace of the Serpent / El abrazo de la serpiente

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Presented here without subtitles, it can downloaded from the site and subtitles are available here to add yourself.

The film tells two stories thirty years apart, both featuring Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his tribe. He travels with two scientists, firstly with German Theo von Martius in 1909 and American named Evan in 1940, to look for the rare yakruna, a (fictional) sacred plant.

The film blends visions, dreams, memories and the conventional story of a journey into a hallucinatory account of how human societies exist in the world-  one against the frame of a luxuriant and cruel nature, the other against a cruel and powerful colonialism. The world of spiritual integrity grows dim and men and women lose the connection with their dreams, and nature is destroyed as a result. This film is an important document for the evolution of human consciousness in a time of great ignorance and misunderstanding. 

Monday, July 16, 2018

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. (John Cassavetes 1976)


The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a 1976 American crime film directed and written by John Cassavetes and starring Ben Gazzara. A rough and gritty film, this is the second of their three collaborations, following Husbands and preceding Opening Night.

Gazzara's character of the formidable strip club owner Cosmo Vittelli was in part based on an impersonation he did for his friend Cassavetes in the 1970s. But in an interview for the Criterion Collection in the mid 2000s, Gazzara stated that he believed Vittelli, who cares deeply about the rather peculiar "art" aspect of the routines put on at his nightclub but can't get his patrons (who are only there for naked girls) to, was a double of sorts of Cassavetes himself. Gazzara described his friend as a writer and director that totally believed in the importance and value of his work, because the work represented his heart and soul.

Sunday, July 15, 2018

N'oublie pas que tu vas mourir (Don't Forget You're Going to Die)


Benoit is a student in Art History. When it is time for him to do his mandatory military service, he feels that his carefully planned life is falling apart. A fake suicide attempt gets him exempted, but leads him to learn something far worse than army life. Something irrevocable: as the Army doctor told him, the result of his test is positive. He tries to come to terms with this. However, he quickly realises he will never be the same again and like the Romantic heroes of his former life, he chooses to reject his destiny and to transform his existence into a constant exaltation of the senses. Omar, who has always known the hell that surrounds us, is his guide on this initiatory journey...Benoit cannot forget. He fulfils the only dream he has left: a trip to Italy. There, he meets Claudia. S. This film is in French without subtitles.

Change Itself: An Art Apart – Genesis Breyer P-Orridge


To sum up the life and work of British artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is close to impossible. Not only because of the wide range of artistic disciplines, but also because of the timespan, since the mid 1960s to the present day, that has been saturated by musical projects like Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, hundreds of records, thousands of concerts, exhibitions, interviews, videos, spoken word performances, collages, sculptures, philosophy, cultural engineering, occultism and radical transgender concepts. A couple of descriptions are still valid after these 50 years of active creativity and provocation. P-Orridge is a romantic existentialist and a cultural engineer. Everything is both work as such and seed for cultural and behavioural change.

 A film by Carl Abrahamsson, Sweden, 2016. www.trapartfilm.com

Saturday, July 14, 2018

The Sundance Ceremony /The Life of Tasunke Witko (Crazy Horse)


Teaching of the Sundance and why we dance, the history, the outlawing, the youth,men, women and elders points of view. It does not show the ceremony but the preparations involved and work involved to make it happen. We were offered to film it but declined out of respect for the dancers and our people. You can teach people about the ceremonies without showing the ceremony. The only real way to learn is to go, watch, listen and help. It aired 10 years ago in March 0f 2003.

Told from the perspective of contemporary Lakota people, the film explores the life of Crazy Horse (Tasunke Witko). Viewers see the natural world of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana that Crazy Horse knew. His spiritual nature is discussed, as are his unique qualities as a leader. The final portion of the film examines his role at the Battle of Little Bighorn, his resistance against reservation life, and his violent death at Fort Robinson in 1877. Lakota people share what Crazy Horse means in their world today. The film features original music created for this story. Sharing their insights are Lakota historians Jace DeCory, Donovin Sprague, Wilmer Mesteth and Whitney Recountre.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

American Hardcore (2006)


American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986 is a documentary directed by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush. It is based on the book American Hardcore: A Tribal History also written by Blush. It was released on September 22, 2006 on a limited basis. The film features some early pioneers of the hardcore punk music scene including Bad Brains, Black Flag, D.O.A., Minor Threat, Minutemen, SSD, and others. It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on February 20, 2007.

Saturday, July 07, 2018

Nass El Ghiwane -Transes (1981)


Nass El Ghiwane (Arabic: ناس الغيوان‎) are a musical group established in 1971 in Casablanca, Morocco. The group, which originated in avant-garde political theater, has played an influential role in Moroccan chaabi (or shaabi). Nass El Ghiwane were the first band to introduce Western instruments like the modern banjo. Their music incorporates a trance aesthetic, reflecting the influence of local Gnawa music. Khaled, a prominent Raï singer, began his career performing Nass El Ghiwane songs at weddings and parties. They are also credited for helping bring a new social movement to Morocco.

Transes is a Moroccan film directed by Ahmed El Maânouni, released in 1981. A fan of the Moroccan musical group Nass El Ghiwane, Izza Genini encouraged Moroccan director Ahmed El Maânouni to film the concerts of this musical group. The Moroccan director then follows Nass El Ghiwane in several concerts in the Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia) and in France then decides to go further and films the musicians in their intimacy. The result is this musical docufiction retracing various social themes (hope, laughter, suffering, revolt ...). The trance in its traditional musical form found among the Gnaouas in Morocco is the major inspiration of Nass El Ghiwane.

"The group's "Trances" are our equivalent of "soul music", our irrationality. I followed the example of the Nass El Ghiwane themselves: I went back to the roots. They draw their music from the last thousand years of Moroccan and African history. the film sets out to reveal and emphasize this heritage. I chose the music of the Saharan brotherhood, The Gnawas, and the verses of the famous poet El Mejdoub, to underline the trances." - Ahmed El Maânouni

Friday, July 06, 2018

Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979) HD with English Subs


A film that requires several viewings. A lot has been written about 'Stalker'. I believe it to be an art work produced of genius. It can be watched again and again - with new depths revealing themselves every time.

"The key moment in Stalker was what comes after the group's realisation that the room does not grant you what you want or plan or even need, but what your heart truly desires. The Writer never enters the Room, as his lack of inspiration is just a symptom of his lack of self-knowledge - he can't know what he wants. The Professor never enters, and dismantles the bomb - if the Room truly does grant you your desire and his deepest desire was to destroy the Room, the bomb is actually redundant. Not one of them enters the Room because they are afraid of what their true desire is. And yet, thanks to going through this process of realisation, all three men arguably end up with exactly what they wanted. The Writer understands he was lacking inspiration because he didn't understand himself; he leaves with both inspiration and understanding. The Professor said he wanted to understand the Zone but planned to prevent its misuse by evil men; he leaves knowing it is beyond the whims of evil men, and with some understanding of what the Zone truly is. The Stalker wants to take people to the Zone but laments that people have lost the belief for traversing the Zone and living good lives; three men have safely navigated to the heart of the Zone and back again, and all three have a belief in something beyond them as a result.

The Professor and the bomb literalise that thought - you get what you truly desire from the Room, but you do so from the act of reaching and understanding it. Entering the Room is redundant - and as the bomb is thrown away unused, so the Room is never used and even goes unseen.

Understanding ourselves is the most powerful thing we have at our sole disposal. So many films, political plans, news angles here are about creating a narrative that suits, and so few challenge the necessity of it. Even when a story is about finding yourself in a narrative you don't control, it is almost always about seizing the narrative for yourself, or finding comfort within it. We are directed to fight the narratives that surround us on their grounds of greatest strength, and told that the correct victory is the one that leaves a narrative redirected but ultimately still in place. Stalker felt important to me as one of the few stories that tells you that you can exist outside of these narratives, so long as you are willing to abandon your narrative of self first. If you understand yourself you don't need to tell stories about yourself to fill that gap, and you find the gulf between you and the narratives that would drag you in is suddenly visible, so visible you don't know why you didn't see it before." (from a comment on the YouTube site by UreasonableOpinions.

Thursday, July 05, 2018

Shoah (1985)


Claude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire (1974)


Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire is a movie starring Leonard Cohen, Ron Cornelius, and Bob Johnston. Directed by celebrated British filmmaker Tony Palmer, "Bird on a Wire" follows Cohen on his 1972 European tour. Long lost 16mm prints were restored for this release, not seen since 1972.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Rock Hudson's Home Movies

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Rock Hudson's Home Movies is a 1992 documentary by Mark Rappaport. It shows clips from Rock Hudson's films that could be interpreted as gay entendres. Eric Farr speaks to the camera as if speaking Rock Hudson's words from a posthumous diary. Film clips from more than 30 Hudson films illustrate ways in which his sexual orientation played out on screen. First there are tenuous and unresolved relationships with women, then clips of Rock with men, cruising and circling. Second, there is pedagogical eros: Hudson with older men. Rock is seen with his male sidekicks, often Tony Randall. Next, the film looks in depth at comedies of sexual embarrassment and innuendo: films in which Hudson sometimes plays two characters, "macho Rock and homo Rock." Lastly, the film reflects on Hudson's death from AIDS.

In Search of the Miraculous


In search of the Miraculous, a film by Pontus Alv. Made between 2005 and 2010. Filmed and edited by Pontus Alv. Concept and art direction by Klez Zawisa. Featuring, in order of appearance:

Part 1: Pontus Alv, Daniel Håkansson, Martin Nilsson, Danijel Stankovic, Pekka, Javier Mendizibal, Txus Dominguez

Part 3: Eniz Fazliov, Oskar Ristenfeldt, Jacob Ovgren, Phil Zwijsen, Ferit Batir, Mikael Persson, Colin Kennedy

Part 4: Alain Goikoetxea, Ben Smicker

Part 5: Johan Linö-Waad, Oskar Ristenfeldt, Mikael Persson, Johannes Marent, Hjalte Halberg

Part 6: Günez Özdogan

Part 7: Javier Mendizibal, Txus Dominguez, Eniz Fazliov, Julian Furones, Jan Kliewer, Ferit Batir, John Dahlquist, David Stenström, Jean-Louis Huhta, Christian Sjöberg

Part 8: Daniel Håkansson, Per Magnusson, Andreas Lindström

Part 9: Marcus Nyström, Daniel Håkansson, Patrik Evander, Marcus Olsson, Pontus Alv, Jean-Louis Huhta, Per Magnusson, Dirk Raßloff, Javier Mendizibal, John Magnusson, Al Partanen, Love Eneroth, Stefan Toth, Darren Navarette

Part 10: Michael Juras

Part 11: Mattias Nylén, Skreech, Dennis Busenitz, Chris Senn, John Magnusson, Sam Hitz, Al Partanen, Salba, Daniel Cardone, Jimmy the Greek, Ben Schroeder

Part 12: Scott Bourne, Julian Furones, Mattias Nylén, John Magnusson

Part 13: Fred Demard, Pontus Alv, Julian Furones, Guillaume Mocquin, Julian Viallet, Chris Merkt, Oli Buergin

Part 14: Love Eneroth, Johan Florell, Ricky Sandström, Mika Edin

Part 15: Daniel Håkansson, John Dahlquist, Mattias Nylén, Nils Svensson, Dennis Busenitz, Jimmy the Greek, Stefan Toth, Martin Nilsson, Marcus Olsson, Pontus Alv, Kos Mizkieviesz, Jean-Louis Huhta, Hans Claessens, Johan Linö-Waad, Kalle Helgesson, Martin Ottosson

Part 16: John Magnusson, Javier Mendizibal, John Dahlquist, Alexander Åkerlund, Andreas Lindström, Johan Linö-Waad, Stefan Toth, Kalle Pool B

Part 17: Danijel Stankovic, Koffe Hallgren, Hjalte Halberg, Pontus Alv

Part 18: Pontus Alv, Johan Linö-Waad, John Dahlquist, Love Eneroth, Stefan Toth, Eniz Fazliov, Tobias Henriksson, Johan Sunden, Danijel Stankovic, Per Magnusson, Mikael Persson, Marcus Olsson, Nils Svensson, Daniel Håkansson, Jonas Lindahl, Günes Özdogan, Hans Claessens, Martin Nilsson, Fernando Bramsmark, Oskar Ristenfeldt, Michal Juras, Kalle Pool B, Martin Ottosson

Part 19: Pontus Alv

Part 20: Johan Linö-Waad, Per-Kristian Hansson, Tobias Henriksson

Friday, June 08, 2018

The Vietnam War - A Television History


Vietnam: A Television History (1983) is a 13-part documentary mini-series about the Vietnam War (1955–1975) from the perspective of the United States. It was produced for public television by WGBH-TV in Boston, Central Independent Television of the UK and Antenne-2 of France. It was originally broadcast on PBS between October 4 and December 20, 1983.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Monkey


The clssic TV series, based on the 1592 Chinese novel 西遊記 (Journey to the West, published posthumous) by Wu Cheng'en (c. 1500–1582). The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to the "Western Regions", that is, Central Asia and India, to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials and much suffering. It retains the broad outline of Xuanzang's own account, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, but the Ming dynasty novel adds elements from folk tales and the author's invention, that is, that Gautama Buddha gave this task to the monk (referred to as Tang Sanzang in the novel) and provided him with three protectors who agree to help him as an atonement for their sins. These disciples are Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, together with a dragon prince who acts as Tang Sanzang's steed, a white horse.

Saiyūki (西遊記, lit. "Journey to the West"), also known by its English title Monkey, also commonly referred to as Monkey Magic (the show's title song), is a Japanese television drama based on the 16th century Chinese novel, Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng'en. Filmed in Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, the show was produced by Nippon TV and International Television Films in association with NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), and broadcast from 1978 to 1980 on Nippon TV.

Monkey is considered a cult classic in countries where it has been shown, reaching as far as South America. Among the features that have contributed to its cult appeal are the theme song, the dubbed dialogue spoken in a variety of over-the-top "oriental" accents, the reasonably good synchronization of dubbing to the actors' original dialogue, the memorable battles which were for many Western youngsters their first exposure to Asian-style fantasy action sequences, and the fact that the young priest Tripitaka was played by a woman, despite being male.

In 1981, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation debuted the BBC-dubbed Monkey at 6pm on week-nights. Since then, the show has been frequently repeated on the ABC, notably during the contemporary youth TV show Recovery which aired episodes of Monkey weekly from 1996-2000. When Recovery was put on hiatus, it was replaced with three hours of Monkey. The radio station Triple J often made references to Monkey and interviewed the original BBC voice actors on several occasions.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence (2017)


Francis Bacon was the loudest, rudest, drunkest, most sought-after British artist of the 20th century. Twenty-five years after his death, his canvases regularly exceed £40million at auction. Bacon's appeal is rooted in his notoriety - a candid image he presented of himself as Roaring Boy, Lord of Misrule and Conveyor of Artistic Violence. This was true enough, but only part of the truth. He carefully cultivated the facade, protecting the complex and haunted man behind the myth. In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Europe after the Rain: Dadaism and Surrealism (full movie)


Produced by the Arts Council of Great Britain, c1978, 'Europe after the Rain'’ (from painting by same name, Max Ernst [1941]) examines Dada and Surrealism not simply as modern movements in the arts, but also as a history of ideas - emphasising the desire to unify political and psychological values with artistic creativity.

 Begins with birth of Dada in Zurich, Switzerland, against background of the First World War, then to the Surrealists. Describes how Dada und Surrealism attempted to transform the world and how they were transformed by it. Directed by Mick Gold.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

La città femminista non si sgombera! / The Feminist City will not be Evicted!


Rome, Spring 2018. In recent months, repression towards social centers in Rome has increased. Now also the feminist social spaces and women's anti-violence centers are at risk of being evicted. In this documentary we follow the feminist struggles in Rome and the feminist movement ”Non una di meno” in defense of these social spaces. The Municipality of Rome, despite an increasing structural violence in Italian society, wants to close the self-organized women’s anti-violence centers. These are often the only psychological and material support for women who want to find a path out of violence. We meet activists from various parts of the city.

From "Lucha y Siesta" in Cinecittà to the "Centrodonna LISA" in Tufello to "International House of Women" in Trastevere. We follow the movement in the streets, from the demonstration in Campidoglio to the occupation at the Policlinico hospital and the global women’s strike of the 8th March 2018. As the movement “Non una di meno” says: “We won’t stop: hands off the women’s house, we will defend it with our struggle! You cannot evict the feminist city”.

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Malcolm Douglas - Across The Top (1968)


Made in 1967 it has become a classic Australian adventure film. The film shows Aboriginal tribal life in Arnhem Land and an incredible journey through the Gulf of Carpentaria and up Cape York.

Friday, May 04, 2018

The Story of American Slavery


Slavery as it was established in the colony and then maintained and expanded in the nation state of the United States, was a legal institution and entity. Slavery did not simply arise out of nowhere, to become a vital part of the economy. Slavery was a solution and a resource for the rich and powerful of the United States. Slavery brought untold suffering to untold millions. By the mid-1600s a child born to an enslaved woman was itself a slave, from birth. This is perhaps the greatest obscenity of a litany of cruel injustices that form the contours of slavery.

Kayne West described slavery as "a choice". The very idea is so flawed as to sound ridiculous. Slavery was an economy based on cruelty and law where human beings were traded and worked as chattels. Nothing else. 

Benjamin Zephaniah on Windrush, anarchism and his time in North Korea


Poet, writer and activist Benjamin Zephaniah talks to Krishnan Guru-Murthy about the Windrush scandal, how the political system should be torn down and why he spends so much time in China. 

Warning: offensive language.

Tuesday, May 01, 2018

André BRETON – Documentaire légendaire : Passage Breton (1970)


Voici la publication du dimanche, jour dédié aux poètes contemporains :
Documentaire de Robert Benayoun,
produit par Michel Polac,
diffusé sur sur la deuxième chaîne de l'O.R.T.F.
le 19 avril 1970.
Participants : Salvador Dalí, Jean-Christophe Averty, Julien Gracq, André Pieyre de Mandiargues, Jean Schuster, José Pierre, Jacques Baron, Robert Lebel, Roberto Matta, Joyce Mansour, René Alleau et Man Ray.

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Hitler's Children - Seduction Episode 1 of 5


How does en entire nation fall into step behind one man, as the symbol for an ideology and way of life? This documentary on the Hitler Youth movement provides some details regarding how a nation was willingly brainwashed and forged into a single ideological apparatus that was then geared for war.

Never has a generation been so completely taken over by a totalitarian state as was the case in Hitler´s Third Reich: at the age of 10 children joined the "Jungvolk" movement, at 14 they joined the Hitler Youth, and at 18 they joined the party, the "Wehrmacht", the SA, or the SS. This 5-part documentary by Guido Knopp and the ZDF Contemporary History Department is the first comprehensive film portrayal of the young people in the Third Reich. With in-depth witness statements and some previously unpublished archive material, the documentary demonstrates how Hitler succeeded in gaining power over "his children" through years of manipulation.

1. Seduction
2. Dedication
3. Education
4. Employment
5. Sacrifice

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Sounds Of The West - Straight Outa Bristol (Wild Bunch/Massive Attack/Tricky/Postishead)


TV documentary series originally aired in 1996, entitled "Sounds Of The West", which examined the music being produced in the West of England.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Silvia Federici: Caliban and the Witch


This show presents an audiobook-ish experience, based on a talk by Silvia Federici about her book 'Caliban and the Witch'. This book talks about how the development of capitalism is deeply entwined with processes of accumulation which needs to mold and domesticate the bodies of women in specific ways. The politics of reproduction at stake in this historical study is still very much at work today, and this book provides an invaluable background to developing struggles around reproduction and care today.

A must for anyone interested in the connections between capitalism, gender and colonialism.

We recorded this in May 2013 in Vienna at the launch of the german translation of this book, published by Mandelbaum Verlag. Find a Pdf of the original English book here http://libcom.org/library/caliban-wit...

Find this and other editions of the Sound of Movement radio show, here: https://soundsofmovement.noblogs.org/

Saturday, April 21, 2018

The Tempest (2010)


The Tempest is a 2010 American film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, featuring Helen Mirren in the principal role of Prospera. The film is directed by Julie Taymor and premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2010.

Although The Tempest received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, Sandy Powell received her ninth Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design. Shakespeare's epic play is translated from page to screen, with the gender of the main character, Prospero, changed from male to female.

Apart from Russell Brand's over acting I think it is a fine work, comparable to Peter Greenaway or Derek Jarman but done with a greater attention to the fantastic possibilities of magical space.




Friday, April 20, 2018

New Age Travellers: BBC Timeshift


Time Shift looks at the historical, cultural and political influences that have shaped the lifestyles of Britain's New Age Travellers

Travellers have roamed Britain for centuries and New Age Travellers have adopted many Gypsy traditions in an attempt to become genuine nomads themselves. Challenging mainstream society has been central to their motivation, Inevitably this has brought them into conflict with landowners and the police.

Fergus Colville's Time Shift documentary takes a fresh look; following the story from the early 1970s search for an alternative way of life, to the present day, where legislation and increasing fragmentation have eroded both the appeal and viability of being a New Age Traveller.

We managed to get some unique and previously unscreened archive of the Stonehenge festivals which helps to give a different perspective on the news reporting of the time.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Andrei Tarkovsky - Poetic Harmony


Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (Russian: Андре́й Арсе́ньевич Тарко́вский, IPA: [ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj]; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director.

 Tarkovsky's films include Ivan's Childhood (1962), Andrei Rublev (1966), Solaris (1972), Mirror (1975), and Stalker (1979). He directed the first five of his seven feature films in the Soviet Union; his last two films, Nostalghia (1983) and The Sacrifice (1986), were produced in Italy and Sweden, respectively. His work is characterized by long takes, unconventional dramatic structure, distinctly authored use of cinematography, and spiritual and metaphysical themes.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Love and Anarchy: The Wild, Wild World of Jaimie Leonarder (2001)


The underground scene in Sydney Australia had many shining stars among the dark corners of the warehouses and pubs that provided venues for music, film, club nights, performances, art and experimentation. However, none was brighter than Jaimie Leonarder, founded of the Mu Mesons Archive, musician, band leader, poet and raconteur.

Love and Anarchy: The Wild, Wild World of Jaimie Leonarder (2001) is a roller coaster ride through the wild world of Australian performer, musician, diversional therapist and lost media archivist, Jaimie Leonarder. A multi-layered exploration of one of Australia most unique exponents of media counterculture.

Running at 52 minutes. Documentary. SBS independent/Pagan Films. Chronicles the life and times of one of Australia's true champions of outsider culture. Featuring the near legendary industrial-noise band, The Mu-Mesons as they reform for one last major performance touring with US artist Mike Patton. Written and Directed by Brendan Young. Produced by Karena Slaninka.

I spent a week with The Mu-Mesons in 1994, on a three gig trip to Melbourne. It was an experience I will always remember. I continued visiting the Mu-Meson Archive and attending performances by the group up until 1999. This is the article I wrote recounting the 1994 tour, for the Sydney fanzine Gah Gar Gag, which I was one of three editors of in 1995.



Monday, April 09, 2018

UFH SPECIAL: The Weimar Republic


'The Weimar Republic!' The 'divine decadence', cabaret scene, sexualization and 'the outsider as insider' of Germany 1919-1933 gave birth to some of fashion's most immediate signifiers. So WILKOMMEN to this Ultimate Fashion History special.

Thursday, April 05, 2018

Leonora Carrington - The Lost Surrealist


Leonora Carrington was one of the most prolific members of the Surrealist movement. After rejecting her upper-class upbringing in northern England, Carrington embarked upon a relationship with Surrealist artist Max Ernst, and became central in the Surrealist circles of France and New York. 

After hanging out with celebrated names such as Andre Breton and Pablo Picasso, the artist then moved to Mexico where she spend the rest of her life painting, as well as making sculpture, tapestry, writing poetry and designing for theatre and film.

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Paolo Pasolini Salo 120 Giornate di Sodoma


Paolo Pasolini´s Salo 120 Giornate di Sodoma is based on the book The 120 Days of Sodom, by the Marquis de Sade. The story is in four segments, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy: the Anteinferno, the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit and the Circle of Blood.

Director John Waters said "Salo is a beautiful film...it uses obscenity in an intelligent way...and it's about the pornography of power." The film was trying to present fascism in visionary terms rather than as the logical or historical consequence of Sade. The viewer becomes complicit in the objectification of the human through the visual regime of the film. For this reason it is an anti-fascist film.

The tone of Pasolini polemic is “apocalyptic, not merely critical of Western society’s immorality, using sex in Salo as a metaphor for power relationships, after having taken the opposite position a few years before in his cinematic adaptations of The Decameron (1971), The Canterbury Tales (1972), and Arabian Nights (1974), where he depicts sexuality as a space of transgression and a vital rejoinder to every act of domination.