Introduction to Filmmaking

Documentary illustrating the birth of sound cinema.

A lyrical and nostalgic analysis of how Casablanca, the mythical film directed by Michael Curtiz in 1942, has influenced both film history and pop culture.

In this visual essay John Bengtson, author of Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton, provides a tour of where Seven Chances was filmed, comparing archival images with contemporary photos, and sharing stories of Mrs. Eleanor Keaton's visit to the Seven Chances church.

Four visual essays by Silent Echoes author John Bengtson identifying Buster Keaton's shooting locations for his many short films produced between 1920-1923, many in the streets surrounding his former Hollywood studio, the same studio where, a few years earlier, Charlie Chaplin had made his brilliant series of Mutual shorts.

The history of Frankenstein's journey from novel to stage to screen to icon.

Examines the early 1980s Hong Kong filmmaking community. Tony Rayns interviews some of the new generation of filmmakers and figures from the wider film culture.

A documentary about Buster Keaton's "Italian" villa in Beverly Hills.

Hawaii, May 1977. After the success of Star Wars, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg meet to find a new project to work on together, the former as producer, the latter as director. The story of how the charismatic archaeologist Indiana Jones was born and how his first adventure, released in 1981, triumphed at box offices around the world.

Fifty years after its release, the special effects makeup team behind Planet of the Apes reflect on making the iconic film.

A woman with a deep love of the land, Yolande Simard Perrault sees her life as having been shaped by a planetary upheaval in Charlevoix, Quebec, millions of years ago. As enduring as the Canadian Shield, she’s a woman of strength and spirit, a child of the crater left by the meteor’s impact. This documentary portrays a determined woman who’s the reflection of a land created on an immense scale. She was the creative and life partner of filmmaker Pierre Perrault, who gave up everything to be by her side. The film charts the influence of her unquenchable dreams and her contribution to the building of a people’s collective memory. In a stream of images and words, Simard Perrault recounts the splendours of the landscape and the people who shaped it. Generous and boundless, she embarks on a quest for identity that nurtures and perpetuates the oeuvre of the man who breathed new life into Quebec cinema.

Remarkable life story of Henri Diamant-Berger, a director and screenwriter whose devotion to cinema led him to collaborate with some of the greatest actors and filmmakers of his time.

A feature-length documentary about the film Galaxy Quest and its legacy, celebrating its milestone 20th anniversary.