The Silent Laugh

A look at Charlie Chaplin and his rise to fame.

Short documentary exploring the fame and talent of Charlie Chaplin.

In one of those wonderful coincidences of history, lumière, the French word for “light,” was also the last name of brothers Auguste and Louis, whose brilliant invention, the cinematograph, helped to inaugurate the most beloved art form of the last 130 years. Institute Lumière director Thierry Frémaux uses Lumière, Le Cinema! to guide the viewer through over a hundred shorts—some famous, some forgotten, some never before seen—directed by Lumière and company. In the process, Frémaux illuminates how the brothers employed the camera as a creative instrument as they (and their operators) mastered framing, staging, and subject selection for quotidian and exotic microdocumentaries as well as the first ever fictional motion pictures. The result is not only a glorious re(telling) of the genesis of cinema but a profound meditation on the beautiful world captured—and the mysterious world imagined—by the Lumières.

A short actualité depicting the aftermath of an infamous accident in Costa Rica when an overcrowded train carrying mostly farmers and labourers derailed while crossing the Virilla River Canyon, killing at least 250.

A documentary that brings to light the vision that director George A. Romero had for an adaptation of Resident Evil, using newly filmed interviews with those who were there, and unravels the secrets behind why it was never produced.

A big day in the Scottish Borders is captured with astonishing clarity in this remarkable film commissioned by the local cinema.

An epic 3+ hour chronology of scenes from over 200 films and television shows shot in Massachusetts from the silent era to today. Highlighting recognizable locales from Martha’s Vineyard to Harvard Square to Great Barrington, along with bygone landmarks and Boston streets, and featuring James Cagney, Tony Curtis, Elizabeth Taylor, Luciano Pavarotti, Harrison Ford, and all the Afflecks and Wahlbergs you can handle.

Immigrant workers build a shopping mall for the upcoming 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. In 2016, nine people with migrant backgrounds are killed in a racist attack at the same mall.

Gathering for a Christmas lunch, the film critics and writers of Discovering Film discuss the merits of 20 films from Bill Murray's star turn in Scrooged, the James Stewart classic It's a Wonderful Life, Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander, to Bruce Willis' memorable Die Hard.

The love of Kim Jong Il, the former dictator of North Korea, for cinema and his adventures, including the kidnapping of a director.

Habito tells the story of a poor, fat black man in pursuit of his dream of being a filmmaker, facing academic and personal challenges after his mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. A narrative that intertwines life, family and cinema, exploring the roots of Alagoas and Bahia.