ESSENTIEL — A Portrait

Kawaii sensation Babymetal played their first live show of 2016 on February 18 at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Tokyo. This was a secret show for THE ONE Members Project only. 300 fans selected by lottery attended. The NHK Special includes an interview and discusses the history of the group. It was broadcast on April 4 in Japan.

Initially a made-to-order documentary on Spain, the film becomes an open-ended work-in-the-making about the creative process. “Settling in the Spanish capital to make a documentary, Hanoun sketches out for us the different steps involved in making a film. The author turns his hesitations, his doubts and difficult working conditions into the constituents of his work”. (Raphaël Bassan)

Director Thomas Heise picks up the biographical pieces left by his family, and composes an epic picture of four generations of his family, of a country, of a century.

Working from the text of James Baldwin’s unfinished final novel, director Raoul Peck creates a meditation on what it means to be Black in the United States.

Since her debut at the age of 18, musician, civil rights campaigner and activist Joan Baez has been on stage for over 60 years. For the now 82-year-old, the personal has always been political, and her friendship with Martin Luther King and her pacifism have shaped her commitment. In this biography that opens with her farewell tour, Baez takes stock in an unsparing fashion and confronts sometimes painful memories.

A terrible accident leaves a young soldier horribly scarred, but his rediscovery of art heals his wounded soul, in this brief but powerful animated documentary.

"Searching for the Perfect Gentleman — an Investigative Journey" is a documentary about the search of an African barber shop poster. The virtual journey takes the viewer to various African, European and Asian countries, in order to find the place where it was originally created, produced and sold. What seems easy in the beginning turns out to be a demanding process, yet an interesting experience in accessing information, communicating with people from totally different backgrounds and indulging in uncertainty, to celebrate the search itself — wherever it may lead. The film shows how boundaries between originality and reproduction merge, in a world where everything can be remixed and reprinted easily. Searching for the Perfect Gentleman tells a multi-layered story about trust, persistence and interconnectedness in a globalized world.

Earl Kenneth Kaufmann is the Scary Guy. Banned and kicked out here and there. Because of his looks. A motivation trainer and speaker who campaigns worldwide to eliminate hate, violence, prejudice, and bullying in schools and corporations. In addition to being a tattoo shop owner, comic, entertainer, inspirational speaker, and performance artist.

An interview with the cast and crew of the cult horror film Black Christmas (1974), hosted by John Saxon, who starred in the film. Included are stories about the making of the picture and what many of the participants have been doing since then.

An in-depth exploration of supervillains across comic book history, this French documentary zooms in on the complex motivations, origins, and morals behind these sinister yet fascinating characters.