Murray Lerner’s Oscar-winning film From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China chronicles with affection and intelligence the great violinist’s 1979 visit to China. Stern had accepted the government’s invitation to attend a rehearsal and give one recital but instead wound up playing a formal concert, touring two cities, and teaching many master classes due to
Performing Arts - Page 4
From Mao to Mozart
How Music Works
We all respond to music – whether clicking our fingers, humming along or dancing – there’s something out there for everyone. In this series Goodall looks at melody, rhythm, harmony and bass to establish how music is made and how it comes to reflect different cultures. Setting out on a journey that spans the globe and moves through the centuries, Goodall uncovers
Rip!: A Remix Manifesto
Join filmmaker Brett Gaylor and mashup artist Girl Talk as they explore copyright and content creation in the digital age. In the process they dissect the media landscape of the 21st century and shatter the wall between users and producers. Creative Commons founder, Lawrence Lessig, Brazil’s Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, and pop culture critic Cory Doctorow
Eminem: Diamonds and Pearls
Diamonds and Pearls is a documentary film which tells the story of Eminem’s extraordinary life and incredible musical career, via the use of the rarest footage, interviews with his closest friends, associates and loved ones and contributions from the finest music writers and journalists around. This documentary also features extensive news reports, location shoots, rare
Flamenco at 5:15
This Oscar®-winning short documentary is an impressionistic record of a flamenco dance class given to senior students of the National Ballet School of Canada by two great teachers from Spain, Susana and Antonio Robledo. For a few weeks each year, in the depths of winter, senior students at the National Ballet School of Canada are treated to a style of dance that is unlike
Baadasssss Cinema
With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. Features interviews with some of the genre’s biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film
Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey
Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey is a 2005 documentary directed by Sam Dunn with Scot McFadyen and Jessica Wise. The film follows 31-year-old Sam Dunn, a Canadian anthropologist, who has been a heavy metal fan since the age of 12. He sets out across the world to uncover the various opinions on heavy metal music, including its origins, culture, controversy, and reasons
Baby Beauty Queens
As the American phenomenon of the children’s beauty pageant hits the UK, this documentary uncovers a surreal new world where nine-year-olds get fake tans and seven-year-olds wear contact lenses. With the grand final of the first ever Mini Miss UK beauty contest taking place at a leisure centre in Milton Keynes, it soon becomes clear that tantrums and tiaras
Man on Wire
On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York’s twin towers, then the worlds tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers,
Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul
It’s not the expected thing for a documentary on Turkish music to open with a quote from Confucius, but that is not the only fascinating surprise that Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul has to offer. The latest film by Fatih Akin, who directed the exceptional Head-On, turns out to be a Bosporus-based Buena Vista Social Club with cultural