Documentary Educational Resources - Geography / Europe / West / Spain / All Films

Carnaval de Pueblo

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 08:16:00 GMT

Carnival time is big in this small Spanish town in Andalusia. Appropriately described by a local as a 'newspaper', the carnival is a time of dressing up and coming together. The men compose 'spicy' songs about local affairs and sing their social criticisms of national events. This documentary films the composers and singers, as they get ready for the carnival, giving us a glimpse into the lives of the people, their homes and their families. When one composer names a parent of an illegitimate child, the townspeople debate the right of privacy and the difference between entertainment and insult during their irreverent festivities.

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Islam: Empire of Faith

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:45:00 GMT

Islam: Empire of Faith
Buy Now: $340.00

From the birth of the prophet Muhammad to the glories of the Ottomans, this groundbreaking work illuminates the first thousand years of a misunderstood civilization. Historical renactments; a remarkable explication of Islamic art; and interviews with scholars recount the rise of the islamic civilization and it's profound impact on Western Culture and world history.

The Making of Islam: Empire of Faith by Robert H. Gardner, Producer

The production of Islam: Empire of Faith was a big challenge from the beginning, simply because it covered more than a thousand years of history and culture, and a very large part of the world.

But we really wanted to push beyond the conventional form of historical documentaries, which have depended on pans and tilts of still pictures, supplemented with landscapes and interviews. We wanted to find a way to use the visual techniques usually reserved for fiction motion pictures to tell a story of great scope that took place in pre-photographic history. This meant the project would require very large scale costumed re-enactments and equipment far beyond the ordinary documentary production package of camera, zoom lens, tripod and small light-kit.

We knew that we had to find a way to present images of cultural history — both re-enacted scenes and contemporary scenes of Islamic architecture and city life — in a way that would evoke the past, but maintain a sense of authenticity. The scenes would be dream-like and impressionistic but would still give viewers a sense that what they were seeing was accurate in historical terms.

We designed a production package that included a robotic crane with an 18-foot reach (Jimmi-jib), allowing us to fly the camera through architectural spaces, and a Steadicam that would allow for smooth camera moves through buildings at ground level — even mounting it on a truck to shoot running horses at full speed. We took a wide selection of lenses from extremely wide to telephoto and we also brought a high-speed camera for true slow-motion (500 frames per second) allowing us to slow an action down that actually took one second to fully twenty seconds on-screen. All of these taken together would provide an extraordinarily production palette. But it also meant that we had to travel with more than 40 cases of equipment — and do so in seven different countries. The logistics were severe.

The actual American camera crew was very small — Director of Photography Rege Becker (who also operated the Steadicam) and First Assistant Cameraman and Jib Operator Nick Gardner, who also shot second camera when required. The rest of the crew was hired and trained in each country — Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Israel, Spain, Turkey and Iran.

It was in Iran that we used a motion picture company — with a crew of 50 — to produce the costumed re-enactments. Iran's foremost Art Director Majid Mirfakhraei, had to create locations, costumes and props for more than a thousand years of history — from the deserts 7th century Arabia, to the palaces of the Ottoman empire. The same team of stunt riders had to be made-up and redressed to play Arabian mounted soldiers, Crusader knights, Mongol raiders, Ghazi horsemen and Ottoman cavalry. A full sized, four-story replica of the holiest shrine in the Muslim world (the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia), had to be built in the deserts of Southern Iran and the vanished world of 8th century Baghdad had to be created in the ruins of a 19th century Persian palace. More than 300 costumes were required, as well as a dozen camels and riders, dozens of sheep and goats, an entire Bedouin encampment and the streets of Jerusalem in the 11th century — complete with market stalls and citizens.

This extraordinary production design, set in epic landscapes, gives the film a startling sense of scope and provides a remarkable window through which to examine the past. The film took 18 months to edit, and is supported by an original score by Leonard Lionnet.

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The Key From Spain

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 11:13:00 GMT

The Key From Spain
Buy Now: $295.00

According to legend, when the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, they took with them the keys to their homes and their synagogues in the hope that they would one day return. They never did return, but their spanish cultural heritage remained a powerful influence on their lives and their art. In this uplifting tale of survival and continuation, acclaimed Sephardic folksinger, Flory Jagoda, tells the story of her life, of all our lives. With warmth and passion, she sings the songs of her ancestors and contributes melodies and lyrics of her own to this timeless musical canon. She celebrates life itself, delighting audiences with her songs and moving them with her story.

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Juliette of the Herbs

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 11:12:00 GMT

Juliette of the Herbs
Buy Now: $320.00

Juliette of the Herbs is a beautifully filmed lyrical portrait of the life and work of Juliette de Bairacli Levy: world renowned herbalist, author, breeder of Afghan hounds, friend of the Roma, traveller in search of herbal wisdom and the pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine.

For more than 60 years Juliette lived with the Roma, nomads and peasants of the world, learning the healing arts from these peoples who live close to nature. Juliette's well-loved and now classic herbals for animals and for children have been a vital inspiration for the present day herbal renaissance and holistic animal care community. Juliette's extraordinary life story is as colourful and as exciting as her tremendous wealth of herbal knowledge.

Filmed on location with Juliette and her Afghan hound in Greece, Spain, France, Portugal, Switzerland, England and America, and interwoven with Juliette's vast collection of archival photographs, together with scenes of Roma people dancing and Bedouins with their herds, Juliette of the Herbs is an inspiring portrait of a remarkable healer.

“This video lifted my heart and made me grateful for all that Juliette has done to help the animals.”
— Helen McKinnon, author, It's For The Animals

“[Juliette of the Herbs] made me look at how my life is now, still close to the earth, but not close enough... I'm happy to have seen a glimpse into her life. It encourages me to live as radically as I want. Tish's film is a grand one.”
— Janisse Ray, author, The Ecology of a Cracker Childhood

“This film is magnificient. It was fascinating to watch our six year old daughter Lillian's responses as well. She said, “Daddy this is so beautiful I think I could cry a little bit.”
— Jim Schley, editor-in-chief, Chelsea Green Publishing

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Feature Award Nominee, International Documentary Association, 1998

Best Documentary, Seattle Intn'l Film Festival - Women in Cinema, 1999

Merit Award for Storytelling, International Wildlife Film Festival, 1999

Honorable Mention, Green Extreme Film Festival, 1999

Artist's Award, Laguna Beach Film Festival, 1999

Winner, EarthVision Film Festival, 1999

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Pepe's Family

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 10:57:00 GMT

Pepe's Family
Buy Now: $320.00

The concerns of a migrant laborer who works in Germany are portrayed during his holiday visit - his social networks, his present foreign experiences, and his plans for the future of his family. When his father insists on remaining in the rural area, he must decide whether to move his large family to a factory town.

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Golden A Awards, First Prize, MLA film festival

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Perico the Bowlmaker

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 10:57:00 GMT

Perico the Bowlmaker
Buy Now: $320.00

This film considers the changing role of a traditional Andalusian craftsman and the social and personal factors that shape his occupation. Depicted are the techniques of carving and the problems of marketing the wares as well as the off-season tasks at cork harvest.

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Romeria: Day of the Virgin

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 08:59:00 GMT

Romeria: Day of the Virgin
Buy Now: $320.00

The centerpiece of the film is a religious pilgrimage to a local shrine of the Virgin near the town of Alcala de los Gazules, Cadiz, Spain. Families make elaborate preparations for the day long event. Pilgrimage organizers and worshippers discuss the ambiguities of their beliefs and affiliations.

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The Shepherd's Family

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:47:00 GMT

The Shepherd's Family
Buy Now: $295.00

The Shepherd's Family portrays a shepherd's family that has remained tied to its traditional occupation and to its semi-feudal role in rural society. The children help by guarding the flock and in earning additional wages by gathering snails, picking cotton, and hoei.

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The Shoemaker

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:47:00 GMT

The Shoemaker
Buy Now: $320.00

Deeply attached to his network of family and friends, the shoemaker has always assumed that he would spend his last years in his native village. When his children leave to work in a tourist town, the shoemaker follows and struggles to adapt to the isolation.

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Sean Scully at Work

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:46:00 GMT

Sean Scully at Work
Buy Now: $295.00

In 1997, Robert Gardner visited friend and well-known American painter Sean Scully in his Barcelona studio. He documented the making of two paintings, Testigos and Passenger, and the opening of “Sean Scully 1987-1997” at Salas del Palacio Episcopal in Malaga.

This DVD, an important document of an influential modern artist, brings together the three short films made during that summer.

Testigos - (10 min, 1997)

Testigos is a small painting done when Gardner and Scully worked together in Barcelona. The title, which means 'witnesses,' is the name of a small island in the Caribbean. Testigos, and at least one other painting, was made on the days that the larger canvas Passenger was drying.

Passenger - (25 min, 1997)

In Passenger, Gardner made what he calls “an observation in four movements.” The intent of the piece is to impart an experience of the engagement by Scully with the work in question, an engagement which is both physical and emotional. The only sounds are those made by the artist as he works and, occasionally, musical passages from tapes Scully listens to while he is painting.

Scully in Malaga - (7 min, 1998)

A short film acknowledging the efforts of those responsible for installing the exhibition “Sean Scully 1987-1997” in Malaga. Equally important, the film captures Scully's parents dancing their beloved 'paso doble' in the midst of their son's work.

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