These short documentaries masterfully capture artistic works on screen while celebrating the imaginative minds behind them.

From a Scottish shipyard welder turned poet to Japanese interactive artist On Megumi Akiyoshi, these short documentaries will introduce you to convention-breaking creatives, their fascinating work spaces, and their sources of inspiration.

Full lineup to be announced soon.

MINING POEMS OR ODES
Director: Callum Rice
2015 / 11 min / United Kingdom
www.scottishdocinstitute.com/films/mining-poems-or-odes/

Robert, an ex-shipyard welder from Govan in Scotland, reflects on how his life experiences have influenced his new found compulsion to write.

YO: LET’S MAKE A BOOK OF THIS
Director: Kristina Budelis and Myles Kane
2013 / 7 min / United States

A few years ago, Yolanda Cuomo, a New York-based artist and graphic designer, learned that she had to vacate her Chelsea studio of twenty-five years. The studio, in an old carriage house in Manhattan, has been the site of artistic collaborations for decades, with artists and photographers from Richard Avedon to Laurie Simmons and Sylvia Plachy, and a team of designers, including Bonnie Briant and Kristi Norgaard.

THE 100 YEARS SHOW
Director: Alison Klayman
2015 / 29 min / United States
www.alisonklayman.com

Carmen Herrera is one of the oldest working artists today. She was a pioneering abstract painter in the ’40s and ’50s, but only recently found the recognition that eluded her for most of her career as she approaches her 100th birthday.

ON BLOOMING ART
Director: Cathryne Czubek
2014 / 6 min / United States

Multi-media artist ON Megumi Akiyoshi transforms the mundane of everyday life. Born in Japan and based in New York City, ON frequently brings her eclectic, and wearable, ON Gallery to the street to interact with the average passerby.

THE REINVENTION OF NORMAL
Director: Liam Saint-Pierre
2015 / 8 min / United Kingdom
http://www.liamsaintpierre.com/

The film follows Dominic Wilcox, an artist / inventor / designer, on his quest for new ideas….Taking the normal and turning it into something unique.

[vimeo clip_id=”68298226″ width=”400″ height=”225″]

In the past, the term ‘Here Be Dragons’ was used by cartographers to indicate an unexplored area on a map, in fear of what could lurk there. In his new essay film, Mark Cousins goes on an explorative journey through Albania, interweaving views of the capital Tirana and its inhabitants with old film clips, painting a picture of the political and cultural landscape.

Through inescapable architectural structures Cousins learns about Albania’s past. He discovers that the movie prints in the national film archive are decaying and begins to ask bigger questions about history and memory. Perhaps a country whose 20th Century was so traumatic, dominated by authoritarian ruler Enver Hoxha, should allow its film heritage to fade away?

With his distinctive imagination and sense of humour, Cousins has created a rich and textured piece of work. He takes us on a poetic and inspiring personal journey that opens new horizons that go beyond the Albanian story.

Directed by Mark Cousins
Duration: 73′
Year: 2013

Tuesday 30 July 2013, 7:00 PM – Side by Side

For almost one hundred years there was only one way to make a movie: photochemical film. Over the last two decades a digital process has emerged to challenge this initial form of filmmaking. At a moment when digital and photochemical filmmaking coexist, Side by Side explores what has been gained, what is lost, and what the future might bring.

Tuesday 6 August 2013, 7:00 PM – The Pirate Bay: Away from Keyboard

The largest and most famous torrent website in the world, The Pirate Bay, quickly became one of many antagonists of the entertainment industry. The three Swedish founders face $13 million in damage claims by the media establishment. TPB-AFK chronicles a historic drama beyond the copyright debate and tells a human story torn by cyberwar.

Tuesday 20 August 2013, 7:00 PM – The Human Scale FULLY BOOKED

The Human Scale: it’s a ticking time bomb. In the next 40 years the number of people living in cities will nearly double. There is not enough time to build the necessary infrastructure to accomodate all of us. According to revolutionary Danish city planner Jan Gehl, even the largest of megacities must be re-thought, re-designed and re-sized to the human scale.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Andreas M. Dalsgaard

Tuesday 27 August 2013, 7:00 PM – Google and the World Brain FULLY BOOKED

Google and the World Brain connects the central story of Google Books with fundamental issues related to the Internet – privacy, copyright, data-mining, downloading and surveillance. Through interviews with experts from across the world we learn about the implications of one of the most ambitious and simultaneously controversial projects ever conceived on the Internet.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Ben Lewis.

Tuesday 3 September 2013, 7:00 PM – Rewind This! BOOK NOW

Home video changed the way the world consumed films. Low cost equipment and the rise of VHS created unprecedented opportunities for the film industry. Rewind This! looks at media consumption, zero budget filmmaking, unchecked global piracy and an exploding film industry, through the rise and fall of VHS. Developments that laid the foundation for today’s digital culture.

Tuesday 30 July 2013, 7:00 PM – Side by Side

Tuesday 6 August 2013, 7:00 PM – The Pirate Bay: Away from Keyboard

Tuesday 20 August 2013, 7:00 PM – The Human Scale BOOK NOW

[vimeo clip_id=”67638874″ width=”400″ height=”225″]

Tuesday 27 August 2013, 7:00 PM – Google and the World Brain BOOK NOW

Tuesday 3 September 2013, 7:00 PM – Preview: Rewind This! BOOK NOW

Morning:

Cinematography theory
Composition and framing
Focus, field of view and depth of field
Rule of thirds and the Golden Rule
Shooting techniques in controlled and uncontrolled environments

Afternoon:

Practical demonstration
Film grammar
Creating cutaways, sequences and narrative framing
Setting up a variety of shots
Moving with the camera
Utlising natural and available lighting.

Saturday 13th August, 10am-5pm

Course Leader:

Mike Dodds has shot over 200 documentaries for the late current affairs series ‘World in Action’, ITN’s ‘This Week’, and documentaries for CBS, ABC and NBC. His media awards include: Royal Television Society (twice) and an Emmy in the US