Reason for Seeing: Correspondence I

Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, interviewing a group of family members and friends whose reliability varies depending on their implication in the events, which are remembered in different ways; so a trail of questions remains to be answered, because memory is always changing and the discovery of truth often depends on who is telling the tale.

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

An intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty featuring Debbie Reynolds, Todd Fisher, and Carrie Fisher.

In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.

Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.

Directed and edited by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, this film offers a look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining.

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.

Diaries, audiotapes, videotapes and testimonials from friends and colleagues offer insight into the life and career of Gilda Radner -- the beloved comic and actress who became an icon on Saturday Night Live.

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.

From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.

An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.

This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.

Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.

A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.

By recounting their experiences with family, friends, lovers and country, a group of strangers examine what it means to be loved as Nigerians and as women. Through these conversations, they unpack cultural biases, shared realities and potential alternatives towards a safer, softer future.

School lunch chef Wanda McAfee-Conart reflects in her job and how it connects her to the sensory environment and to her own family history.

A captivating and personal detective story that uncovers the truth behind the childhood of Michaël Prazan's father, who escaped from Nazi-occupied France in 1942 thanks to the efforts of a female smuggler with mysterious motivations.

The director explores the birth origins of actress Merle Oberon, traveling to Tasmania and India in search of the truth, but her quest ultimately results in probably more questions than it answers.

Audrey, a woman in her mid-fifties, has never been able to make peace with her tumultuous family history. A clumsy mother, an emotionally distant father and sexual assaults that have gone unreported. She now decides to confront her demons. Supported by her son, the director of the documentary, she revisits a striking scene from her past: the moment when she told her parents that her grandfather had raped her. Together, through a year-long production process, they transform this awkward exchange into a moment of communion, thanks to actors, a set and Audrey's desire to do herself justice.

What causes women all over the world to be told that they are hysteric or overreacting when seeking for medical help? Why are so many women diagnosed: Overdramatic? The female body has only recently started to be researched, which lead to a big lack of information on women's physical and mental health. This documentary relies on the knowledge of Dorte Rytter (researcher) and Stine Sophie (medicine student) to tell us how this issue affects women everyday and in what ways.

Gamer Girl follows Allison Drouillard, a college freshman and top ranked Valorant player. While fighting off virtual enemies, she’ll recount her battles with very real ones as she balances her interest and skill in collegiate esports with everyone else’s expectations.

At the edge of the Yangtze River, not far from the Three Gorges Dam, young men and women take up employment on a cruise ship, where they confront rising waters and a radically changing China.

A documentary filmmaker travels to Bolivia to learn more about his father and his family's history.

Epigenetics and psychogenealogy ​through a VERY personal experience.

African American filmmaker David A. Wilson decided to look into his family's history during the slave era. The result is this documentary, which provides a unique perspective on the long shadow cast by slavery in America. Wilson travels to North Carolina to visit the plantation where his ancestors once toiled and to meet its current owner -- a white man named David Wilson, whose slave-owning ancestors originally occupied the property.

The rugged Swiss mountain valley of Bregaglia has produced an entire dynasty of artists: the Giacomettis. Alberto revolutionised the art world with his slender sculptures. Before him, his father was an Impressionist of the first hour. What makes this valley the birthplace of so many artists?

In recent years, Hollywood productions have turned away from sensuality. Is the sex scene on the verge of extinction or reinvention? Alongside film professionals and researchers, this documentary deciphers a trend that speaks volumes about the evolution of the industry and our societies.

While attempting to record life as it was, Arthur unintentionally documents his family’s unraveling.

Through the eyes of grandmother Rumidjah, a poor old Christian woman living in the slums of Jakarta, we see the economical changing society of Indonesia and the influence of globalization reflected in the life of her juvenile granddaughter Tari and her sons Bakti and Dwi.

This glasnost-era documentary, which incorporates footage from films from the 1920s through the 1980s, looks at the history of women in Russian cinema through the eyes of Russian women directors, actors, and scriptwriters. The film’s title refers to a WWII slogan about women doing the work of absent men in the fields and at home. Featuring Kira Muratova, Natalia Ryazantseva, Inna Churikova, Nonna Mordyukova, and others.

Dominique, Suzanne, and Annette: three women who participated in the adventure of the Medvedkine groups (Besançon, Sochaux, 1967-1974). In those same years, the lives of our grandmothers and mothers experienced decisive changes: they worked outside the home and revolutionized customs. A group of Besançon students are investigating those events and questioning their own family memory.

Director Max O'Connor Hurni crafts an intimate portrait of his family, tracing its history, exploring how it shaped his identity, and reflecting on his experience growing up with same-sex parents.

Hajar is a 55-years-old Bahktiari woman from Iran who is betrayed by her family and forced to abandon her nomadic lifestyle. Climate change, urbanization and social issues have drastically diminished the traditional migratory activities of the Bakhtiari tribe from Southwestern Iran.