Issue

Olympic Dreams

August 2024

"Olympic Dreams," a film program inspired by the Science New Wave, explores the essence of heroism and the classical ideals embodied by the Olympic spirit. Rooted in experimental cinema, this program presents a series of films that delve into the ancient Greek concept of "Olympic," capturing the timeless pursuit of excellence and the heroic journeys of athletes. Through innovative storytelling and avant-garde techniques, these films reflect on the personal sacrifices, philosophical inquiries, and the enduring human spirit that define true Olympians. By merging the poetic beauty of experimental film with the profound narratives of athletic heroism, "Olympic Dreams" offers a contemplative and inspiring exploration of what it means to strive for greatness.

Campo Experimental

FILM Brazil 2014
Alexis Gambis

From Rio de Janeiro's beaches to the Amazon wildlife crossing though the urban jungle of Sao Paolo, Campo Experimental explores the state of science and art in Brazil as the World Cup takes over the country. Soccer becomes not only an obsession but also a distraction, a fear, a hope and the platform

Wheel Music

FILM Japan 2020
Nao Yoshigai

In 2018 in Sendagi, an old town in Tokyo under urban development toward the Olympic Games. The present scenery might soon disappear. I went out by bicycle with my video camera. This is a "life road-movie documentary."

Variables

FILM United States 2019
Sabina Vajraca

In the middle of the Bosnian War, a teenage math-wiz is given a way out of the bloodshed when his math club gets an invitation to compete at the 1995 International Math Olympiad in Canada. Inspired by true events.

Ta peau si lisse (A Skin so Soft)

FILM Canada, France, Switzerland 2018
Denis Côté

An open exploration of the daily lives of six men consumed by their passions: performance, discipline and overcoming the body's constraints. Jean-François, Ronald, Alexis, Cédric, Benoit and Maxim are the main characters in TA PEAU SI LISSE, an intimate portrayal of a group of "Superme

False Positive (2024)

FILM United States 2024
Ismail Al-Amin

He was one of the biggest track and field stars in the world, a talent in his prime on top of his sport. But when Butch Reynolds took a drug test in Monaco in the summer of 1990, his career was upended, and his life was forever changed. Yet then and now, the facts of the case shed more than consider

Olympic Village, 2028

FILM United States 2020
Dwayne LeBlanc

An experimental documentary on South Central Los Angeles, a historically Black neighborhood with deep ties to The Great Migration and the modern American story. Images of the present, marvels of Mid-Century design and architecture, are woven together with a chorus of cross-generational voices.

May and June

FILM Singapore 2018
Shao Min Chew Chia

May and June is set against the dramatically rich world of fencing and female adolescence. It charts the narrative arcs of two exceptionally talented fencers, who at the tender age of sixteen are just beginning to find and define themselves June notices that May is struggling, but May finds it diffi

I am The Tigress

FILM Austria, Germany, USA 2021
Philipp Fussenegger Dino Osmanović

A curtain, a shadow, one dancing hand, and then another: Tischa Thomas stages her performance. She pushes herself into the frame bit by bit, with flowing movements, to the rhythm of the music. Right before our eyes, "The Tigress" emerges from the individual body parts. She's a performer of the first

IT WORKS II

FILM Austria 2022
Fridolin Schönwiese

" IT WORKS : it can be managed, it's happening, it's functioning" wrote Fridolin Schönwiese in 1998 about his short film devoted to Gerald, Valentin, and Michael, among others. The filmmaker picks up the thread again in 2021. Back then his protagonists were children, ten years old; now they are

Tokyo (2018)

FILM Austria 2018
Catrin Freundlinger

Complete concentration: Pushing off, she executes a double handspring to land on her feet, initially onto a line on the floor, then on a slightly elevated exercise bar. The trainer provides correction and support, but after the successful performance immediately turns to the next acrobat. A touch of

Changing the Game

FILM United States 2019
Michael Barnett

Journeying into the lives of three high school athletes at different stages of their athletic seasons, personal lives, and their unique paths as transgender teens. Their stories span across the U.S.; from Sarah, a skier and teen policymaker in New Hampshire, to Andraya, a track star in Connecticut o

Golden Delicious

FILM United States 2022
Jason Karman

Everyone wants something from high school senior Jake: his father is pushing him to try out for the basketball team – an abandoned dream of his own – and his girlfriend wants to take their relationship to the next level. But it's not until Aleks, an openly gay teen with a love for basket

Skate Fast, Turn Left

FILM United States 2023
Mary Hawkins

Two friends, Fifi Fleshwound and Little Mary Switchblade, have a quick conversation about their roller derby years... Created for Things Took A Turn 2023: At the End of the World, an animation anthology that challenges artists of marginalized genders to create new animated short stories by twisting

GO DANI GO

FILM USA 2023
Chelsea Patricia Ramirez

DANI (11) dreams of playing soccer but spends her summer days working in strawberry fields with her family. When a premier soccer tryout lands on the same day she must help her family reach a strict strawberry quota, she plans a daring escape to make the tryouts and be back before her mother knows s

La Lucha (The Fight)

FILM Cuba 2019
Matthew Tan

The film offers a rare glimpse into the Cuban experience, paralleling a day in the lives of two boxers in Havana, one at the start of his competitive career and the other at his end. The former is 7-year-old Daniel who dreams of becoming a national boxing star, and the latter is Evelio, a 45-year-ol

Banc de touche (Sideline)

FILM France 2023
Valérie Leroy

Marjorie is the doctor of a League two male soccer team. The stakes for tonight's match are high: if they win, they move up to Second League. But the coach chose to make an injured footballer play against Marjorie's will. Marjorie will have to choose between team loyalty and her professional duty.

Domar (2021)

FILM France 2021
Alcibiade Cohen

Maria, a young argentinian woman, evolves in a men's world: rodeo. The day before qualifying for the famous "Jesus Maria" tournament, for the first time open to women, she must make a choice: speak or let fate decide for her...

Les princes (Princes)

FILM France 2023
Camille Hamet

A young girl with a passion for rowing enters a prestigious team as a coxswain, just a few weeks from an important competition. Soon, she finds herself fascinated by the rowers. Her dreams then turn into a single obsession: becoming one of them.

Les grands hommes (Tall)

FILM France 2023
Quentin Elles

Hugo is 17 and a member of a handball new talent program, an institution that trains professional athletes. A brilliant and committed player, he is preparing for a crucial match that will determine his career. But the day before the event, his coach has him sit on the bench for substitutes.

The Golden Girl

FILM Romania 2019
Denisa Morariu-Tamas Adrian Robe

For the Romanian gymnast Andreea Răducan, the loss of her Olympic gold medal in Sydney 2000 is still a trauma. Fifteen years later, she tries to understand, through the eyes of an adult, what has actually happened. "The Golden Girl" digs into these systemic questions with diligence. Threaded through

One In A Million
(2022)

FILM Germany 2022
Joya Thome

ONE IN A MILLION tells the story of two teenage girls on different continents, connected through their screens and passion for gymnastics. In the midst of the dazzling social media world, they begin to find out who they are and what they want from life.

Transenders

FILM USA 2022
Diane Russo Cheng

The story about Alexa's journey as a trans woman, navigating the toxic culture that encompasses skateboarding, and what it means to transcend fear through community.

豹人 (Olympic) (2022)

FILM China 2022
ZHU Xin

In the near future, the human body no longer has secrets. The world record for the men's 100-meter set by Jamaican athlete Poole more than decades ago remains unbroken. Twenty-three-year-old athlete Mara is preparing hard for the next, and possibly last, Olympic in human history. When this stalwart

We Clap for Airballs

FILM United States 2024
Sai Selvarajan

We Clap For Airballs is a layered documentary - visually, expressively, and thematically -- where the basketball court is a safe space for queer and trans BIPOC people to play, feel seen, and valued by one another. With Swish, healing in community happens on the blacktop.

No Hero at All

FILM Poland 2021
Michał Kawecki

Due to a severe birth defect, Miszka's arms and legs have not fully developed: he has no hands or feet. That hasn't stopped him from becoming a multiple champion for Poland's Paralympic alpine skiing team. But when Miszka is accused of stealing scooters and a car, he loses his spot on the team: his

Volte (2017)

FILM Poland 2017
Monika Kotecka Karolina Poryzala

Zuzia - 12, has been training vaulting for two years and has extraordinary role topping the acrobatic pyramid. She is "flyer" lifted by the stronger and more experienced vaulters-"base". Another intensive season begins. During training sessions it becomes apparent that the girl has lost some of her

American Dream (2017)

FILM Poland 2017
Marek Skrzecz

Glucholazy - a small town, which was full of life in the nineties, dies out nowadays. The flood has destroyed local spas and factories. There is high unemployment and lots of citizens left their town. In this place of no opportunities, teenage Szymon decides to achieve his biggest dream. He wants to

Connected (2018)

FILM Poland 2018
Aleksandra Maciejczyk

One day in the life of a 50-year-old couple. Blind Krzysztof goes skiing with Wiola, who is his wife and guide. They prepare for skiing in the early morning. Krzysztof mounts bluetooth kits on the helmets that will connect them to each other. They go to the top of the mountain in a chair lift, and t

Magda (2022)

FILM Poland 2022
Adela Kaczmarek

Podhale, Poland, Winter of 1939. Magda (15) is an excellent skier. She joins the Polish Resistance and helps by bringing documents and fugitives across the mountains into Slovakia. One day she learns that the group of 23 pilots urgently need to cross the border, as Gestapo is on their heels. She com

A Violet Blooms (2024)

FILM United States 2024
Prabhat Seelamsetti

Morgan Morrison is entering her final year of collegiate basketball, which also happens to be her first year at NYU as a graduate student. Meanwhile, she & the NYU Lady Violets are in the midst of an incredible season. Watch as Morgan & her teammates cement themselves in school history with one of t

Ten Meter Tower

FILM Sweden 2016
Axel Danielson Maximilien Van Aertryck

A ten-metre-high diving board. People climb up: to leap or to climb down? The situation highlights a dilemma: endure the instinctive fear of taking the plunge or the humiliation of having to climb down. Ten Meter Tower is an entertaining study of human vulnerability. A 10 meter diving tower. People