Arabesques on the Pirosmani Theme
A documentary film about the great ‘primitive’ painter Niko Pirosmani, a Georgian equivalent to Henri Rousseau, and a role model for Parajanov.
21'
Armenia
IFFR 2019
Steve Young, David Letterman’s ghostwriter on the Late Show, developed a wonderful obsession for what he calls show business’ "hidden, mysterious world": the company musicals McDonald's, Ford and Xerox, etc., had produced in the sixties and seventies "solely for in-house screening". Professional musicals singing the praises of copiers, air conditioners and new generations of toilets.
Young delves into these works’ history, tracking down composers and discovering long-lost treasures in attics and cellars along the way. Composers responsible for Fiddler on the Roof and other defining American musicals once earned their keep making company musicals. In fact, that’s how they cut their teeth. However, because these musicals were not intended for commercial release and the makers never spoke about them, they might have been lost. Young views them as an alternative cultural history of America.
IFFR 2019
Programme IFFR 2019
Drawing upon cinematic memories: restored classics, films about film(makers), experimental works, installations and retrospectives.
Read more about this programmeA documentary film about the great ‘primitive’ painter Niko Pirosmani, a Georgian equivalent to Henri Rousseau, and a role model for Parajanov.
21'
Armenia
IFFR 2019
Portrait of a key figure from New York's underground film scene, a rising star who disappeared as fast as she appeared.
78'
USA
IFFR 2019
David Letterman’s ghostwriter indulges in a curious hobby: he collects industrial musicals on vinyl, and even revives this largely underrated genre.
87'
USA
IFFR 2019