Lumière & Company

Lumière & Company 1995

6.28

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

1995

Palace Beach Hotel

Palace Beach Hotel 2014

5.40

Three young soldiers who participated in a military operation that went wrong, and where one of their comrades had been killed before their eyes, are placed in a luxury hotel to prevent a scandal. Despite the help of a young military psychiatrist, the young trio denies any trauma suffered, but they seem to hold a very different secret truth.

2014

The Damned of the Paris Commune

The Damned of the Paris Commune 2021

7.11

Exclusively created with period engravings, this animated feature explores the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the ensuing Paris Commune revolution in 1871.

2021

David Lynch: A Hollywood Enigma

David Lynch: A Hollywood Enigma 2025

6.00

Creator of absolute freedom, David Lynch constructed his work as an enigma to be deciphered between dream and reality. A cult director from his first films ("Eraserhead", "Elephant Man", "Blue Velvet"), Lynch forever changed the world of television with his series "Twin Peaks", before tackling the lies of Hollywood in "Mulholland Drive". Tracing the life of the most influential filmmaker of his generation, this documentary explores the hidden meaning of a relentlessly consistent filmography and delves beneath the dark, teeming surface of the American Dream.

2025

Un petit parisien

Un petit parisien 2004

7.00

Benji's father has returned from captivity, and his mother is sick and later dies. Through Benji's eyes we see a changing country and a father who cares less about his deceased wife, making some rather unhappy choices in the process.

2004

The Death Train

The Death Train 2019

8.00

In Iasi, Romania, from June 28 to July 6, 1941, nearly 15 000 Jews were murdered in the course of a horrifying pogrom. At the time, the programmed extermination of European Jews had not yet began. After the war, the successive communist governments did all they could to ensure the Iasi pogrom would be forgotten. It was not until November of 2004 that Romania recognized for the first time its direct responsibility in the pogrom. All that remains of this massacre are about a hundred photographs taken as souvenirs by german and romanian soldiers, and a few remaining survivors.

2019

The Bridges of Sarajevo

The Bridges of Sarajevo 2014

6.30

Thirteen European directors explore the theme of Sarajevo; what this city has represented in European history over the past hundred years, and what Sarajevo stands for today in Europe. These eminent filmmakers of different generations and origins offer exceptional singular styles and visions.

2014

Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour

Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour 2006

6.60

Jeanne Poisson, the headstrong, ambitious, witty and erudite, catches the eye and heart of French King Louis XV at a costumed ball. She masters the art of seduction well enough to become accepted even by the Queen, corpulent mother of ten. As a sensibly chosen Royal 'favorite' mistress she is soon ennobled Marquise of Pompadour to facilitate her introduction at court. The immature dauphin (crown prince) proves a bitter and unrelenting enemy, joined by his imposed Saxon bride, and his sister at her deathbed. Although friends at court help Pompadour return, her health gives way.

2006

Viva Varda!

Viva Varda! 2023

8.10

A pioneering post-war female film director, an instigator of the New Wave who was honored by Hollywood in her own lifetime, Agnès Varda has become a source of inspiration for a whole new generation of young filmmakers. With movies like Cléo de 5 à 7, Le Bonheur, Sans toit ni loi, Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse, she created a quirky, open to the world, sensitive to the disenfranchised, often silly body of work. Always one finger on the pulse, she shook everything up, including cinema itself which she refused to constrict to pure fiction or long-form films.

2023

Catherine Deneuve, belle et bien là

Catherine Deneuve, belle et bien là 2010

7.30

Catherine Deneuve couldn’t care less about being a celebrity, but fame made her an icon long ago and she occupies a special place in our imagination. The star is not one to let others get too close, but when she gives you her confidence, she keeps her word. If Deneuve’s career covers a half-century of cinema, it also bears witness to the force of a generation that experienced the deepest transformation of mores. This portrait reflects her entirely. The story of a mystery and an adventure.

2010

A Fragile Bond

A Fragile Bond 2019

6.20

Mina was adopted from Ethiopia by Judith and Lionel, a married couple who already were the parents of a biological daughter. Though she was abandoned by her mother as a baby, it didn't really seem to have much of an impact on her. But when Mina turns thirteen, an identity crisis takes a hold of the girl. She is caught between two worlds - and feels nowhere at home. Mina snaps and descends into a destructive downwards spiral. Jealous of her non-adopted sister, she starts acting out, pitting her father and mother against each other and thereby dividing the entire family. Judith and Lionel don't know what to do. Will their parental love and kindness be enough to heal Mina's wounds?

2019

Death and the Compass

Death and the Compass 1992

5.80

In a totalitarian future, in a nightmare metropolis, inhabited only by criminals and police, Erik Lonnrot, a gifted detective, investigates a series of strange murders and disappearances that seem to implicate a insane crime lord. (Re-released in 1996 as a feature film, 86 minutes.)

1992

Juliette Gréco, l'insoumise

Juliette Gréco, l'insoumise 2012

1

Her chansons made her world-famous: Juliette Gréco. The French singer and actress died on September 23 at the age of 93. To mark the occasion, ARTE is repeating a portrait of the singer from 2012, which was made for her 85th birthday. At that time, she gave one concert after another...

2012

Behind the Doors of Umberto Eco

Behind the Doors of Umberto Eco 2012

8.00

Umberto Eco, the author of best-selling novels who passed away in February 2016, unveils the secrets behind his undertakings and novels.

2012

Code Haneke

Code Haneke 2022

7.20

Features interviews with two-time Palme d'Or winner Michael Haneke and his key collaborators, alongside excerpts from his films.

2022

Daughter of Keltoum

Daughter of Keltoum 2001

7.30

A 19 year-old Swiss woman travels to her birthplace—an isolated, barren Berber settlement in the mountainous desert landscape of Algeria—to find her biological mother, whom she has never met. The perilous journey immerses her in a world virtually untouched by contemporary society, one that still clings to tribal mores and strict religious codes of conduct.

2001