A kaleidoscopic immersion into the underground art and music scene of 1960s New York, this documentary eschews conventional rock biographies in favor of a sensory-rich, cinematic experience. Through a vibrant mosaic of avant-garde films, rare archival footage, and personal testimonies, it paints the Velvet Underground not just as a band—but as the beating heart of a creative explosion. By interweaving interviews with John Cale and Maureen Tucker alongside voices from their cultural milieu, the film evokes the fraught, fragile energy of a time when music intersected with performance, queerness, and counterculture. More than a story about a band, it is a journey into a cultural explosion that still resonates today.
By cracking the ancient hieroglyphic code, Jean-François Champollion gave words to a thousand-year-old, mysterious civilization - but behind his legendary feat was a mysterious brother who made it all possible. New correspondence discovered between Jean-François Champollion and his brother Jacques-Joseph now allows us to fully understand how a young, self-taught genius was able to make one of the most important discoveries of the 19th century. Without the tireless support and cleverness of his older brother, Jean-François would never have managed to solve this burning, international enigma. Through animated sequences, using their private correspondence, archives and with the help of experts, this film will go back on this one-in-a lifetime scientific, human and intellectual adventure to celebrate the bicentenary of the decoding of hieroglyphs.
Jessie Buckley narrates the extraordinary story of the first transatlantic communications cable. In 16 August 1858, a short message is telegraphed from County Kerry to Newfoundland, 3,000km away: ‘Europe and America are united by telegraph. Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will towards men.’ The Morse code message is conducted along the new underwater transatlantic telegraph cable laid across the bed of the Atlantic Ocean. Sending the same message by ship would have taken at least ten days, but the transmission takes just hours and heralds the dawn of the modern communications age. The quest is driven by visionaries and pioneers. Among them are Cyrus Field, a wealthy businessman who, despite his immense success, ends his life in poverty; Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph and Morse code; Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the British engineer who pushes boundaries and budgets; and Belfast physicist Lord Kelvin, who calculates how to achieve what had hitherto been deemed impossible. Together, their ingenuity and relentless pursuit helps realise one of the great scientific accomplishments of their age for which Valentia, on Ireland’s remote western coast, is ground zero.
Life goes to extraordinary lengths to survive this immense realm. A 30 tonne whale shark gorges on a school of fish and the unique overhead heli-gimbal camera reveals common dolphins rocketing at more than 30km an hour. Descending into the abyss, deep sea octopus fly with wings and vampire squid use bioluminescence to create an extraordinary colour display. The first ever time-lapse footage taken from 2,000m down captures eels, crabs and giant isopods eating a carcass, completely consuming it within three hours.
Ma Anand Sheela and several other followers recount their experiences of moving to the ranch and the hostility from the residents of the city of Antelope. With the help of architects, engineers, city planners and commune residents, Rajneeshees construct a town called Rajneeshpuram. The commune decides to become self-governing which would allow them to issue their own building permits and have separate law enforcement. Locals describe their mistrust towards Bhagwan. The American press begins to affiliate Rajneeshpuram with the Jonestown Massacre and paints Bhagwan as an antichrist. The group '1000 Friends of Oregon' initiates a court case to have the buildings of Rajneeshpuram destroyed. In response, Sheela begins buying up available properties in Antelope.
Discover photographs, storyboards, conceptual art, publicity materials, archival documents, and behind-the-scenes footage of the original film and all its sequels that have never been shared before. Never Sleep Again expands on Wes Craven's behind creating the first Elm Street film.
By interweaving interviews with John Cale and Maureen Tucker alongside voices from their cultural milieu, the film evokes the fraught, fragile energy of a time when music intersected with performance, queerness, and counterculture. More than a story about a band, it is a journey into a cultural explosion that still resonates today.