വർഷം 1981 - 281

A homage to the 80s experimental cinema. A poetic play manifesto about this form of expression that at the moment had a huge development.

"A city, its crowds; crowds processed on film then transferred to video. I used a technique particular to video to manipulate a vertical section of the image sideways, changing both its shape and color density. Each operation was repeated a number of times, in a series of consecutive incrustations. The final image was achieved in a few hours, entirely by hand (or, more precisely, by hands), like an impromptu musical improvisation. The rhythm, the flux of the city confronted with video's scanning composition and compression." (Christian Lebrat)

A stony-faced Tom Morton, General Manager of Doncaster Rugby League team, has just received a copy of the Guinness Book of Records. His team now has an entry for most games without a win. What follows in Barry Cockcroft’s wonderful portrait of the club’s last four fixtures of the 1981 season is a mixture of the bleak, the poignant and the hilarious. The scattered devoted few at the aptly named Tattersfield watch as Doncaster and Hull legend Tony Banham finally comes up trumps.

Margaret Hixon's 1981 film documents a real-life wedding in the Old Believer settlements of Marion County, Oregon, in the years 1979 and 1980. The film briefly touches on a wealth of traditional arts (embroidery, clothing construction, weaving, vernacular architecture, folk song and foodways) and beautifully presents a whole series of rituals -- the "devichnik" (engagement party), "selling" the bride and her braid, the wedding feast, the bargaining over the dowry, and the ceremony of bestowing gifts and advice on the newlyweds. In English and Russian with subtitles or voice-over translations.

Joy Unspeakable is an ethnographic film that examines the question, what does it mean to be Pentecostal, through the documentation of three types of Oneness Pentecostal services in Southern Indiana: a gospel-rock concert, a regular Sunday service, and a camp meeting. Religious behavior, doctrine, and social values are discussed by several Oneness Pentecostal church members and ministers in interviews interspersed with footage of the various services.

The Laziest Girl in Town features the transvestite antics of Morrisroe, Stephen Tashjian (Tabboo!), and Jack Pierson, culminating in an obscene sequence reminiscent of John Waters' Pink Flamingos.

On 12 July 1981, six small airplanes, flying in perfect formation over Santiago, Chile, dropped 400,000 flyers discussing the relationship between art and society.

This superbly animated science film traces the evolution of North America from the Earth's geophysical beginnings, through the genesis of the first living organisms, right up to the arrival of humans. Radiant colours and smooth-flowing animation evoke sizzling lava rivers, oceans bursting with life, and freezing ice ages. The film provides an excellent view of the time frame within which these remarkable events took place and highlights the fact that, relatively speaking, we are newcomers to Planet Earth.

Waldorf education overview from the perspective of the Toronto Waldorf School.

The Comsat Angels - the legendary post-punk band from Sheffield, England, live recording from Mensa Wilhelmstrausse, Tuebingen, West Germany, on December 12, 1981. They were initially active from 1978 to 1995 with basically this line-up. Named after the J. G. Ballard short story. They debuted in 1979 with the "Red Planet" three-track single. This release attracted Polydor A&R man Frank Neilson and the band signed a three-album recording contract. These three albums - "Waiting for a Miracle" (1980), which included the single "Independence Day", probably their best known song, "Sleep No More" (1981) and "Fiction" (1982) - are regarded by some as their best, but only sold modestly.

Produced by Carol Munday Lawrence as part of the seven-part "Were You There" series

Aspiraciones is the beginning of a series in which Vadi-Samvadi is the second film. The grammar of Indian music suggests a micro-interval in a cinematic space-time.

FUNDI: THE STORY OF ELLA BAKER reveals the instrumental role that Ella Baker, a friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, played in shaping the American civil rights movement. The dynamic activist was affectionately known as the Fundi, a Swahili word for a person who passes skills from one generation to another. By looking at the 1960s from the perspective of Baker, the "godmother of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee," FUNDI adds an essential understanding of the U.S. civil rights movement.

Two brothers do laundry at a laundry mat. The older brother goes out to smoke and a policeman searches him and handcuffs him for finding a swithcblade. When the boy fights back the officer takes out his gun to shoot him. The younger brother pulls a gun for the officer’s partner’s belt and shoots the cop before he can shoot his brother. The younger brother is then put in the squad car. The film has little dialogue and has an African drum beat for a track.

Blekbala explores the lives and aspirations of Aboriginal people living in the Northern Territory - on small outstations, remote desert locations and in regional town - from Arnhem Land to Central Australia. It looks at a selection of Aboriginal-run businesses and enterprises: cattle stations; children’s education; community projects; sports and music.