All Films

La Visiteuse

1981 • 10 min • France

A young woman visits an old friend to relieve her heartache.

The Lions of Etosha

1981 • 60 min • United Kingdom

Nearly 500 lions roam the vast land of Etosha National Park in Namibia, each pride guarding territory, raising young, and feasting on prey. Filmmakers Des and Jen Bartlett spent nearly five years filming the Ombika pride, a family of 19, resulting in this 1 hour documentary. They tracked their special pride of lions to record the rivalries, loyalties, and complex animal relationships. Catch a rare glimpse into the pride system, from family interactions and shared responsibilities to raising cubs and teaching them to hunt. Watch the pride's success and failures, battles and births, and encounters with elephants and the rarely seen black rhino

Like All the Others

1981 • 57 min • Albania

Vullnet, raised in an orphanage, has finished the military service and must solve some problems in his life.

Tal Farlow

1981 • 2 min • United Kingdom

Lye created a series of scratched images in the 1950s – more regular or geometric than his usual style – to accompany Rock ‘n’ Rye, a track by jazz guitarist Tal Farlow, but he did not get far with the editing. He returned to the material in 1980 but died before it was completed. His assistant Steven Jones finished the film under the supervision of Lye’s widow Ann, who had been closely involved with all of Lye’s American films. - Harvard Film Archive

Lol: A Bona Queen of Fabularity

1981 • 40 min • United Kingdom

Documentary about Lorri Lee, a London drag queen and actor.

Once Cowboy, Twice Cowboy

1981 • 10 min • Soviet Union

A bandit wearing a black mask, having shot the train, takes a bag of gold coins from the post car and hides on his horse. The bandit takes refuge in the ranch, driving out the farmer and his cow. The farmer and the cow leave for the nearest town. In the saloon, the farmer sees an announcement of a reward of one thousand coins for catching a bandit in a black mask. Then he tells local cowboys where the bandit is hiding. Cowboys go to catch a bandit, but they return back all wounded.

Friends of Games and Jokes

1981 • 24 min • Soviet Union

There was an important event in the Khudyakov family - the eldest daughter gave birth to a son. However, the young mother flatly refuses to name the child's father. In order to give his grandson a middle name, Khudyakov instructs his son to find the father of the newborn.

Ivashka from the Palace of Pioneers

1981 • 9 min • Soviet Union

Animation film about boy Ivashka's adventures in the country of fairy tales.

Kitty and Mimi's New Umbrella

1981 • 24 min • Japan

Kitty and Mimmy are twin kittens. They have been staying inside on a rainy day when they get a souvenir from their mother; an umbrella with different colors and rain boots. The two are excited to try them out, but the rain has stopped...

Who Are You?

1981 • 24 min • Poland

The film doesn’t have any commentary. It presents pictures illustrating the history of Poland in chronological order: portraits of rulers and magnates, historical events, such as uprisings, but also balls, hunting, concerts, from the Middle Ages to the present day. In just twenty and a few minutes, the exhibition's message was captured - the heritage of the centuries and the image of the historically changing Polish identity.

A Letter to the Children

1981 • 52 min

TV documentary about architect Lado Aleksi-Meskhishvili, who was also a downhill skiing and boxing champion of Georgia, directed by his widow.

The Super-8 Show: Beyond Home Movies

1981 • 30 min

A short survey of the small-gauge narrative film, beginning with the Kuchars' Sylvia's Promise (1962). Primarily focused on East Coast artists, the work of Eric Mitchell, Manuel DeLanda and Ericka Beckman is highlighted.

A Plasticine Crow

1981 • 9 min • Soviet Union

Short animation of a Russian folk tale, made in 1981. A parody of the fable by Ivan Krylov "The Crow and the Fox".

Cat Kotofeyevitch

1981 • 10 min • Soviet Union

Adieu l'enfant

1981 • 12 min

A tribute to F1 pilot Patrick Depailler.

Cocktail Morlock

1981 • 22 min • France

Ikkyuu-san: It's Spring, Mischievous Princess!

1981 • 15 min • Japan

Ikkyuu must help the princess once again when she falls ill after seeing a beautiful man at a plum blossom-viewing party.

Beneath the Skin

1981 • 12 min • United States of America

"Relating a tale told by a girl on a swing, Beneath the Skin explores the contrast between the impersonal horror of a news story heard on television and the involvement of the storyteller in a nightmare, which gradually becomes more familiar and commonplace as the tale unfolds. The straightforward approach of the teller is humorously or frighteningly contrasted by a bombardment of visual images which mock or intensify the macabre flavor of the work."

Lily: Sold Out

1981 • 60 min • United States of America

After taking her successful Broadway show to Las Vegas, Lily Tomlin is faced with a tough decision: soften her act for mass appeal, or keep her material the way she originally intended?

Prinsessa joka nukkui 100 vuotta

1981 • 16 min

Poetic short film

The Fullmoon Tradition: Indra

1981 • 4 min • Japan

A pilot film for Mamoru Oshii's television series of the same name, which was cancelled while in production. The Fullmoon Tradition: Indra combines sci-fi ideas with Hindu mythology, creating an interesting hybrid about a group of adventurers led by Shudra, a descendant of the military goddess Indra. They journey to the "Moon Gate" in order to purify their home world of Purusha. The pilot shows a battle with a hydra, plus various conflicts and interactions.

Frost Ivanovich

1981 • 10 min • Soviet Union

Two sisters lives together with their grandma in a cottage in the woods. One of the sister is diligent, the other one is lazy. Frost Ivanovich notices this and decides to teach the lazy sister a lesson.

Oscar Micheaux, Film Pioneer

1981 • 29 min

Oscar Micheaux, Film Pioneer is one of seven films in the "Were You There" series produced by Carol Lawrence (the others include The Black West, The Cotton Club, The Facts of Life, Portrait of Two Artists, Sports Profile, and When the Animals Talked). This film's story revolves around Bee Freeman's (the Sepia Mae West) and Lorenzo Tucker's (the black Valentino) recollections of their relationships with Micheaux and their perceptions of his character. Danny Glover plays the role of Oscar Micheaux, Richard H arder is shown as the young Lorenzo Tucker, and Janice Morgan portrays the vamp that was Bee Freeman in Shuffle Along.

Aniceto do Império: Dia de Alforria

1981 • 11 min • Brazil

Zózimo Bulbul’s film is dedicated to Zumbi dos Palmares and to all Maroons dead and alive. It portrays the life of Aniceto, who was 72 years old at the time: a union leader, a stevedore at the Rio de Janeiro port and founder of Escola de Samba Império Serrano