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24 languages, one Europe 2024 star_border 9
The European Union is a constantly challenged system, starting with the question of language. With 24 languages represented, how to speak with one voice? Shielded from public view in small caulked booths, European interpreters witness on a daily basis all major current challenges in international negotiations. The Diplomats of the Shadows is a reflection of the cultural and linguistic diversity essential to the proper functioning of the European Union’s democratic system, which has no equivalent in the world. From the war in Ukraine to the energy crisis, and the migration policy, this film takes us into the current geopolitical issues through the lens of European interpreters. In this immersive experience within the European institutions, the director raises a fundamental question: in these times of upheaval, how to preserve unity in diversity, the very essence of the European construction?

The Knight of the Snow 1912 star_border 5.8
One of the last films Georges Méliès made. By now, he was under contract for his former rival Pathé, where he made a few of his most lavish productions, including this one. Here, Méliès performed in front of the camera as the Devil […]. His incarnation of Satan this time is a sprightly antagonist who kidnaps a princess by locking her in a cage and taking off through the sky in a dragon-pulled carriage. […]

Cinderella or The Glass Slipper 1912 star_border 5.6
Georges Méliès's first attempt at Cinderella was in 1899. That film was extraordinary then for having multiple scenes and a semblance of a narrative; additionally, the use of dissolves as transitions in it influenced other filmmakers for years to do the same. Méliès was the cinema world's preeminent leader then. By 1912, however, that was no longer the case; frankly, as evidenced by this feature, his style had become dated. Moreover, Méliès had begun to adopt techniques from other filmmakers, such as direct cuts instead of dissolves, and there's even a match on action shot during the slipper trying-on scene.

The Conquest of the Pole 1912 star_border 6.3
A science fantasy film that deals with an extraordinary race to the north pole by rival parties of balloonists. Based on the novel "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras" by Jules Verne.

The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen 1911 star_border 5.9
After an evening of excessive wining and dining Baron Munchausen must be helped to bed by his servants. Once asleep, he has bizarre and frightening dreams.

The Diabolical Church Window 1911 star_border 5.5
Here we have an old scholar/alchemist brooding over a book, challenged by the devil, and going through the familiar sorcery to create a woman by throwing pieces of clothing against a stain-glass church window, like a jigsaw puzzle (and later in reverse). The woman also multiplies herself five-fold so as to match a similar paravent.

Whimsical Illusions 1909 star_border 6.1
In this hand-colored short, a magician and his assistant do a series of magic tricks, including making potted plants appear, among others. Melies played the magician, and the actor Manuel played his assistant.

The Spider and the Butterfly 1909 star_border 5.8
Surviving fragment of a longer film. A magician makes a butterfly woman appear, and a woman in a star. Exhausted, the magician falls asleep and the star woman turns into a spider, dragging the butterfly into her web.

The Diabolic Tenant 1909 star_border 6.8
A man rents an apartment and furnishes it in remarkable fashion.

The Doctor's Secret 1909 star_border 5.2
Doctors blow to pieces a patient in a hydrotherapy machine and re-assemble him.

Pharmaceutical Hallucinations 1908 star_border 5.2
There's a chemistry lab, in which one or two people ingest the wrong drug -- apparently -- and have a seriously bad trip. Then there's this wizard in his cave, and a fairy appears -- then there's this massive feast with about a dozen people. Then it ends.

A Tricky Painter’s Fate 1908 star_border 4.6
A painter boards a train and puts his paintings in the windows so that they look like passengers.

Mishaps of the New York-Paris Auto Race 1908 star_border 5.5

French Cops Learning English 1908 star_border 4.6
The seven-minute film takes place inside a classroom where some cops are learning English.

Tribulations; or, The Misfortunes of a Cobbler 1908 star_border 5.5
The Merchant, the Farrier, and the Roman accompany a mysterious woman into a magical cave full of terrors and wonders.

His First Job 1908 star_border 4.9
Georges Melies' film has a new guy showing up in a store on his first day and he obviously just doesn't fit in as he makes one mistake after another.

In the Barber Shop 1908 star_border 4.5
One fine day at a barbershop that has stupid staff and very rude customers.

The Good Luck of a 'Souse' 1908 star_border 4.3
This film from George Melies is sadly one that's only available in fragments. The film starts off with a title card stating that a drunk man has just thrown his family out a window. We see a couple of them landing on the ground and then we go back to the room where the drunk is now trying to kill himself.

The Dream of an Opium Fiend 1908 star_border 5.4
The opium fiend is seen in a den, puffing on this terrible narcotic. He then falls fast asleep and dreams that he is at home with his wife. He asks for something to drink and he is given wine, which he does not care for, and he is finally given some bottled beer and a glass, but he complains that the glass is too small and he gets a very large sized glass receptacle, into which his wife and maid servant pour the contents of the bottle. As he is about to drink the glass passes from his hand mysteriously, sailing through the room and out of the window to the moon…

Justinian's Human Torches 1908 star_border 4.3
During an orgy, Emperor Justinian orders three people to be torched alive.

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