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This month’s selection of films look at learning from history, whether the prosecuting of ideas on a national stage, space travel, works of art, or the changing life of an Irish village, these films all capture and consider moments that come to define cultural change, whether global or communal.
The Last Man on the Moon
In December 1972, George Cernan left his footprints, and the initials of his daughter, on the surface of the moon. Since then, no other astronauts have set foot on Earth’s nearest neighbour. Mark Craig’s documentary follows Cernan’s journey from outer Chicago to the lunar landscape, a story that, until now, he has never shared.
The Great Museum
Johannes Holzhausen’s documentary about one of the world’s greatest cultural institutions, Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, is a rare look at the interplay between conservator, curator, financier and visitor. Given unprecedented access as the museum undergoes a modernisation, the film invisibly observes the efforts that go into balancing the pressures on the museum as paintings are analysed and cleaned, and the museum readied for a reintroduction.
Between Land and Sea
The Irish town of Lahinch in County Clare was, for centuries, a quiet seaside village best known for its proximity to the spectacular Cliffs of Moher. Then, came the big-wave surfers. Between Sea and Land follows life in and around Lahinch over the course of a year as director Ross Whittaker watches surfers tackle giant waves, daily life in the small town and the changing face of the landscape.
Best of Enemies Buckley vs Vidal
Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville’s film about the 1968 televised debates between conservative William F. Buckley Jr. and liberal Gore Vidal is a fascinating glimpse into a series of events that changed popular culture. Tackling religion, sex and politics, their unscripted and compulsively viewed conversations mark a point where the power of argument came to outweigh the value of an idea in the public arena.
Fabergé: A Life of Its Own
The story behind one of the world’s most legendary artist jewellers, Peter Carl Fabergé, is far more than an account of a man and his craft. From a small workshop in Imperialist Russia, to the private collections of the world’s elite in the 21st century, this story follows a remarkable 160-year journey. The documentary explores the beauty of Fabergé’s creations and the highly charged times with which the fortunes of his house were twined.
