ARTE Distribution

These nine modules will immerse us in the very heart of Japanese society, in the very heart of Tokyo, its energy, its fantasy, its contradictions. The documentary series will decipher "Japan from inside out", in a fun, odd and offbeat way.

The gachappon is the equivalent of jukebox: a vending-machine for junk surprises, a spectacular mechanics like a pinball machine and addictive like a slot machine. But instead of delivering a plastic gift, a video capsule will emerge to help us discover this distant and fascinating country by its less known side: small daily realities!
Each of the nine episodes of the documentary web series Gacha Gacha is designed in a fun discovery mode, to dissect nine typically Japanese rites. Ways of doing things that are both millennial and hypermodern, disciplined bodies and lively minds, a very modest and suddenly exhibitionist daily life. Technological and spooky materials, sounds and colors.

The imaginary universes of fantasy irrigate literature, cinema, video and role-playing games. But what crucible was it forged in? What are its founding works? Illustrator John Howe, the concept artist of the Lord of the Rings series, takes us on a four-part journey to discover the artists who have crafted fantasy.

Over the past twenty years, our views on Fantasy have shifted tremendously. Long reduced to repetitive adventures in comic books or movies with kitschy settings and poor scenarios, Fantasy now faces higher expectations from readers and critics alike, who demand complex heroes, strong female characters, original universes, in tune with more modern issues.
From its distant origins in myths and legends to its emergence into popular culture in the second half of the 20th century, fantasy has gradually taken shape over a history spanning more than a century. From the romantic Germany of the Brothers Grimm to the Texas plains where Robert E. Howard gave birth to the character of Conan, from the socialist utopias of William Morris to the tortured and eccentric mind of HP Lovecraft, John Howe’s travels will be interspersed with animated sequences breathing life into the stories that laid the foundations of the genre. To understand what makes these works so relevant and prevalent today, John Howe will be assisted by renowned experts such as S. T. Joshi, author of a 1200-page biography of Lovecraft, and Patrice Louinet, editor and translator of Robert E. Howard.
 

Since 2013, Olivier Père, Executive Director of ARTE France Cinéma, has been conducting interviews with personalities from the world of film. Olivier Père explains: “Our guests are interviewed in an intimate atmosphere - unlike for promotional interviews".

The interviews with directors (and sometimes actors or producers) are carried out in a simple manner, facing the camera. They mostly take place during the Cannes Film Festival, when films are presented in the various categories, but also sometimes in Paris.
 
Olivier Père explains: “Our guests are interviewed in an intimate atmosphere - unlike for promotional interviews - in which we show our interest or admiration (and often both, simultaneously) regarding specific aspects of the writing, directing or producing of the film, and naturally, regarding the author’s intentions and motivations. Interviewees include budding filmmakers, who have risen to prominence following an outstanding first film, as well as experienced filmmakers and leading names in French, European and international cinema”. 
 
Director Deniz Gamze Ergüven talking about her film MUSTANG (2015)
Director Alain Jessua talking about SHOCK TREATMENT (1973)
Director Paul Verhoeven talking about BASIC INSTINCT (1982)
Director Paul Verhoeven talking about BLACK BOOK (2006)
Director Mia Hansen Love talking about her film L'AVENIR (2016)
Director Bruno Dumont talking about SLACK BAY (2016)
Actor Louis Garrel talking about A CASTLE IN ITALY (2013)
Actor Louis Garrel talking about JEALOUSY (2016)
Director Jean-Pierre Mocky talking about THE RED IBIS (1975)
 
And more to come!

Everyone knows the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, now discover the universe of Tolkien and the legends that inspired them, with John Howe, the famous illustrator of Tolkien’s novels.

From the enchanted forest of Brocéliande to the sets of the New Zealand studios, Looking for the Hobbit plunges us into a universe we could never imagine existed. A quest to the very roots of our imagination.

Whether you like him or not, whether he arouses admiration, perplexity or laughter, Jean-Claude Van Damme’s life is an incredible and unconventional adventure from Belgium to Hollywood hills.

In 1988, an unknown man named Jean-Claude Van Damme became a worldwide celebrity by getting the lead role in a low-budget martial arts film that should have been released only on DVD, but would make millions of dollars.

This was the beginning of a meteoric rise for the young Belgian who had arrived in Los Angeles six years earlier, without money or contacts but with a stainless determination, which, after many setbacks, would make him one of the best rated action film actors in Hollywood for more than a decade.

Harder would be the fall at the end of the 90s, which drug abuse would accelerate. Mocked for the lunar and surrealistic reflections with which he now spices up his interviews, Jean-Claude would however know salvation in 2008 thanks to his humble and lucid performance in JCVD, a French film telling the story of a former kick-boxing star who has lost everything and finds his roots in Brussels. After which, little by little, Van Damme would climb back up the steps of respect.

Since then, between the United States, Asia and Europe, Jean-Claude Van Damme, unable to stop, has switched between action films, dramas and self-deprecating parodies, making him one of the most lovable figures in cinema.

Thanks to the Internet which helped spread stand up comedy internationally, this popular form of humor has become the prism through which contemporary issues are seen: in the abundance of identities, a global movement challenges the established order.          
Stand up told by its icons: Jamel Debbouze, Blanche Gardin, Ali Wong, Vir Das, Fary and Hannah Gasby.

The success of stand-up comedy can be measured by the growth of comedy clubs in cities around the world in recent years. It can also be seen through the investments of an international streaming platform like Netflix, which keeps producing and broadcasting shows, while scouting for new local talents. All over the world, young people are picking up just an ordinary microphone to laugh at themselves, society and its morals.
The protest dimension of this comic art is also the instrument of an untimely and sarcastic speech, where the most agitated fringe of a society, its youth, gives itself the right to express its moods on its state of health, its palpitations, its dreams and its disappointments. Stand-up comedy is a way of breaking down minds and fixed opinions, to slip in, through its sense of observation and absurdity, new considerations on our social relationships. When talking about stand-up comedy, we are  talking about the contemporary state of society.

The Smurfs are 60 this year. But what is the true story behind these tiny cartoon characters who became world-famous icons? From Brussels to Dubai by way of Paris and Los Angeles, follow a road-trip tracing the globally renowned blue imps.

Schtroumpfs, Smurfs, Pitufis, Lan-shin-ILings ou Schlumpfs, everybody knows them. But what are they really?
Why 99 males and one female ? Why are they blue ? And what is the secret of their success ? In a trip around the world, we will discover how far goes smurfmania.

Father of Astérix and the Petit Nicolas, René Goscinny hid the destiny of a nomad with multiple influences behind his average Frenchman’s facetious ways.

Forty years after the death of one of the most read French authors in the world, delve into his exceptional life during France’s “Glorious Thirties” (the 30 post-world-war years).

A real-life or fictitious hero, Robin Hood is first and foremost a cultural reference. Everyone can identify with this character’s values and commitment, and it has been so for some 800 years.
A review of this legendary figure’s impact.

He is a hero celebrated on all continents across all media; an icon of popular culture, a model of virtue and commitment for all generations. But the documentaries about him are scarce. In these uncertain times, it is high time to revisit this star of social justice.
Robin never out of fashion: oppressors and oppressed are always in the news. This film tells the fascinating saga of a popular and revolutionary icon present throughout all media; from children’s songs to literature, movies, TV, comics and, more recently, video games. The champion of the poor appeals to all generations, cultures and regions of the world.

He is a super hero who never goes out of fashion. He is exotic, entertaining and highly accessible. The film recounts the circumstances surrounding the birth of the character, the reasons for his success, and how did each generation re-invent and re-interpret him.

Tarzan was born in 1912 in an American newspaper, penned by Edgar Rice Burrough. The young writer was far from imagining that he had just created one of the major characters of the 20th century.
This key character of popular culture, known all over the world, has become a myth: 28 novels translated into 56 languages and sold 50 million copies, 15 000 comic strips, 200 films or episodes of television series…

A documentary that zooms in on the most beautiful buttocks in the history of art : buttocks. What exactly are they for? What looks and what desires do they arouse? How do they cross eras and cultures?

This entertaining and accomplished analysis, which is the fruit of a meeting between two art lovers, Caroline Pochon and Allan Rothschild, takes on the subject of that fleshy part of our anatomy, without becoming lurid. From the Louvre Museum to the street, from cinema to designers' workshops, via advertising clichés, the portrayal of buttocks brings out collective fantasies, and reveals a great deal about the foundations (in both a literal and figurative sense) of our society, its taboos, and its desires.

The word "Borsalino" today designates a felt hat. The Borsalino family brand has become a household name, like that of Tupperware, Kleenex or Walkman.

The quality felt hat, born in a small family factory in Alessandria in the 1850s, rose in status from manufactured object to veritable international myth when the craftsmanship of a small provincial town met the Hollywood dream. This film recounts the history of the manufacture of this myth, which has close ties to the history of cinema in the early 20th century.
 
Also available: feature-length version (79').