Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
Ballet is an art form that’s synonymous with beauty and grace. But, as every ballet dancer knows, at the foundation of every perfect plié or sauté is the tense intersection of feet, pointe shoes and the stage. In this short documentary from the Australian Ballet, three ballerinas explore why caring for their feet and pointe shoes is a crucial, yet often hidden, part of their art. With most of the documentary shot at foot height, the charming and tactile short captures how the sewing, cutting and burning of pointe shoes help the dancers’ meet the demands of their work. In doing so, the Australian-born, Berlin-based directors Lily Coates and Gavin Youngs, of the filmmaking duo the Apiary, illustrate how the elegance of ballet is built from a solid foundation of strength, craftsmanship and many, many calluses.
Director: The Apiary
Website: The Australian Ballet
video
Technology and the self
A filmmaker finds a tactile beauty in the creation of her prosthetic leg
11 minutes
video
Knowledge
An Indigenous myth and a geological survey elicit two ways of knowing one place
4 minutes
video
War and peace
A war meteorologist’s riveting account of how the Allies averted a D-Day disaster
6 minutes
video
Technology and the self
How the magic of photography brought Victorian England closer to the spirit realm
16 minutes
video
Neuroscience
Dog vision is a trendy topic, but what can we really know about how they see?
11 minutes
video
Home
An artist endeavours to bring the Moon down to Earth in a ritual of yearning
5 minutes
video
Information and communication
An animation built from road signs is a whirlwind study of flash communication
2 minutes
video
Art
Creating art that was aware of itself – and the viewer – made Manet the first modernist
15 minutes
video
Biotechnology
It’s our responsibility to engineer corals that can weather the world we’ve created
11 minutes