Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
Some of the earliest documentary films were travelogues that offered experiences of places that viewers might never get to visit for themselves. In Outerborough, the US filmmaker and artist Bill Morrison repurposes and reimagines an early example of the genre – Across the Brooklyn Bridge (1899) – to give ‘modern audiences [a] similarly rarefied view we can no longer experience’. As Morrison notes in describing his work: ‘Not only has the cityscape changed over the past century, but also, no train crosses the bridge anymore, and no vehicle can travel over on its median as that trolley did. The unique central perspective lends itself to abstraction and time travel: the journey from one side of the East River to the other becoming a unit of both time and space…’ Commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York for its 2005 reopening, the short film features a restored version and the original film, side by side. Juxtaposing the two frames and adding a frenetic, original score that yields an even greater sense of momentum, Morrison transforms the footage into something kinetic and enigmatic – an experiment in movement as a way of experiencing history.
Director: Bill Morrison
Composer: Todd Reynolds
video
Art
‘If you’re creative, why can’t you create a solution?’ One artist’s imaginative activism
17 minutes
video
The ancient world
An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub
2 minutes
video
Death
A hunter’s lyrical reflection on the humbling business of being mortal
6 minutes
video
Art
More than breathtaking, ‘The Birth of Venus’ signalled an aesthetic revolution
19 minutes
video
Childhood and adolescence
Striking shadow puppetry illuminates a skater kid’s memories of Boy Scout camp
12 minutes
video
Rituals and celebrations
Meet the entrepreneur whose business is crafting perfect peak experiences
12 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
A reporter orphaned by night raids in Afghanistan investigates their cruel legacy
17 minutes
video
Work
Does capitalism make ‘non-playable characters’ of us all? An uncanny exploration
21 minutes
video
Technology and the self
A ‘virtual outing’ on Google Maps reveals a treasured image from Diego’s past
6 minutes