There could hardly be a more telling contrast between the analog and digital eras than the beautifully blurry memories captured in a Polaroid picture and the thousands of pin-sharp photos on an iPhone. In this ambitious visual essay, Willem Baptist explores the visionary genius of Edwin H. Land, the inventor of the Polaroid camera. Even today, all sorts of people are keeping his instant dream alive. Former Polaroid employee Stephen Herchen moved from the United States to Europe to work in a laboratory developing the 2.0 version of Polaroid. Christopher Bonanos, the author of Instant: The Story of Polaroid, tells us, "When I heard Polaroid would stop making film, it felt like a close friend had died." Artist Stefanie Schneider, who is working with the last of her stock of Polaroid film, is using the blurring that occurs with expired film as an additional aesthetic layer in her photographic work.

Puzzle of a Downfall Child

1970

English

6.6

♡ 2

55%

Jerry Schatzberg Director

Barry Morse as Dr. Galba

Faye Dunaway as Lou Andreas Sand

Roy Scheider as Mark

Barbara Carrera as T.J. Brady

Lou Andreas Sand, a once famous model, recalls her past as she tries to make success in the modeling world of New York, her stressful workdays, her affair with Mark, an advertising executive, her friendship with photographer Aaron, and her downward spiral into ruin.

Love Like the Falling Petals

2022

Japanese

6.6

♡ 4

73%

Action

aging

based on novel or book

Yoshihiro Fukagawa Director

Islam Abdelbadia as

Kento Nakajima as Harutoo

Honoka Matsumoto as Misaki

Andrew Russell as Takashi

Haruto Asakura falls in love with hairdresser Misaki Ariake and asks her out. Watching Misaki Ariake work hard to achieve what she wants, Haruto Asakura, who almost gave up his dream to become a photographer, begins to pursue his dream again, but Misaki Ariake is diagnosed with a disease that ages her 10x faster than normal.

Aroused

2013

English

5.2

♡ 4

31%

Deborah Anderson Director

Teagan Presley as Self

Ash Hollywood as Self

Tanya Tate as Self

Lisa Ann as Self

Get up close and personal with 16 of the most successful women in the adult film industry as they shed their clothes for an intimate photo shoot with director Deborah Anderson. As questions are asked, personal stories about their lives are revealed, from why they chose the business of sex to how they got into it in the first place. These porn stars have always been discreet about their private lives in the past, yet Anderson has a way of opening up a dialog allowing them to share more than just their naked skin on screen. Their true inner vulnerability is touching, yet the characters they have created are confident and intoxicating. Once you hear their stories, you'll never look at them in the same way again.

Pecker

1998

English

6.3

♡ 6

52%

John Waters Director

Bess Armstrong as Dr. Klompus

Jean Schertler as Memama

Lili Taylor as Rorey Wheeler

Christina Ricci as Shelley

A Baltimore teenager who picks up a second-hand camera starts snapping his way to stardom, soon turning into a nationwide sensation, with a fateful choice between his life and his art.

Drylongso

1998

English

6.7

♡ 1

100%

Cauleen Smith Director

Tamara Washington as

Sayyed Y. Bey as Male posing for camera

Salim Akil as Mr. Yamada

April Barnett as Tobi

A young woman in a photography class begins taking pictures of black men out of fear they will soon be extinct.

One Hour Photo

2002

English

6.8

♡ 51

81%

Mark Romanek Director

Jim Rash as Amateur Porn Guy

Gary Cole as Bill Owens

Connie Nielsen as Nina Yorkin

Nick Searcy as Repairman

Sy "the photo guy" Parrish has lovingly developed photos for the Yorkin family since their son was a baby. But as the Yorkins' lives become fuller, Sy's only seems lonelier, until he eventually believes he's part of their family. When "Uncle" Sy's picture-perfect fantasy collides with an ugly dose of reality, what happens next "has the spine-tingling elements of the best psychological thrillers!"

Proof

1991

English

7.2

♡ 16

94%

80%

Action

australia

blindness and impaired vision

Jocelyn Moorhouse Director

Russell Crowe as Andy

Hugo Weaving as Martin

Heather Mitchell as Mother

Saskia Post as Waitress

Martin, a young blind photographer, is divided between his friendship with restaurant worker Andy and the exclusive love that Celia—who is terribly jealous of this new friendship—has for him.

Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer

2013

English

7.2

♡ 2

86%

Action

brooklyn, new york city

Charlie Ahearn Director KRS-One

KRS-One as Self

Bobbito Garcia as Self

Fab 5 Freddy as Self

Jamel Shabazz as Self

Documentary following the career of Brooklyn-born photographer Jamel Shabazz, who captured hip-hop in its infancy long before it became a worldwide phenomenon. His iconic images of kids sporting sneakers and savvy street style caught the essence of hip-hop as it exploded onto the streets of New York. Intimate interviews with Shabazz and hip hop pioneers explore the hundreds of individual stories and urban history behind a revolutionary cultural movement.

Calendar

1993

English

6.7

♡ 3

100%

Atom Egoyan Director

Susan Hamann as Guest

Sveta Kohli as Guest

Viva Tsvetnova as Guest

Atom Egoyan as Photographer

A photographer and his wife travel across Armenia photographing churches for a calendar project. Travelling with them is a local man acting as their driver and guide. As the project nears completion, the distance between husband and wife grows.

Heavenly Forest

2006

Japanese

7.4

♡ 4

Takehiko Shinjo Director

Keisuke Koide as Kyohei Sekiguchi

Hiroshi Tamaki as Makoto Segawa

Meisa Kuroki as Miyuki Toyama

Yoshiyuki Morishita as Pharmacist

Amateur photographer Makoto and the homely but endearing Shizuru meet during their university entrance ceremony and become instant friends. Shy by nature, Makoto finds himself opening up around Shizuru, who is secretly in love with him.

Tea With the Dames

2018

English

7.4

♡ 3

conversation

Documentary

documentary filmmaking

Roger Michell Director

Robert Altman as Self

Maggie Smith as Self

Judi Dench as Self

Rory Kinnear as Tanner

BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.

Three Nights a Week

2022

French

6.2

♡ 2

100%

Florent Gouëlou Director

Sonia Hell as Agent aire d'autoroute

Pablo Pauly as Baptiste

Françoise Lorente as La médecin

Hafsia Herzi as Samia

When young Baptiste meets Cookie Kunty, a young Parisian drag queen, he feels compelled to start a new photographic project.

The Omen

2006

English

5.5

♡ 48

26%

parent child relationship

John Moore Director

Nikki Amuka-Bird as Dr. Becker

Julia Stiles as Katherine Thorn

David Thewlis as Keith Jennings

MyAnna Buring as Tabloid Reporter #2

A diplomatic couple adopts the son of the devil without knowing it. A remake of the classic horror film of the same name from 1976.

The Memory Book

2014

English

6.8

♡ 4

48%

Paul A. Kaufman Director

Martin Evans as Art Critic

Tom Pickett as Older Man

Adrienne Barbeau as Sarah Lund

Lisa MacFadden as Shirley Jensen

Budding photographer Chloe (Ory) comes from a family of failed romances. At a local flea market, she stumbles upon an old photo album from the 1970s, chronicling the ideal romance of a happy couple (Hindle and Barbeau). Unable to find her own "true love," she sets out to find the couple in the album and prove that true love exists. Along the way, she meets Gabe Sinclair (Macfarlane), a mysterious, but charming bartender, who seizes the opportunity to join Chloe's mission and soon finds himself falling in love with her. With limited resources, the two go on an adventure, searching for clues that will lead them to the couple, and hopefully to true love. As the search continues, Chloe begins taking an interest in Gabe, but won't let these feelings distract her from her mission to find the couple. Will Chloe learn to give up her fear of falling in love and finally find true happiness?

Standard Operating Procedure

2008

English

7.4

♡ 1

79%

Errol Morris Director

Cyrus King as Military Intelligence

Joshua Feinman as Military Police

Shaun Russell as Military Police

Alim Kouliev as OGA / Interrogator

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Bag Boy Lover Boy

2014

English

5.3

♡ 4

22%

Andres Torres Director

Adrienne Gori as Lexy

Saoko Okano as Miyuki

James Elwood as Officer Rhodes

Marseille Morillo as Pig Model

Oddball hot dog vendor Albert is shocked to find himself becoming the bizarre muse of enigmatic NYC photographer Ivan Worthington. But shocks come his way even more so when he finds out how difficult is is to succeed in the art world, leading him to take his own photographs that suit his very unique - and very limited - skill set.

Godland

2022

Danish

♡ 32

92%

Hlynur Palmason Director

Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir as Ida

Elliott Crosset Hove as Lucas

Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Ragnar

Ingvar Þórðarson as Wool & grass man

In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.

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Witkin & Witkin

From Hell to Hollywood

Instant Dreams

Puzzle of a Downfall Child

Love Like the Falling Petals

Aroused

Pecker

Drylongso

One Hour Photo

Proof

Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer

Calendar

Heavenly Forest

Tea With the Dames

Three Nights a Week

The Omen

The Memory Book

Standard Operating Procedure

Bag Boy Lover Boy

Godland