A Life's Work

Sep 24, 2020

1h 30m

★ 7.0

A documentary about taking the long view.

Overview

What’s it like to dedicate your life to work that won’t be completed in your lifetime? Fifteen years ago, filmmaker David Licata focused on four projects and the people behind them in an effort to answer this universal question.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

happy sisyphus productions

A Life's Work Trailers

Cast

Self

jill tarter

self

robert darden

Self

david milarch

Self

Jared Milarch

Self

Jeff Stein

Self

Paolo Soleri

The Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) is one of the great figures of modern architecture, ranked alongside Gropius, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe. This film analyses Aalto’s uniquely successful resolution of the demands and possibilities created by new technology and construction materials with the need to make his buildings sympathetic both to their users and to their natural surroundings. His inventive use of timber in particular represents both a reference to the forest landscape of Finland and a building material that is ‘warm’ and extremely adaptable. Filmed in Finland, Italy, Germany and the USA, this documentary shows how the Finnish natural environment and art traditions were essential elements in Aalto’s pioneering harmonization of technology and nature.

0.0

Armageddon: The Future of the Planet is at Stake

Oct 11, 1991

The Future of the Planet is at stake by biblical brophecy to spaceborn calamity.

5.5

Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future

Dec 27, 2016

Best known for designing National Historic Landmarks such as St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch and the General Motors Technical Center, Saarinen also designed New York’s TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Yale University’s Ingalls Rink and Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges, Virginia’s Dulles Airport, and modernist pedestal furniture like the Tulip chair.

6.6

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

Jul 28, 2017

A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes—in moments private and public, funny and poignant—as he pursues the empowering notion that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.

7.7

Blush: An Extraordinary Voyage

Oct 18, 2022

For 18-year-old Finnish–Kosovan Fatu, a simple visit to the grocery store feels as nerve-racking as a lunar expedition: for the first time in his life, he’s wearing makeup in public. Luckily his best friend Rai, a young woman on the spectrum of autism, is there to ferociously support him through the voyage.

6.5

The UFO Movie THEY Don't Want You to See

Aug 20, 2023

In an age when misinformation, alternative facts, and conspiracy theories have become mainstream, UFOs have risen to become one of the most-talked about pop culture phenomena. With all of this noise, how can we expect anyone to know how much of this is true? What is in our skies? What do we know, and how do we know it? And most importantly: Are we being visited?

8.0

Hummingbirds: Jewelled Messengers

Jun 25, 2012

David Attenborough narrates this close up look at these tiny pollinators captured in flight as never before. Acrobats of the air - flying jewels - iridescent partners of countless plants: hummingbirds are amongst the most remarkable creatures on our planet.

6.5

The Mars Generation

Jan 20, 2017

Aspiring teenage astronauts reveal that a journey to Mars is closer than you think.

0.0

The Architect: A Montford Point Marine

Sep 30, 2023

In this dynamic and dramatic short film, an African American veteran takes us on an extraordinary journey through his life. From a chance visit to the Pentagon, to growing up in a vibrant integrated neighborhood, his story is one of resilience and inspiration. Fueled by the determination to seize educational opportunities, he enlists just in time to experience the racial divisions of his era before Truman desegregates the military. Thrust into the brutality of the Korean War, the weight of combat becomes an indelible part of his soul. Returning home, he embarks on a new path as an architect and discovers unexpected connections in far-off Pakistan. As his family expands, his sons reflect on the man who raised them and the legacy he instilled. This film unearths the essence of the Black experience in the early 20th century, paints a vivid portrait of the Chosin Reservoir, and unravels the intricate tapestry of race, family, and personal growth.

7.2

Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy

Oct 18, 2018

Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy is a feature-length documentary film highlighting the history of the Crownsville State Mental Hospital in Crownsville, MD.

9.0

The World's Most Powerful Telescopes

Jan 1, 2018

"The World's Most Powerful Telescopes" is a research expedition across the southern firmament. The science documentary shows the powerful telescopes of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in action and gives insight into the discoveries they make. The world's most powerful telescopes can be found atop the highest peaks of northern Chile, amidst the exotic flora and fauna of one of the driest regions on the planet: the Atacama Desert. This is the starting point for a journey to the outer edges of our universe.

7.5

Brasilia, Contradictions of a New City

Jan 1, 1968

In 1967, de Andrade was invited by the Italian company Olivetti to produce a documentary on the new Brazilian capital city of Brasília. Constructed during the latter half of the 1950s and founded in 1960, the city was part of an effort to populate Brazil’s vast interior region and was to be the embodiment of democratic urban planning, free from the class divisions and inequalities that characterize so many metropolises. Unsurprisingly, Brasília, Contradições de uma Cidade Nova (Brasília, Contradictions of a New City, 1968) revealed Brasília to be utopic only for the wealthy, replicating the same social problems present in every Brazilian city. (Senses of Cinema)

10.0

Reimagining A Buffalo Landmark

Apr 12, 2019

The Richardson Olmsted Campus, a former psychiatric center and National Historic Landmark, is seeing new life as it undergoes restoration and adaptation to a modern use.

5.3

Amancio Williams

Nov 18, 2013

A biography documentary of the Argentine modernist architect Amancio Williams.

7.4

Apollo: Missions to the Moon

Jul 7, 2019

National Geographic's riveting effort recounts all 12 crewed missions using only archival footage, photos and audio.

No Image Available

0.0

The Mind's Big Bang

Sep 27, 2001

The events and coincidences that led to rapid advances in human intelligence 50,000 years ago.

8.0

Cologne Cathedral: The French Cathedral on the Rhine

Sep 21, 2024

An exploration of Cologne Cathedral, an emblematic monument and world heritage site. The towering place of worship took over 600 years to complete. Once the tallest building in the world, its ornate facade remains a masterpiece of Gothic architecture - and a reflection of the evolution of Franco-German relations.

7.8

The Farthest

Mar 15, 2018

The captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity's greatest achievements in exploration: NASA's Voyager mission.

0.0

Rietveld Houses: A piece of furniture to live in

Jun 25, 2024

In 2024, the iconic Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Gerrit Rietveld designed and built the house in close collaboration with his secret lover and creative partner Truus Schröder. Rietveld himself did not build his houses for eternity; he thought a life cycle of 50 years was sufficient. But the current owners of houses designed by Rietveld think differently about this. They pull out all the stops to renovate and preserve their Rietveld houses.

7.5

Grizzly Man

Jul 28, 2005

Werner Herzog's documentary film about the "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in one man's attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.

A Life's Work

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

A Life's Work Trailers