Variations on Iserois Landscapes

Lost Boundaries

2003

Lost Boundaries is comprised of footage shot by Julien on location, in England in the summer of 1985, during the making of the Sankofa film and video collective's first experimental feature film The Passion of Remembrance (1986), which he co-directed with Maureen Blackwood, another member of the collective. In recapturing those moment Lost Boundaries both deconstructs and foregrounds the means of 16mm film production while weaving together a fragile community of Black artists and actors who came to prominence at a time when debates in film theory - such as those of the Screen film journal and of "third cinema" discourses where cinema was intertwined within (Brechtian) filmmaking practices - were at the forefront of forging a new politics of artistic representation. A Black avant-garde.

You will never see the shadow

2025

A frenetic Santiago gives me space to reflect on depression, loneliness and home in an attempt to piece together my past. Pandemic revelations and crises of youth appear as fragments. The liveliness I find in the crowd connects me with its movement.

Ivohiboro, The Lost Forest

2024

The film follows an expedition into Ivohiboro — a small, previously unexplored tropical forest in Southeast Madagascar rich with biodiversity.

Aleph

2021

Structured as a labyrinth-like game and inspired by Jorge Luis Borges, Aleph is a travelogue of experience, a dreamer's journey through the lives, experiences, stories and musings of protagonists spanning ten countries and five continents.

Heartbreakers Beach Party

2024

Documentary that captures Tom Petty and the band in 1982-1983 as they finish, promote, and tour around the “Long After Dark” album (their final with legendary producer Jimmy Iovine). It aired only once on MTV in 1983. After the long lost 16mm reels were finally found, a restored version with 19 minutes of extra footage was released in 2024.

The Fearless Freaks

2005

Equal parts punk and psychedelia, the Flaming Lips emerged from Oklahoma City as one of the most bracing bands of the late 1980s. The Fearless Freaks documents their rise from Butthole Surfers-imitating noisemakers to grand poobahs of orchestral pop masterpieces. Filmmaker Bradley Beesely had the good fortune of living in the same neighborhood as lead Lip Wayne Coyne, who quickly enlisted his buddy to document his band's many concerts and assorted exploits. The early footage is a riot, with tragic hair styles on proud display as the boys attempt to cover up their lack of natural talent with sheer volume. During one show, they even have a friend bring a motorcycle on stage, which is then miked for sound and revved throughout the performance, clearing the club with toxic levels of carbon monoxide. Great punk rock stuff. Interspersed among the live bits are interviews with the band's family and friends, revealing the often tragic circumstances of their childhoods and early career.

The Shaolin Kid: A Boy In China

The story of a six year old boy from Phoenix, Arizona whose dreams of becoming a Kungfu master lead him to the birthplace of martial arts - the legendary Shaolin Temple in China. His father must now face a heartbreaking decision and follow his son to China leaving the mother behind in America... a choice few parents could ever imagine.

Quando a noite ainda não existia

2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a trans body dreams of the birth of night.