Cosima Spender

Palio

Cosima Spender

Luigi Bruschelli, Giovanni Atzeni

Taking bribes and making deals is as essential as being a good rider in the Palio, the world’s oldest horse race. Giovanni, a young jockey, is up to the challenge when he faces his former mentor on the track. What ensues is a thrilling battle with the intoxicating drama that is at the center of Italian tradition.

Dolce Vita Africana

Cosima Spender

Malick Sidibe

A documentary portrait of the African photographer Malick Sidibe, and a journey through Malian history inspired by his iconic images. Sidibe's snapshots from the late 50s through to the early 70s capture the carefree spirit of a youth asserting their freedom from colonialism in the early days of Malian independence - until a coup ushered in decades of austere military dictatorship. So this is a film not only about art, but also about a culture reflected through a camera lens, in a country that today is one of the poorest in the world.

Arshile Gorky: The Eye-Spring

Cosima Spender

'The eye spring..' Andre Breton once said of his friend, 'Gorky is for me the first painter to whom this secret has been completely revealed' A seminal figure in the shift to abstraction that transformed twentieth-century American art, this documentary provides an introduction to the career, influence and powerful visual language of Arshile Gorky (1904 — 1948). 'The Eye-Spring' is directed by Gorky's granddaughter Cosima Spender, and was first screened alongside last year's retrospective exhibition at Ca' Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art in Venice. Presenting over eighty paintings and works on paper, 'Arshile Gorky, 1904-1948' was the first Italian museum survey dedicated to the artist, shedding light on the Gorky's early artistic dialogue with Cezanne and his later influence on abstract expressionism.