Painting with Light: Manifesto 

This 2015 film by Julian Rosefeldt pays homage to the 20th century’s most impassioned statements on art, from the likes of Karl Marx and André Breton.  Reading these manifestos for the camera is none other than actress Cate Blanchett. The New York Times' take:  "As a movie, it’s a very elaborate intellectual exercise, immaculate in every technical detail... and Ms. Blanchett’s work here is aptly cerebral. As virtuosic as her performances are, they’re purposely conscious of themselves. As an oblique examination and critique of political and art history and their various interactions over the 20th century, “Manifesto” is both witty and provocative. It is not, however, a motion picture for people seeking a plot."

Painting with Light: The Space in Between – Marina Abramović in Brazil

This 2016 documentary by Marco Del Fiol follows performance artist Marina Abramović as she travels to Brazil in search of healing and artistic inspiration through its mystical practices, and fans of 2012's Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present might enjoy checking in with this inimitable artist again. The Los Angeles Times enjoyed the piece: "The movie, filmed from 2012-13, finds Abramovic facing an eclectic, esoteric string of sacred rituals, natural curative techniques and cathartic immersions with her trademark openness, curiosity and audacity. As in her art, Abramovic freely tests the limits of her oft-exposed body. She also provides earnest, at times amusing, voice-over to accompany her eye-opening encounters." 

Design Film Festival: Blurred Lines 

Filmmaker Barry Avrich's penetrating look at the world of contemporary art offers a peek into a rarefied world of commerce and culture and may even prove enlightening for established art collectors. The Film Stage's take on Avrich's work: "With his latest film, he has boiled the art market down into a concise essay that makes economics engaging. Opening at an auction held by troublemaker art star Damien Hirst, whose work as always been critical of the commodification of art, he side-steps Christies and Sotheby’s right as Lehman Brothers is falling. The art market seems resilient in the face of a global economic calamity, just one of the rich ironies Avrich and his interviewees unpack."

Design Film Festival: Dries 

Known as one of the fashion industry's most private designers, Dries Van Noten allowed film-maker Reiner Holzemer to follow him for an entire year to shoot this documentary. The result captures the designer in his Antwerp home as well as backstage at Paris Fashion Week, and without any social media presence, this is pretty much as close as fans are going to get to his inner world. 

For the full line-ups and ticketing details, check out  designfilmfestival.com and nationalgallery.sg .

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