Верить и видеть. Искусство соборов XII-XV веков. Ролан Рехт

Книга известного историка средневекового искусства Ролана Рехта предлагает современное объяснение искусства собора как визу­альной художественной системы, включающей в себя архитектуру, скульптуру, монументальную живопись, мелкую пластику. На мате­риале многочисленных схоластических текстов и литературных па­мятников на латыни, средневерхненемецком и старофранцузском подробно рассматриваются общекультурные и религиозные усло­вия жизни, изменения в системе ценностей западноевропейского общества позднего Средневековья. В книге описаны как «классиче­ские» соборы — Шартра, Реймса, Буржа, так и малоизученные хра­мы, а также небольшие предметы ювелирного искусства, хранящие­ся в музеях всего мира.

премия Мориса Ваксмахера

Napoleon the Great. Andrew Roberts

Napoleon Bonaparte lived one of the most extraordinary of all human lives. In the space of just twenty years, from October 1795 when as a young artillery captain he cleared the streets of Paris of insurrectionists, to his final defeat at the (horribly mismanaged) battle of Waterloo in June 1815, Napoleon transformed France and Europe. After seizing power in a coup d'etat he ended the corruption and incompetence into which the Revolution had descended. In a series of dazzling battles he reinvented the art of warfare; in peace, he completely remade the laws of France, modernised her systems of education and administration, and presided over a flourishing of the beautiful 'Empire style' in the arts. The impossibility of defeating his most persistent enemy, Great Britain, led him to make draining and ultimately fatal expeditions into Spain and Russia, where half a million Frenchmen died and his Empire began to unravel. More than any other modern biographer, Andrew Roberts conveys Napoleon's tremendous energy, both physical and intellectual, and the attractiveness of his personality, even to his enemies. He has walked 53 of Napoleon's 60 battlefields, and has absorbed the gigantic new French edition of Napoleon's letters, which allows a complete re-evaluation of this exceptional man. He overturns many received opinions, including the myth of a great romance with Josephine: she took a lover immediately after their marriage, and, as Roberts shows, he had three times as many mistresses as he acknowledged.

The Prix Du Jury Des Grands Prix De La Fondation Napoleon

Churchill Factor. Boris Johnson

'He writes with gusto...the result is a book that is never boring, genuinely clever ...this book sizzles.' The Times 'The must-read biography of the year.' Evening Standard 'The point of the Churchill Factor is that one man can make all the difference.' Marking the fiftieth anniversary of Winston Churchill's death, Boris Johnson explores what makes up the 'Churchill Factor' - the singular brilliance of one of the most important leaders of the twentieth century. Taking on the myths and misconceptions along with the outsized reality, he portrays - with characteristic wit and passion-a man of multiple contradictions, contagious bravery, breath-taking eloquence, matchless strategizing, and deep humanity. Fearless on the battlefield, Churchill had to be ordered by the King to stay out of action on D-Day; he embraced large-scale strategic bombing, yet hated the destruction of war and scorned politicians who had not experienced its horrors. He was a celebrated journalist, a great orator and won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was famous for his ability to combine wining and dining with many late nights of crucial wartime decision-making. His open-mindedness made him a pioneer in health care, education, and social welfare, though he remained incorrigibly politically incorrect.

Breakfast at Sotheby's. Philip Hook

Breakfast at Sotheby's is a wry, intimate, truly revealing exploration of how art acquires its financial value, from Philip Hook, a senior director at Sotheby's. "Reading it is like participating in a hugely enjoyable personal tutorial given by a cultured, witty, clear-eyed, world teacher with a fully functioning sense of humour. A real delight". Spectator

"Hook's view of the art world is that of the professional auctioneer. In an A-Z format, it is an entire art education contained in under 350 pages. Wry, dry and completely beguiling". Guardian, Books of the Year

"How to nail the mad, bad, crazy contemporary art world in print? Sotheby's senior director Hook draws on 35 years' experience in this informal memoir. He unravels, with humour, piquancy and erudition, what drives the economics of taste". Financial Times, Books of the Year
"It's very hard to write an amusing book about art that has some serious things to say. But Philip Hook has done it". Sunday Times, Books of the Year

Возвращение времени: от античной космогонии к космологии будущего. Ли Смолин

Большинство людей считает, что время реально: меняются времена года, идут часы, человек стремится от колыбели к могиле. Большинство физиков, напротив, полагает, что время есть иллюзия — и, возможно, напрасно, как полагает известный канадский физик Ли Смолин.
Автор книг "Жизнь космоса" (1997) и "Неприятности с физикой" (2006) напоминает, что все затруднения физиков и космологов (от Большого взрыва до "теории всего") восходят к проблеме природы времени, а признание его реальности может вывести фундаментальную науку на новый уровень.

"[Smolin’s] book, a mix of science, philosophy and science fiction, is at once entertaining, thought-provoking, fabulously ambitious and fabulously speculative." —The New York Times

"Provocative, original, and unsettling." —The New York Review of Books

"Brilliant…Smolin gives what is, for me, the best analysis of the nature of time from a physics viewpoint in a popular science book I have ever seen." — Popular Science

Dirty Old London. The Victorian Fight Against Filth. Lee Jackson

‘This is a fascinating work that will engage both those interested in Victorian in general and London in particular.’— BBC History Magazine

‘This is a tightly argued, meticulously researched history of sanitation that reads like a novel.’ — The Times

‘There is an extensive bibliography and index and this makes Dirty Old London a very welcome addition to the social history of the Victorian capital. It will be useful to scholars as well as being a very enjoyable popular history which deserves a wide readership.’— The London Journal

'…well illustrated, often wry, thoroughly researched and absorbing' -- Evening Standard
'vivid, scholarly, illuminating, funny, well written and beautifully illustrated, a model of its kind' – The Independent

Каталония и Византия. От романики к готике. альбом-календарь

Издание увидело свет благодаря издательству «La Casa di Matriona» и Христианскому образовательному центру имени святых Мефодия и Кирилла в сотрудничестве с посольством Испании и Культурным центром «Покровские ворота».

Издание представила его инициатор и главный редактор – атташе по культуре посольства Ватикана в РФ, сотрудник фонда «Христи­анская Россия» Джованна Парравичини. Она уже много лет подряд создает подобные альбомы-календари, задача которых, по ее сло­вам, -- обнаружить в европейском искусстве «общие корни Визан­тии и латинской Европы, найти следы единого христианского языка средневековой культуры». Глубокое проникновение в данную тему может помочь в поисках «нового импульса для обновления Европы как христианского континента».

Новое издание «Каталония и Византия. От романики к готике» устроено по принципу календаря: на каждый месяц приходится две иллюстрации, но это единственное, что связывает его с календар­ным жанром. На самом деле – это монографическое исследование, выполненное специалистом по данной теме, снабженное не только высококачественными фотографиями фресок, миниатюр, рас­писных панелей престолов и других исключительных произведений христи­анского искусства Каталонии, но также вступительной ста­тьей, подробным обзором каталонского искусства и комментариями к каждому изображению. Автор календаря – преподаватель Барсе­лонского университета Роза Алькой. Ее задачей было показать, что, несмотря на значительное расстояние, отделяющее Каталонию от христианского Востока, образцы византийского искусства были хо­рошо известны на этих землях, куда они приходили разными путя­ми.

Mies. Detlef Mertins

Unprecedented in scope and illustrated with more than 700 original drawings, plans, diagrams, and contemporary and archival photographs, Mies by Detlef Mertins is the most definitive monograph ever published on the modern master of architecture Mies van der Rohe. Mertins’ rich and highly readable text traces the aesthetic and intellectual context for all Mies’ work, with in–depth discussions of his most important projects. Featuring some of the twentieth century’s most iconic buildings, such as the Barcelona Pavilion in Spain, the Crown Hall at IIT, and the Seagram Building in New York, Mies paints a fascinating portrait of the famed architect whose contribution to the modern urban landscape cannot be overlooked.

Структура научных революций. Томас Кун

Томас Кун - выдающийся историк и философ науки XX в. Его тео­рия научных революций как смены парадигм стала фундаментом современной методологии и философии науки, предопределив само понимание науки и научного знания в современном обще­стве.
На первый взгляд Кун не открывает ничего нового, о наличии в развитии науки нормальных и революционных периодов говори­ли многие авторы. Но они не смогли найти аргументированного ответа на вопросы: "Чем отличаются небольшие, постепенные, количественные изменения от изменений коренных, качествен­ных, в том числе революционных?", "Как эти коренные сдвиги на­зревают и подготавливаются в предшествующий период?". Не случайно поэтому история науки нередко излагается как простой перечень фактов и открытий. При таком подходе прогресс в нау­ке сводится к простому накоплению и росту научного знания (ку­муляции), вследствие чего не раскрываются внутренние законо­мерности происходящих в процессе познания изменений. Этот кумулятивистский подход и критикует Кун в своей книге, противо­поставляя ему свою концепцию развития науки через периодиче­ски происходящие революции.
Кратко теория Куна состоит в следующем: периоды спокойного развития (периоды "нормальной науки") сменяются кризисом, ко­торый может разрешиться революцией, заменяющей господствую­щую парадигму. Под парадигмой Кун понимает об­щепризнанную совокупность понятий, теории и методов исследо­вания, которая дает научному сообществу модель постановки проблем и их решений.

Религиозные войны во Франции XVI в. Новые источники, новые исследования, новая периодизация

Коллективный труд ведущих отечественных и французских исто­риков, посвященный 450-летней годовщине начала вооруженного противостояния католиков и протестантов во Франции XVI столе­тия, отражает различные аспекты масштабных гражданских войн, вошедших в историю как Гугенотские, или Религиозные.Этот кон­фликт, который продолжался почти сорок лет, разобщив Фран­цию религиозно и политически и поставив ее на грань националь­ной катастрофы, в итоге закончился сплочением страны и превращением ее в могущественное европейское государство: его парадоксальным итогом стало укрепление и утверждение аб­солютной монархии, получившей свое классическое воплощение в последующее время.На основе новых источников, в том числе хранящихся в России, авторы пересматривают сложившиеся прежде представления и мифы о Религиозных войнах, их перио­дизацию, пытаясь добиться объективного понимания истоков, проявлений и итогов религиозного конфликта, оказавшего огром­ное влияние на все развитие европейской цивилизации Нового времени.

National Gallery

The National Gallery in London is one of the great museums of the world with 2400 paintings from the 13th to the end of the 19th century. Almost every human experience is represented in one or the other of the paintings. The sequences of the film show the public in various galleries; the education programs, and the scholars, scientists and curators, studying, restoring and planning the exhibitions. The relation between painting and storytelling is explored.

Chicago International Film Festival  Award

Art and Craft. Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman

When one of the most prolific art forgers in US history is finally exposed, he must confront the legacy of his 30-year con.

A funny, fascinating, too-good-to-be-true documentary about Mark Landis, one of the world's most prolific art forgers, who for over 30 years has duped museums across the country--until one determined registrar sets out to stop him.

National Board of Review Award
Satellite Awards, Nominated

Bird's Nest - Herzog & De Meuron in China. Christoph Schaub, Michael Schindhelm

Schaub and Schindhelm’s documentary follows two Swiss star architects on two very different projects: the national stadium for the Olympic summer games in Peking 2008 and a city area in the provincial town of Jinhua, China. Architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron are literally building bridges between two cultures, two architectural traditions, and two political systems. Their work doesn’t simply enhance China’s great international debut, but serves the everyday needs of the Chinese population. “Bird’s Nest” presents the Basle architects as they find solutions not in the comfort of an ivory tower but in encounters and friction on the ground.

El Greco. Yannis Smaragdis

The film is an epic tale of Domenicos Theotokopoulos, best known as El Greco, a great Greek artist of the 16th century with an uncompromising character, who sets off from his homeland Crete and goes to Venice and finally Toledo, in search of freedom and love. There he is confronted by his greatest adversary, the Spanish Inquisition, but his creative consciousness and power make him stand out and overcome barbarity and ignorance.

Being imprisoned and awaiting execution by the Spanish Inquisition, Domenicos (Nick Ashdon) writes out his story, thus parts of his life play out in extended flashbacks. Born on the island of Crete, which was part of the Republic of Venice, he falls in love with Francesca (Dimitra Matsouka), daughter of the Venetian governor of Crete. But his father is preparing a political rebellion and as a result Domenicos leaves the island and moves to Venice, away from the young woman. There he meets the famous painter Titian (Sotiris Moustakas) and the Spanish priest Fernando Niño de Guevara (Juan Diego Botto). Guevara immediately shows a confused interest in Domenicos, and, when roiled by the Greek - and fighting personal demons - calls Domenicos before the Inquisition where he must defend himself against charges of Heresy.

Goya Award, 12 wins & 2 nominations

Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies. Альберт Гендельштейн

Produced by Martin Scorsese and Robert Greenhut and directed by Arne Glimcher, PICASSO AND BRAQUE GO TO THE MOVIES is a cinematic tour through the effects of the technological revolution, specifically the invention of aviation, the creation of cinema and their interdependent influence on artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. With narration by Scorsese, and interviews with art scholars and artists including Chuck Close, Julian Schnabel and Eric Fischl, the film looks at the collision between film and art at the turn of the 20th Century and helps us to realize cinema's continuing influence on the art of our time.

Strauss, R: Der Rosenkavalier. Salzburg Festival 2014

Krassimira Stoyanova (The Feldmarschallin), Sophie Koch (Octavian), Mojca Erdmann (Sophie), Silvana Dussmann (Marianne Leitmetzerin), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (Annina), Günther Groissböck (Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau), Adrian Eröd (Herr von Faninal), Kresimir Spicer (Valzacchi), Stefan Pop (A Singer), Tobias Kehrer (A police inspector), Martin Piskorski (Faninal's Major-Domo), Franz Supper (The Marschallin's Major-Domo), Lucas Singer (A notary), Roman Sadnik (An Innkeeper)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Franz Welser-Möst

This unabbreviated version of The Rosenkavalier from Salzburg Festival 2014 became a triumph and received fantastic reviews.

Herbert von Karajan Musikpreis - Wiener Philharmoniker

Bellini: Norma

Staged by Jürgen Rose, Directed by Brian Large

Edita Gruberova (Norma), Zoran Todorovich (Pollione), Sonia Ganassi (Adalgisa), Roberto Scandiuzzi (Oroveso), Markus Herzog (Flavio)

“Edita Gruberová… is revealed as the great Norma of today. Her singing and acting bring out the complete portrait of the guilt-ridden priestess, trapped between her sense of duty to her religion and country, and the sickening prospect of losing her lover and her children. Jürgen Rose, in total control of the production - stage direction, lighting, costumes and sets - succeeds where many have failed in the past. The semi-abstract sets are beautiful, the costumes simple. Friedrich Haider conducts the Munich forces with fine urgency and an impeccable understanding of the grand sweep of this notoriously tricky work. The whole undertaking is a triumph for all concerned...” Gramophone Magazine

Herbert von Karajan Musikpreis - Edita Gruberova

Moderato Cantabile (Komitas / Gurdjieff / Mompou). Anja Lechner & François Couturier

Orient et Occident. C’est ainsi que le duo formé par Anja Lechner et Franҫois Couturier devait initialement s’appeler. Finalement, la violoncelliste allemande et le pianiste français ont opté pour un sobriquet un brin plus poétique et moins lourd de signification : Moderato cantabile. Est-ce par goût pour cette indication musicale sur le rythme, modéré (moderato) et chantant (cantabile) ? Ou en référence au roman de Marguerite Duras ? Quoi qu’il en soit, après une décennie de travail en commun au sein du Tarkovsky Quartet et une alliance en cours dans le projet Il Pergolese, Lechner et Couturier présentent ici leurs arrangements des œuvres de trois compositeurs fascinants: George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, Komitas et Federico Mompou. À plusieurs degrés, leur musique révèle des sonorités de l’Est, en termes de relations entre folklore et musique religieuse, et en termes philosophiques. D’une certaine manière, le violoncelle prend presque le rôle d’un chanteur et les trois compositions de François Couturier fonctionnent comme des éléments contrastés mais complémentaires. Le résultat final est un disque sublime, enregistré au studio Lugano en novembre 2013 par Manfred Eicher pour son label ECM. Un album offrant une unité d’émotion totale que le dialogue et la complicité qui s’installent entre les deux musiciens ne fait qu’amplifier.  MD/Qobuz

Tavener: Akhmatova Requiem

Phyllis Bryn-Julson (soprano) & John Shirley-Quirk (bass-baritone). BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Elise Ross (soprano)
John Tavener first came to public attention in 1968 with the premiere of his oratorio The Whale at the inaugural concert of the London Sinfonietta; The Beatles subsequently recorded this piece on their Apple label. Akhmatova Requiem will be performed at London's Barbican on 5 October as part of BBC Total Immersion: John Tavener Remembered Tavener's avant-garde style of the seventies contrasts with the contemplative beauty of his later works, for which he is best known, yet he spirituality and mysticism is still present. Akhmatova Requiem (1980) sets a sequence of poems written during the Stalinist purges of the 1930s by Anna Akhmatova, describing the terror of having her family and friends arrested and imprisoned, and the lines of relatives waiting hopelessly outside Leningrad jail. To her poems, Tavener added prayers from the Russian Orthodox funeral service which are sung on this recording by bass-baritone John Shirley-Quirk. Six Russian Folk Songs (1978) represent, in the composer's words, 'a musical sigh of relief' and a complete contrast to the pain and sorrow of the Requiem; they were written for the Nash Ensemble's 15th anniversary in 1979. Simple settings of folk lyrics, their melodic nature recalls Tchaikovsky's songs.

This recording was previously issued by Carlton Classics in its BBC Radio Classics series.

NMC: NMCD208

Hartmann, K: Simplicius Simplicissimus

Juliane Banse (soprano), Peter Marsch (tenor), Will Hartmann (tenor). Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra & Netherlands Radio Choir, Markus Stenz

This Hybrid SACD recording of Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s unique anti-war opera Simplicius Simplicissimus marks an important step in the continuing reappraisal of his oeuvre, following Challenge Classics’ recent release of all eight symphonies by the 20th century German composer (CC72583). Recorded live at the opera’s Dutch premiere in 2012, Markus Stenz conducts the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Choir and a fine cast of singers led by celebrated soprano Juliane Banse in the title role. Karl Amadeus Hartmann ranks among the leading German composers of the 20th century. A substantial amount of his music, which includes eight symphonies and chamber works, had its origins in one of the darkest eras in world history, the years between 1933 and 1945 when the Nazis were in power. This period, in which Hartmann gradually withdrew from public life, represented a decisive turning point in his creative development. Before that time Hartmann had adopted a neoclassical style, but with no prospect of any performances of his work in sight, he subsequently created a musical language which, besides bearing the influences of Bach, Bruckner and Beethoven, was also highly indebted to those composers whose music the Nazis had banned, such as Mahler, Berg, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Bartók. He employs this language not only in his symphonies and many of his chamber works, but also in his anti-war opera Simplicius Simplicissimus, based on the 1669 novel Der Abenteuerliche Simplicissimus by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen. Simplicius Simplicissimus was originally written for voices and chamber orchestra in the mid-1930s and first performed in 1948, but Hartmann went on to score it for full orchestra in 1956. It is the latter version that Stenz chose for this recording.

“Markus Stenz's fine performance – with an oustanding Juliane Banse as the naive shepherd boy, Simplicius... – was recorded in 2012 at one of Netherlands Radio's invaluable Saturday matinees...Stenz and his cast capture [its] raw intensity very truthfully.” The Guardian
“Leading a strong cast, Juliane Banse as the shepherd brilliantly meets the soprano part's technical challenges while evoking the naivety of the idealistic character...[Stenz] proves himself an ideal exponent of conviction and intensity.” BBC Music Magazine

“The cast throughout is an excellent one. In particular, Juliane Banse makes of the title role a 'holy fool' of slowly intensifying awareness, her rich-toned soprano pivoting between song and speech with assurance...Stenz sets alert and attentive playing from the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic: his rendering of the Overture...is the most persuasive yet on disc.” International Record Review

Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice

Hating Empire Properly. The Two Indies and the Limits of Enlightenment Anticolonialism. Sunil M. Agnani

In Hating Empire Properly, Sunil Agnani produces a novel attempt to think the eighteenth-century imagination of the West and East Indies together, arguing that this is how contempor­ary thinkers Edmund Burke and Denis Diderot actually viewed them. This concern with multiple geographical spaces is re­vealed to be a largely unacknowledged part of the matrix of Enlightenment thought in which eighteenth-century European and American self-conceptions evolved. By focusing on colonial spaces of the Enlightenment, especially India and Haiti, he demonstrates how Burke's fearful view of the French Re­volution—the defining event of modernity— as shaped by prior reflection on these other domains. Exploring with sympathy the angry outbursts against injustice in the writings of Diderot, he nonetheless challenges re­cent understandings of him as a univocal critic of empire by showing the persistence of a fantasy of consensual colonialism in his thought. By looking at the impasses and limits in the thought of both radical and con­servative writers, Agnani asks what it means to critique empire “properly.” Drawing his method from Theodor Adorno’s quip that “one must have tradition in oneself, in order to hate it properly,” he proposes a critical inhabiting of dominant forms of reason as a way forward for the critique of both empire and Enlightenment.
 
Harry Levin Prize

Щегол. Донна Тартт

Роман, который лауреат Пулитцеровской премии Донна Тартт писала более 10 лет, — огромное эпическое полотно о силе искусства и о том, как оно — подчас совсем не так, как нам того хочется — способно перевернуть всю нашу жизнь. 13-летний Тео Декер чудом остался жив после взрыва, в котором погибла его мать. Брошенный отцом, без единой родной души на всем свете, он скитается по приемным домам и чужим семьям — от Нью-Йорка до Лас-Вегаса, — и его единственным утешением, которое, впрочем, чуть не приводит к его гибели, становится украденный им из музея шедевр голландского старого мастера.

Amazon selected The Goldfinch as the 2013 Best Book of the Year. The novel was shortlisted for 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award and the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2014. It was also awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Ex­cellence in Fiction for 2014.

Philosophy Between the Lines: The Lost History of Esoteric Writing. Arthur M. Melzer

Philosophical esotericism—the practice of communicating one’s un­orthodox thoughts “between the lines”—was a common practice until the end of the eighteenth century. The famous Encyclopédie of Di­derot, for instance, not only discusses this practice in over twenty dif­ferent articles, but admits to employing it itself. The history of Western thought contains hundreds of such statements by major philosophers testifying to the use of esoteric writing in their own work or others’. Despite this long and well-documented history, however, esotericism is often dismissed today as a rare occurrence. But by ignoring esoteri­cism, we risk cutting ourselves off from a full understanding of West­ern philosophical thought.

Arthur M. Melzer serves as our deeply knowledgeable guide in this ca­pacious and engaging history of philosophical esotericism. Walking readers through both an ancient (Plato) and a modern (Machiavelli) esoteric work, he explains what esotericism is—and is not. It relies not on secret codes, but simply on a more intensive use of familiar rhetor­ical techniques like metaphor, irony, and insinuation. Melzer explores the various motives that led thinkers in different times and places to engage in this strange practice, while also exploring the motives that lead more recent thinkers not only to dislike and avoid this practice but to deny its very existence. In the book’s final section, “A Beginner’s Guide to Esoteric Reading,” Melzer turns to how we might once again cultivate the long-forgotten art of reading esoteric works

Philosophy Between the Lines is the first comprehensive, book-length study of the history and theoretical basis of philosophical esotericism, and it provides a crucial guide to how many major writings—philo­sophical, but also theological, political, and literary—were composed prior to the nineteenth century.

Рауль Валленберг. Исчезнувший герой Второй мировой. Бенгт Янгфельдт

"Иногда слово "герой" является наиболее адекватным описанием честного и смелого человека. Рауль Валленберг – как раз такой че­ловек."

Лауреат премий Августа Стриндберга и Лэнгманского фонда культуры, знаток литературы и истории, профессор кафедры сла­вистики Стокгольмского университета, автор книг о Владимире Мая­ковском и Иосифе Бродском, Бенгт Янгфельдт – едва ли не са­мый известный шведский славист. Его книга "Рауль Валленберг. Исчезнувший герой Второй мировой" – это на сегодняшний день самое подробное исследование жизни и гибели шведского бизне­смена, во время Второй мировой войны в оккупированной Венгрии спасшего от смерти много тысяч евреев. Многие факты биографии Валленберга до недавних пор были засекречены. Янгфельдту уда­лось получить доступ к ранее недоступным шведским архивам и восстановить в подробностях хронологию последних дней Валлен­берга в Будапеште и его пребывания в советских застенках. Книга "Рауль Валленберг. Исчезнувший герой Второй мировой" стала бестселлером во многих странах, а теперь наконец выходит на рус­ском языке.

Структура реальности. Наука о параллельных вселенных. Дэвид Дойч

Самая интересная научпоп-книга ярмарки. Non/fiction Но не со­всем научпоп. Это книга, написанная в жанре, будто бы из совре­менности исчезнувшим: объяснение всего. Британский фи­зик-теоретик Дэвид Дойч сталкивает квантовую физику, эпистемоло­гию Поппера, теорию эволюции в варианте Докинза и еще пару научных течений и пытается доказать существование параллель­ных вселенных. Почти как в комиксах, только всерьез.

Великие улицы. Аллан Б. Джекобс

«Великие улицы» — уникальное по своему охвату исследование. На примере Рамблы в Барселоне, Строгет в Копенгагене, Пятой авеню в Нью-Йорке, бульвара Сан-Мишель в Париже и многих других «канонических» артерий наиболее посещаемых городов мира автор убедительно доказывает, что в структуре любого мегаполиса именно улицы играют ключевую роль, формируя его узнаваемое «лицо» и определяя уровень доступности и комфортности его среды. Однако по-настоящему востребованными горожанами улицы становятся лишь в том случае, когда служат не только для перемещения людей и товаров с одного места на другое, но способны стать пространством универсальной коммуникации.

Переведена на русский язык по заказу Правительства Москвы, Москомархитектуры и при поддержке Департамента СМИ и рекламы города Москвы.

Experimental music: Cage and Beyond. Michael Nyman

Michael Nyman's book is a first-hand account of experimental music from 1950 to 1970. First published in 1974, it has remained the classic text on a significant form of music making and composing that de­veloped alongside, and partly in opposition to, the postwar modernist tradition of composers such as Boulez, Berio, or Stockhausen. The experimentalist par excellence was John Cage whose legendary 4' 33'' consists of four minutes and thirty three seconds of silence to be performed on any instrument. Such pieces have a conceptual rather than purely musical starting point and radically challenge conventional notions of the musical work. Nyman's book traces the revolutionary at­titudes that were developed toward concepts of time, space, sound, and composer/performer responsibility. It was within the experimental tradition that the seeds of musical minimalism were sown and the book contains reference to the early works of Reich, Riley, Young, and Glass. This second edition contains a new Foreword, an updated discography, and a historical overview by the author.

Проблемы итальянского Возрождения. Эудженио Гарэн

Бурное развитие итальянских городов-государств привело в XV – XVI вв. к появлению ряда концепций радикального преобразования городского пространства: видный итальянский историк культуры Эудженио Гарэн (1909-2008) исследует этот сюжет на примере на­бросков Леонардо да Винчи и трудов крупнейших представителей философии итальянского гуманизма. Став точкой слияния новых тенденций изобразительного искусства (внимание к человеку и его физической красоте трансформировалось в разговор об идеальном теле города) и философско-политической мысли (совершенство планиметрии подчеркивало безупречность государственного строя, его соответствие законам человеческой — гуманистической — при­роды), архитектура Возрождения занялась строительством цивили­зации нового типа. Главная практическая задача заключалась в этой связи не столько в поиске художественных решений, сколько в объектном воплощении идеи социальной сегрегации: как «по спра­ведливости» и без ущерба для городской экономики отделить аре­ал обитания простого люда — носителя средневековой ментальности — от полиса «достойных граждан»? Несмотря на универсалистские амбиции, архитекторы Возрождения строили все же не «град небесный», а «град земной» — и потому поиск решения этой проблемы, так и не найденного в пространстве реального города, перевел дискуссию в плоскость чистой философии, став одной из причин появления утопий — идеальных городов и стран, смодели­рованных на страницах литературных произведений.

Science Business: The Promise, the Reality, and the Future of Biotech. Gary P. Pisano

Why has the biotechnology industry failed to perform up to expecta­tions despite all its promise? In Science Business, Professor Gary Pisano answers this question by providing an incisive critique of the industry. Pisano not only reveals the underlying causes of biotech's problems; he offers the most sophisticated analysis yet on how the in­dustry works. And he provides clear prescriptions for companies, in­vestors, and policymakers seeking ways to improve the industry's per­formance. The payoff? Valuable improvements in health care and a shinier future for human well-being. Named Best Biotech Book in 2007 by strategy+business.

Однажды в лесу (Il etait une foret)

Фильм приглашает Вас отправиться в путешествие по местам, ошеломительным по своей красоте, которые вы никогда не видели раньше. Опираясь на последние научные исследования авторам фильма удалось запечатлеть всю прелесть тропического леса, растущего прямо на глазах у зрителей. Фильм представляет собой полное погружение в мир первозданной природы, позволяющий зрителям открывать самые сокровенные тайны живой природы. Добро пожаловать в самое сердце жизни на Земле!

Cesar Nomination

Keep on Keepin' On. Alan Hicks

KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON depicts the remarkable story of 93-year-old jazz legend Clark Terry. A living monument to the Golden Era of Jazz, having played in both the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands. He broke racial barriers on American television and mentored the likes of Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, but his most unlikely friendship is with Justin Kauflin, a 23-year old blind piano prodigy. Justin, fighting a debilitating case of stage fright, is invited to com­pete in a prestigious competition, while Clark’s health takes a serious turn. The two face the toughest challenges of their lives. The result is an intimate portrait of two remarkable men–a student striving against all odds and a teacher who continues to inspire through the power of music.

Newport Beach Film Festival Honors
Seattle International Film Festival Award
Tribeca Film Festival  Award

Bolshoi: Ballet Classics

В ролях: Екатерина Максимова, Владимир Васильев, Габриэла Ком­лева. Режиссер: Виктор Окунцов

• Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker / Vassiliev, Maximova, Bolshoi Ballet. 1978
• Sergei Prokofiev: Cinderella
  Режиссер: Виктор Окунцов. В ролях: Габриэла Комлева, Даукаев Ма­рат, Любовь Галинская. 1985, 79 мин.
• Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci / Atlantov, Kalinina, Morozov, Grigoriev, Bolshoi Opera. 1985, 72 мин.

ZYX music

Лермонтов

Режиссер: Альберт Гендельштейн

1943 г., 77 мин., СССР
Кинокомпания: Союздетфильм
В ролях: Алексей Консовский, Андрей Файт, Сергей Мартинсон, Лидия Сухаревская, Павел Массальский, Нина Шатерникова
Автор сценария – Константин Паустовский

Поэтическая киноверсия жизни Михаила Юрьевича от первых его дней до последнего мгновения. Страдающий, радостно-взволнованный, одухотворенный, мятежный - таким предстает перед зрителем великий русский поэт в гениальных строчках его стихов, в глубоких размышлениях, в смелых и дерзких поступках.

David Garrett: Caprice

David Garrett, Andrea Bocelli, Nicole Scherzinger

David Garrett collaborates with Andrea Bocelli and Nicole Scherzinger on new album.
The album, which beautifully showcases both David’s skills as a violinist and his deft touch as a composer of modern classical music, features collaborations with An­drea Bocelli and Nicole Scherzinger.

Bambi Prize - Seemingly without any efforts he manages to build a bridge between Mozart and Michael Jackson. The great violinist entices people to come to his sold out tour even if they might not have been interested in clas­sical music before. David Garrett breaks down all music­al barriers between different genres. By combining clas­sic, rock, pop and jazz, his music breaks all resistance in the record industry. The incredible success of his cross-over music style can be measured by all his awards. Three times he has been awarded the “Echo Klassik” and the “Echo” which honours the best pop musicians.

Le Flem: Aucassin et Nicolette

Delphine Haidan, Stanislas de Barbeyrac & Mélanie Boisvert. Soliste de Lyon & Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, Nicolas Chalvin

A century ago there was one show that really pulled in the crowds, long before cinema, and that was shadow puppetry. Music accompanied the story line, and one French composer excelled in this - Paul Le Flem. Over a medieval background, Le Flem wrote a beautiful picture book to accompany Aucassin et Nicolette, with a pro­logue and three parts. This release is a true discovery and should not be missed.

Stanislas de Barbeyrac - Victoires de la musique classique Award

Timpani 1C1188

Chopin: Preludes

Award-winning pianist Ingrid Fliter performs Chopin’s Op.28, a poetic collection of great emotional power and unrivalled artistic quality which demands high virtuosity.

After the overwhelming success of her Linn debut Fliter has proven herself an outstanding Chopin interpreter; ‘Chopin: Piano Concertos’ was named ‘Disc of the Week’ by BBC Radio 3 ‘CD Review’, ‘Album of the Week’ by Classic FM, a ‘Choice’ recording by Gramophone and re­ceived many five star reviews.

“The Argentinian pianist... brings a powerful and individual voice to the Preludes. The first feature that stands out is her tone quality: forthright, with warm and singing legato. She puts an individual spin on tempos and character...” BBC Music Magazine
Gramophone Magazine Disc of the Month

Tchaikovsky - Manfred Symphony

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Pet­renko

Written between the fourth and fifth symphonies, Tchaikovsky’s programmatic Manfred Symphony, in­spired by Byron’s dramatic poem of the same name, contains some of the composer’s most thrillingly orches­trated music and best tunes. For Tchaikovsky, as for Byron, Manfred represented the figure of the outsider, an outcast from society.

Petrenko’s Liverpool debut with the Phil in November 2004, and subsequent appearances in October and December 2005, created huge excitement: “…memor­able for the sheer electricity emanating from the podium. Instantly there was a sense of dialogue between con­ductor and musicians, between one orchestral family and another, between one phrase and the next, to re­lease natural-seeming eloquence from his players.” The Daily Telegraph

"[Vasily Petrenko] seems to have everything going for him: dynamism, taste, confident command and clarity of communication….What an exciting conductor he is to watch, and, even more so, to hear in action.” The Daily Telegraph

Gramophone Awards
Naxos 8570568

Samuel Johnson Prize 2014 shortlist

Roy Jenkins
by John Campbell
Roy Jenkins was probably the best Prime Minister Britain never had. But though he never reached 10 Downing Street, he left a more enduring mark on British society than most of those who did. His career spans the full half-century from Attlee to Tony Blair during which he helped transform almost every area of na­tional life and politics. His biography is the story of an exceptionally well-filled and well-rounded life.

Empire of Necessity 
by Greg Grandin
One morning in 1805, off a remote island in the South Pacific, seal hunter and abolitionist Captain Amasa Delano climbed aboard the Tryal, a distressed Span­ish slaver. He spent all day on the ship, sharing food and water, yet failed to see that the slaves, having slaughtered most of the crew, were now their own mas­ters. Later, when Delano caught on, he chased the ship down, responding with barbaric violence. Drawing on never-before-consulted records on four contin­ents, Greg Grandin follows this group of courageous slaves and their persecutor from the horrors of the Middle Passage to their explosive confrontation. Wretched Tryal is a gripping account of obsessive mania, imperial exploitation, and lost ideals, set against the epic backdrop of the Age of Revolution that was remaking the world.

Village of Secrets: Defying the Nazis in Vichy France
by Caroline Moorehead
From the author of the New York Times bestseller A Train in Winter comes the extraordinary story of a French village that helped save thousands who were pursued by the Gestapo during World War II. High up in the mountains of the southern Massif Central in France lie tiny, remote villages united by a long and particular history. During the Nazi occupation, the inhabitants of Le Cham­bon-sur-Lignon and the other villages of the Plateau Vivarais Lignon saved several thousand people from the concentration camps.

H is for Hawk
by Helen Macdonald
Destined to be a classic of nature writing, H is for Hawk is a record of a spiritual journey - an unflinchingly honest account of Macdonald's struggle with grief dur­ing the difficult process of the hawk's taming and her own untaming. At the same time, it's a kaleidoscopic biography of the brilliant and troubled novelist T. H. White, best known for The Once and Future King. It's a book about memory, nature and nation, and how it might be possible to try to reconcile death with life and love.

Common People 
by Alison Light
Family history is a massive phenomenon of our times but what are we after when we go in search of our ancestors? Beginning with her grandparents, Alis­on Light moves between the present and the past in an extraordinary series of journeys over two centuries, across Britain and beyond.  Needlemakers, sailors, servants, bricklayers - how is the historian to understand the lives of those for­bears who left few traces except the barest record: no diaries, letters, or posses­sions, and sometimes not even a grave? Or the suffering of those individuals deemed paupers, like her great-grandmother, born in the workhouse and dying in an asylum? Epic in scope and deep in feeling, Common People is a family history but also a new kind of public history, following the lives of the migrants who travelled the country looking for work.

The Iceberg: A Memoir 
by Marion Coutts
In 2008 the art critic Tom Lubbock was diagnosed with a brain tumour. The tu­mour was located in the area controlling speech and language, and would even­tually rob him of the ability to speak. He died early in 2011. Marion Coutts was his wife. In short bursts of beautiful, textured prose, Coutts describes the eight­een months leading up to her partner's death. This book is an account of a fam­ily unit, man, woman, young child, under assault, and how the three of them fought to keep it intact. Written with extraordinary narrative force and power, The Iceberg is almost shocking in its rawness. It charts the deterioration of Tom's speech even as it records the developing language of his child. Fury, selfish­ness, grief, indignity and impotence are all examined and brought to light. Yet out of this comes a rare story about belonging, an 'adventure of being and dying'.

Global Crisis. War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century. Geoffrey Parker

Revolutions, droughts, famines, invasions, wars, regicides – the calamities of the mid-seventeenth century were not only unpreceden­ted, they were agonisingly widespread.  A global crisis extended from England to Japan, and from the Russian Empire to sub-Saharan Africa. North and South America, too, suffered turbulence. The distin­guished historian Geoffrey Parker examines first-hand accounts of men and women throughout the world describing what they saw and suffered during a sequence of political, economic and social crises that stretched from 1618 to the 1680s. Parker also deploys scientific evidence concerning climate conditions of the period, and his use of ‘natural’ as well as ‘human’ archives transforms our understanding of the World Crisis. Changes in the prevailing weather patterns during the 1640s and 1650s – longer and harsher winters, and cooler and wetter summers – disrupted growing seasons, causing dearth, malnu­trition, and disease, along with more deaths and fewer births. Some contemporaries estimated that one-third of the world died, and much of the surviving historical evidence supports their pessimism.

The British Academy Medal
Distinguished Bok Award, Society for Military History
PROSE Awards, American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence
Heineken Prize Laureate, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

How Asia Works: Success and Failure in the World's Most Dynamic Region. Joe Studwell

In the 1980s and 1990s many in the West came to believe in the myth of an East-Asian economic miracle. Japan was going to dominate, then China. Countries were called “tigers” or “mini-dragons,” and were seen as not just development prodigies, but as a unified bloc, cultur­ally and economically similar, and inexorably on the rise.

Joe Studwell has spent two decades as a reporter in the region, and The Financial Times said he “should be named chief myth-buster for Asian business.” In How Asia Works, Studwell distills his extensive re­search into the economies of nine countries—Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China—into an accessible, readable narrative that debunks Western misconceptions, shows what really happened in Asia and why, and for once makes clear why some countries have boomed while others have languished.

“Pithy, well-written and intellectually vigorous... Studwell’s thesis is bold, his arguments persuasive, and his style pugnacious. It adds up to a highly readable and important book.”— Financial Times

“Provocative… How Asia Works is a striking and enlightening book … A lively mix of scholarship, reporting and polemic.”— The Econom­ist

The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. Erik Brynjolfsson, Andrew McAfee

A revolution is under way. In recent years, Google’s autonomous cars have logged thousands of miles on American highways and IBM’s Watson trounced the best hu­man Jeopardy! players. Digital technologies—with hardware, soft­ware, and networks at their core—will in the near future diagnose dis­eases more accurately than doctors can, apply enormous data sets to transform retailing, and accomplish many tasks once considered uniquely human.

In The Second Machine Age, MIT’s Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee—two thinkers at the forefront of their field—reveal the forces driving the reinvention of our lives and our economy. As the full im­pact of digital technologies is felt, we will realize immense bounty in the form of dazzling personal technology, advanced infrastructure, and near-boundless access to the cultural items that enrich our lives.

Медийный город. Скотт Маккуайр

Книга Маккуайра приятно выделяется на фоне мутного потока ли­тературы по медиатеории. Автор не пытается подражать Мар­шаллу Маклюэну, не делает сенсационных заявлений, не прибе­гает к дешевым риторическим приемам. Его кумир — тонкий на­блюдатель Вальтер Беньямин, точно передавший в своих эссе дух первой половины ХХ века. Маккуайр надеется проделать то же самое с нашим временем. Но оригинальность его замысла не в этом, а в удивительном проекте — археологии городской образ­ности. Например, Маккуайр прослеживает те изменения, которые вносит изобретение фотографии в городской ландшафт: фото Парижа не просто фиксируют его «османизацию», сам барон Осман — порождение духа фотографии. Другой пример: Макку­айр показывает, как утверждение «взгляда на город сверху» свя­зано с прогрессом военных технологий — после ковровых бом­бардировок Роттердама и Дрездена города перестают восприни­маться как то, что нужно занять, но исключительно как то, что нужно уничтожить. Постнаука

Архитектор Фёдор Шехтель. Энциклопедия творчества

Государственный музей архитектуры им. А.В. Щусева совместно с Издательским Домом «Красивые дома пресс» выпускает двух­томник «Архитектор Фёдор Шехтель. Энциклопедия творчества».Беспрецедентное издание – результат 30-летней научной работы Людмилы Владимировны Сайгиной, старшего научного сотрудника, хранителя фондов графики Музея. Книга посвящена творчеству выдающегося зодчего Федора Осиповича Шехтеля (1859–1926). Это первая столь полная и строго докумен­тированная работа биографического жанра, посвященная круп­нейшему архитектору русского модерна. Исследование представ­ляет собой каталог графического наследия, в который вошли все сохранившиеся работы архитектора: редкие архивные и совре­менные эксклюзивные фотографии объектов и предметов деко­ративно-прикладного искусства, и, кроме того, сохранившаяся на сегодняшний день журнальная, театральная и архитектурная гра­фика, письма и документы (более 1200 единиц). Материалы, опубликованные в книге, принадлежат фондам как Музея архи­тектуры, так и других крупных музеев и архивов, среди которых: Государственный центральный театральный музей имени А.А. Бахрушина, Государственный Литературный музей, Центральный государственный архив города Москвы и т.д. В книгу включены публикации историка архитектуры Е. И. Кириченко и других вид­ных российских исследователей и реставраторов.

Избранные произведения Леонардо да Винчи

Том 1: Глава «О падении тел. О трении»
Том 2: Глава «Спор живописца с поэтом, музыкантом и скульптором»

Рукописи да Винчи, посвященные самым разным областям зна­ний, дошли до наших дней в виде множества разрозненных фраг­ментов и свидетельствуют о том, как сильно Леонардо опередил свое время. Переводчики и составители сборника его литератур­ных произведений стремились в полной мере раскрыть широту интересов и отразить универсализм Леонардо-художника и Леонардо-ученого.

Первый том сборника охватывает научные и инженерные изыска­ния да Винчи. Второй том посвящен Леонардо-художнику, также в него вошли басни, фацетии и предсказания. Кроме текстов да Винчи издание содержит репродукции рисунков и чертежей из его рукописей, а также подробные комментарии переводчиков. Текст печатается по академическому двухтомнику 1935 года, выпущен­ному издательством «Академия» в серии «Искусствоведение». В первый том внесены правки переводчика Василия Павловича Зу­бова, сделанные им на полях личного экземпляра.

Китайские мегатренды. 8 столпов нового общества. Джон и Дорис Нейсбит

Автор книги Джон Нейсбит прославился, опубликовав в конце 1980-х книгу «Мегатренды», в основу которой лег глубокий ана­лиз особенностей развития американского общества конца XX века и их роли в мировой экономике. Книга обрела невероятную популярность не только в США, но и в Китае. После этого в 1996 году Цзян Цзэминь, тогда генеральный секретарь ЦК КПК, лично предложил Нейсбиту поработать над аналогичной книгой, посвя­щенной Китаю.
Нейсбит утверждает, что китайская парадигма развития принци­пиально отличается от любых других, существующих в Европе или США, и не поддается описанию с помощью имеющегося в этих странах политического словаря. Книга «Китайские мегатрен­ды. 8 столпов нового общества» путем анализа политической, экономической и социальной моделей Китая приводит к объясне­нию феномена экономического чуда.

150 лет современного искусства. Уилл Гомперц

Инструкция по эксплуатации современного искусства от бывшего директора галереи Tate и действующего арт-директора BBC, рассказанная с шутками и анекдотами. Отказавшись от серьезно­сти и нравоучительного тона, Гомперц пытается объяснить, за­чем нужно было выставлять писсуар Дюшана в музее и почему вы на самом деле никогда бы не смогли нарисовать «Чёрный квадрат» Малевича.

“[A] highly lucid, lively, and buoyantly composed history…while his tone is breezy and conversational, [Gompertz] astutely and often wittily describes the core of every movement and its key artists.” – Publishers Weekly

The End of Time. Peter Mettler

Working at the limits of what can easily be expressed, filmmaker Peter Mettler takes on the elusive subject of time, and once again turns his camera to filming the unfilmmable.

From the particle accelerator in Switzerland, where scientists seek to probe regions of time we cannot see, to lava flows in Hawaii which have overwhelmed all but one home on the south side of Big Island; from the disintegration of inner city Detroit, to a Hindu funeral rite near the place of Buddha's enlightenment, Mettler explores our perception of time. He dares to dream the movie of the future while also immersing us in the wonder of the everyday.

THE END OF TIME, at once personal, rigorous and visionary, Peter Mettler has crafted a film as compelling and magnificent as its subject.

Locarno International Film Festival Award,
7 nominations

The Missing Piece: Mona Lisa, Her Thief, the True Story. Joe Medeiros

A man steals the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. His 84-year-old daughter thought he did it for patriotic reasons. A filmmaker spends more than 30 years trying to find the truth.

Mona Lisa is Missing is the untold story of Vincenzo Peruggia, the Italian immigrant who committed the greatest little-known art theft in history. For more than 30 years, writer/director Joe Medeiros was obsessed with finding out Peruggia's true motive. So with the help of researchers, art experts and Celestina Peruggia's children Silvio and Graziella, Medeiros and his team embarked on an epic journey leading them to the Louvre, to Peruggia's hiding place in Paris, to Florence where he returned the painting, to thousands of documents in the French and Italian archives. And ultimately ...to the truth.

Austin Film Festival  Nominated
San Antonio Film Festival Award

Futaba kara tooku hanarete. Atsushi Funahashi

March 11, 2011: A huge tsunami triggered by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hits Japan, crippling the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, releasing radiation, and turning the residents of Futaba into "nuclear refugees." The devastation experienced by the town - dead livestock left to rot, crops abandoned, homes and businesses destroyed - was infinitely worse than anything reported by the newspapers. A year later, many refugees are still unable to return to contaminated homes. The irony of this disaster occurring in a nation that experienced two nuclear bombs is not lost on the victims who poignantly question their responsibility for striking a Faustian bargain with nuclear power. Nuclear Nation examines the tragedy of Fukushima, and also whether it could one day be replicated on a grand scale - perhaps in your own backyard.

"This film will force you to reassess all the arguments for and against nuclear power." - The New York Times

Hong Kong International Film Festival Nominated

Secret Files Of The Inquisition. TV Series. David Rabinovitch, Colin King

A gripping tale of faith and fervor, torture and courage, the fight for human rights, and the quest for religious freedom told over four amazing HD hours for the very first time in this release. With never before seen extra material, this incredible production comes to life on screen. Every gruesome detail was documented by the Catholic Church in the 'Files'. In 1998, more than 700 years after the Inquisition began, the Vatican granted access to the archive. Secret Files now uncovers the truth behind the most notorious suppression in religious history. Narrated by actor Colm Feore, the 4-part docudrama portrays true stories of the tragic victims of religious intolerance and the oppression , spanning time periods and locations from medieval France, to 15th century Spain, Renaissance Italy and even into the 19th century. Secret Files is at once epic and intimate, focusing on compelling characters in the 600-year drama, from the ruthless architects of the Inquisition to its helpless victims. Each episode features first person testimonies from the files - verbatim accounts from nobles and peasants, priests, scholars, mothers and fathers defending themselves and their families against accusations of heresy, literally arguing for their lives. The series was shot in HD in Spain on historic locations including castles, monasteries and cathedrals. More than six hundred extras were engaged in the production. It includes commentary from Catholic theologian Rev. Joseph A. Di Noia, Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, according to The Guardian (London) ""possibly the highest ranking Vatican official ever to be interviewed publicly on the subject."" Secret Files of the Inquisition also includes insights from some of the world's foremost writers and researchers on the Inquisition. It has won many awards for Best Direction, Cinematography, Original Score, and even the Gold Medal for Docudrama from the New York Festivals, Gemini Award
Leo Award