Zeitgeist Films is an American independent film

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

 distributor based in New York City founded in 1988 by co-Presidents Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo. Films distributed by Zeitgeist are strongly auteur-driven by directors such as Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...

, Guy Maddin

Guy Maddin

Guy Maddin, OM is a Canadian screenwriter, director, cinematographer and film editor of both features and short films from Winnipeg, Manitoba...

, Atom Egoyan

Atom Egoyan

Atom Egoyan, OC is a critically acclaimed Armenian-Canadian stage director and film director. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica...

, Todd Haynes

Todd Haynes

Todd Haynes is an American independent film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his feature films Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Poison, Velvet Goldmine, Safe, and the Academy Award-nominated Far from Heaven and I'm Not There.- Style and themes :The writes that "Haynes is...

, Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a Turkish photographer and film director. He is married to the filmmaker, photographer, and actress Ebru Ceylan, his co-star in İklimler .-Life:Ceylan learned photography at age 15, and developed an interest in film at 22....

, Abbas Kiarostami

Abbas Kiarostami

Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...

, Deepa Mehta

Deepa Mehta

Deepa Mehta, LLD is a Genie Award-winning Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, most known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire , Earth , and Water , among which Earth was submitted by Indian government for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...

, Jan Švankmajer

Jan Švankmajer

Jan Švankmajer is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his surreal animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Quay, and many others.- Life and career :Jan...

 and the Brothers Quay

Brothers Quay

Stephen and Timothy Quay are American identical twin brothers better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They are influential stop-motion animators...

. The expansive Zeitgeist film library includes Trouble the Water

Trouble the Water

Trouble the Water is a 2008 documentary film produced and directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, producers of Fahrenheit 9/11. Trouble the Water is a redemptive tale of a couple surviving failed levees, bungling bureaucrats, and their own troubled past and a portrait of a community abandoned long...

, The Corporation, Jellyfish

Jellyfish

Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...

, Examined Life

Examined Life

Examined Life is a 2008 documentary film directed by Astra Taylor. The film features eight influential contemporary philosophers walking around New York and other metropolises and discussing the practical application of their ideas in modern culture....

, Into Great Silence

Into Great Silence

Into Great Silence is a documentary film directed by Philip Gröning that was first released in 2005. It is an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps . The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the...

, Following and Taste of Cherry

Taste of Cherry

Taste of Cherry is a 1997 film by the Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. It is a minimalist film about a man who drives through a city suburb looking for someone who can carry out the task to bury him after he has died.-Plot:...

. In June 2008, the MoMA

Moma

Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...

 honored two decades of Zeitgeist successes with a month long, twenty film retrospective entitled Zeitgeist: The Films of Our Time, exhibiting the distributor's twenty most critically acclaimed, intellectually stimulating titles.

Selected films

Year	Title	Notes
2011	Paul Goodman Changed My Life Paul Goodman Changed My Life Paul Goodman Changed My Life is a 2011 documentary film directed by Jonathan Lee and distributed by Zeitgeist Films. It will be released theatrically in the United States on October 19, 2011 at Film Forum in New York City.-Synopsis:...	October 19, 2011 U.S. theatrical release date
2011	The Tree	2010 Cannes Film Festival 2010 Cannes Film Festival The 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 12 to May 23, 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films screened in and out of competition during the...  Closing Night Film, Premiered at the 2010 Sydney Film Festival Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney and is held over 12 days in June. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre and includes features,...
2011	!Women Art Revolution !Women Art Revolution !Women Art Revolution is a 2010 documentary film directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson and distributed by Zeitgeist Films. It was released theatrically in the United States on June 1, 2011.-Synopsis:...	Toronto International Film Festival Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...  Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...  Official Selection, Berlin International Film Festival Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...  Official Selection
2011	Queen to Play Queen to Play Queen to Play is a 2009 French-German film directed by Caroline Bottaro. The film is distributed in the U.S. by Zeitgeist Films.-Synopsis:...	Tribeca Film Festival Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...  Official Selection, Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. It was started in 1989 and is held annually in January...  Special Mention for John Schlesinger Award for Outstanding First Feature
2011	Bill Cunningham New York Bill Cunningham New York Bill Cunningham New York is a 2010 documentary film directed by Richard Press and produced by Philip Gefter. Bill Cunningham New York is distributed by Zeitgeist Films and was released in theaters on March 16, 2011.-Synopsis:...	New Directors/New Films Official Selection, Sydney Film Festival Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney and is held over 12 days in June. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre and includes features,...  Best Documentary Film
2010	Vision	Toronto International Film Festival Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...  Official Selection
2010	Last Train Home Last Train Home (film) Last Train Home is a 2009 documentary film directed by Lixin Fan and produced by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin of EyeSteelFilm. Last Train Home won the Best Documentary Feature at 2009 IDFA and will be distributed by Zeitgeist Films in the US territory.-Synopsis:Every spring, China's cities are...	Sundance Film Festival Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...  Official Selection
2010	Mid-August Lunch	Venice Film Festival Venice Film Festival The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...  Best First Film, Best Italian Film Award. London Film Festival London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...  Satyajit Ray Award
2010	The Oath	Sundance Film Festival Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...  Best Cinematography Award: US Documentary, Berlin International Film Festival Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...  Official Selection
2009	A Town Called Panic A Town Called Panic A Town Called Panic is a 2000 puppetoon series distributed by Aardman Animations and produced in Belgium by Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier for La Parti & Pic Pic André. It follows the everyday events of Cowboy, Indian and Horse in a small rural town as they go about their lives...	Cannes Film Festival Cannes Film Festival The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...  Official Selection, Fantastic Festival Audience Award
2009	Act of God Act of God (film) Act of God is a 2009 Canadian documentary film that investigates the "metaphysical" effects of being struck by lightning. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal and distributed by Zeitgeist Films. The film's world premier was at the 2009 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival at the...	Hot Docs Hot Docs Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America's largest documentary film festival, conference, and market, held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...  Opening Night Gala
2009	Earth Days Earth Days Earth Days is a 2009 documentary film about the start of the environmental movement in the United States. It was directed by Robert Stone and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films while in theaters. Earth Days premiered on United States television April 19...	Sundance Film Festival Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...  Closing Night Film
2009	The Horse Boy The Horse Boy The Horse Boy is the title of an autobiographical book and a documentary feature film that follow the quest of Rupert Isaacson and his wife to find healing for their autistic son Rowan...	Winner South by Southwest South by Southwest South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...  Audience Award
2009	Afghan Star	Sundance Film Festival Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...  People's Choice Award (the World Cinema Audience Award for a Documentary) and Best Director for a Documentary (the World Cinema Directing Award)
2008	Trouble the Water Trouble the Water Trouble the Water is a 2008 documentary film produced and directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, producers of Fahrenheit 9/11. Trouble the Water is a redemptive tale of a couple surviving failed levees, bungling bureaucrats, and their own troubled past and a portrait of a community abandoned long...	Academy Award for Documentary Feature Academy Award for Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year...  nominee
2008	Tulpan Tulpan Tulpan is a 2008 Kazakh drama film. The film is directed by Sergey Dvortsevoy and distributed by . Tulpan is Kazakhstan's 2009 Academy Awards official submission to Foreign Language Film category...	Kazakhstan's Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film
2008	Three Monkeys Three Monkeys Three Monkeys a 2008 Turkish film directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The film was Turkey's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards, and it made the January short-list but was not nominated.-Plot:...	Turkey's Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan Nuri Bilge Ceylan Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a Turkish photographer and film director. He is married to the filmmaker, photographer, and actress Ebru Ceylan, his co-star in İklimler .-Life:Ceylan learned photography at age 15, and developed an interest in film at 22.... , Best Director Award Cannes Film Festival 2008
2008	Harlan - In the Shadow of Jew Süss
2008	Fados Fados Fados is a 2007 Spanish film directed by Carlos Saura. The film, a fusion of cinema, song, dance and instrumental numbers, explores Portugal's most emblematic musical genre, fado, and its spirit of saudade ....
2008	Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine
2008	Examined Life Examined Life Examined Life is a 2008 documentary film directed by Astra Taylor. The film features eight influential contemporary philosophers walking around New York and other metropolises and discussing the practical application of their ideas in modern culture....	directed by Astra Taylor Astra Taylor Astra Taylor is a Canadian-American documentary filmmaker and writer, best known for her 2005 film, Zizek!, about the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, and for her 2008 film, Examined Life.... , featuring Cornel West Cornel West Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America....
2008	Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains
2008	Up the Yangtze Up the Yangtze Up the Yangtze is a 2007 documentary film directed by Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang. The film focuses on people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze river in Hubei, China. The theme of the film is the transition towards consumer capitalism from a farming,...	2008 Best Feature Documentary San Francisco International Film Festival San Francisco International Film Festival San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries... , 2009 Canadian Oscar Genie Award Genie Award Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...  for Best Documentary, and 2008 Asian Oscar Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962, by Government Information Office, Republic of China...  for Best Documentary.
2007	Jellyfish Jellyfish (film) Jellyfish is a 2007 Israeli film based on a story by Shira Geffen and directed by her husband, Etgar Keret. The film tells the story of three women in Tel Aviv whose intersecting lives paint a pessimistic portrait of Israeli secular life. Batya, a waitress at weddings, comes across a mute child...	Camera d’Or
2007	Chris & Don: A Love Story Chris & Don Chris & Don: A Love Story is a 2008 documentary film that chronicles the life-long relationship between author Christopher Isherwood and his much younger lover, artist Don Bachardy. Chris & Don combines present-day interviews, archival footage shot by the couple from the 1950s, excerpts from...
2007	Billy the Kid Billy the Kid William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...	Winner South by Southwest South by Southwest South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...  Jury Prize
2006	Manufactured Landscapes Manufactured Landscapes Manufactured Landscapes is a 2006 documentary film about the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.- Subject matter :...
2006	Into Great Silence Into Great Silence Into Great Silence is a documentary film directed by Philip Gröning that was first released in 2005. It is an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps . The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the...	Sundance Film Festival Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...  Special Jury Prize
2005	Sophie Scholl – The Final Days Sophie Scholl – The Final Days Sophie Scholl – The Final Days is a 2005 German film by director Marc Rothemund and writer Fred Breinersdorfer. It is about the last days in the life of Sophie Scholl, a 21-year-old member of the anti-Nazi non-violent student resistance group the White Rose, part of the German Resistance movement...	Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...  nominee
2005	Ballets Russes Ballets Russes (documentary) Ballets Russes is a 2005 feature documentary about the dancers of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. It was directed by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, and featured Irina Baronova, Alicia Markova, George Zoritch, and Tatiana Riabouchinska, among others. It was narrated by Marian Seldes...
2004	The Corporation	with Noam Chomsky Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
2002	Derrida Derrida (film) Derrida is a 2002 American documentary film directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Kofman about the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. It premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival before being released theatrically on October 23, 2002.-Synopsis:...	San Francisco Film Festival Golden Gate Award
2002	Nowhere in Africa Nowhere in Africa Nowhere in Africa is a 2001 German film directed by Caroline Link and based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Stefanie Zweig. It tells the story of a Jewish family that emigrates to Kenya during World War II to escape the Nazis and run a farm...	Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
1999	Following	directed by Christopher Nolan Christopher Nolan Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...
1997	Taste of Cherry Taste of Cherry Taste of Cherry is a 1997 film by the Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. It is a minimalist film about a man who drives through a city suburb looking for someone who can carry out the task to bury him after he has died.-Plot:...	Palme d'Or Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du... , directed by Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...
1992	Careful	directed by Guy Maddin Guy Maddin Guy Maddin, OM is a Canadian screenwriter, director, cinematographer and film editor of both features and short films from Winnipeg, Manitoba...
1991	Poison Poison (film) Poison is a 1991 independent film written and directed by Todd Haynes. It is composed of three intercut stories that are partially inspired by the novels of Jean Genet...	Sundance Grand Jury Prize, directed by Todd Haynes Todd Haynes Todd Haynes is an American independent film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his feature films Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Poison, Velvet Goldmine, Safe, and the Academy Award-nominated Far from Heaven and I'm Not There.- Style and themes :The writes that "Haynes is...

Awards

• Trouble the Water
  Trouble the Water
  Trouble the Water is a 2008 documentary film produced and directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, producers of Fahrenheit 9/11. Trouble the Water is a redemptive tale of a couple surviving failed levees, bungling bureaucrats, and their own troubled past and a portrait of a community abandoned long...
  
   – 2008 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature
• Tulpan
  Tulpan
  Tulpan is a 2008 Kazakh drama film. The film is directed by Sergey Dvortsevoy and distributed by . Tulpan is Kazakhstan's 2009 Academy Awards official submission to Foreign Language Film category...
  
   – Kazakhstan's 2009 Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film
• Three Monkeys
  Three Monkeys
  Three Monkeys a 2008 Turkish film directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The film was Turkey's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards, and it made the January short-list but was not nominated.-Plot:...
  
   – Turkey's 2009 Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film
• Into Great Silence
  Into Great Silence
  Into Great Silence is a documentary film directed by Philip Gröning that was first released in 2005. It is an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps . The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the...
  
   – 2006 Sundance Special Jury Prize
• Nowhere in Africa
  Nowhere in Africa
  Nowhere in Africa is a 2001 German film directed by Caroline Link and based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Stefanie Zweig. It tells the story of a Jewish family that emigrates to Kenya during World War II to escape the Nazis and run a farm...
  
   – 2002 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Sophie Scholl - The Final Days – 2005 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film
• Taste of Cherry
  Taste of Cherry
  Taste of Cherry is a 1997 film by the Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. It is a minimalist film about a man who drives through a city suburb looking for someone who can carry out the task to bury him after he has died.-Plot:...
  
   – 1997 Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival
• Poison
  Poison (film)
  Poison is a 1991 independent film written and directed by Todd Haynes. It is composed of three intercut stories that are partially inspired by the novels of Jean Genet...
  
   – 1991 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner
• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1996 re-release) – Academy Award nominee, Palme d’Or winner (1964)

External links

• Official website
• Distributor Profile at Indiewire
  IndieWire
  indieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...