Best movies like Astro: An Urban Fable in a Magical Rio de Janeiro

Witch’s Cradle is an unfinished Maya Deren film made in the Guggenheim Gallery during a surrealist “Art of this Century” exhibit. It was assembled long after her death by staffers within the preservation department at Anthology Film Archives.

An artist whose work involves capturing images of strangers begins to believe she herself is being observed.

In the wake of tragedy, a renowed New York dance company is on the brink of collapse. After leaving the dance world for good, Travis, Chrissa, and Max are pulled in to resurrect the dance that shattered their careers. They have one last chance to save the company, re-connect with the passion and magic, and prove that miracles really can happen.

Now one of the world’s most celebrated artists, Yayoi Kusama broke free of the rigid society in which she was raised, and overcame sexism, racism, and mental illness to bring her artistic vision to the world stage. At 88 she lives in a mental hospital and continues to create art.

A painter of morbid art, who becomes a murderous vampire by night and kills young women, attempts a daytime relationship with a woman who resembles a former love and is also the sister of one of his victims.

The owner of a suburban art gallery searches for someone to perform an exorcism after a witch casts a spell on him.

Four 1950s cultural icons who conceivably could have met but probably didn't, fictionally do so in this modern fable of post-WWII America. Visually intriguing, the film has a fluid progression of flashbacks and flashforwards centering on the fictional Einstein's current observations, childhood memories, and apprehensions for the future.

The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket is a 1915 silent film directed by Richard Foster Baker. Gloria Swanson made her first credited appearance in this film as Farina.

Medieval fable of sorcery and witchcraft in a remote corner of the Scottish highlands.

A French illusionist travels to Scotland to work. He meets a young woman in a small village. Their ensuing adventure in Edinburgh changes both their lives forever.

A film about the work of the artist most famous for her monuments such as the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Civil Rights Fountain Memorial.

When two of artist Barbora Kysilkova’s most valuable paintings are stolen from a gallery at Frogner in Oslo, the police are able to find the thief after a few days, but the paintings are nowhere to be found. Barbora goes to the trial in hopes of finding clues, but instead she ends up asking the thief if she can paint a portrait of him. This will be the start of a very unusual friendship. Over three years, the cinematic documentary follows the incredible story of the artist looking for her stolen paintings, while at the same time turning the thief into art.

In an effort to tap into his original talent, a wheelchair-bound author moves to a rural town, where he befriends a single mother and her three kids, who help reignite his passion for writing.

The Tortoise and the Hare is an animated short film released on January 5, 1935 by United Artists, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Wilfred Jackson. Based on an Aesop's fable of the same name, The Tortoise and the Hare won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. This cartoon is also believed to be one of the influences for Bugs Bunny.

Frac, a mime who is suffering from a severe bout of depression, happens to meet a troupe of circus entertainers and immediately falls in love with one of the stars, Giulietta. But while his affection for Giulietta and admiration for the performers gives him a new lease on life, Giulietta's father, the leader of the troupe, opposes the relationship and is determined to keep them apart. Meanwhile, Frac and Giulietta discover a gang of children who are held prisoner by a criminal leader who forces them to do his bidding, and they devise a plan to win the kids their freedom. .

A wild man and genius becomes a master painter's disciple, but loses his divine gift when he finds love.

Exploring the pre-fame years of the celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and how New York City, its people, and tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and '80s shaped his vision.

This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.

An aspiring painter meets eccentric locals and a fellow New Yorker while working on a barn in Norway.

Venturing from Venice Beach to Watts, Varda looks at the murals of LA as backdrop to and mirror of the city’s many cultures. She casts a curious eye on graffiti and photorealism, roller disco & gang violence, evangelical Christians, Hare Krishnas, artists, angels and ordinary Angelenos.

CREMASTER 3 (2002) is set in New York City and narrates the construction of the Chrysler Building, which is in itself a character - host to inner, antagonistic forces at play for access to the process of (spiritual) transcendence. These factions find form in the struggle between Hiram Abiff or the Architect ...

Vincent Van Gogh comes back to life after being the recipient of a magic potion. He finds that his work has become quite valuable, and begins stealing his works. At the same time, he has a hard time getting anyone to believe he's really Van Gogh.

Between surrealism, unusual characters, art and magic tricks, "Swim Little Fish Swim" is a dreamlike journey from childhood to adulthood.

A story about talented homeless and formerly homeless fine arts painters in the worst section of Los Angeles known as Skid Row. People will create art no matter how humble the circumstances.

Inspired by the life of Bat Masterson. After a violent war has broken out between the Cowboys and Native Americans, Bat finds himself lying on the ground, badly wounded, after a heroic showdown. Shot and on the brink of death he is visited by Mobius. As Mobius consoles him they revisit Bat's choices and how they have defined his life. He'll be left to make his toughest one yet, whether to live and fight or die.

An estranged mother/daughter country music duo reunite after 10 years apart to release a Christmas single after a video of them goes viral. Now, they’re going to need a lot of forgiveness and a little Christmas magic to write a song that perfectly captures the spirit of Christmas and brings their family back together.

A look at the feud between graffiti artists King Robbo and Banksy.

Never before has the extraordinary life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo been framed in relation to the full spectrum of the historical and cultural influences that shaped her. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FRIDA KAHLO explores the 20th century icon who became an international sensation in the worlds of modern art and radical politics.

Documentary telling the story of the women who fed the life and art of Pablo Picasso, many of whom would find themselves damaged forever by the experience of being his partner.

A documentary which explores the making of Jim Henson and Frank Oz's 1982 fantasy film 'The Dark Crystal', which originally aired on PBS in the United States on January 9, 1983. This one-hour documentary details the technological innovations in the field of animatronics, art design, film making, and Henson's own brand of magic. Requiring 5 years of production, including over two years of pre-production, The Dark Crystal was inspired by the imagination of artist Brian Froud and conceived by scores of talented designers, builders, technicians, and performers. The World of the Dark Crystal shows how Jim Henson's Creature Shop in London and the Muppet Workshop in New York brought Brian Froud's art and Jim Henson's vision to life.

In Africa there is a fable that explains the creation of the tides. When a hyaena challenged a mudskipper to a drinking contest to decide who should own the shore, the god Mungu tilted the earth so the sea flowed inland, and neither could win.

When the charismatic and eccentric art teacher Tatty falls in love with Amy, one of his students, he believes he has met the love of his life. Unfortunately Amy dies in an accident. Distraught and blaming himself, Tatty loses all focus on his own life and drinks heavily. In a state of delirium he creates a statue of Amy that he places in the dark interior of a haunted, burnt-out church. Tatty lives there, protecting his creation, and devoted to her for the next 13 years. On New Year s Eve, a magical night with the sky lit with fireworks, a clubhouse burns. Cal is on the run and takes refuge in the church and accidentally breaks the statue. The magic of the night and the mystery of the church combine to cast a spell and Amy comes alive. However, in order to remain alive, Amy must kiss the first man she sees.

Maya, a New York artist and model, meets Joe, a drifter. They begin a passionate affair. On an impromptu trip to visit Joe's sister in the country, Joe's inner demons begin to surface.

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

1 Giant Leap is a concept band and media project consisting of the two principal artists, Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman. This is the film part of their first project. The result is a flowing, loose-knit tapestry of imagery, interviews, and diverse performances. Gathering material from 25 countries and dozens of famous and not-so-famous musicians, authors, celebrities, spiritualists, philosophers, and unique individuals from nearly every cultural background, this enveloping DVD is best enjoyed as a soothing audiovisual odyssey (select "loop mode" for continuous play!). Assembling this cornucopia by theme (Time, Inspiration, Sex, God, Death, etc.), Bridgeman and Catto function as co-composers with an astonishing array of collaborators, giving 1 Giant Leap its richly international (and some might say inter-spiritual) identity. The result is a far-reaching glimpse of our world through the eyes of those who improve it by their musical presence. --Jeff Shannon