Beach Cottage Chronicles

Water Birds is a 1952 short documentary film directed by Ben Sharpsteen. The film delves into the still waters of lagoons and marshes to the wild blue wilderness of the vast oceans, to experience the beauty and variety of their majestic birds, each perfectly designed for its habitat. It won the Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-Reel.

George Washington, commander of revolutionary American forces, ends a squabble among the colonies as to under which flag the Americans will fight the British by recommending a new flag for all the colonies. He asks Betsy Ross to design and create the first flag. Meanwhile, British officer Brandon has crossed enemy lines in order to visit secretly his wife, who boards in the same house as Betsy Ross. Ross helps Mrs. Brandon hide her husband, but then Washington himself discovers the hidden enemy and must decide whether love or the rules of war shall prevail.

Stuck in a dead-end job, Graham Merrill adopts an otter, Mij, as a pet and then moves to an isolated village in western Scotland. Together they set out to explore the curious and magnificent natural wonders that surround their seaside home. Soon, Graham finds himself falling in love with the beautiful town doctor, Mary. Before long, the three become inseparable friends.

Inspired by the picturesque paintings of Thomas Kinkade, The Christmas Cottage tells the semi-autobiographical tale of how a young boy is propelled to launch a career as an artist after he learns that his mother is in danger of losing the family home.

A homely maid and a scarred ex-GI meet at the cottage where she works and where he was to spend his honeymoon prior to his accident. The two develop a bond and agree to marry, more out of loneliness than love. The romantic spirit of the cottage, however, overtakes them. They soon begin to look beautiful to each other, but no one else.

When Harvey (Harry Macqueen) hears that Lola (Lori Campbell) is returning home after years abroad he arranges to take her away for the weekend to the sea-side cottage where they spent so much of their youth. What follows is a touching and beautiful story of a old friendship rekindled within a new context. Hinterland is a poetic journey of self-discovery and heartbreak in contemporary Britain, a very original and visually stunning road-trip film.

Dark City Beneath The Beat is an audiovisual experience that defines the soundscape of Baltimore city. Inspired by an all original Baltimore club music soundtrack, the film spotlights local club artists, DJs, dancers, producers, and Baltimore’s budding creative community as they are realizing their life dreams. Rhythmic and raw, these stories illustrate the unique characteristics of the city’s landscape and social climate through music, poetry, and dance. From the city’s social climate to its creative LGBTQ community, Dark City Beneath The Beat showcases Baltimore club music as a positive subculture in a city overshadowed by trauma, drugs, and violence.

'Communion Los Angeles' traces California’s oldest freeway, the 110, as it courses from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, defining and dividing the communities it is designed to serve. Viewing the 35 miles of blacktop as both infrastructure and public architecture, this equinoctial journey highlights dichotomies of mobility, technology and urban space.

Candice DeLong is Clarice Starling in "Silence of the Lambs," Samantha Waters on "Profiler" and Nicole Scott on "MISSING" all rolled into one tough female FBI agent. Lifetime's spine-tingling Original Movie is inspired by DeLong's harrowing real-life experiences in the field. DeLong (Jean Smart) is on the verge of retiring from the FBI so that she can spend more time with her son, when a serial rapist and murderer attacks one of her best friends. As a single working mom, she feels torn between her child's needs and avenging her girlfriend. Things get more complicated when she has to work the case with her married lover (played by A Martinez). This top cop's decisions will put her life in serious danger. Hold on, it's going to be a suspenseful ride!

An epic silent space opera about a robot-based alien invasion, featuring unique visuals created by meticulously modifying and editing thousands of hours of silent and serial film footage. With an original story, musical score, and sound design, Time of the Robots creates a new experience highly reminiscent of early cinema.

Marigold Lexton, an American actress who gets stranded in Mumbai and lands a minor role in a Bollywood musical. She meets Prem, the film's choreographer, and undergoes a personal transformation as she experiences Bollywood firsthand.

"Clean Lines, Open Spaces: A View of Mid-Century Modern Architecture" focuses on the construction boom in the United States after World War II. Sometimes considered cold and unattractive, mid-century modern designs were a by-product of post-war optimism and reflected a nation's dedication to building a new future. This new architecture used modern materials such as reinforced concrete, glass and steel and was defined by clean lines, simple shapes and unornamented facades.

Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty is one of the best loved of classical ballets, combining in a single work all the enchantment and virtuosity that ballet has to offer. The royal court, the panoramic journey of the Prince to the overgrown castle, and the great celebratory dances of the happy ending (in which other famous fairy-tale figures appear) are all brought to life by the luscious designs of this celebrated production, created in 1946 for The Royal Ballet. The inspired performances of its revival for the 75th anniversary of the Company in 2006, together with a magnificent High Definition recording, make this a superb tribute to The Royal Ballet's unique style and visual splendour.

This beautiful film about the immigrant experience is a San Francisco film about Eritrea. Sephora Woldu plays "Sephora" who, like the director, is an architecture student but also a filmmaker. She is pitching to her traditional mother a film she wants to make about a man who fled their home country and ended up in San Francisco. As a recently arrived immigrant, he is terribly homesick for his native Eritrea, but will not admit it due to unease towards speaking ill of the country; and more consciously in hesitance of admitting hard truths about his culture and himself. "It’s colorful and visually whimsical in a way that can only be described as if the Wizard of Oz went to Africa," said Woldu.

Christmas is now more beautiful and cosy than ever! Experience Christmas in London, together with André Rieu. Decorated Christmas trees everywhere you look, beautifully lit streets, tempting Christmas window displays... Combine the unique London Christmas atmosphere with a magnificent Christmas concert by André Rieu, and you have all the ingredients for a lovely party in the dark December days. Together with fantastic soloists and his always joyful Johann Strauss orchestra, André Rieu provides a fabulous evening with the most beautiful and moving Christmas carols, but also with emotional songs such as Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, The Holy City and the classic Concierto de Aranjuez. Christmas in London means an evening enjoying lovely music, beautiful costumes and plenty of London cosiness.

Mildred Manning wants to experience the Wild West firsthand with her beau, Sir Charles Beverly. While Charles is gambling, Mildred is saved from two drunken cowboys by Del Burton. Del falls in love with Mildred and follows her back east.

Two travel magazine writers meet at a beautiful island resort deep in the south Pacific researching article on a waterfront inn where tourists seem to go missing.

When unlucky-in-love Isabella and filmmaker Blake find themselves planning a huge celebration in a mansion where the most famous romance of all time blossomed, neither knew what they’d find. But as Isabella designs the signature dress and Blake films the story of the anniversary gala, they’re paired together to live and learn firsthand about the legendary, rich love story around them…they unexpectedly find a love and adventure they never knew could be true.

With its unique blend of romance, satire, and playful blurring of fact and fiction, Beautiful Accidents is about a madcap indie film crew shooting a cheesy rom-com. The film-within-a-film concerns Henry, a young man who invites his girlfriend Charlotte to his family cottage for the winter holidays. As a surprise for Charlotte, Henry also invites his eccentric mother Sally and Charlotte's overbearing father Gordon. The surprise, however, is the truth about Sally and Gordon. Hilarity, the occasional tender moment, and the promises and pitfalls of filmmaking ensue as all try to keep their various secrets from being spilled.

Join visionary director Sam Raimi and the cast of the film as they recount their experiences bringing Marvel’s darkest story to life. From world-building to universe-building, hear first hand accounts from the cast and crew on what it took to design, create and make each universe unique and believable.

e² design is an ongoing PBS series about the pioneers and innovators in the field of sustainable architecture, and how their work is producing solutions to pressing environmental and social challenges. Now entering its third season, the series features compelling stories from around the globe: Beijing to Nova Scotia, Ladakh to New York. Each episode examines the built environment's effects — both ecological, and social — and the design innovations that can reduce buildings' contribution to climate change. e² design is narrated by Brad Pitt.

Architect Danny Forster takes you inside some of the most head-scratching builds in the world. Join Danny as he meets the men and women tackling the unique challenges of constructing the tallest buildings, the most effective military tanks, the largest luxury cruise ships, and the most extreme thrill rides. How do you build a 3,113-foot-long wooden roller coaster in winter temperatures of minus 40 degrees? Or get your workers safely to and from a worksite on a skyscraper that's 1,614 feet above street level? Or dig a water tunnel - along the San Adreas Fault and 1,000 feet below the earth's surface - without it collapsing on itself ... or flooding? Our intrepid host answers these puzzles and more. Don't miss the big stories behind these even bigger engineering marvels.

WWII in HD is a 10-part American documentary television miniseries that originally aired from November 15 to November 19, 2009 on the History Channel. The program focuses on the firsthand experiences of twelve American service members during World War II, including an Army nurse, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a second generation Japanese American and prisoner of war, and an Austrian Jewish immigrant. The twelve members recorded their time in both theaters and some had later interviews; found footage from the battlefield was paired with the stories of the twelve service members. The episodes premiered on five consecutive days, with two episodes per day. The series is narrated by Gary Sinise and was produced by Lou Reda Productions in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States.

It may seem like it, but victims of stalking are not just celebrities and those in the public eye; the widely-misunderstood crime affects millions of people in the United States each year, people who are in perpetual fear for their lives; criminal psychologist Dr. Michelle Ward -- a stalking victim herself -- presents stories of the crimes and explores the twisted psychology of those who committed them; victims and their families also recount their personal experiences and provide firsthand insight into effective steps they took to protect themselves; Dr. Ward offers practical tips that viewers can use to keep themselves safe.

The firsthand experiences of thirteen Americans during the Vietnam War. The thirteen Americans retell their stories in Vietnam paired with found footage from the battlefield.

The fascinating and dramatic stories behind some of the grandest designs never built.

Based on the much-loved series of books by Mairi Hedderwick, Katie Morag is a small red-headed girl who lives with her family on the remote and beautiful fictional Scottish island of Struay. Although she lives in a fairly unique setting, her adventures are full of experiences and feelings that all children can recognize and identify with. Her stories are full of jealousy, bravery and rivalry – surrounded by an annoying little brother, busy shopkeeper parents, a perfectly perfect best friend and a couple of grandmothers who between them know everything about everything. The stories celebrate the intrinsic sense of community, the preciousness of the environment and the universal tensions and joys of family life. Katie Morag is a feisty character who has been known to get herself into scrapes but who generally emerges from them (usually with some assistance from one or other of her Grandmothers) in a funny and endearing way.

Located in the historic Quapaw Quarter of Little Rock, Arkansas, the original Garden Home is a 1904 Colonial Revival cottage surrounded by a series of garden rooms designed by Smith.This garden was created to illustrate his 12 principles of design, the basis of his first book in the Garden Home series.

Actor/adventurer Jack Maxwell learned a lot working in South Boston bars, and one lesson stood out: Enjoy a couple of drinks with a stranger, and the whole world opens up. Those experiences inspired "Booze Traveler," which follows Maxwell to various countries to quench his curiosity about what people drink, why, and the tales it prompts. In Armenia, Belize, Lithuania, Mongolia, Nepal and elsewhere, Maxwell learns its intoxicating traditions, meets with locals, joins in activities, and even helps with the alcohol-making process. He finds a unique drink, makes friends and shares stories in each spot.

Go where no human cameraman can go and witness a new perspective of the animal kingdom in Animals with Cameras, A Nature Miniseries. The new three-part series journeys into animals’ worlds using custom, state-of-the-art cameras worn by the animals themselves. Capturing never-before-seen behavior, these animal cinematographers help expand human understanding of their habitats and solve mysteries that have eluded scientists until now. Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan and a team of pioneering animal behaviorists join forces to explore stories of animal lives “told” by the animals themselves. The cameras are built custom by camera design expert Chris Watts to fit on the animals unobtrusively and to be easily removed at a later point. From this unique vantage point, experience the secret lives of nine different animal species. Sprint across the savanna with a cheetah, plunge into the ocean with a seal and swing through the trees with a chimpanzee.

Follow the transformation of Patty Hearst from heiress to terrorist in a saga of privilege, celebrity, politics, media, revolution, and violence. Over forty years later, newly discovered evidence, archival footage, cinematic recreations and exclusive firsthand accounts shed light on one of the biggest and most bizarre stories in modern American history.

Entering a sacred monument is never an unremarkable experience. Whether a place of worship for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists, the buildings all tend to be architecturally magnificent. And behind the stone, brick, or marble facades are hidden stories of titanic construction sites where brilliant architects, builders and artists came together... From the West to the Far East, these monuments are the concrete witnesses of men's beliefs and of their desire to excel, as well as reminders of their will for political dominance. This series, set in the present day, is about discovering some of the world’s most beautiful and sacred monuments, from Italy to Hungary via France, and on to India, Tunisia and even Myanmar... During each episode we spend a day, from sunrise to sunset, at one of the monuments and learn about its history and architecture, as well as the rituals practiced there, and the people who take care of it.

An unlikely friendship. A lost love resurfaced. A marriage at its turning point. A date that might not have been a date. An unconventional new family. These are unique stories about the joys and tribulations of love, each inspired by true events.

Exploring the architecture, design and human connection behind beautiful cabins and their surrounding landscapes.

Celebrity creators design a series of dance challenges inspired by viral trends, teaching them to everyday people isolated in unique dance pods who compete for a chance to take home a cash prize.

Dive into world of music mogul Irv Gotti with untold stories and firsthand accounts from those who were there to experience the rise, fall and redemption of his Murder Inc Records.

Inclusive fashionistas and designers dare to do what the high street doesn't, as they create fabulously bespoke and beautiful outfits for every body in their custom-built shop

In the special 4-part series Scott's Own Vacation House, HGTV Canada star Scott McGillivray turns the tables and puts his Vacation House Rules to the test on his own cottage project. Scott and his wife Sabrina have just purchased their first family waterfront project and it’s more than just a getaway. Scott is renovating four buildings on this large property, bringing his design team, Debra Salmoni and new addition Giselle Bullin along for the ride. They’re all working together to help Scott reach his big goal: Creating a fun family escape with huge vacation profit potential!

Identical twins change their diets and lifestyles for eight weeks in a unique scientific experiment designed to explore how certain foods impact the body.

The series offers fascinating insights into the most successful animal group in the world. From the tiny Etruscan shrew to the giant blue whale, Mammals will reveal the secrets of their success, and how their winning design, incredible adaptability, unrivaled intelligence, and unique sociability have all contributed to their remarkable rise.