KQED-TV

In 1919, the great English military man T. E. Lawrence tries to help Emir Feisal, ruler of Arabia, retain his political power during the Conference of Peace in Paris.

Travel to Kyrgyzstan with Steve Backshall as he searches for snow leopards, one of the world's most endangered species. If evidence of snow leopards breeding in the Djangart Valley is found, Steve and his team hope to turn it into a protected nature reserve.

Filmed in Nevada's barren Black Rock Desert in July 1969, "Hard Core" opens with an establishing shot of an expansive blue sky immediately evoking the American West, which sets the scene for De Maria's innovative and experimental film. The work intercuts two differing cinematic approaches: one that explores the observational potential of the medium through wide-angle, 360-degree shots that pan over the changing desert landscape, and the other that appropriates familiar visual tropes taken from the Hollywood Western movie genre—such as pistols, Levi's jeans, boot spurs, and leather chaps—and implements them in a performance. The soundtrack is an edited compilation of two of De Maria's "drum compositions," "Cricket Music" (1964) and "Ocean Music" (1968), which creates a sense of anticipation for the viewer. In the last minute of the film, a series of unexpected events unfolds in rapid succession, producing a dramatic climax.

Take a journey with master graphic novelist Joann Sfar as he finds inspiration in his Algerian-Jewish heritage and the lively streets and cafes of his current home in France. This collaboration between Citizen Film, KQED Presents and Paris-based Les Films du Poisson was telecast on PBS stations around the U.S. in 2012.