The latest entry in our original series of art-house profiles explores Missoula’s Roxy Theatre, home of the International Wildlife Film Festival, and gives the theater’s programmers a chance to present Jean Painlevé’s surreal aquatic documentaries.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1927 • France

An informative and visually stunning study of two small species of crustaceans set to music.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1928 • France

From 1927 to 1928, Jean Painlevé made his first three films aimed at the general public. Shown in ‘ciné-clubs’ and avant-garde movie theaters of Paris, these films were written and edited to entertain as well as educate. SEA URCHINS, one of these educati...

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1960 • France

Through a combination of underwater, time-lapse, and microscopic photography, Jean Painlevé creates a beautiful study of the reproduction cycle of jellyfish.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1978 • France

A semi-psychedelic collection of different liquids crystalizing under a microscope.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1933 • France

Jean Painlevé’s classic underwater short THE SEA HORSE uses dreamlike imagery to detail the lives of the titular upright-swimming creatures.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1967 • France

The mating rituals and reproductive cycle of the octopus are the subject of this short documentary by Jean Painlevé.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1964 • France

After a quick comic introduction, SHRIMP STORIES takes a detailed look at the lives of shrimp.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1972 • France

The lives of miniscule mollusks are intimately captured as they wallow in mud, mate and give birth. Director Jean Painlevé sublimely sets their dance like movements to music.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1945 • France

Jean Painlevé’s short THE VAMPIRE draws the connection between the movie monsters of the same name and the South American vampire bat. The animal’s gruesome feeding habits are on full display.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1947 • France

The academic and the fantastic merge in Jean Painlevé’s educational film about the food chain in a freshwater pond.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1956 • France

Colorful underwater photography highlights this educational film about starfish.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1968 • France

Diatoms are explored through microscopic footage while their purpose and uses are explained.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1982 • France

An enthusiastic man sits on a park bench and explains the behaviors and rituals of pigeons.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1927 • France

From 1927 to 1928, Jean Painlevé made his first three films aimed at the general public. Shown in ‘ciné-clubs’ and avant-garde movie theaters of Paris, these films were written and edited to entertain as well as educate. THE OCTOPUS, one of these educati...

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1954 • France

Jean Painlevé delivers an intimate (and microscopic) view of sea urchins.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1928 • France

From 1927 to 1928, Jean Painlevé made his first three films aimed at the general public. Shown in ‘ciné-clubs’ and avant-garde movie theaters of Paris, these films were written and edited to entertain as well as educate. DAPHNIA, one of these educational...

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1925 • France

Jean Painlevé made numerous research films, strictly with the scientific and university communities in mind. THE STICKLEBACK’S EGG, an educational short about fish egg fertilization, is presented here in its original silent version. (Presented without sc...

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1930 • France

Jean Painlevé made numerous research films, strictly with the scientific and university communities in mind. EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT OF A HEMORRHAGE IN A DOG, an educational short about an experimental canine surgery, is presented here in its original sil...

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1936 • France

On assignment for the mathematics department of le Palais de la Découverte, Jean Painlevé shot this film to be presented at the Paris museum’s 1937 international exhibition. THE FOURTH DIMENSION takes a look at how we interact with dimensional space.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1937 • France

On assignment for the mathematics department of le Palais de la Découverte, Jean Painlevé shot this film to be presented at the Paris museum’s 1937 international exhibition. THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL explores population rise and decline.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1937 • France

On assignment for the mathematics department of le Palais de la Découverte, Jean Painlevé shot this film to be presented at the Paris museum’s 1937 international exhibition. VOYAGE TO THE SKY muses on extraterrestrial landscapes and earth’s role in the u...

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1937 • France

On assignment for the mathematics department of le Palais de la Découverte, Jean Painlevé shot this film to be presented at the Paris museum’s 1937 international exhibition. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN LENGTH AND SPEED offers a mathematical look at proportions.

Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1938 • France

Inspired by the groundbreaking use of film in the analysis of movement by physiologist Étienne-Jules Marey, Jean Painlevé animated the opéra bouffe BLUEBEARD, about the legendary knight, using clay dolls made by sculptor René Bertrand and Bertrand’s thre...