Marco Tulio Pires

A remarkable feat of archival excavation from Sergei Loznitsa, this sublimely edited short features a host of cinematic—and actual—royalty attending a gala at the Opéra de Paris. Culminating with a performance by Maria Callas, A Night at the Opera is a bejewelled monument to high society rituals.

In July 2016, the Algiers Opera opened its doors, funded by China to promote cooperation between the two nations. Wondering what an Algerian Opera might sound like, filmmaker Karim Moussaoui goes in search of the eponymous polyphonic singers for this mysterious, Herzog-ian documentary miniature.