Françoise Levie

Zénon is the hero of “The Abyss”, the famous novel by Marguerite Yourcenar published in 1968. He is also the main character in André Delvaux’s film, played by Gian Maria Volonte, for the movie adaptation of the same book in 1988. But what does Zénon represent for us today, and what has become of him? How can this entirely fictional philosopher, doctor, alchemist and inventor from the Renaissance help us understand the era in which he lived as well as our own in these uncertain times? This is what this documentary sets out to do.

A film adaptation of 'Stochhaus ou la maison des cigognes' by Jean Ray, in which some are captivated by the enigma, while others are drawn to the treasures of a mysterious house.

The 2nd short film as part of the Magica series dealing with pre-cinema. In the 18th and 19th centuries, optical views were shown in optical boxes with magnifying lenses. The showmen organised a real spectacle, with a barker, music and sound effects. The views played with light (transparencies, perforations). A series of engravings shows the public's enthusiasm for these shows. The second part of the film is a reconstruction of such a show. First, there are views of Paris, Venice, Constantinople and Versailles, followed by various disasters: plague, floods, fires and shipwrecks.

A detective is seeking an assassin in a murder that has not yet occurred, only to discover that it is his destiny to become that assassin.

Paul Otlet was a Belgian, *1868, died 1944, who perfected the Dewey Classification system as "the Universal Decimal Classification", in his lifetime alone totalling 17 million index cards of human knowledge.

The 16th short film as part of the Magica series dealing with pre-cinema. Mr Seymour, the hero of the book by London doctor Mr Paris, shows his invention – the thaumatrope – to a little girl and explains how it works. The superimposition of the images is not perfect, so he invents the use of elastic instead of the usual string. Only by recording the two successive images of the thaumatrope on a title bench can they be viewed perfectly. Numerous examples are shown.