fraeon
Films
BrowseTop 250
Series
TV ShowsAnimeTop 250 TVTop 100 Anime
Games
BrowseTop 100
Books
BooksMangaTop 125 BooksTop 100 Manga
For youTrendingTier ListsThe ArchiveLeaderboard
Log inSign up free
fraeon

Everything you watch, play and read — tracked, rated and remembered in one library.

Explore

  • Films
  • TV
  • Anime
  • Games
  • Books
  • Manga

Discover

  • Trending
  • Leaderboard
  • Find people
  • Lists
  • Tier lists

Company

  • Tour
  • About
  • Community guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Contact

© 2026 fraeon. All rights reserved. ·

Metadata from TMDB, RAWG, Jikan & Open Library. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Questions or ideas? mehmet@avortas.com

HomeFeedProfile
Facing Forward

Facing Forward

1999 10m

In reframing and re-editing existing ethnographic films, Tan exposes their anthropological underpinnings and questions the conventions of filmmaking. What is the relationship between the observer and the observed? How can one ever know another? The voice-over, a fictional dialogue taken from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, may offer an answer. The explorer Marco Polo and Emperor Kublai Khan are speaking about travel and looking back on the past, when Polo observes, “The traveler recognises the little that is his, discovering the much he has not had and will never have.”

Synopsis

In reframing and re-editing existing ethnographic films, Tan exposes their anthropological underpinnings and questions the conventions of filmmaking. What is the relationship between the observer and the observed? How can one ever know another? The voice-over, a fictional dialogue taken from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, may offer an answer. The explorer Marco Polo and Emperor Kublai Khan are speaking about travel and looking back on the past, when Polo observes, “The traveler recognises the little that is his, discovering the much he has not had and will never have.”

The vibe

archive footagefilm archives

Behind it

Fiona TanFiona TanDirector

Cast

Owen OppenheimerNarrator

Director

Fiona Tan

Release date

1 Jan 1999

Runtime

10m

Language

English

Country

Netherlands

Reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to write one from the Log screen.

Quotes

No quotes yet.

Discussions

Similar films

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return

This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.

3.4

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return

2022

John Candy: I Like Me

Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.

3.9

John Candy: I Like Me

2025

42 Up

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.

3.8

42 Up

1999

These Amazing Shadows

Tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.

3.7

These Amazing Shadows

2011

Love, Antosha

From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.

3.7

Love, Antosha

2019

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes

This documentary explores the mystery surrounding the death of movie icon Marilyn Monroe through previously unheard interviews with her inner circle.

3.2

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes

2022

The Walking Dead: The Return

Stars of "The Walking Dead," Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, walk down memory lane and visit iconic locations where pivotal moments between their characters, Rick and Michonne, were filmed.

3.7

The Walking Dead: The Return

2024

V/H/S/94

After the discovery of a mysterious VHS tape, a brutish police SWAT team launches a high-intensity raid on a remote warehouse, only to discover a sinister cult compound whose collection of pre-recorded material uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.

3.1

V/H/S/94

2021

V/H/S

When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire one rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they had bargained for.

3.1

V/H/S

2012

Being Eddie

From teen comedian to Hollywood legend, Eddie Murphy revisits his extraordinary showbiz ride with raw honesty and humor.

3.4

Being Eddie

2025

Val

For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood’s most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever. This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man.

3.6

Val

2021

X-Rated: The Greatest Adult Movies of All Time

The evolution of adult cinema through the most influential films in history, a journey that begins in the 1970s and ends nowadays. An in-depth analysis of the success of the most prestigious erotic films, their impact on industry and society, and their influence on cinema and contemporary culture.

3.2

X-Rated: The Greatest Adult Movies of All Time

2015

Being James Bond

Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

3.9

Being James Bond

2021

Inside Deep Throat

In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel: "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self-appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film's star.

3.2

Inside Deep Throat

2005

Spielberg

A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

3.8

Spielberg

2017

Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies

The definitive documentary on the history of nudity in feature films from the early silent days to the present, studying the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped that history. Skin will also study the gender inequality in presenting nude images in motion pictures and will follow the revolution that has created nude gender equality in feature films today.

3.2

Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies

2020

Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story

The authorized documentary celebrating the film that redefined Hollywood, 50 years after its premiere. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors alongside Steven Spielberg, top shark scientists, and conservationists, the film uncovers the behind-the-scenes chaos and how the film launched the summer blockbuster, inspired a new wave of filmmakers, and paved the way for shark conservation that continues today.

3.8

Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story

2025

Stan Lee

Celebrate the legacy of Stan Lee as the co-creator of such legendary characters as Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the X-Men, The Avengers, and hundreds more.

3.6

Stan Lee

2023