THE TASTE OF MANGO, the debut feature from filmmaker and video artist Chloe Abrahams, is an enveloping, hypnotic, urgently personal meditation on family, memory, identity, violence, and love. At its center are three extraordinary women: the director’s mother, Rozana; her grandmother, Jean; and the director herself. Their stories, by turns difficult and jubilant, testify to the entangled and ever-changing nature of inheritance, and the ways in which we both hurt and protect the ones we love.
In a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother. Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection.
Since their explosive breakout album in 2000, At the Drive-In— and then as their next incarnation, The Mars Volta— have fearlessly redefined the progressive rock genre. Fronted by Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, two outsiders from El Paso, their unique style seamlessly fused jazz, punk rock, latin influences and experimental sounds into something utterly electrifying.
But their immense artistic success gave way to deep personal fissures that ended their musical partnership in 2013, and inflicted wounds that would take more than a decade to heal.
Culled from hundreds of hours of footage filmed by Omar over the past 40 years, OMAR AND CEDRIC: IF THIS EVER GETS WEIRD charts the duo’s intense and profound journey as they navigate success, addiction, tragedy, betrayal, forgiveness and, ultimately, redemption
With joy, humor, and heart-warming earnestness, Sundance award-winning director Alexandria Bombach brings us into a contemporary conversation with Amy and Emily—alongside decades of the band’s home movies and intimate present-day verité.
Lost on the dreary Oregon coast, Fran finds solace in her cubicle, listening to the constant hum of officemates and occasionally daydreaming to pass the time. She is ghosting through life, unable to pop her bubble of isolation, when a friendly new coworker, Robert, persistently tries to connect with her. Though it goes against every fiber of her being, she may have to give this guy a chance.
A bardic fairy tale about the end of the world and the beginning of a new one, tinged with apocalyptic comedy, rapturous cinematography, unforgettable vistas, and the innocence and hopes of a new generation. Featuring an electrifying score composed by Reggio’s longtime collaborator Philip Glass.
Noted artist Mahurin celebrates one of his favorite restaurants–Shopsin’s, a Greenwich Village institution, much beloved by its loyal clientele for decades. With over 900 items on his menu, Kenny Shopsin is chef de cuisine and proprietor. But, after 32 years in the same sheltered workshop, Kenny loses his lease and the family must now find a new location.
With visually stunning landscapes and immersive sound, GODS OF MEXICO is a poetic survey of the vast landscapes and rich diversity of several communities of rural Mexico. Filmmaker Helmut Dosantos takes viewers through salt pans, deserts, highlands, jungle, and underground mines—paying tribute to those who fight to preserve their cultural identity amidst the shadows of modernization.
Witness the extraordinary life of Dr. Lonnie Thompson, an explorer who went where no scientist had gone before. Daring to seek Earth’s history contained in glaciers atop the tallest mountains in the world, Lonnie found himself on the frontlines of climate change‚Äîhis life’s work evolving into a salvage mission to recover priceless historical records before they disappear forever.
Grieving the suicide of a friend, Frances heads to Las Vegas, the suicide capitol of the nation. While investigating the epidemic further, she finds that the city is also burdened by decades of nuclear excess. THIS MUCH WE KNOW masterfully links these seemingly disparate subjects of self-annihilation and environmental issues into something supernatural, unforgettable, and transcendent.
Born into an upper-class family with a doting mother, 24-year-old combative Amanda (emerging talent Benedetta Porcaroli) searches for boyfriends but only finds misfits who are repelled by her intensity. She longs for connection but has never had a friend of her own… until she discovers a long lost childhood bond, spurring a mission to convince another recluse that they are still best friends.
Introverted and unqualified, Eva is unexpectedly tasked with foleying the sound for a commercial featuring a horse. As she slowly acclimates to the new job, her obsession with creating the perfect equine sounds grows into something more tangible. Eva harnesses this new physicality, becoming more confident and empowered, and lures an unassuming botanist into an intriguing game of submission.
Following an extended hiatus, Michelle Guzowski takes a risk by returning to her favorite local bowling alley in the Ohio Rust Belt, after coming out to fellow bowlers as a transgender woman. While the alley’s new owners made it seem a welcoming space, the changes are hard for old-school bowlers.
When a little girl has a terrible accident and slips into a coma, she finds herself thrust into a darkly surreal industrial dreamworld. Haunted by a nightmarish spectre that feeds off her tears, she must follow her mother’s radio-static voice to find her way back to consciousness.
A group of teenagers set off to the woods to initiate a new bass player into their garage band. When they come to an open field, they let the hazing begin – and bring out the crossbow! Things don’t go quite according to plan and soon the ritual results in them coming upon a strange creature that may or may not be of this earth.
On the outskirts of Beirut, Lilas and her thrash metal bandmates have big dreams but few opportunities. When the band’s appearance at a UK music festival isn’t the life-changer they had hoped for, Lilas comes home to Lebanon on the brink of collapse. She must decide what kind of leader she will be, not only for her band, but also as a young woman struggling to define herself in Lebanon.
In a remote village in Costa Rica, forty-year-old Clara endures a repressively religious and withdrawn life under the command of her mother. Tension builds within the family as Clara’s younger niece approaches her quinceañera, igniting a sexual and mystical awakening in Clara, and a journey to free herself from the conventions that have dominated her life.
Shot on vivid 16mm film over a three-year period, ANONYMOUS CLUB chronicles notoriously shy, Melbourne-based musician Courtney Barnett’s ups and downs on the world tour for her album Tell Me How You Really Feel. Featuring Barnett’s narration from her audio diary, the film delivers unprecedented insight into Barnett’s creative process and the dark backdrop to her whimsical poetic compositions.
Luciano is a wandering outcast in a remote, late 19th-century Italian village. His life becomes undone by alcohol, forbidden love, and a bitter conflict with the prince of the region. When the quarrel escalates, Luciano is exiled to the distant Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego where, with the help of ruthless gold-diggers, he searches for a mythical treasure,
Prim and proper Maria Barbizan (Susanne Wuest of GOODNIGHT MOMMY) unceremoniously walks away from her boring job, her inept husband, and her obnoxious daughter. Moments later, she is swept up in a bizarre contest alongside a handful of idiosyncratic characters, all competing for the chance to win true enlightenment… and one slightly used habanero-orange compact sport utility vehicle.
Wallflower Lennon Gates (Sylvie Mix) yearns for access to the inner sanctum of the underground music scene in Columbus, Ohio. When she creates a podcast to interview the local artists she adores, Lennon discovers her own musical ambitions, develops a fast friendship with the striking, confident performer Bobbi Kitten, and in the process creates an identity not wholly her own.
Known as the “Father of Claymation,” Will Vinton revolutionized the animation business during the 1980s and 90s, creating such iconic characters as the California Raisins and Domino’s The Noid. Documentarian Marq Evans brings to life the battle between art and commerce in this affectionate, insightful portrait of an artist who put so much of himself into his craft.
In the heart of the Tibetan highlands, multi-award-winning nature photographer Vincent Munier guides writer Sylvain Tesson on his quest to document the exceptionally elusive snow leopard. Through their journey in the Tibetan peaks, inhabited by invisible presences, the two men ponder humankind’s place amongst the magnificent creatures and glorious landscapes they encounter along the way.
American jazz musician Billy Tipton developed a reputable touring and recording career in the mid-twentieth century, along with his band The Billy Tipton Trio. After his death in the late 80s, it was revealed that Tipton was assigned female at birth, and his life was swiftly reframed as the story of an ambitious woman passing as a man in pursuit of a music career. The genre-defying documentary NO ORDINARY MAN seeks to correct that misrepresentation by collaborating with trans artists.
To the tight-knit community of Sainte-Adeline, Quebec, Magalie appears as a normal suburban high school sophomore surrounded by friends. But this popular teenage girl is harboring a shocking secret: she’s pregnant. When Magalie refuses to identify the father, suspicions among the townsfolk come to a boiling point and the layers of a carefully maintained social varnish eventually crack.
Millions fill stadiums across the world for the sound of Serj Tankian, the Grammy-winning lead singer of System Of A Down. With exclusive interviews, adventures, and original footage personally filmed by Serj, TRUTH TO POWER allows audiences backstage access to an international rock star whose faith in music not only revolutionized heavy metal, but also world events.
Inspired by true experiences of grief, girlhood, and growing up, SOPHIE JONES provides a stirring portrait of a sixteen year old. Stunned by the untimely death of her mother and struggling with the myriad challenges of teendom, Sophie tries everything she can to feel something again, while holding herself together, in this sensitive, acutely realized, and utterly relatable coming-of-age story.
Half a century into their marriage, Chicago artists Jackie and Don Seiden approach the fragility of their elderly lives in their own distinct ways. Director Daniel Hymanson filmed the Seidens, on-and-off for five years, capturing the hardships of aging as well as a view into enduring companionship, in this charming character study.
Shannon Hoon, lead singer of the rock band Blind Melon, filmed himself religiously from 1990-1995 with a video camera, recording up until a few hours before his sudden death at the age of twenty-eight. Created solely with his own footage, voice, and music, this rare autobiography is a prescient exploration of experience and memory in the age of video.
Growing up in a loving home, brothers Peter and Matthew are crazy about each other, but also constantly at each other’s throats. Peter is obsessed with the TV show Survivor, while younger brother Matthew struggles to overcome his intense fear of dogs. Ben Mullinkosson’s revealing and endearing film DON’T BE A DICK ABOUT IT is an affectionate portrait of brotherly love and family life in America.
Trevor reflects on his fear of dating.
At the age of 18, Miles Lagoze enlisted in the Marine Corps. He was deployed to Afghanistan where he served as Combat Camera — but upon discharging, Lagoze took all the footage he and his fellow cameramen shot, assembling the documentary the Corps does not want you to see. COMBAT OBSCURA is a groundbreaking look at the daily life of Marines in a war zone as told by the soldiers themselves.
Reeling from a one-sided breakup, anguished Karen (Otmara Marrero) flees Los Angeles for her ex’s idyllic lake house in the Pacific Northwest. There, she becomes entangled with a mysterious, alluring younger woman (Sydney Sweeney), whom she cannot seem to resist. Equal parts psychological thriller and sexual coming-of-age story, CLEMENTINE is a tense rumination on who to love and how to let go.
When the Taliban puts a bounty on Afghan director Hassan Fazili’s head, he is forced to flee the country with his wife and two young daughters. Capturing the family’s uncertain journey firsthand, Fazili documents their harrowing trek across numerous borders revealing the danger and uncertainty facing refugees seeking asylum juxtaposed with the unbreakable love shared amongst the family on the run.
From Jean Paul Gaultier’s assistant to creative director at Hermès to leading his own House, Martin Margiela never showed his face publicly and avoided interviews, but reinvented fashion with his radical style through forty-one provocative collections. Now, for the first time, the “Banksy of fashion” reveals his drawings, notes, and personal items in this exclusive, intimate profile of his vision.
Several hours of unanswered texts and phone calls have everyone at a Christmas party wondering: where is Kim Bush? The answer is eventually revealed in this Southern Gothic holiday thriller with an all-female ensemble cast.
JAY MYSELF documents the monumental move of renowned photographer and artist, Jay Maisel, who, in February 2015 after forty-eight years, begrudgingly sold his home‚Äîthe 36,000 square-foot, 100-year-old landmark building in Manhattan known simply as “The Bank.”
Disaster strikes in a small American farm town when a teenage boy becomes the victim of a grain entrapment. As corn becomes quicksand inside of a 50-foot silo, the town locals must put aside their deeply rooted differences to save Cody Rose from drowning in the grain they harvest.
Flailing thirty-four-year-old Bridget finally catches a break when she meets a nice guy and lands a much-needed job nannying six-year-old Frances. Amidst her tempestuous personal relationships, a reluctant friendship with Frances emerges, and Bridget contends with the inevitable joys and shit-shows of becoming a part of someone else’s family.
Kasie works as a doumi girl, a young hostess paid to cater to rich businessmen. As she struggles to hide her troubles through soju-and-MDMA-fueled nights, her mind is focused on one thing: earning enough tips to continue providing for her bedridden father. When her father’s caretaker unexpectedly quits, Kasie seeks help from her estranged brother, and the siblings are forced to reconnect.
When four young orphans first meet, their parents’ bodies are being turned into dust, and yet none of them can shed a tear. With no family, no future, no dreams, and no way to move forward, they decide that the first level of this new existence involves salvaging a gaming console, an old electric bass and a charred wok from their former homes‚Äîjust enough to start a band-and then conquer the world.
Toronto, 1899. Aspiring young politician Mackenzie King (Dan Beirne) dreams of becoming the Prime Minister of Canada. But his romantic vacillation between a British soldier and a French nurse, may well bring about his downfall. In his quest for power, King must gratify his imperious Mother, a war-mongering Governor-General, and the utopian idealism of a QueÃÅbeÃÅcois mystic.
Marco and Viri are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers who are on a mission to stop unjust deportations. And the best place to stop deportations, they believe, is in detention. However, when Marco and Viri attempt a daring reverse ‚Äòprison break,’ things don’t go according to plan.
In the Kenyan bush, a small-time ivory dealer fights to stay on top while forces mobilize to destroy his trade. When he turns to his younger cousin, a conflicted wildlife ranger who hasn’t been paid in months, they both see a possible lifeline. A rare and visually arresting look through the perspectives and motives of the people at the epicenter of the conservation divide.
Madeline has become a part of a prestigious physical theater troupe. When the workshop’s ambitious director pushes the teenager to weave her rich interior world and troubled history with her mother into their art, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. The resulting battle between imagination and appropriation rips out of the rehearsal space and through all three women’s lives.
Written and directed by Julien Faraut and narrated by Mathieu Amalric, JOHN MCENROE: IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION revisits the rich bounty of 16-mm-shot footage of the left-handed tennis star John McEnroe, at the time the world’s top-ranked player, as he competes in the French Open at Paris’s Roland Garros Stadium in 1984.
Although Hal Ashby directed a remarkable string of acclaimed, widely admired classics throughout the 1970s, he is often overlooked amid the crowd of luminaries from his generation. Amy Scott’s exuberant portrait explores that curious oversight, using rare archival materials, interviews, personal letters, and audio recordings to reveal a passionate, obsessive artist.
Conceptual artist Jill Magid explores artistic legacy through the work of the Mexican architect Luis Barragán, which is aggressively “protected” by its copyright holders. By cultivating relationships with Barragán’s family, admirers, institutions, and the rights holders, Magid consequently constructs a thoughtful love story between the director, herself, and the architect.
On the 100th anniversary of his birth, internationally renowned director Margarethe von Trotta examines Ingmar Bergman’s life and work with a circle of his closest collaborators as well as a new generation of filmmakers.
23 year old, Nadia Murad, a once ordinary girl, is a survivor of the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Northern Iraq who was able to escape sexual slavery at the hands of ISIS, has become a relentless beacon of hope for her people. On Her Shoulders follows this strong-willed young woman as she fights to bring ISIS to justice and save her people from extinction.
Hoop Dreams goes to the mat in this intimate, coming-of-age documentary about four members of a high-school wrestling team at Huntsville’s J.O. Johnson High School, a longstanding entry on Alabama’s list of failing schools. Coached by teacher Chris Scribner, teammates Jailen, Jamario, Teague, and Jaquan each face challenges far beyond a shot at the State Championship.
The National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico is a site of festivity unlike any other in the world. In celebration of San Juan de Dios, patron saint of firework makers, conflagrant revelry engulfs the town for ten days. Plunging headlong into the fire, BRIMSTONE & GLORY honors the spirit of Tultepec’s community and celebrates celebration itself.
After a decade of stardom in Israel, American dancer Bobbi Jene decides to leave behind her prominent position at the world-famous Batsheva Dance Company, as well as the love of her life, to return to the U.S. to create her own boundary breaking art. Tracking the personal and professional challenges that await her, Elvira Lind’s film lovingly documents the dilemmas and consequences of ambition.
When Mariam, a young Tunisian woman, is raped by police officers after leaving a party, she is propelled into a harrowing night in which she must fight for her rights even though justice lies on the side of her tormentors. Anchored by a tour-de-force performance from newcomer Mariam Al Ferjani, Kaouther Ben Hania’s BEAUTY AND THE DOGS tells an urgent, unapologetic, and important story head-on.
Keith, a twenty-four-year-old newly released from prison and living with his father under house arrest in Baltimore, struggles to reestablish himself within a community scarred by unemployment, neglect, and deeply entrenched segregation. His intentions are in the right place and he possesses an aggressive desire to get back on his feet, but he finds that he may be reverting to his old ways.
A young farmgirl Liina is hopelessly in love with Hans, a nearby farmhand, whose heart she loses to the daughter of the German manor lord. In order to regain his love, Liina turns to any means necessary, even if that means tapping into the black magic that is circling around the village. Estonian pagan legends and Christian mythologies come to a spell-binding intersection in NOVEMBER.
An intimate portrait of the acclaimed North Carolina band The Avett Brothers, charting their decade-and-a-half rise, while chronicling their present-day collaboration with famed producer Rick Rubin on the multi-Grammy-nominated album “True Sadness”. With the recording process as a backdrop, the film depicts a lifelong bond and unique creative partnerships.
Casey lives with her mother in a little-known Midwestern town haunted by the promise of modernism. Jin, a visitor from the other side of the world, attends to his dying father. Burdened by the future, they find respite in one another and the architecture that surrounds them.
A stunning compilation of video footage shot exclusively via the deluge of dashboard cameras that populate Russian roads. The epitome of a you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it documentary, THE ROAD MOVIE captures a wide range of spectacles through the windshield—including a comet crashing down to Earth, an epic forest fire, and no shortage of angry motorists taking road rage unexpected levels.
In Carla Simon’s touching autobiographical film, six-year-old Frida looks on in silence as the last objects from her recently deceased mother’s apartment in Barcelona are placed in boxes. Although her aunt, uncle, and younger cousin Anna welcome her with open arms, it’s only very slowly that Frida begins to get used to her new home in the countryside.
Revolves around the life of the great traditional Irish singer, Joe Heaney. The harsh landscape combined with the myths, fables, and songs of his Connemara childhood helped shape this complex and fascinating character. Enigmatic and complex, Heaney’s devotion to his art came at a huge personal cost.
Filmed in stunning black-and-white, EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT, the third feature by Ciro Guerra, centers on Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and the last survivor of his people. The film was inspired by the real-life journals of two explorers (Theodor Koch-Grünberg and Richard Evans Schultes) who traveled through the Colombian Amazon in search of the sacred and rare psychedelic Yakruna plant.
In the summer of 2015, legendary musician David Byrne staged an event at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to celebrate the creativity of color guard. Byrne recruited performers Lucius, Nico Muhly & Ira Glass, Nelly Furtado, St. Vincent, DevonteÃÅ Hynes, How To Dress Well, Zola Jesus, Money Mark + Ad-Rock, and tUnEyArDs to help create original compositions to accompany ten color guard teams’ performances.
Two friends, both actresses (Halt and Catch Fire’s Mackenzie Davis and Masters of Sex’s Caitlin FitzGerald), leave Los Angeles for Big Sur embarking on a weekend getaway to reconnect. Once alone, the two women’s suppressed jealousies and deep-seated resentments bubble to the surface, causing them to lose grasp not just of the true nature of their relationship, but also of their own identities.
From a couple scraping by in the depths of the flood channels located beneath Sin City, to a man living in a reclaimed military bunker in the middle of the dusty California desert, this not-quite-documentary tells the stories of a motley crew of individuals far away and out of sight, on the margins and off the grid of American society.
When librarian Fiona’s orderly life is disrupted by a letter of distress from her 93- year-old Aunt Martha who is living in Paris, Fiona hops on the first plane she can and arrives only to discover that Martha has disappeared. In an avalanche of spectacular disasters, she encounters Dom, the affable, but annoying tramp who just won’t leave her alone.
Academy Award®-winner Juliette Binoche stars as Anna, who is meeting her son Giuseppe’s French girlfriend, Jeanne (Lou de Laâge), in the lead up to Easter festivities. Young and enchanting, Jeanne arrived with excitement before Giuseppe, whose continued delays and lack of presence cast a dark, mysterious shadow over the household.
Hundreds of thousands of cats roam the metropolis of Istanbul freely. For thousands of years they’ve wandered in and out of people’s lives, becoming an essential part of the communities that make the city so rich. In Istanbul, cats are the mirrors to the people, allowing them to reflect on their lives in ways nothing else could.
In this vibrant portrayal of Australian adolescence, Greta Driscoll’s bubble of obscure loserdom is burst when her parents throw her a surprise 15th birthday party and invite the whole school! Equal measures Wes Anderson and Lewis Carroll, GIRL ASLEEP is an enchanting journey into the absurd — and sometimes scary — depths of the teenage mind.
Pickle explores the human capacity to care for all creatures throughout their sometimes greatly protracted lives until their occasionally sudden and unfortunate deaths.
As Eyal finishes the traditional Jewish week of mourning for his late son, his wife Vicky urges him to return to their routine — but just because the shiva has ended doesn’t mean it’s life as usual. Each coping in their own way, Eyal and Vicky both attempt to regain a sense of control over their future, as they struggle to discover that there are still things in life worth living for.
Indianapolis has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country. Victims of circumstance and a broken system, Greg, Melissa, and Shynika are optimistic that they don’t need to be on the wrong side of statistics. Emmy award-winning director Andrew Cohn’s absorbing documentary observes their individual pursuits going back to school.
Penélope Cruz delivers an extraordinarily emotional performance in ma ma, the newest film from acclaimed director Julio Medem. ma ma follows Magda (Cruz) as she experiences tragedies and miracles alike. Just as Magda is diagnosed with breast cancer, she meets Arturo (Luis Tosar), a devoted husband and father in the midst of unspeakable loss.
Eleven-year-old Toni is bewitched by the tight-knit dance team she sees practicing in the same Cincinnati gymnasium where she boxes. Enamored by the power and confidence of the strong community of girls eagerly absorbs the dance routines and masters drills from a distance. But when a mysterious outbreak of fainting spells plagues the team, Toni’s desire for acceptance becomes more complicated.
Progressive Dutch couple Martin Verfondern and Margo Pool had only one dream – to live off the land, far from the constraints and complications of the city. But, when they arrive in the crumbling, Spanish village of Santoalla, the foreigners challenge the traditions of the town’s sole remaining family, igniting a decade-long conflict that culminates in Martin’s mysterious disappearance.
Rigorously trained from an early age by a perfectionist instructor, Polina is a promising classical ballet dancer. She is just about to join the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet when she discovers contemporary dance. She moves to France to work with famous choreographer Liria Elsaj, but once there she realizes that determination and hard work don’t always lead to success.
Elaine, a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment she makes spells and potions, and then picks up men and seduces them. However, her spells work too well, leaving her with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder.
Félix and Meira is a story of an unconventional romance between two people living vastly different realities mere blocks away from one another. Each lost in their everyday lives, Meira (Hadas Yaron), a Hasidic Jewish wife and mother and Félix (Martin Dubreuil), a Secular loner mourning the recent death of his estranged father, unexpectedly meet in a local bakery in Montreal’s Mile End district.
Marty is a caustic con artist drifting from one scam to the next. When his latest ruse goes awry, mounting paranoia forces him from his temp job to the streets of Detroit with nothing more than a pocket full of bogus checks and a dangerously altered Nintendo® Power Glove. Albert Camus meets Freddy Krueger in BUZZARD, a hellish and hilarious riff on the struggles of the American working class.
A darkly funny and twisted journey taking place entirely on one unforgettable Christmas Eve, Body revolves around a trio of college co-eds whose dalliance with breaking-and-entering goes horribly awry. Following a freak accident, the girls find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian nightmare steeped in tension and deceit, where no one is to be trusted and a new twist lies around every corner.
The Vanished Elephant follows popular crime novelist Edo Celeste after he receives a cryptic envelope which contains a series of enigmatic photographs linked to the disappearance of his fiancee. As Celeste descends down a rabbit hole of strange occurrences, stumbling on a steady stream of new clues, his obsession becomes increasingly more complex and dangerous.
Val is a hard-working live-in housekeeper in modern day Sao Paulo. Val is perfectly content to take care of her wealthy employers’ needs, from cooking and cleaning to being a surrogate mother to their teenage son. But when Val’s estranged daughter Jessica suddenly shows up the unspoken but intrinsic class barriers that exist within the home are thrown into disarray.
Mark Landis has been called one of the most prolific art forgers in US history and while the copies could fetch impressive sums on the open market, Landis isn’t in it for money. ART AND CRAFT starts out as a cat-and-mouse art caper, rooted in questions of authorship and authenticity – but what emerges is an intimate tale of obsession and the universal need for community, appreciation, and purpose.
ANIMALS tells the story of a young couple that exist somewhere between homelessness and the fantasy life they imagine for themselves. Though they masterfully con and steal in an attempt to stay one step ahead of their addiction, they are ultimately forced to face the reality of their situation.
On the night of an astronomical anomaly, eight friends at a dinner party experience a troubling chain of reality bending events. Part cerebral sci-fi and part relationship drama, COHERENCE is a tightly focused, intimately shot film that quickly ratchets up with tension and mystery.
Laila, a teenager from a ruthless criminal family, has just fled from home with her boyfriend, Aaron. Her family disapproves of the relationship on the grounds of religious principles and sends a couple of mercenary thugs to track her down – a pursuit that takes them deep into the muck of the Yorkshire Moors.
From the director of “City State” comes BRAVE MEN’S BLOOD, a crime thriller set against the background of corruption, drugs, torture and Icelandic gangsters. When a former criminal kingpin tips off the head of Internal Affairs about the double-dealings of a high-profile police lieutenant, the ensuing investigations leads them deep into the seedy underworld of Reykjavik.
At 26 years old, Craig (Harry Lloyd) seems to be doing pretty well for himself. He has job stability, a supportive family, and is about to start a wonderful new chapter with his girlfriend. With big life changes on the horizon, what better time to lie to your girlfriend so you can go on a road trip by yourself to the south?
Featuring Zachary Quinto (Star Trek 2, Margin Call), Penn Badgley (Easy A, Gossip Girl), Willie Garson (White Collar), and YouTube star Grace Helbig, this raucous comedy chronicles the historical journey from the Big Bang to the end of humanity.
A compassionate, tender look at the complex relationship between Amy-Jo (Elle Fanning) and her father Joe (John Hawkes), a man torn between his musical ambition, his devotion to his teenage daughter, and his suffocating heroin addiction. Set against a sensuously textured 1970s Hollywood, in which Joe and Amy-Jo strive to live the lives they want against seemingly insurmountable odds.
Gabriel, a troubled young man, is convinced that reuniting with his first love will bring him the stability and happiness he craves. Against his family’s better judgement, he sets out to find her, but as the obstacles mount on his search, his grip on reality begins to slip and his behavior becomes more erratic. In the end, he risks everything in an increasingly obsessive and desperate pursuit.
The Wonders is an enchanting drama centered around a family of beekeepers who are struggling to make ends meet on their farm nestled deep in the Italian countryside. While the bucolic landscape and lifestyle harkens back to another era,the story takes place very much in the present, something which comes into sharp focus when a reality TV show arrives in town intent on showcasing the family.
A personal, accessible portrait of an artist – of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes – whose pursuit to make transcendent music at all costs drives him to value art over human relationships. As he struggles with all of those around him, family and bandmates alike, he’s forced to reconsider the future of the band, begging the question – is this really worth it?
Director Wayne Wang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB) takes us into the world of Cecilia Chiang, the woman who introduced America to authentic Chinese food. Chiang opened her internationally renowned restaurant The Mandarin in 1961 in San Francisco and went on to change the course of cuisine in America.
Though culminating with the farewell concert the band played to thousands of adoring fans in their hometown of Sheffield, England, PULP is by no means a traditional concert film or rock doc. As much a testament to the band as it is to the city and inhabitants of Sheffield, PULP is a picture much larger, funnier, moving, and life-affirming than any music film of recent memory.
Explores the relationship between two men, each of whom are the children of very high-ranking Nazi officials and possess starkly contrasting attitudes toward their fathers. Eminent human rights lawyer Philippe Sands investigates the complicated connection between the two, and even delves into the story of his own grandfather who escaped the same town where their fathers carried out mass killings.
Part psychological thriller and part character study, A TEACHER explores the unraveling of a high school teacher, Diana (Lindsay Burdge), after she begins an affair with one of her students, Eric (Will Brittain). What starts as an innocent fling becomes increasingly dangerous as the beautiful and confident Diana is consumed by her emotions, crossing boundaries in progressively startling ways.
A young man, obsessed with the true story of a woman who died in her apartment and remained undiscovered for over a year, fakes his own disappearance in the hopes of finding out who will notice. His vanishing act sparks the attention of Ellie, a young woman who shares a daily commute, who decides to find out where he’s gone, setting off a series of incidents that will bind them together.
At a Balkan folk song and dance camp, Sarah reunites with her old friend Isolde and with a song she learned years ago about dragons who entwine themselves in a woman’s hair and carry her away through the forest. / When Akin arrives at the farm, he finds his job. This is what he expected to find. When Sarah opens her legs, she finds someone watching. This is what she expected to find.
On the eve of their wedding, Alison gets cold feet and decides to break up with her fiancé Phil. But rather than face the embarrassment of calling off the ceremony, Alison suggests to Phil that they proceed with a sham wedding. Yet once the guests begin to arrive, more complications ensue than either of them could have ever imagined – even if they did know their wedding was bullshit.
Intimately explores the highly controversial subject of third-trimester abortions in the wake of the 2009 assassination of practitioner Dr. George Tiller. Directors Martha Shane and Lana Wilson have created a moving and unique exploration of one of the most incendiary topics of our time, and they’ve done so in an informative, thought-provoking, and compassionate way.
Adenike and Ayodele are a Nigerian couple living in Brooklyn. Following the joyous celebration of their wedding, complications arise out of their inability to conceive a child – a problem that devastates their family and defies cultural expectations, leading Adenike to make a shocking decision that could either save her family or destroy it.
This riveting crime thriller follows Oscar, a recent emigrant to Manila who gets pulled into a harrowing world of corruption and violence when he takes a job as an armored car driver to support his family (in Tagalog w/ English subtitles).
In the infancy of hip-hop, Brooklyn-born photographer Jamel Shabazz documented the pioneers of music and style who would launch an enduring worldwide phenomenon. In JAMEL SHABAZZ STREET PHOTOGRAPHER Charlie Ahearn (director of the seminal graffiti movie Wild Style) pays tribute to both Shabazz and those who defined hip-hop before it had definition.
In Karachi, Pakistan, a runaway boy’s life hangs on one critical question: where is home? The streets, an orphanage, or with the family he fled in the first place? Simultaneously heart-wrenching and life-affirming, THESE BIRDS WALK documents the struggles of these wayward street children and the samaritans looking out for them in this ethereal and inspirational story of resilience.
Private Adam Winfield was a 21-year-old soldier in Afghanistan when he attempted with the help of his father to alert the military to heinous war crimes his platoon was committing. But Winfield’s pleas went unheeded. Left on his own and with threats to his life, Private Winfield was himself drawn into the moral abyss, forced to make a split-second decision that would change his life forever.
Teenagers didn’t always exist. They had to be invented. As the cultural landscape around the world was thrown into turmoil during the industrial revolution, and with a chasm erupting between adults and youth, the concept of a new generation took shape. Whether party-crazed Flappers or hip Swing Kids, zealous Nazi Youth or frenzied Sub-Debs, it didn’t matter – they were all “Teenagers.”
Ricky is a 13-year old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome who gets lost one day in the New York City subway system. While his mother frantically searches for him above ground, the sensory-sensitive Ricky is exposed to the cacophony, eccentricity, and menace found in New York’s underground, resulting in a truly authentic view into both the wonders and the horrors of what lies below.
In the harsh, wintry woods of rural Quebec, Bruce (Academy Award®-nominee Thomas Haden Church), a down-on-his-luck snowplow operator, accidentally kills a man during a drunken night joyride. Stricken with panic, he hides the body and takes to the deep wilderness in hopes of outrunning both the authorities and his own conscience.
Shanon, a reformed drug dealer, is now an insurance claims adjuster. In the days following a grim medical diagnosis he sets out to make peace with those around him and in turn find his own peace beyond the cacophony of New York City.
The Apple Pushers follows five immigrant street vendors who bring fresh fruits and vegetables to the inner cities of New York, where finding a fresh red ripe apple can be a serious challenge. Narrated by Academy Award®-nominee Edward Norton, The Apple Pushers is an inspirational story of hard work and dedication to good health.
Both traveling for work, in a city in which neither lives, a man (Chris Messina) and a woman (Marin Ireland) have a one-night stand. This begins an unexpected love that threatens to impact everything else in their lives. 28 HOTEL ROOMS is an intimate portrait of an affair, following two people as they wrestle with the intoxication of love and the pain and confusion of loving more than one person.
Follows the story of three teenagers that live in a small desert town in Southern California – a town dominated by foreclosed homes and underpasses, unfilled swimming pools and skate parks. These kids must find things to do in a place that offers nothing – yet in the course of observing their day-to-day lives, we see them discover friendship, first love, heartbreak, and what it means to be young.
Oma & Bella is an intimate glimpse into the world of Regina Karolinski (Oma) and Bella Katz, two friends who live together in Berlin. Having survived the Holocaust and then stayed in Germany, it is through their cooking– sumptuous meals that they remember from their childhoods and maintain a bond to each other– that they answer questions of heritage, memory and identity.
Stories from people on the medicated margins, those who’ve gone “off-label”‚Äîa term that refers to the use of pharmaceuticals in any way counter to their prescribed dosage or function. These are men and women for whom pharmaceutical use, abuse, and misuse are simply a way of life in a society that pathologizes the individual’s desire for health, happiness, and even identity for profit.
An affair with a 19-year old actor (GIRLS’ Christopher Abbott) helps reinvigorate life for thirty-something Amy (TWO AND A HALF MEN’S Melanie Lynskey) after she moves home to her parents’ house following her divorce, in this humorous take on modern relationships.
After being released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Harvey Miller has revenge on his mind. He recruits his three best friends to help him rob the local drug kingpin whose betrayal put him away in the first place. As the kingpin catches wind of the con, Harvey’s plan evolves into a suspenseful and exciting scheme full of surprising twists that will keep you guessing until the very end.
On April 2nd, 2011, LCD Soundsystem played its final show at Madison Square Garden. LCD frontman James Murphy had made the conscious decision to disband one of the most celebrated and influential bands of its generation at the peak of its popularity, ensuring that the band would go out on top with the biggest and most ambitious concert of its career.
Luciano is a Neapolitan fishmonger who supplements his modest income by pulling off little scams together with his wife Maria. A likeable, entertaining guy, Luciano never misses an opportunity to perform for his customers and countless relatives. One day, his family urges him to try out for Big Brother. In chasing this dream, his perception of reality begins to change.
The powerful story of three estranged brothers and their father, whose fates become intertwined in a web of deceit. After a deathmatch in Thailand, Adil, a kickboxer, is on the run from his half-brother Ilham, a hitman. The chase brings them to their hometown of Bunohan where they reunite with their family, and each man’s unfulfilled struggle for reconciliation and forgiveness leads to violence.
Recently dumped by his girlfriend, underachiever Alex (Ryan O’Nan) embarks on an impromptu road trip with his new bandmate, the eccentric Jim (Michael Weston). By channeling their inner children and giving a new meaning to the term “lo-fi,” Alex and Jim find their unique style bringing the sound of children’s instruments to their fans – a last ditch effort at achieving their own childhood dreams.
An apocalyptic love story, Bellflower is both explosive and visually stunning. While Woodrow and Aiden prepare for the global apocalypse by crafting homemade flamethrowers and fire breathing Mad Max-inspired muscle cars, Woodrow falls hard in love with a femme fatale who’s potentially more dangerous than any end of days.
Single-mom Angela is trying to hold it together for her daughter Sunny. At her breaking point, Angela is faced with an impossible choice: can she give up what she loves most for the promise of a better life for Sunny?
IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT is the remarkable story of the group’s rise and fall, told through the transformation and radicalization of one of its members, Daniel McGowan. Using never-before-seen archival footage and intimate interviews, IF A TREE FALLS asks hard questions about environmentalism, activism, and the way we define terrorism.
In this sexy, French romantic drama, two couples decide to explore the boundaries of their relationships by swapping partners. What starts as a fun, free-spirited ménage-a-4 experimentation full of sleepovers, shared vacations, and dinner parties soon turns into a hotbed of desire, anger, and confusion.
When 35 year old stand-up comedian Steve Mazan learns he has cancer, he dedicates his life to achieving his dream of performing comedy on The Late Show with David Letterman. DYING TO DO LETTERMAN chronicles Steve’s five-year journey, as he races his own ticking clock to achieve a nearly impossible goal. As Steve says, ‚ÄòIf you stop chasing your dreams, you’re already dead.’
DON’T EXPECT TOO MUCH, a documentary by Nicholas Ray’s wife Susan, investigates the making of WE CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN. Drawing on his archive of never-before-seen film, video, and stills, as well as new interviews with the film’s original crew, directors Jim Jarmusch, Victor Erice, and others, Susan Ray provides a candid exploration of the last years of this revered American auteur.
Oscilloscope Laboratories presents REBIRTH. REBIRTH follows the ten-year transformation of five people whose lives were forever altered on September 11, 2001. Time-lapse photography simultaneously tracks the evolution of the space where the Twin Towers once stood.
Increasingly anxious about his impending marriage to Nat (Rashida Jones) and bored with his day job as a wedding photographer, Theo (Chris Messina) begins a side business, clandestinely snapping voyeuristic photos of his clients. A sexy exhibitionist client leads Theo into an all-consuming obsession, and as he follows her, he is forced to confront uncomfortable truths about his sex life at home.
In 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, a wagon train of three families hires mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a shortcut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert. Over the coming days, lost in the heat, the settlers face hunger, thirst and a lack of faith in each person’s instincts for survival.
When Tracy Scott (Julia Stiles) decides to introduce her new beau Glenn (David Cross) to her three friends Hedy (America Ferrera), Emma, and Lexi, her biggest fear is whether or not they will approve of her new relationship. Little does she realize that’s the least of her worries as before long the couples find themselves in the midst of an apocalyptic disaster, catching them all off guard.
This revealing and touching film asks what happens when a generation’s ultimate anti-authoritarians – punk rockers – become society’s ultimate authorities – dads. With a large chorus of punk rock’s leading men, THE OTHER F WORD follows Jim Lindberg, a 20-year veteran of the skate punk band Pennywise, on his hysterical journey to embracing his ultimately authoritarian role in mid-life: fatherhood.
In the aftermath of the 1950 Winnipeg flood, Fernand floats listlessly through the
sunken ruins of Saint-Boniface while Marie-Oiseau prays for a miracle.
Filmed over a period of almost 5 years and in 25 countries, SAMSARA transports us to sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial sites, and natural wonders. By dispensing with dialogue and descriptive text, SAMSARA subverts our expectations of a traditional documentary, instead encouraging our own inner interpretations inspired by images and music that infuses the ancient with the modern.
Andrea Arnold’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS is an excitingly fresh and distinct take on the classic novel by Emily Brontë. An epic love story that spans childhood well into the young adult years, the film follows Heathcliff, who develops a passionate relationship with the farmer’s teenage daughter, Catherine.
WHO TOOK THE BOMP? LE TIGRE ON TOUR follows iconic feminist electronic band Le Tigre on their 2004-2005 international tour. Le Tigre confronts sexism and homophobia in the music industry while tearing up the stage with their no-holds-barred lyrics, punk rock ethos, and whip-smart wit.
A suspenseful and gripping psychological thriller, Lynne Ramsay’s WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN explores the fractious relationship between a mother and her evil son. Tilda Swinton, in a bracing, tour-de-force performance, plays the mother, Eva, as she contends for years with the increasing malevolence of her first-born child, Kevin (Ezra Miller).
This potent documentary uses a long-lost film reel to illustrate how the Nazis controlled images of Jewish life during World War II. With the missing spool, Director Yael Hersonski shows how the imagery from a propaganda movie of contented Jews in Warsaw was staged to distort historical knowledge and, with the aid of Jewish survivors’ testimony, chronicles the horrifying reality of ghetto life.
On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro is Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill, where men and women sift through garbage for a living. Artist Vik Muniz produces portraits of the workers and learns about their lives.
James Franco delivers a career-defining performance as poet Allen Ginsberg. Through his search for personal and creative expression, Ginsberg writes HOWL, and must contend with attorney Jake Ehrlich (Jon Hamm) during HOWL’S bizarre obscenity trial.
The incredible true story of how the greatest graffiti movie of all time was never made. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP is a chaotic trip through low-level criminality, comradeship, and incompetence. The film follows a shopkeeper turned filmmaker as he attempts to capture the world’s most infamous vandals on camera, only to have British stencil artist Banksy turn the camcorder back on its owner.
In 2010, the Dalai Lama traveled to New York City to teach A Commentary on Bodhicitta by Nagarjuna and A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by Shantideva. Following the teachings, His Holiness went on to address a sold out crowd at Radio City Music Hall in a public talk followed by a candid question and answer session.
Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in this definitive documentary. His dense, bebop-influenced neoexpressionist work emerged while minimalist, conceptual art was the fad; as a successful black artist, he was constantly confronted by racism and misconceptions. Much can be gleaned from insider interviews and archival footage, but it is Basquiat’s own words and work that powerfully convey the mystique and allure of both the artist and the man.
Ivy heads home for Spring Break with a fresh romance in her heart. But when her best friend Al finds himself without lodgings, Ivy and her mother take him in and Ivy and Al’s friendship strengthens while her boyfriend grows more distant from afar. Increasingly distressed about her conflicting feelings, Ivy must stay resilient in the face of her epilepsy.
In this darkly comic gem, it’s Christmas Eve in northern Finland, and an archeological dig has just unearthed Santa Claus. But this Santa isn’t one you want coming to town. When local children begin disappearing, Pietari and his father capture the mythological being and attempt to sell Santa to the corporation sponsoring the dig.
In this hallucinatory thriller, two outcast redheads – a psychologist (Vincent Cassel) and a bullied teen (Olivier Barthelemy) – embark on a journey to Ireland. But what starts as a search for a more tolerant community soon descends into a rampage of violence and destruction for the ginger-haired duo.
October Country is a beautifully rendered portrait of an American family struggling for stability while haunted by the ghosts of war, teen pregnancy, foster care and child abuse. This vibrant and penetrating documentary examines the forces that unsettle the working poor and the violence that lurks beneath the surface of American life.
Johnny becomes a nanny to prove to his ex-girlfriend that he’s ready to have children. But Johnny’s emotional problems sabotage his attempts to build a family like the one he cares for. YOU HURT MY FEELINGS speaks with the honesty of a child about the struggle to find love.
A vibrant portrait of a Beat Generation icon, WILLIAM S BURROUGHS: A MAN WITHIN explores the brilliant and troubled world of one of our greatest authors. Featuring archival footage of Burroughs, as well as interviews with confidants such as John Waters, Patti Smith and Iggy Pop, the film, set to a soundtrack by Patti Smith and Sonic Youth, shows how Burroughs spawned a countercultural movement.
Admired by actors and directors, yet unknown to most movie-goers, the venerable actor John Cazale appeared in some of the greatest films of the 1970s before dying tragically at age 42. In I Knew It Was You, director Richard Shepard crafts a loving, star-studded tribute.
A suspenseful court room drama that examines the intricacies and injustices of the global politics of food. Focusing on a landmark and highly controversial legal case pitting a dozen Nicaraguan banana plantation workers against Dole Food Corporation, BANANAS!* uncovers the alleged usage of a banned pesticide and its probable link to generations of sterilized workers.
Will Montgomery is a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front.
After 23 years working as a devoted maid in an upper class Chilean household, embittered and ailing Raquel can no longer care for the family alone. Trapped by guilt, matriarch Pilar refuses to let Raquel go, even though it is clear their longtime maid is slowly unraveling. Instead, Pilar hires more help, throwing Raquel into a jealous frenzy.
A deeply moving tribute to Maurice Sendak, author of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: a seminal talent whose conflicts with success and lifelong obsession with death have subtly influenced his work. Through his own words, personal photos, and illustrations, Sendak offers a rare, intimate, and unexpected look at his exceptional life.
From the director of Prisoners and Enemy comes this searing drama based on true events. In December, 1989, a disturbed killer stalked the campus of Montreal Polytechnique with one goal in mind – to target as many young women as possible.
The late civil rights attorney William Kunstler was one of the most famous and controversial lawyers of the 20th century. He represented civil rights and anti-war activists, as well as accused terrorists and murderers. In William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler explore their father’s life, from middle-class family man to the most hated lawyer in America.
Two-time Academy Award®-nominee Samantha Morton’s directorial debut THE UNLOVED is a powerful and personal look at the strength and resilience of youth. Eleven-year-old Lucy seeks refuge from her abusive father. Placed in a tumultuous foster home, Lucy befriends her rebellious teenage roommate Lauren, and together they navigate the cold and uncaring world before them.
A personal look at the life of the Gondry family matriarch, Michel’s aunt Suzette Gondry, and her relationship with her son, Jean-Yves. Michel examines Suzette’s years as a school teacher and her life in rural France. During the course of filming the documentary, Michel unearths new family stories and uses his camera to explore them in a subtle and sensitive way.
In the early 1990’s a loose-knit group of like-minded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip-hop, and graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the “establishment” art world, this group created a movement that transformed pop culture.
Frontrunners is a smart and funny political documentary that follows the student council presdiential campaign at one of the country’s most prestigious public high schools: Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Follow four charming and idiosyncratic candidates as they navigate an electoral process that is said to be one of the most competitive at the high school level.
This award-winning documentary investigates what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century: the world water crisis. Building a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply, the director focuses on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.
Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne’s tribute to his murdered childhood friend, Andrew Bagby, tells the story of a child custody battle between Bagby’s grieving parents and Shirley Turner, Bagby’s pregnant ex-girlfriend and suspected killer. Initially, Kuenne made this documentary as a memorial for Andrew, but it morphs into a legal odyssey when Turner goes free on bail and is allowed to raise her new son.
Anders Østergaard’s award-winning documentary shows a rare inside look into the 2007 uprising in Myanmar through the cameras of the independent journalist group, Democratic Voice of Burma.
Risking torture and life imprisonment, the VJs vividly document the brutal clashes with the military and undercover police – even after they themselves become targets of the authorities.
This quirky documentary follows the exploits of Dallas Gilbert and Wayne Burton, two Portsmouth, Ohio, residents who have dedicated their lives to proving that Bigfoot is more than an urban legend. Battling financial hardship, failing health and marital strife, Gilbert and Burton remain steadfast in their quest for validation and subsequently obtaining their own small piece of the American dream. (NETFLIX)
Colin leaves behind his liberal complacency for a vow to make as little environmental impact as possible for one year. No more automated transportation, no more electricity, no more non-local food, no more material consumption…no problem. That is, until his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two year-old daughter are dragged into the fray.
On the fringes of Dublin two kids, Kylie and Dylan, live in a suburban housing estate devoid of life, colour and the prospect of escape. Lance Daly’s vision of Dublin is a kaleidoscope of magic, wonder and mystery. But as the night wears on in Dublin, the two kids have to rely on the kindness of strangers, the advice of Bob Dylan and their trust in each other to survive the night.
Beastie Boy Adam Yauch documents the lives and talent of America’s most gifted high school basketball players as they prep for the first annual Elite 24 all-star game in 2006 at Harlem’s famed Rucker Park. Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabar were groomed on that same court, and young hopefuls such as Jerryd Bayless, Michael Beasley, Tyreke Evans and Kevin Love now follow in their footsteps.
The story of the Ferus Gallery, which nurtured Los Angeles’s first significant post-war artists between 1957 and 1966. First under the leadership of genius autodidact Walter Hopps, then the smooth-as-silk Irving Blum, Ferus groomed the Los Angeles art world from a loose band of idealistic beatniks into a coterie of competitive, often brilliant artists.
Robert Hanson is a Copenhagen police officer transferred to a small provincial town following his nervous breakdown. There to take on the mysteriously vacated Sheriff position, Hansen quickly finds himself in a community governed by its own bizarre rules. TERRIBLY HAPPY is a taught, noirish psychological thriller about the depths to which people will go to achieve a sense of security and belonging.
Filmmaker Nati Baratz follows the spellbinding journey of Tibetan Buddhist monk Tenzin Zopa as he travels far and wide to identify the child who is the reincarnation of his deceased master, Lama Konchog. Acting on instructions from the Dalai Lama, the shy Zopa relies on astrology, dreams and other signs to locate the child, knowing that if he succeeds, he must also convince the boy’s parents to release their child into his care. (NETFLIX, 432 char)
Sisters Jin (Hee-yeon Kim) and Bin (Song-hee Kim) must fend for themselves when their mother abruptly packs her things, leaving the girls in the care of their alcoholic aunt without a word as to when she’ll return. In a tale of innocence lost, the sisters try to make sense of their mother’s absence. But in the meantime, 6-year-old Jin will be forced to mature far beyond her tender years. (NETFLIX)
An intimate portrait of world-renowned artist Keith Haring whose mantra was that “Art is for everyone!” The film is a thorough and intimate exploration of the background and career of one of the most popular and significant artists of the 20th century.
A failing screenwriter in Buenos Aires, Luciano lives in an almost intense state of paranoia, afraid of everything from STDs to even his doorman. When his childhood friend Manuel, a very successful TV producer, returns from Madrid with his stunning new girlfriend Sofia, his world is thrown into a near desperate funk.
A gorgeously photographed, music infused portrait of world famous Senegalese pop sensation Youssou N’Dour. Best known in the West for his collaborations with Bono and Peter Gabriel, N’Dour is one of the most beloved musicians in pop music and his legendary career has spanned decades. I BRING WHAT I LOVE is a stirring journey of faith, redemption, and the power of music to overcome intolerance.
Director Matt Wolf’s critically acclaimed documentary examines the life and work of Arthur Russell, an influential singer, songwriter, cello player and disco auteur who died tragically in 1992. The film blends archival footage with illuminating interview segments featuring some of Russell’s colleagues and most notable collaborators, including poet Allen Ginsberg, composer Philip Glass and indie pop sensation Jens Lekman.
Wendy Carroll is driving to Ketchikan, Alaska, in hopes of a summer of lucrative work at the Northwestern Fish cannery, and the start of a new life with her dog, Lucy. When her car breaks down in Oregon, however, the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she confronts a series of increasingly dire economic decisions, with far-ranging repercussions for herself and Lucy.
Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, VISUAL ACOUSTICS celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, acclaimed by many as “the world’s most influential architectural photographer.” Shulman’s images embody the energy and optimism of Southern California in the second half of the 20th century and brought its iconic architecture to the attention of an international audience.
A provocative coming-of-age story, Jennifer Venditti’s debut film, BILLY THE KID (2007), is an acclaimed odyssey into the soul of an American teenager. Exhilarating and heartfelt, the film grants an intimate, empathetic view of an expressive and seemingly fearless outsider and provides an unvarnished and unique snapshot into what it’s like to grow up in America.
Before Patti Smith released her 1975 landmark debut album Horses, and Robert Mapplethorpe’s photography was causing national debates about public arts funding, the two of them formed a unique troika with legendary curator and collector Sam Wagstaff. With this engrossing documentary, writer and curator James Crump paints an illustrious portrait of the complex ties between these three visionaries.
Barney Rosset–one of the great unsung heroes in post-war America’s battle for free expression. As publisher of Grove Press and the Evergreen Review, he challenged the obscenity bans against “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” “Tropic of Cancer,” “Naked Lunch” and many more controversial works.
In 1966 Danny Williams disappeared. Twenty four years later, his niece, director Esther Robinson, discovered over 20 never-before-seen films he made at the Warhol Factory. Subjects included Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, and what may be the earliest known footage of the Velvet Underground. This is her search to uncover what happened to the uncle she never knew.
Social misfit Gretchen Finkle (Courtney Davis) has spent high school falling for losers, and senior year isn’t any different. But when she becomes obsessed with bad boy Ricky (John Merriman), her mother sends her to an inpatient therapy clinic. Gretchen realizes she must take responsibility for her life and the choices she makes.
Tracing the undeniable impact Scott Walker has had on popular music through casual interviews with some of his biggest, highest profile fans, we explore his fascinating trajectory. From jobbing bass player on LA’s Sunset Strip to his transformation into a composer of true genius, here is an uncompromising and serious musician working at the peak of his powers.
A sex therapist who has never had an orgasm, a dominatrix who is unable to connect, a gay couple who are deciding whether to open up their relationship, and the people who weave in and out of their lives, all converge on a weekly gathering called Shortbus: a mad nexus of art, music, politics, and polysexual carnality.
Singer-songwriter Townes van Zandt was at the center of Austin’s outlaw country scene in the 1970s, but, while friends like Waylon Jennings and Steve Earle went on to mainstream stardom, the mercurial Van Zandt retreated into a haze of alcoholism and mental illness. This sympathetic documentary traces his work and life, which was cut short on New Year’s Day 1997, when he was 52.
DARK DAYS explores the surprisingly domestic subterranean world of a homeless community living in a train tunnel beneath NYC. Through stories heartbreaking and hilarious, tunnel dwellers reveal their reasons for taking refuge and their struggle to survive underground. With a hypnotic soundtrack by legendary DJ Shadow, DARK DAYS is still an enduring classic, ten years after its initial release.
The City (La Ciudad) is a collection of stories about the love, hope, loss, and dreams of Latin American immigrants living in New York City. Set in the present day, The City (La Ciudad) takes us inside this community of newcomers, creating a powerful and incisive drama about the loneliness, displacement, and economic hardship which they face in the new and unfamiliar world of the city.
Easily the most compelling and comprehensive movie ever produced about the life and work of Peter Beard, covering all aspects of his life, professional career, and personal adventures beginning in the 1960s through the 1990s. Iconic photographs of Beard s legendary past are revisited and for the first time we hear the untold stories of his adventures and acquaintances.
Shot on 16mm, the story follows the misadventures of disaffected house-wife “Cozy”, played by Lisa Bowman, and the aimless layabout “Lee”, played by up and comer Larry Fessenden. Described by Reichardt as “a road movie without the road, a love story without the love, and a crime story without the crime”.
Jackie and Michael are coworkers at a large law firm, who decide to meet at Jackie’s for dinner one night. As this ‘first date’ plays out, the audience is guided through a mental minefield of disappointment. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Screenwriting Award at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.
This elegantly edited documentary weaves interviews with Mitchell and other leading painters and critics while letting her stunning pictures dominate the film.
A fictional account of what might have happened in April 1963, when John Lennon and Beatles manager Brian Epstein traveled to Barcelona for an extended weekend getaway. In the four days they spend together, the suave Epstein and the provocative Lennon reflect on their lives, both private and professional, as they explore the unique bond they share.
Los Sures probes the residents of the Southside of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, pre-gentrification. Poverty, drugs, gang violence, crime, abandoned real estate, racial tension, single-parent homes, and inadequate local resources are the backbone of a complex portrait that also celebrates the vitality of this largely Puerto Rican and Dominican community.
A racially-charged love story in Natchitoches Parish, a “free community of color” in Louisiana. A budding, forbidden romance lays bare the tensions between two black communities, both descended from slaves but of disparate opportunity‚Äîthe light- skinned, property-owning Creoles and the darker-skinned, more disenfranchised families of the area.
A 45-minute city symphony directed, produced and edited by Manfred Kirchheimer. Shot on lush 16mm color reversal stock, the film weaves together vivid images of graffiti- covered elevated subway trains crisscrossing the gritty urban landscape of 1970s New York, to a commentary-free soundtrack that combines ambient city noise with jazz and gospel by Charles Mingus and Aretha Franklin.
Restored and reconstructed from its 1973 Cannes version, director Nicholas Ray’s experimental masterpiece WE CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN embodies the director’s practice of filmmaking as a “communal way of life.” Made with his college students in upstate New York, the film features Ray as mentor, friend, and reference point to his students and their stories of love, sex, rebellion, and lost innocence.
The definitive documentary on the New York School Painters. Featuring footage of all the major figures of the New York Art Scene between 1940-1970, showing many of the artists before they became famous.
Pigeons and vagabonds populate the town square of Porto Manacore, a corrupt Italian fishing village perched above the Adriatic. Mariette, the gorgeous housekeeper to the town’s wealthy patriarch, concocts a daring scheme to marry handsome Enrico Tosso. But the devilish Matteo, an admirer of Mariette, tries to shut out Enrico, by playing him in the town’s vicious drinking game, “The Law”. Manipulation and lies abound in this sexy romp in a beautiful Mediterranean village.