Born underground, on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement and the Stonewall Riots, disco’s nascent popularity saw the spectacular takeover of the dancefloor, the airwaves and burgeoning fashion trends that reflected the joy and freedom inherent to the genre. Co-opted and exploited through references like John Travolta’s strut and shiny Swedish tracksuits, disco eventually reaches the mainstream, losing its original flair and purpose rooted in radical politics and social change.
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Programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz achieved groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing. His passion for open access ensnared him in a legal nightmare that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26.
The remarkable journey of Duncan Edwards, Manchester United’s legendary talent whose life tragically ended at 21 in the Munich air disaster, told through interviews and archival recordings.
This behind-the-scenes documentary follows the lives of the scientists and engineers working at the Joint European Torus (JET). Join them as they overcome challenges in their attempt to achieve a world record in sustained fusion energy.
Documentary about the St. John’s Day festival in Tallinn. Recorded with a hidden camera, the film is full of contrasts and expressively depicts the changes in the traditions of Midsummer’s Eve and the emotional impoverishment of city dwellers, showing their behaviour at the bonfires – their loneliness as well as their alcohol-induced exuberant state in big crowds.
Documentary about humans dealing with changing technology, the basic concepts of communication, cinema, and Akerman’s mother, seen in her Brussels apartment.
Albert and David Maysles’ classic GREY GARDENS immortalized the estate of Edith and Little Edie Beale, relatives of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, who lived in alarmingly poor conditions. But there is more to the story: it was Lee Radziwill and Peter Beard who first brought the Maysles to the Beales, when the two set out to make a film about Radziwill’s childhood. The reels of that first contact were shelved for 45 years. This documentary recovers the lost footage. Anchored in Beard’s recollections and artistic vision, we are returned to “that summer” in 1972, a seductive dream world and collage of radically unconventional creative personalities—Warhol, Bacon, Jagger, Capote—practicing the art of living amidst oppressive forces of class expectation and prejudice.
A film that charts the artistic and personal relationship between two era-defining artists, Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (At the Drive-In/The Mars Volta), told almost entirely through hundreds of hours of self-shot footage filmed by Omar over the last 40 years.
Ireland, June 1944. The crucial decision about the right time to start Operation Overlord on D-Day comes to depend on the readings taken by Maureen Flavin, a young girl who works at a post office, used as a weather station, in Blacksod, in County Mayo, the westernmost promontory of Europe, far from the many lands devastated by the iron storms of World War II.
“Showrunners” is the first ever feature length documentary film to explore the fascinating world of US television showrunners and the creative forces aligned around them. These are the people responsible for creating, writing and overseeing every element of production on one of the United State’s biggest exports – television drama and comedy series. Often described as the most complex job in the entertainment business, a showrunner is the chief writer / producer on a TV series and, in most instances, the show’s creator. Battling daily between art and commerce, showrunners manage every aspect of a TV show’s development and production: creative, financial and logistical.
Told from the centre of the playing field, In The Middle follows a diverse group of match officials as they attempt to cope with the rigours of running matches in grassroots football. Experienced or new to it, young or old, male, female or non-binary, these unsung heroes tell us about their passion for the game, about their lives outside of it and why they’re drawn to the often-thankless task of refereeing.
Comedy icon Dave Chappelle makes his triumphant return to the screen with a pair of blistering, fresh stand-up specials. Filmed at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, in April 2015.
An intimate and important story that demands to be told, Revealed – Danielle Laidley: Two Tribes this must-see documentary is an in-depth journey of a remarkable woman who has endured some difficult bumps in the road while achieving countless plaudits along the way. Utilising personal archival material including photos, journals and videos, audiences will witness Danielle’s early childhood in a working-class suburb of Perth, to her career as an elite athlete and as a renowned senior AFL coach. Cameras also capture the emotional moments as Danielle faces her family and friends for the first time.