In 1970, hundreds of hippies followed Stephen Gaskin on a journey from San Francisco to Tennessee, where they founded a legendary commune known as the Farm. Within this self-sustaining society based on non-violence, vegetarianism and respect for the earth, members willingly took a vow of poverty, lived in converted buses, grew their own food and home-delivered babies. Born and raised in this alternative community, filmmakers and sisters Rena and Nadine return for the first time since leaving in 1985. Finally ready to face the past after years of hiding their upbringing, they chart the rise and fall of America’s largest utopian socialist experiment and their own family tree. The nascent idealism of a community destroyed, in part, by its own success is reflected in the personal story of a family unit split apart by differences. American Commune finds inspiration in failure, humour in deprivation and, most surprisingly, that communal values are alive and well in the next generation.
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Still photographs and narration give an overview of the history of the American Indian.
Jeff Smith, BONE and the Changing Face of Comics’ tells the story of one of the most successful journeys in independent comics.
After attending a local comic book convention, three filmmakers are so moved by the stories shared with them by cosplayers that they decide to investigate geek culture even further. Attending other conventions across the country and speaking with legendary creators such as Kevin Eastman, Stan Lee and George R.R. Martin, the trio not only begins to find answers to why people gravitate towards superheroes and stories about superheroes, but how being a geek could help them live deeper, richer lives. Geek, and You Shall Find tells the stories behind the creation of several popular stories including Superman, Star Wars, Game of Thrones and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In sharing how these characters and their worlds came to be, creators reveal how often they have been inspired by real-life social ills. Most importantly, by continuing to speak with fans who have been inspired by these creations, this film reveals how superheroes have the potential to combat these social issues as well.
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) has provided nearly 800,000 undocumented young people a chance to work legally, go to college, start businesses, and pursue the “American Dream.” After DACA is rescinded, Waking Dream follows the unfolding fate of six of these young people as they fight for legal status in the U.S., struggle with the deportation of family members, and pursue their dreams in a country that is trying harder and harder to push them out. They know their fate must go one direction and they are fighting for their future in America.
Gary Lineker, Terry Butcher and Paul Parker revisit the scene of the 1990 World Cup semi-final between England and West Germany.
Filmmaker Tariq Nasheed explores the topics of race, racism, and history within the United States.
An inside look at a West Hollywood cult formed by a charismatic teacher in the 1980s that eventually imploded.
Before MTV and the age of television, there were Soundies. First appearing in 1941, these three minute black-and-white films featured artists of the Big Band, Jazz and Swing era, like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong, Gene Krupa, The Mills Brothers, Les Paul, Cab Calloway, and Fats Waller. The Soundies helped launch the careers of Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Liberace, and Dorothy Dandridge, among others. Viewed for a dime through a special machine called a Panoram, a movie jukebox, these forerunners to the music video could be seen in nightclubs, roadhouses, restaurants and other public venues across the U.S. These classic films remain as glorious time capsules of music, social history, popular culture, and tell the story of a crossroads in our country, when the uncertainties of war, race relations, and emerging technologies combined to write one of the most influential chapters in our nation¹s history.
A film directed by Ledare during a three-day conference that he organized in Chicago that was structured according to the Tavistock method—a project that involved recruiting 30 participants, securing the collaboration of 10 psychologists trained in the method, and directing a film crew. Complex patterns of stereotyping and other projections of identity emerge through the participants’ discussions; authority is questioned, assumed, and taken away; and viewers are implicated as the participants become aware of subjective forces that exist beyond the imposed boundaries of the conference system.
A documentary based on the book of the same name by Joe Simpson about Simpson’s and Simon Yates’ disastrous and near-fatal attempt to climb 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Chinatown Fair opened as a penny arcade on Mott Street in 1944. Over the decades, the dimly lit gathering place, known for its tic-tac-toe playing chicken, became an institution, surviving turf wars between rival gangs, changing tastes and the explosive growth of home gaming systems like Xbox and Playstation that shuttered most other arcades in the city. But as the neighborhood gentrified, this haven for a diverse, unlikely community faced its strongest challenge, inspiring its biggest devotees to next-level greatness.
A documentary about actor/director Dennis Hopper, showing him at his home and studio putting together his film “The Last Movie.”
