Robert A. Burns, art director on the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre, was obsessed with actor Rondo Hatton aka the Creeper. Burns was average looking but brimming with odd creativity. Hatton, who suffered from acromegaly, had a strangely unique appearance, but was a regular guy. In Rondo and Bob their two stories intersect.
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A bold and unflinching documentary on ‘white flight’ in the area of Spanish Lake, Missouri, a post WW2 suburb. The town experiences rapid economic decline and population turnover due to racism and governmental policies which support the white exodus. The themes of the film parallel America’s growing political divide, racial tension, and rise of anti-government sentiment.
At 82 years old, Lula is every inch the rebel. An openly gay man in communist Poland, he organized underground parties and after-curfew salons of men inside private apartments. He enthusiastically took up drag, despite a fiercely homophobic culture, to free himself from the stifling correctness of the 80s. But now, he’s an old, single man in a youth-obsessed world. His friend was crushed by depression and killed himself, but somehow Lula, now Poland’s oldest drag queen, remains buoyant. Is he escaping loneliness with his constant clubbing, looking for love yet again to insulate himself against what he knows is coming? Lula isn’t waiting for approval. Filmmaker Bogna Kowalczyk’s energetic portrait pairs with her subject’s kinetic drive, right down to the stellar soundtrack and nimble camerawork. Whether it’s meeting fans at Pride or selecting an artist to sculpt his specialty crematorium urn, try to keep up with a man who knows life is to be lived out loud.
Danny Says is a documentary unveiling the amazing journey of Danny Fields. Fields has played a pivotal role in music and culture with seminal acts including: the Doors, the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, MC5, Nico, the Ramones and beyond.
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Renowned documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker captures Otis Redding in his ascendancy, singing at the historic Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. Comedian Tom Smothers introduces Redding to a crowd that is leaving — until Redding grabs them with his charged rendition of “Shake.” Redding’s performance also includes “Respect” (which he wrote), “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” “Satisfaction,” and “Try a Little Tenderness.” Tragically, Redding died in a plane crash six months later. An innovative filmmaker who started in the 1950s making experimental films, Pennebaker garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature in 1993 for The War Room, his behind-the-scenes look at Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign. His other subjects have included Norman Mailer, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie.
An intimate portrait of a Chinese-European couple in New Zealand, and their journey to get a blessing for marriage from traditional Chinese parents.
The story that led to the film, My Wedding and Other Secrets.
A fossil discovered in 2006 contains two nearly complete dinosaurs locked in battle: a triceratops and a carnivore.
In the eyes of a foreigner practically any street of Mexico City’s Centro Histórico holds potential for a film. Life on the street deserves more than just the natural condition of observer anyone could have, it demands an extra attention. In a 100-meter radius, the sociological exuberance of the events going on is simply impossible to ignore. The street is a mise en scène in itself.
Launched in 1982 by three friends in a Houston diner, Compaq Computer set out to build a portable PC to take on IBM, the world’s most powerful tech company. Many had tried cloning the industry leader’s code, only to be trounced by IBM and its high-priced lawyers. Explore the remarkable David vs. Goliath story, and eventual demise, of Compaq, an unlikely upstart who altered the future of computing and helped shape the world as we know it today.
When The Bough Breaks is a feature length documentary about postpartum depression and perinatal mood disorders. When actress Tanya Newbould experienced PPD with her daughter she did not understand what was wrong with her or how to go about getting help. Tanya teamed up with Director Jamielyn Lippman to uncover this illness that affects one in five new mothers. One of the women they interviewed was Lindsay Gerszt who was currently suffering from postpartum depression. Lindsay agreed to let the cameras document her and give us an in depth look at her path to recovery. Babies are dying, women aren’t speaking out and the signs are being missed. Together these three women take us on a journey to find answers and break the silence.
The Sydney Football Stadium. Iconic. Controversial. Magical. Memorable. A centrepiece in Sydney’s sporting landscape since 1988. Follow the journey of the designers and builders who navigate the complexities of the last couple of years.
Twenty years after his death, Chico Xavier, from Minas Gerais, has his life told in the documentary “Chico Para Sempre”, directed by Wagner de Assis (Nosso Lar; Kardec) and with the participation of journalist Marcel Souto Maior, author of one of the most successful biographies of the medium.