"People of the Graphic Novel" is a playful introduction to the history of an art form: from the first "funny pages" to seminal artists including Will Eisner and Art Spiegelman.
Lost Heroes (2014)
Lost Heroes is the story of Canada's forgotten comic book superheroes and their legendary creators. A ninety-minute journey to recover a forgotten part of Canada's pop culture and a national treasure few have ever heard about. This is the tale of a small country striving to create its own heroes, but finding itself constantly out muscled by better-funded and better-marketed superheroes from the media empire next door.
One Thousand Days in Saigon (2012)
Documentary short following French-Vietnamese artist Marcelino Truong on his journey back to Vietnam for the research on his 'roman graphique' 'Une si jolie petite guerre' (A Lovely Little War). Truong looks back to when his family lived in Saigon from 1961 to 1963 when his father served as a translator to then president of the Republic of Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem. The film follows Truong as he ruminates over memories, photos and films, and also conducts a host of interviews with Vietnamese relatives and officials to present a personal and long awaited Vietnamese perspective to the war.
Heroes Manufactured (2017)
A documentary following Canadian artists and their ability to break into the comic book industry while dealing with fandom and the craze of comic book conventions in Canada.
Uderzo, sur le divan d'Astérix (2023)
Documentary on Astérix's illustrator Uderzo, led by Antoine de Caunes with interviews from various French celebrities.
Wellstone! (2004)
Paul Wellstone was the charismatic Minnesota progressive who used grassroots organizing to get elected and give ordinary people a stake in government. His 3rd election campaign was cut short when his small plane crashed into the north woods of Minnesota just 11 days before the 2002 election. Wellstone! explores the origin of his politics, his controversial road to the United States Senate, his deep bond with his wife and 'co-senator' Sheila, and the legacy of a life of progressive populism.
Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
In the spring of 1984, a strange new comic book sat beside cash registers in select shops, too big to fit in the racks, and too weird to ignore. Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles presented a completely original breed of super hero. It was too bizarre, too crazy. It broke all the rules and should never have worked. Until it sold out. Again and again and again. For 30 years. Now, peek under the shell and see how this so-called "happy accident" defied every naysayer to become one of the most popular and beloved franchises in the world.
Chris Claremont's X-Men (2018)
Chris Claremont’s X-Men takes an in-depth look at Claremont’s monumental run. Using high-profile interviews, the film explores the behind-the-scenes development of notable characters like Wolverine, Storm, and Phoenix, as well as the challenges of creating art within a corporate system.
The Jodorowsky Constellation (1994)
This documentary depicts the filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky talking about his life, his loves, his career as a filmmaker, graphic novelist, and workshop leader, and his eccentricities including tarot reader and theatrical director during The Panic Movement. Directed by Louis Mouchet, La Constellation Jodorowsky includes a lengthy on-camera interview with Jodorowsky in Spanish with subtitles. Marcel Marceau, Fernando Arrabal, Peter Gabriel, Jean "Moebius" Giraud, and Jean Pierre Vignau make appearances discussing their various projects with the director. In addition to the interview and film clips, Mouchet features some bizarre footage from Jodorowsky’s absurdist plays in which topless women splattered with paint writhe around the stage in a theatrical production meant to represent The Panic Movement, i.e., an artistic expression in which reason cannot fully express the human experience.
Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD (2014)
A long overdue documentary that tells the story of 2000AD, the unsung cult hero of the comics industry. This film will celebrate and pay respect to the comic and explore its importance and influence on contemporary pop culture.
Comic Book Confidential (1989)
A survey of the artistic history of the comic book medium and some of the major talents associated with it.
Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked (2003)
Industry insiders like Stan Lee and Neil Gaiman (The Sandman) reflect on the way their colorful creations reflect society at large. They have spread from the pulpy pages of nickel comics to Saturday morning cartoons, the big screen and beyond. They have evolved from simple, All-American heroes to tortured, complicated characters reflecting the dreams, desires and fears of modern society. From Superman to The Sandman, Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked is a fascinating, feature-length look at the evolution of an art form that has proved remarkably adaptable and enduring. Filled with classic images from DC and Marvel Comics as well as extensive interviews with modern masters of the graphic novel like Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns), this documentary, originally aired on the History Channel, goes far beyond the superficial escapist fantasies to probe the forces that shaped the characters who have become legend...
Draw Hard (2015)
A documentary about illustrator and comic book artist, John G. In Cleveland, his artwork is everywhere, but most don't know the face behind the gritty imagery of The Lake Erie Monster comic series and restaurant chain Melt Bar and Grilled.
Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas (2017)
An offbeat, irreverent musical documentary that tells the story of a group of Jewish songwriters, including Irving Berlin, Mel Tormé, Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Gloria Shayne Baker and Johnny Marks, who wrote the soundtrack to Christianity’s most musical holiday. It’s an amazing tale of immigrant outsiders who became irreplaceable players in pop culture’s mainstream – a generation of songwriters who found in Christmas the perfect holiday in which to imagine a better world, and for at least one day a year, make us believe.
Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee (2019)
Filmed in part in front of a live audience at The New Amsterdam Theater in New York City, this Stan Lee tribute takes viewers on an action-packed journey throughout the life of Lee and across the Marvel Universe, sharing never-before-seen interviews and archive footage with Lee himself from deep within the Marvel and ABC News archives.
Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels (2002)
Filmmaker and comic writer Kevin Smith interviews comic book legend Stan Lee about his life and work in comics across the decades.
Rude Dude (2014)
Possessed of an incredible artistic talent, Steve Rude is "The Dude," an eccentric personality as colorful as his comic book art. Filmmaker Ian Fischer (Magritte Moment) presents Rude's rise through the comic book world and difficult transition from comic book shops to art gallery walls, made all the more challenging by Rude's battles with mental illness.
The Paper Brigade (2018)
Lithuania, 1941, during World War II. Hundreds of thousands of texts on Jewish culture, stolen by the Germans, are gathered in Vilnius to be classified, either to be stored or to be destroyed. A group of Jewish scholars and writers, commissioned by the invaders to carry out the sorting operations, but reluctant to collaborate and determined to save their legacy, hide many books in the ghetto where they are confined. This is the epic story of the Paper Brigade.
Life After Flash (2017)
A look at the roller coaster life of Sam J. Jones since his role as Flash Gordon, his struggles and successes, and the aftermath of when he went up against one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood.
She Makes Comics (2014)
She Makes Comics traces the fascinating history of women in the comics industry. Despite popular assumptions about the comics world, women have been writing, drawing, and reading comics since the medium’s beginnings in the late 19th century. And today, there are scores of women involved in comics and its vibrant fan culture. Featuring dozens of interviews with such vital figures as Ramona Fradon, Trina Robbins, Joyce Farmer, Karen Berger, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Becky Cloonan, She Makes Comics is the first film to bring together the most influential women of the comics world.
Warsaw: A City Divided (2019)
The history of the Warsaw Ghetto (1940-43) as seen from both sides of the wall, its legacy and its memory: new light on a tragic era of division, destruction and mass murder thanks to the testimony of survivors and the discovery of a ten-minute film shot by Polish amateur filmmaker Alfons Ziółkowski in 1941.