"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.
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.
Greetings From Planet Smurf (2018)
The Smurfs were created in 1958 by the Belgian comic author Peyo (Pierre Culliford, 1928-1992) and they are one of Belgium's most recognized exports. From Brussels to Los Angeles, via Dubai, a journey into the tiny world of the famous little blue people, from the story of the creation of the original comic to the account of their huge global commercial exploitation.
Pif, Behind the gimmicks (2015)
Taking stock of the extraordinary adventure of "Pif Gadget", a French publishing phenomenon of the 1970s-80s and even of the whole history of children's press. For the comic-strip magazine with the iconic dog, created in 1969 by the French Communist Party, often reached a million copies. With editions available for all of Europe (including Germany, under the title Yps), and on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
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.
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.
Terry Moore: Paradise Found (2004)
An in-depth look at the life and art of the Eisner Award Winning creator of Strangers in Paradise. Features an in depth interview with Terry, a tour of his studio, a narrated peek into Terry's notebook and a look at Terry at work.
The Alchemy of Art: David Mack (2007)
This is an in-depth look at the writer and artist David Mack, who Entertainment Weekly designates "One of the true geniuses of the medium."
Uderzo, sur le divan d'Astérix (2023)
Documentary on Astérix's illustrator Uderzo, led by Antoine de Caunes with interviews from various French celebrities.
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.
Adventures Into Digital Comics (2006)
The film observes the events surrounding the sudden decrease of sales of comic books in the US in the early 90's, followed by the surge of webcomics on the Internet.
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.
Barbara Stok - How to live well (2023)
Documentary about the Groningen comics maker Barbara Stok (1970). She has received worldwide praise for her work for more than twenty years. She knows better than anyone else how to portray philosophical ideas with humor in her books, which are published in many languages. De Volkskrant called her graphic novel 'The philosopher, the dog and the wedding', about the philosopher Hipparchia, one of the best books of 2022. Behind the colorful drawings lies a comic strip creator with a idiosyncratic philosophy of life.
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.
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.
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Trailers (NaN)
Citizen Film partnered with SFJFF, the first and largest Jewish film festival in the world, to create their festival trailers.
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story (2010)
Actor Dustin Hoffman narrates this decade-spanning documentary that highlights the contributions of Jewish Americans to the most American sport of them all: baseball. Highlights include a rare interview with legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax.
Tintin and I (2004)
Why do the comic-strip Adventures of Tintin, about an intrepid boy reporter, continue to fascinate us decades after their publication? "Tintin and I" highlights the potent social and political underpinnings that give Tintin's world such depth, and delve into the mind of Hergé, Tintin's work-obsessed Belgian creator, to reveal the creation and development of Tintin over time. Rare and surprisingly candid 1970s interviews reveal the profound insecurities and anxieties that drove Hergé to produce stories that have not only entertained millions of children but also helped to satisfy a personal longing for self-expression.
93Queen (2018)
Set in the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn, "93Queen" follows a group of tenacious Hasidic women who are smashing the patriarchy in their community by creating the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City. With unprecedented-and insider-access, "93Queen" offers up a unique portrayal of a group of religious women who are taking matters into their own hands to change their own community from within.