In 1992, at the height of the AIDS pandemic, activist Terence Alan Smith made a historic bid for president of the United States as his drag queen persona Joan Jett Blakk. Today, Smith reflects back on his seminal civil rights campaign and its place in American history.
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Pusharatas: A Biloxi-Croatian Tradition (2013)
Every year at Christmas, the women of the Slavonian Ladies' Auxiliary celebrate their culinary heritage by getting together to make pusharatas (a type of Croatian doughnut) for the people of Biloxi, Mississippi.
Arrival (1980)
To the city come men, women, fruits, flowers, vegetables, goats and sheep – all ready for consumption. It is the process of consumption/exploitation that forms the core of the film.
Antigravitation (1995)
An isolated village in the Lithuanian countryside. Seated in her house, an elderly woman recites an old folk story. Then she climbs up the tall ladder that takes her to the rooftop of the church.
Brasilia, Contradictions of a New City (1968)
In 1967, de Andrade was invited by the Italian company Olivetti to produce a documentary on the new Brazilian capital city of Brasília. Constructed during the latter half of the 1950s and founded in 1960, the city was part of an effort to populate Brazil’s vast interior region and was to be the embodiment of democratic urban planning, free from the class divisions and inequalities that characterize so many metropolises. Unsurprisingly, Brasília, Contradições de uma Cidade Nova (Brasília, Contradictions of a New City, 1968) revealed Brasília to be utopic only for the wealthy, replicating the same social problems present in every Brazilian city. (Senses of Cinema)
Larisa (1980)
Elem Klimov's documentary ode to his wife, director Larisa Shepitko, who was killed in an auto wreck.
Skid Row (1956)
A day and night in the life of three alcoholic derelicts: "and the meek shall inherit the earth - six feet of it".
Hakob Hovnatanyan (1967)
Exploring the art of Armenian portraitist Hakob Hovnatanyan, Parajanov revives the culture of Tbilisi of the 19th century.
Artifact from the Future: The Making of 'THX 1138' (2004)
The Making of feature for the George Lucas movie 'THX 1138'.
Song 5 (1964)
SONG 5: A childbirth song (the Songs are a cycle of silent color 8mm films by the American experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage produced from 1964 to 1969).
The End of Summer (1964)
A 16 year old girl recalls the last moments of her summer vacation, spent with friends in the Laurentians north of Montreal. She reminisces about their talks on life, death, love, and God. Shot in direct cinema style, working from a script that left room for the teenagers to improvise and express their own thoughts, the film sought to capture the immediacy of the youths presence their bodies, their language, their environment.
Empowered: Helping Native Youth See Their Power Within (2019)
For four years, the Jicarilla Apache Nation's Johnson O'Malley program, led by Lynn Roanhorse, and Holt Hamilton Films have joined forces to encourage, motivate, and empower Jicarilla Apache youth by providing hands-on learning and mentorship in the filmmaking process. Follow this exciting journey as Native American youth show the world they can do great things when EMPOWERED.
The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896)
A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.
The Gratinated Brains of Pupilija Ferkeverk (1970)
Plotless and wordless, beautifully edited shots of young (often naked or semi-naked) people in various positions, illustrating different emotions, actions and situations, underlined by rock music.
When We Fight (2023)
In the second largest school district in the United States, 98% of teachers vote to authorize a strike. Watch as one of the largest educator strikes in modern U.S. history unfolds in real-time, highlighting the stories and leadership of some of the women who led it, from union leaders to classroom teachers. From strike vote to contract vote, When We Fight goes behind the picket lines, documenting how and why teachers strike. "This powerful and beautifully crafted film is a must watch for anyone interested in the state of labor in America today." - Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor and Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley
The Dream of the Little Dancing Men (1997)
Film is about communication. Kobrin pays homage to Vasili Nalimov, to his work and life. Nalimov was a mathematician and philosopher, but was also an eccentric anarchist with mystic tendencies who spent eighteen years in a concentration camp. Nalimov’s philosophy relies on probabilistic methods in the natural and social sciences and applies them to the study of language and consciousness.
