Serial Encounters

Taekwondo: The Champions

January 2023 •English

Jon Tizick and Taro Koka talk about their lives before Taekwondo, how they got into Taekwondo and how they ultimately became world champions.

Mudflat

August 1980 •English

Years ago, artists would walk around the muck at the edge of the San Francisco Bay in Emeryville, and build loads of sculptures out there on the flats, created from driftwood and found objects that drivers would enjoy as they motored south on the old Highway 17 (known in numerous radio ads as 'Highway 17, The Nimitz'). Grabbing material off someone else’s work was considered fair game and part of the fun, and contributed a kinetic dynamic to the ongoing display. Now the place is a park, and the sculptures are gone, but you can see what it used to be like in this neat and funny documentary by Ric Reynolds, augmented by Erich Seibert’s wonderful musique-concrète/time-lapse sequences. The flashback circus sequence includes Scott Beach and Bill Irwin. Sculptors interviewed include Walt Zucker, Tony Puccio, Robert Sommer, Ron & Mary Bradden, and Bob Kaminsky.

The Lost Boys

July 1987 •English

When an unsuspecting town newcomer is drawn to local blood fiends, the Frog brothers and other unlikely heroes gear up to rescue him.

Coffee and Cigarettes

March 2004 •English

Coffee And Cigarettes is a collection of eleven films from cult director Jim Jarmusch. Each film hosts star studded cast of extremely unique individuals who all share the common activities of conversing while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

The Giza Pyramids: Reaching for the Stars

September 2023 •French

Explores the Pyramids of Giza as Egyptologists try to unravel the mysteries and decipher the clues behind these stone giants built over 4,500 years ago.

Nothing Can Stop The Radiance

January 2024 •English

Filmmakers Sam and Amy journey into rural Australia to explore how the legacy of an American legend has transmitted and warped itself over time, and across the globe, resulting in the 30th annual Parkes Elvis Festival.

A Gorgeous Girl Like Me

September 1972 •French

A young sociologist researching criminal women selects a captivating inmate as his subject. As he conducts interviews in prison, her troubled past and justifications for her actions intrigue him. His growing interest soon blurs professional boundaries, testing his ability to resist her charm.

Monsieur Truffaut Meets Mr. Hitchcock

August 1999 •English

When Francois Truffaut approached Alfred Hitchcock in 1962 with the idea of having a long conversation with him about his work and publishing this in book form, he didn't imagine that more than four years would pass before Le Cinéma selon Hitchcock finally appeared in 1966. Not only in France but all over the world, Truffaut's Hitchcock interview developed over the years into a standard bible of film literature. In 1983, three years after Hitchcock's death, Truffaut decided to expand his by now legendary book to include a concluding chapter and have it published as the "Edition définitive". This film describes the genesis of the "Hitchbook" and throws light on the strange friendship between two completely different men. The centrepieces are the extracts from the original sound recordings of the interview with the voices of Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut, and Helen Scott – recordings which have never been heard in public before.

Akademija the Republic

January 1995 •Serbian

Akademija Republika shows a group of people gathered around the club from 1981 until 1995 and how it changed and influenced the cultural and night life around them.

Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl

September 2016 •English

Soon after moving in with her aging aunt Dora, Adele meets Beth, seductive and mysterious, who tests the limits of Adele's moral ground and sends her spiraling down a psychologically unstable and phantasmagoric path.

Terrorists in Retirement

July 1985 •French

Not just another documentary on the French resistance movement, this film focuses on one particular group of underground fighters in France: those from Eastern Europe. Many were Jews and all had fled their native countries before the war broke out. They were among the most staunch and fearless enemies of fascism, as shown here in personal interviews and memoirs of war-time experiences. But the most famous of these immigrants were 23 who were rounded up among several hundred Parisians in 1943, tried for their activities, and executed -- all were immigrants under the leadership of the Armenian poet Manouchian. After their execution, Paris was papered with posters decrying these 23 martyrs as "foreign communists."

Ricky Today

December 2018 •English

An interview with spree killer Ricky Caldwell, convicted for a sting of heinous Christmas murder in 1987 and institutionalized at Waverly Psychiatric Hospital in Ogden, Utah.

Le clown est triste

January 2024 •French

This documentary attempts to understand why so many comedians experience mental health issues, a condition that stands in stark contrast to their profession. Anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts: these are the heavy subjects they dare to tackle on stage. Cathy Gauthier, Coco Belliveau, Jean-François Mercier, Mario Jean, Maude Landry, Preach and Simon Gouache testify.

Karen: Women In Sports

January 1977 •English

Guest speakers from "Women In Motion" Conference, Vancouver, B.C. 1975.

Pornography: A Respectable Lie

January 1980 •English

A video essay using images and interviews to critically explore the history and current role of pornography.

Packed Lunch

January 2005 •English

What is it about Speedos? Well here Australian director Tim Hunter is on a mission to find the answer to the question of why so many gay men can't seem to get enough of hunks in tight fitting trunks? Although somehow I think the answer can be found in the question! Anyway in a bid to discover the truth, Hunter has carried out a series of interviews with men who have more than a passing interest in this briefest of garment, including that of Speedo designer Peter Travis, who here relates his part in the history of 'the male equivalent of the Wonder Bra.'

The 11th Hour

August 2007 •English

A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse

Edge of Seventeen

May 1998 •English

1984, Sandusky, Ohio. A naive 17-year-old navigates heartbreak and self-expression as he explores his sexuality.

Piaf intime

October 2013 •French

Hollywood Rated 'R'

June 1997 •English

A roller-coaster ride through the history of American exploitation films, ranging from Roger Corman's sci-fi and horror monster movies, 1960s beach movies, H.G. Lewis' gore-fests, William Castle's schlocky theatrical gimmicks, to 1970s blaxploitation, pre-"Deep Throat" sex tease films, Russ Meyer's bosom-heavy masterpieces, etc, etc. Over 25 interviews of the greatest purveyors of weird films of all kind from 1940 to 1975. Illustrated with dozens of films clips, trailers, extra footage, etc. This documentary as a shorter companion piece focusing on exploitation king David F. Friedman.