3.4

Walt Whitman

April 2008 •English

This American Experience tells Whitman's life story, from his working-class childhood in Long Island, to his years as a newspaper reporter in Brooklyn when he struggled to support his impoverished family, then to his reckless pursuit of the attention and affection he craved for his work, to his death in 1892.

Beautiful Dreamers

June 1990 •English

When the superintendent of the Canadian insane asylum, Dr. Maurice Bucke, meets poet Walt Whitman, his life and that of his wife and patients is radically changed. Like Dr. Bucke, Whitman has avant-garde ideas on the subject of mental illness. "Dreamers" is based on true events. Dr. Bucke became an important biographer of Walt Whitman.

Facing West

February 2020 •English

A cinematic setting of poems by Walt Whitman that span his whole life's work, commemorating his bicentennial year. Features the poet's Long Island native "personator" Darrel Blaine Ford, manifesting and reciting "Song of Myself," "There Was a Child Went Forth," "Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun" and "Facing West From California's Shores." Filmed at the poet's birthplace, the Long Island shore, Manhattan, and where West meets East.

A Hungry Feeling: The Life and Death of Brendan Behan

May 1988 •English

Colleagues and relatives reflect on the dynamic life of Irish writer Brendan Behan, beginning with his adolescent years as an activist and his affiliation with the IRA youth group, Fianna Éireann. Behan rises to fame as a poet and playwright and achieves international success in the wake of his successful autobiography, "Borstal Boy." But in his later years, Behan's prominence wanes as alcoholism, egotistical tendencies and a growing obsession with celebrity begin to overtake him.

In the Image of God

November 2020 •Italian

The fourth generation in his family to be born intersex, Jewish Rabbi Levi was assigned the female gender at birth and grew up thinking he was sick and defective. "In the Image of God" tells the story of his struggles and transitions, culminating today in a life as a religious leader and an LGBTQI+ activist living happily in Los Angeles with his wife.

Bataan Rescue

July 2003 •English

This is the story of a group of 514 prisoners of war from the Bataan Death March and how they were rescued near the end of the war. The reason this was so important is that the Japanese high command was ordering the execution of all prisoners when it appeared that the camps were soon to be liberated. So, in the case of this camp, it meant a covert operation well behind enemy lines in order to get to the guys before it was too late. The episode consists of many, many interviews--including several living POWs, a Philippino partisan, members of the assault team, their second in command and some historians.

Sheena Ringo: Electric Mole

December 2003 •Japanese

"Electric Mole" is a concert film that documents Sheena Ringo's nationwide "Sugoroku Xstasy" tour in the summer of 2003. It marks the start of Sheena's band, Tokyo Jihen (albeit only as a backing band for Sheena at the time.)

Grand Coulee Dam

April 2017 •English

During the darkest days of the Depression when construction was started on Grand Coulee Dam, everything about it was described in superlatives. It would be the "Biggest Thing on Earth," the salvation of the common man, a dam and irrigation project that would make the desert bloom, a source of cheap power that would boost an entire region of the country. Of the many public works projects of the New Deal, Grand Coulee Dam loomed largest in America's imagination, promising to fulfill President Franklin Roosevelt's vision for a "planned promised land" where hard-working farm families would finally be free from the drought and dislocation caused by the elements.

Michelle Obama: Life After the White House

January 2020 •English

Former First Lady Michelle Obama's story has just begun. The Obamas have remained quite busy with their new life of activism which includes their issue-oriented production company, Higher Ground, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2020. Mrs. Obama's autobiography, Becoming, has become the best-selling memoir of all time and even won a Grammy following the publication of her book. Get lost in the incredible journey of this modern-day First Lady's story in the making...

Jiří Procházka – vědomý bojovník

July 2020 •Czech

La télé d'Omar et Fred

November 2020 •French

Music in the Afternoon

January 2002 •English

Fellow violinist and artist Tony Conrad, in collaboration with software engineer Tom Demeyer, made for Steina the instrument seen in this title. Conrad and the Vasulkas all taught at the University at Buffalo in the Media Study Department from 1976 to 1979.

L’Ultima Partita di Pasolini

November 2020 •Italian

On September 14, 1975, Pier Paolo Pasolini played his last game of football, before his death, in San Benedetto del Tronto. “The last match of Pasolini” starts from a pretext of a football game, to tell a historical period that was fundamental for the whole of Italy, with its contradictions and tragedies, through an apparently playful vision of Pasolini, but that allows us to understand better the importance of the Italian poet and director.

Un gând, un vis, Doyle... si-un pix

May 2012 •Romanian

Constructed almost entirely from still photos masterfully synchronized with audio commentaries, this challenging doc tells the story of an adventurous one-man motorcycle expedition that spans over 21, 000 kilometers and 14 countries.

COVID: Our Lockdown In Shanghai

May 2020 •English

As the Coronavirus bursts into the world's consciousness, follow the residents of one apartment building in Shanghai as they face a daunting new reality. Join filmmaker Yu Kung and his wife Crystal Liu as they document tales of their neighbors: a doctor risking her life every day; a family trying to keep its wedding-dress business afloat; a self-described workaholic lawyer reconnecting with his young son at home. This firsthand look captures an unprecedented pandemic, fueling anxiety, uncertainty, but also unexpected, life-affirming moments.

Mikhail Tal. From a Far

March 2016 •Russian

Mikhail Tal. From a Far is a documentary exploring the unpredictable and tragic life of the genius world chess champion Mikhail Tal, Riga's native son. Mikhail Tal becomes the youngest world chess champion at 23. The same year, he was diagnosed with incurable kidney disease and given only one year to live. Through sheer will and reckless abandon he managed to live another 40 years, filling them with a string of remarkable chess successes, unexplainable failures, amorous conquests and a life-threatening game of cat and mouse with the KGB.

Polytechnique: What Remains of December 6

December 2019 •French

Made for the 30th anniversary of the Montréal massacre, Judith Plamondon’s documentary gives voice to the survivors and witnesses of the tragedy and is narrated by Karine Vanasse, actor and co-producer of Denis Villeneuve's 'Polytechnique' (2009).

Manufacturing Madness

June 2023 •English

In an honest ride thorough the history of psychiatry, from blood letting, induced epilepsy, electroshock therapy, lobotomies and other discarded “cures”, to the latest psychotropic medication, the “preferred” drugs of the day, Manufacturing Madness takes a deep look into the snake pit.

1968 Movement of Educated Youths Going to the Countryside and Mountains

November 2018 •Chinese

Despite the increasing number of people entering the field of documentary filmmaking, historical subjects are less popular due to limited materials and the difficulty in handling them. Hu Jie has chosen to stay in this field and work hard. "I know that shooting these historical subjects is very dangerous, so how can you ask others to do it? It can only be their choice after they have seen your work." Since 2014, due to health reasons, Hu Jie has not been actively making documentaries. This year, in response to an invitation from the Lung Ying-tai Cultural Foundation, he still provided the film "A Sidelight of the 1968 Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement." Over the past three years, he has primarily engaged in printmaking, producing about 70 to 80 pieces, in addition to many small print bookplates.

Michel Foucault: Knowledge and Power at SOAS and beyond

April 2024 •English

An insight into the life and works of Michel Foucault and how his work on Knowledge and Power still has an impact on daily life. This is applied practically to the real world of SOAS University and the online world of Social Media. Presented by Merle Tschirschnitz, Kiran Thomas and Adam Brocklesby