Letter from Tokyo

Little Sister's vs. Big Brother

August 2002 •English

This documentary, filmed over a 10-year period, centers on the debate over censorship as it follows Vancouver's Little Sister's Bookstore and its 20-year struggle with Canada Customs over the seizure of books. In the face of bigotry, bombings and repeated book seizures, it wages the most important legal battle in history against Canada Customs.

T

March 2016 •Spanish

A collage of film archives that gives an account of the artistic and territorial militancy of a group of transvestite militants during the years prior to the enactment of the gender law in the Argentine Republic.

The Beginner's Guide to Spinning in Loops

July 2022 •English

From June 2021 to June 2022, Justin "Jastun" Bland records whatever that is in front of him. He presents an abstract montage of collected videos varying from onscreen recordings to filming special, intimate & mundane in-real-life moments. This short captures our daily routines in life and how we choose to spontaneously record them.

Boll Mo: Sexism in Kosova

January 2023 •English

A documentary exploring sexism and patriarchy in Kosova.

Burning Man: Art on Fire

August 2020 •English

An inspirational insight into the spectacular art at the center of this annual celebration, BURNING MAN: ART ON FIRE follows the unpredictable journey of the artists who defy reason to bring their massive installations and sculptures to the punishing Nevada desert. Filmed just after Burning Man’s legendary founder suddenly died, the community of artists is challenged by impossible timing and blinding dust storms. This richly cinematic, multi-character narrative unfolds over months as they imagine, build and ultimately burn the extraordinary main structures in this temporary city of dreams…a poignant and uplifting feel-good movie!

Ballymanus

September 2023 •English

10 May 1943. Something is spotted drifting ashore off the coast of Northwest Donegal, Ireland. Something that would change the lives of the local people forever.

Joan Baez: I Am a Noise

October 2023 •English

Since her debut at the age of 18, musician, civil rights campaigner and activist Joan Baez has been on stage for over 60 years. For the now 82-year-old, the personal has always been political, and her friendship with Martin Luther King and her pacifism have shaped her commitment. In this biography that opens with her farewell tour, Baez takes stock in an unsparing fashion and confronts sometimes painful memories.

Christopher Isherwood: A Born Foreigner

November 1969 •English

Documentary about author Christopher Isherwood, in which he is interviewed about his life and work and which features extracts from films of his novels and stories.

Tupac Amaru, algo está cambiando: something is changing

April 2012 •Spanish

The Birth of Boadicea Burnout

August 2016 •English

A drag queen applies his friend's makeup as they reflect on the business and their sexuality.

Secret Mall Apartment

March 2024 •English

In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside a busy mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than a prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all involved.

Thermonuclear Art

October 2015 •English

The sun is always changing and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is always watching. Launched on February 11, 2010, SDO keeps a 24-hour eye on the entire disk of the sun, with a prime view of the graceful dance of solar material coursing through the sun's atmosphere, the corona.

Mi Vida Me Pasa

August 2024 •Spanish

Arturo Urbiola, independent singer/songwriter, talks about the influence music has had on his life, it's impact, and what's in store for his artistic career after becoming a father.

Dan and Margot

February 2016 •English

Memories have the power to haunt us forever, whether or not they actually happened. For Margot, the man named Dan who stalked and tormented her for three years of her life is as real as any criminal—even if he's the manifestation of her first serious schizophrenic episode. Margot proves incredible strength in her first-hand accounts of her road to healing. Through art and therapy, she found relief. Through relief, she found a chance at life.

Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation

June 2021 •English

The parallel lives of writer Truman Capote (1924-84) and playwright Tennessee Williams (1911-83): two friends, two geniuses who, while creating sublime works, were haunted by the ghosts of the past, the shadow of constant doubt, the demon of addictions and the blinding, deceptive glare of success.

Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Catherine Jones

September 2012 •English

Jeffrey Catherine Jones is one of the most revered comic book and fantasy artists of all time and a complex character with an unusual life, an ideal subject for an insightful and captivating documentary. Tracing the early history as part of The Studio with fellow artists Bernie Wrightson, Barry Windsor-Smith and Michael William Kaluta through to gender transition in later life, Maria Paz Cabardo assembles a collage of artwork and archive alongside interviews with collaborators and some touchingly intimate conversations with the artist herself shortly before she died.

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice

August 2016 •English

In 1936, 18 African American athletes dubbed the "black auxiliary" by Hitler defied Nazi Aryan Supremacy and Jim Crow Racism to win hearts and medals at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. The world remembers Jesse Owens. But, Olympic Pride American Prejudice shows how all 18 are a seminal precursor to the modern Civil Rights Movement.

The Rembrandt Association, an exceptional year

January 2024 •Dutch

Documentary about the Rembrandt Association. In the 19th century, a lot of Dutch art disappeared abroad, before the Rembrandt Association stood up in 1883 to put a stop to it. Today, 140 years later, the Association still helps determine what art lovers see in Dutch museums. In their crowning year, the Association faces a difficult choice: will they make the largest contribution in their history to the purchase of Rembrandt's De Vaandeldrager? The amount of 175 million needed for the painting is causing discussion. Is this money well spent?

Sankara

Invalid date •French

Putin's Games

December 2013 •English

The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia will be the first ever to be held in a subtropical resort. The most expensive games ever break all records when it comes to corruption and megalomania. Putin's administration has everyone at its beck and call, from oligarchs down to the ordinary people who have to pay the Olympic bill. Both the powerful and the weak speak out in this investigative documentary, which unveils the hidden story behind Putin's games. Government critic Garry Kasparov says that Putin's Olympic propaganda is really all about speeding up the privatization of land in Sochi. Many inhabitants have had to make way for hotels, ski jumps and a large harbor, which were subsequently swept away by storms and landslides – the Olympic village was built on a swamp in the hottest region of Russia. To a large extent, the story of these environmentally unfriendly Olympic Games is one of threats and enormous misappropriations of money.