Steve-O: Demise and Rise

North by Current

March 2021 •English

Filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax returns to his rural Michigan hometown following the death of his infant niece and the subsequent arrest of his brother-in-law as the culprit. Using the audio-visual approaches of essay film, first-person cinema vérité, staged actions, and decades of home movies, Madsen navigates a town steeped in opioid addiction, economic depression, and religious fervor, while using the act of filmmaking to rebuild familial bonds and reimagine justice. Posing empathy as a tool for creating a more just world, North By Current does not seek to investigate a crime, but creates a relentless portrait of an enduring pastoral family, poised to reframe and reimagine narratives about incarceration, addiction, trans embodiment, and ruralness.

Ibogaine: Rite of Passage

September 2004 •English

Ibogaine is a plant extract that stops drug addiction. In this documentary, a 34-year-old heroin addict undergoes ibogaine therapy with Dr Martin Polanco at the Ibogaine Association, a clinic in Rosarito, Mexico. In Gabon, where use of the iboga root is traditional, a Babongo woman's tribe uses the plant to help her recover from a depressive malaise. Director Benjamin De Loenen interviews people formerly addicted to heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, who share their perspectives about ibogaine treatment.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

August 2019 •English

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

The Weird World of LSD

April 1967 •English

The 60s equivalent of Reefer Madness and all those other 30s drug exploitation flicks. Apparently, dropping acid leads to stripteases, cat fights, promiscuous sex, playing with kittens, and being convinced your dinner is much larger than it actually is. This is all illustrated in a series of silent sketches accompanied by a droll narrator who seems positively doped out of his mind.

Track Two

February 2023 •Finnish

A newspaper clip of a 30-year-old movie makes our middle-aged protagonist in the middle of his peak years to look for his best childhood friend. The journey leads him back to his teenage years in the 1990s depression, over-generational substance abuse and past encounters. This partly essayistic, autobiographical documentary tells the story of friendship and generational experiences while also pondering on the causes and effects of destinies in the judgmental atmosphere of our society.

The Hippie Temptation

August 1967 •English

CBS TV news special hosted by Harry Reasoner explores the way-out world of the Hippies and the Haight-Ashbury psychedelic 1960s LSD scene. Footage of LSDs users experiencing bummer trips. The Diggers, the Oracle and cool street and Golden Gate Park scenes with hippies tripping out. The Grateful Dead are interviewed and are shown performing "Dancin' in the Streets" on a flatbed truck in Golden Gate Park. The Hippie Temptation!

Chasing the Dragon

February 2016 •English

Every day in the United States, law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels—including the FBI and DEA—use investigative resources to target the supply side in the war against drugs. But, even with numerous law enforcement successes in this area, the demand for drugs continues. And, one of the more worrisome trends is a growing epidemic of prescription opiate and heroin abuse, especially among young people.

Chasing Trane

April 2017 •English

An account of the life of the brilliant jazz musician John Coltrane (1926-67), a gifted saxophonist, an extraordinarily talented thinker whose original, avant-garde work has impacted and influenced people all over the world. A story about music's ability to entertain, inspire and transform.

Huxley on Huxley

March 2009 •English

Italian-born Laura Huxley, a teenage violin virtuoso, played for European royalty and made her American debut at Carnegie Hall before leaving the concert stage to become a renowned psychotherapist and author. In 1956 Laura married Aldous Huxley, author of BRAVE NEW WORLD, literary giant and prophet of the 20th century.

Mr. Untouchable

October 2007 •English

The true-life story of a Harlem's notorious Nicky Barnes, a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord. Follow his life story from his rough childhood to the last days of his life.

Philip K Dick: A Day in the Afterlife

April 1994 •English

A poetic look at the life and legacy of legendary author Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), who wrote over over a hundred short stories and 44 novels of mind-bending sci-fi, exploring themes of authority, drugs, theology, mental illness and much more.

Legally High

August 2013 •English

Recent years have seen a step-change in Britain's drug culture. Out go the 'old' illegal drugs, cocaine, heroin, speed - swept to one side by a younger generation who can get their hits not only more cheaply but also legally. There is burgeoning market for drugs specially designed by clandestine chemists to get around Britain's drug laws. The new drugs are legal to buy because they're sold as research chemicals and labelled 'not for human consumption'. This hard-hitting observational documentary, Legally High - directed by triple BAFTA-award winner Dan Reed, takes a trip into the murky world of legal drugs, where underground chemists invent new drugs faster than the government can legislate against them.

Am I Irvine Welsh?

Invalid date •English

A year in the company of Scottish writer Irvine Welsh, as he publishes a new novel, launches a record label, works on two television series and adapts his most famous work Trainspotting into a West End musical.

Relentless

March 2014 •English

Life has not been kind to Giacobbe Fragomeni. He spent his childhood in the bleak outskirts of Milan, in a cruel environment. An alcoholic father who used to beat his wife and the kids. It didn’t take him long to go down the road to drug addiction. Following the death of his father, sister and mother, this dark tunnel full of misery brought him to utter desperation. But Giacobbe was not just anyone; alone he started his own fight against addiction, beginning to box “in order to lose weight”. Thanks to the devotion and affection of his first trainer, Ottavio Tazzi, Giako built a bright career. “Boxing saved my life.” In 2008, after overcoming more of life’s obstacles, he became Cruiserweight World Champion WBC.

Methadonia

October 2005 •English

Shot over the course of 18 months in New York City's Lower East Side, METHADONIA sheds light on the inherent flaws of legal methadone treatments for heroin addiction by profiling eight addicts, in various stages of recovery and relapse, who attend the New York Center for Addiction Treatment Services (NYCATS).

High Energy: Disco on Amphetamines

February 2019 •French

By the end of the seventies, disco music, considered too mainstream, was dead. But DJs and dance floors still needed new records and faster rhythms. Built on synthesizer sounds, the hi-nrg (high energy) style swept the gay clubs before hitting the charts during the eighties.

Dompter son dragon

December 2021 •French

Karalahti

February 2021 •Finnish

Documentary movie about a Finnish professional ice hockey player, Jere Karalahti. More than 50 people have been interviewed for the documentary film, such as Jere's family, coaches, journalists, fellow players and childhood friends. A profound documentary consists of archive material and dramatized scenes in addition to interviews.

Závislost

January 1993 •Czech

The Distant Drummer: A Movable Scene

January 1970 •English

Robert Mitchum narrates an anti drug propaganda film.