Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn

Pestilent City covers Manhattan from South to North, from Times Square to Harlem, finding along the way ever more poverty, violence, rage and tragic drunkenness.

A documentary-short on the life of Ira Sanders, a commodity trader turned educator whose first-hand experiences on 9/11 greatly influence his life.

Nannies combines autobiographical elements with a reflection on the presence of nannies in Brazil. With a subjective narration, the film incorporates photographs, domestic footage and newspaper adds from the 20th century, as well as contemporary images of nannies and children, building a personal narrative about the presence of nannies in the daily lives of many Brazilian families. A situation where the affection is genuine, but does not dissolve violence and racism.

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

When filmmaker and investigative journalist Frances Causey, a daughter of the South, set out to explore the continuing racial divisions in the US, what she discovered was that the politics of slavery didn't end with the Civil War. In an astonishingly candid look at the United States' original sin, The Long Shadow traces slavery's history from America's founding up through its insidious ties to racism today.

Follows dub poet master Linton Kwesi Johnson out of the recording studio onto the Brixton streets.

La bombe

Falácias

Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's PBS documentary tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The film is a controversy on democracy. Is our society really democratic? Can everyone be part of it? Or is the act of being part in democracy dependent to the access on technology, progression or any resources of information, as philosophers like Paul Virilio or Jean Baudrillard already claimed?

A dramatic minute-by-minute account of the superstorm that brought New York State to its knees. Using satellite imagery, CGI mapping and the powerful personal testimony of those who lived through it, this is a forensic analysis of the meteorological, engineering and human devastation wreaked by Sandy.

Documentary exploring the effect of mass immigration on the dwindling white community of the East End, from the perspective of those who remain and those who chose to leave.

A new documentary, exploring the Chelsea Hotel's role in the cultural and artistic movements of the 20th century, from the Beat Generation to the Punk Rock scene. Delving into the history of the hotel, as a home and gathering place for some of the most influential artists and cultural icons of the past century, including Mark Twain, Arthur Miller, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Leonard Cohen, Madonna and a possible spirit or two. Including historical footage of some of the residents and regulars who made the glorious Chelsea Hotel so legendary.

To understand the real New York, you've got to understand the chopped cheese. So, what exactly is a chopped cheese? On the surface, that would seem simple. The bodega specialty gets its name from the "chopping" of hamburger patties, which occurs on the griddles in delis throughout Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Harlem. The minced meat is covered in cheese, slipped into a roll or hero, and dressed with standard-issue condiments. But when we began to peel back the layers and ask questions about its origin story, how it became so popular, and why it's so difficult to find one in lower Manhattan, we were introduced to a much deeper tale fueled by borough rivalries, hip-hop mythology, and hard-to-swallow truths, giving us a more meaningful glimpse into what makes this city tick.

A scream amid so many silences, an attempt to rescue the human's gaze upon himself.

Filmmaker Jonas Mekas follows his friend, film director Martin Scorsese, and his cast and crew, through various locations during the shooting of his film The Departed, released in 2006.

Concerning Violence is based on newly discovered, powerful archival material documenting the most daring moments in the struggle for liberation in the Third World, accompanied by classic text from The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon.

'Black girls don't play with black dolls', says the lyrics of Preta Rara's rap, one of the characters in It Looks Like Me. The documentary explores the lack of black dolls in the Brazilian market and shows the work of the artisans who try to change this scenario facing the gigantic toy industry with their handmade dolls.

Bronx, New York, November 2019

An examination of the connection between relentless government intervention since colonisation to the trauma and disadvantage experiences by Indigenous Australians - the two key drivers of incarceration.