Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire

Chuck Close, an astounding portrait of one of the world's leading contemporary painters, was one of two parting gifts (her second is a film on Louise Bourgeois) from Marion Cajori, a filmmaker who died recently, and before her time. With editing completed by filmmaker Ken Kobland, Chuck Close lives the life and work of a man who has reinvented portraiture. Close photographs his subjects, blows up the image to gigantic proportions, divides it into a detailed grid and then uses a complex set of colors and patterning to reconstruct each face.

St. Ives and the painters based in the town, and the surrounding areas, are showcased in this fascinating documentary.

A documentary that explores AIDS activism in Frankfurt, focusing on activists, affected individuals, and organizations fighting the epidemic, raising awareness, and advocating for policy changes. Directors Lou Deinhart, Evi Rohde, and Zoë Struif incorporate 1980s/90s theatre productions, news footage, and protest recordings into their research. Alternating between present-day encounters and historical media, they interview numerous witnesses, constructing a collage of diverse memories rather than a single narrative, highlighting grassroots movements' struggles, solidarity, and impact.

Cinema and painting establish a fluid dialogue and begins with introspection in the themes and forms of the plastic work of a woman tormented by the elongated specters, originating from her obsessions and nightmares.

THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD is a screwball true story about two gonzo political activists who, posing as top executives of giant corporations, lie their way into big business conferences and pull off the world's most outrageous pranks.

The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.

Indigenous chief Juma Xipaia fights to protect tribal lands despite assassination attempts. Her struggle intensifies after learning she's pregnant, while her husband, Special Forces ranger Hugo Loss, stands by her side.

A documentary about Dr. Barbara Myerhoff and Los Angeles's Fairfax district.

Bachar à la ZAD

An exhilarating documentary film that celebrates the unsung hero of aviation - the local airport - by tracing the life, history, and struggles of an airport icon: Southern California's Van Nuys Airport. Featuring thrilling aerial photography and a sweeping original score, the film dispels common misconceptions and opposes criticism of General Aviation airports.

Cultural & Artistic history of Chicano Park in San Diego

A young working class Baltimore man spends 10 years on a single portrait, believing it is his means to fame and fortune. But he also believes that only one man can lead him there---the famous artist David Hockney. What happens when you finally meet the god of your own making?

Interviews from women involved in the 70's and 80's rock music industry. An examination of the people taking advantage of underage fans and calling for a "Me too" movement in the music world

Tjipto Setiyono, 85, is a rickshaw painter. Despite being past his prime, he lives alone in a 3-by-3 meter square boarding room, in which Tjipto’s brush strokes give birth to his paintings.

The Chicago Haymarket tragedy, where a bomb thrown into the ranks of Police was followed by an eruption of panic and violence resulting in a trial and execution of presumably innocent workers' rights activists, is examined in this feature documentary film. Expert historians and professors present the history of the bomb, the anarchist movement of the 19th century, and the labor struggle of working people fighting for a shorter work day during the industrial might of America's Gilded Age.

With his seemingly naïve, symbolic paintings, Joan Miró formed a new artistic language in the 20th century. Brought up in Barcelona, the painter, graphic artist and sculptor was drawn to Paris and, under the influence of the surrealists, developed his unique style and poetic imagery that unite Catalan folk art and fantastic elements. Robin Lough followed the 85-year-old Miró to theatre rehearsals and went to see him in his studio on Majorca. There he met with an amazingly creative and disciplined artist, whose visionary pictures paved the way for abstract expressionism.

The story of an exceptional painter talent, the Belgian-Hungarian Kim Corbisier who left a brilliantly powerful oeuvre behind after her tragically short and intense life. And a camera at her filmmaker friend. The mesmerising and often shocking footage of the camera bear witness to Kim's struggles with methadone addiction and, above all, her identity crisis caused by a series of unfortunate and criminal accidents in her family. After the unfinished attempts, with this film, the filmmaker is realising a project they had planned together 10 years ago.

Transformed by the love of a kitten, a tough New York City construction contractor is inspired to rescue abandoned animals, become a vegetarian, and take his message of compassion to the streets. A construction contractor who grew up on the mean streets of Brooklyn, Eddie Lama is probably the last person you'd figure to be an animal activist. Indeed, Eddie was raised with a deeply ingrained aversion to animals, as he explains in the award-winning documentary "The Witness." But when a pretty woman asks him to take care of her kitten, he finds himself reluctantly agreeing as a ploy to get a date, not knowing that his life is about to change forever. In the end, it is the kitten who captures his heart, opening his eyes to the wonder of other living creatures and awakening him to the richness of the human-animal bond.

Amidst the storm of Ferguson, 7 St. Louis college students evolve into advocates and activists as they demand change through policy and protest

Pražský Odysseus