
The Dawn is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life poetically narrates the story of a community of Iranian Americans who have made the San Francisco Bay Area their home over the past five decades. The film explores Iranian immigration through turbulent histories of dissent, revolution, war, and separation, and the reinvention of identity in a new land and culture. The Dawn is Too Far highlights how Iranian students, activists, and artists have navigated displacement while drawing on and influencing Bay Area culture. This community offers a more nuanced story of the Iranian diaspora—the ways that this community enriches the region where they live, work, and build families. The Dawn is Too Far undermines the tired and overplayed news headlines that are dominated by narratives of enmity and mistrust between the government of Iran and the U.S., to offer a more humane understanding of the how people's lives and the sacrifices they make are part of the larger story of immigration.
Parviz Shokat
Bella Warda
Taraneh Hemami
Mokhtar Paki
Torange Yeghiazarian
Nazy Kaviani
Hanif Sadr
Goli Mohebbi

The Dawn is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life poetically narrates the story of a community of Iranian Americans who have made the San Francisco Bay Area their home over the past five decades. The film explores Iranian immigration through turbulent histories of dissent, revolution, war, and separation, and the reinvention of identity in a new land and culture. The Dawn is Too Far highlights how Iranian students, activists, and artists have navigated displacement while drawing on and influencing Bay Area culture. This community offers a more nuanced story of the Iranian diaspora—the ways that this community enriches the region where they live, work, and build families. The Dawn is Too Far undermines the tired and overplayed news headlines that are dominated by narratives of enmity and mistrust between the government of Iran and the U.S., to offer a more humane understanding of the how people's lives and the sacrifices they make are part of the larger story of immigration.
2024-08-31
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The Dawn is Too Far shares a multi-generational perspective of Iranians who came to the U.S. as students, refugees and exiles, particularly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and charts the longer history of Iranian Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area.
5.8Transformed 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.
6.0The ongoing relationship between the worlds of punk rock and animal rights and how the music became a breeding ground for vegan activism.
0.0This short documentary explores the creative process of Mexican textile artist Victoria Villasana. Her work is vibrant and emotional, with each piece telling a story through the blending of thread and monochrome photos. Victoria’s careful selection of colors, geometric shapes, and forms brings her vision to life. We delve into her sources of inspiration, the power of working with her hands, and her unique approach to art.
3.3Documentary celebrating the LGBTQ contribution to the arts in Britain in the 50 years since decriminalisation. It features interviews with leading figures from right across the arts in Britain, including Stephen Fry, David Hockney, Sir Antony Sher, Alan Cumming, Sandi Toksvig, Jeanette Winterson, Will Young and Alan Hollinghurst, and it explores the distinctive perspectives and voices that LGBT artists have brought to British cultural life.
0.0Over 90 years old Ellen Vuosalo has lived many lives. First as a Finnish immigrant in Canada, then as a zoology student in California and finally as a mother of snow cranes in Iran. Iiris Härmä's Mother of Snow Cranes tells the story of an incredible woman's extraordinary life, from love to tragedy to revolution. It is a story about nature, humanity, and the role of women in both the West and Iranian culture. Or as Ellen herself says " What a life! What a world!"
7.5This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.
0.0Ninety-year-old sound artist and comedian Henry “Sandy” Jacobs lives a quirky existence at the end of Sunnyside Drive, a steep and winding dirt road washed by fog from the Pacific Ocean. Sixty feet down the hill lives his eccentric 84-year-old friend and neighbor, architect and former Frank Lloyd Wright collaborator Daniel Liebermann. These extraordinary old men, influential artists in the 1950s and ’60s, continue, each in their own way, to search the world for perfection. Sunnyside takes us to an extraordinary place, a microcosm with its own distinctive rhythm and remarkable inhabitants. It is a film about creativity, the capacity to dream and, ultimately, the transience of life.
6.3The story of Cuban refugees who risked their lives in homemade rafts to reach the United States, and what life is like for those who succeed.
0.0Cartoneras is a documentary that grapples with Latin America’s urban realities, and the cardboard publishing movement that has emerged from these in the 21st century. Reflecting on the different contexts that propelled this form of community publishing, like Argentina’s 2001 economic crisis, the independent art scene, and the movements which formed around waste-pickers, the film’s narrative is developed through conversations with important actors from the cartonera world.
8.7Tells the history of skateboard art and its evolution through the decades, as iconic and rebellious skateboarders and artists give firsthand experiences and stories about their art that challenged the establishment.
A TV-hour length documentary film depicting the relationship between language, culture, place, music, tradition, and magic on an active volcano, in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, on the island of Ambrym.
10.0In CATHEDRALS, filmmaker Dan Algrant embarks on a journey to reconnect with two black collaborators from a film made nearly 50 years ago. CATHEDRALS becomes a powerful exploration of the bonds that tie us together and the experiences that shape our identities. Through the lens of a creative collaboration, the film illuminates the struggles and triumphs that define life in a close-knit community, ultimately reaffirming the importance of human connection and the power of collective memory.
0.0The 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.
0.0When a young woman is shot by an undocumented immigrant on Pier 14 in San Francisco, the incident ignites a political and media furor that culminates in Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States. In the eye of this storm, two public defenders fight to reveal the truth.
8.5The movie explores the origin of the Ukrainian language and persecution of those who defended its authenticity. Using examples of other countries, creators of the film prove that a nation cannot exist without a language.
The first part of the documentary about the work of the Czech painter Mikoláš Alš called "The Song of Life", which focuses on the part of his work that draws its themes from life in the village.
The second part of the documentary about the work of the Czech painter Mikoláš Alš called "Glorious Homeland", which focuses on the part of his work drawing on Czech history.
6.8The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.
7.7Jim Carrey exhibits his talent as a painter and reflects on the value and power of art.