In this experimental, self-ethnographic documentary, Tom Joslin blends breathtaking, moving snapshots from the natural world, filmic cultural touchstones, and cutting (pseudo) cinéma vérité to dissect and reassemble his gay identity despite constant warnings to stay in the closet. Blackstar sees Joslin and partner Mark Massi fleshing out their enduring commitment and obvious love for one another amidst the insecurity that a self-conscious documentary lens instills. As interviews with Joslin’s mother, father, and brothers attempt to break down the legitimacy of Joslin and Massi’s romance, the pair use everything at their disposal, including inspiration from gay revolutionaries and painfully honest conversations, to hold up their “abnormality” as a point of pride rather than shame. – Shayna Warner
In the fall of 1986, Richard Fung made his first visit to his father's birthplace, a village in southern Guangdong, China. This experimental documentary examines the way children of immigrants relate to the land of their parents, and focuses on the ongoing subjective construction of history and memory. The Way to My Father's Village juxtaposes the son's search for his own historical roots, and his father's avoidance of his cultural heritage.
"An experimental documentary on Reverend L.O. Taylor, a black Baptist minister from Memphis, Tennessee who was also an inspired filmmaker with an overwhelming interest in preserving the social and cultural fabric of his own community in the 1930′s and 40s. I combine his films and music recordings with my own images of Memphis neighborhoods and religious gatherings" -Sachs
Using home movies, vintage memorabilia, and the straight facts about Saskatchewan, the filmmaker creates an eccentric portrait of the first year of his life, and the province that shaped his identity.
An exploration of the interconnected experiences of queerness and illness, this film navigates personal and collective journeys through medical spaces, sexual violence, and survival, displays the profound impact on body and identity.
An Indonesian student in London attempts to deal with the absurdity of confinement and immobility due to then-ongoing coronavirus lockdown by talking to his parents – who also face similar movement restrictions in Jakarta – over the phone.
On a sleepy summer night in 2004, eyes peer into the world-wide-web: traveling between conspiracy sites, malware, porn, and mp3 databases in an attempt to lose (find) themselves. Passing through blog graveyards, broken hyperlinks, and digital spirits, they begin to realize the Internet is so much more. Lost websites, anon forums, and inexplicable pixels singing to a prepubescent soul. An ode to the 2000s webpage and flash game culture.
What We Never Forget For Peace Here Now is a personal peace memorial produced in the United States, a country that does not have war memorials dedicated to peace. This video explores how we forget and how we remember memories of war. I think about who are my survivors and witnesses of war, and the deep impressions they've given me, becoming a part of me. Drawing inspiration from peace activists young and old, I ask viewers to join me in a practice of peace, here and now.
Hyjnesha në Fron traces an endlessly expanding echo in the present void - a haunting sound of rhythmical distortion, stretching over excavated images. A search but also a starting point: For demanding historical spaces filled with objects and people whose sudden reoccurring make the entanglement of absence and violence hauntingly concrete.
German iconoclast filmmaker and gay-rights activist Rosa vonPraunheim examines his own life and career in the documentary Phooey Rosa! With a quickly paced editing style, the film is a mix of personal banter, candid interviews, and clips from his filmography. It also includes footage from his early film Bed Sausage to his later work Neurosia. At the age of 60, vonPraunheim reveals intimate details about his past relationships and his childhood growing up after WWII. He also implicates some of his friends and inspirations, including Luzi Kryn and Rainer Kranach.
An intimate glimpse into 3 years of serene moments, compiling video, polaroids and other things that were lying around when editing.
The late Fujio Akatsuka is revered by many Japanese artists and scholars for his developments to early comedy manga, but his contributions aren't just limited to the world of print media. Featuring commentary from family, friends, colleagues, and celebrity fans, Fujio Akatsuka's story is told with archival footage and animation, showcasing the life of the man who went beyond manga.
During the last forty years, the photographer Sebastião Salgado has been travelling through the continents, in the footsteps of an ever-changing humanity. He has witnessed the major events of our recent history: international conflicts, starvations and exodus… He is now embarking on the discovery of pristine territories, of the wild fauna and flora, of grandiose landscapes: a huge photographic project which is a tribute to the planet's beauty. Salgado's life and work are revealed to us by his son, Juliano, who went with him during his last journeys, and by Wim Wenders, a photographer himself.
A quirky deep dive into the mind of a confused young man struggling to balance personal ambitions and family responsibilities.
Art is a freedom for those who make it and for those who look at it. A freedom that ends when the violence starts. In Mexico, every day eleven women are murdered and in more than ninety percent of the cases impunity prevails. Through the testimony of seven women, this documentary essay reflects on femicide and the destruction that this leaves a country and its culture. Because in times of horror, art cannot be the same, every time a woman is murdered, a museum or a library collapses in the world.
A Real Hero is an experimental documentary about the life and humanitarian work of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
A meditation on childhood, loss, and the desire to recreate one’s innocence; the recalling of memories.
On July 6, 2024, The Sun-Ray Cinema at 5 Points in Jacksonville, Florida screened its final film.
Until 1982, when homosexuality was decriminalized, homosexuals were caricatured, insulted and even condemned. They had to live hidden from the gaze of others and create their own spaces of freedom: balls, the night and especially art. Artists have contributed to making homosexuals visible, first through words, then through images, and finally by investing popular culture.