We Were There to Be There

On June 13, 1978, the punk bands the Cramps and the Mutants played a free show for psychiatric patients at the Napa State Hospital in California. We Were There to Be There chronicles the people, politics, and cultural currents that led to the show and its live recording.

Tote Schwule – Lebende Lesben

As a result of the Holocaust and later, AIDS, the male homosexual community has sustained bitter losses and, according to Praunheim, lesbian women have now placed themselves at the head of the so-called queer movement. The female protagonists in the film represent two different generations; they also incorporate the past and present status of homosexuals in society.

De tijd

The point of departure for this film is the 1981 composition De Tijd by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. Van der Keuken leaves the music undisturbed as an autonomous soundtrack and has the images engage in a sort of battle with it. These images are associations, fragments of events, scenes and situations. The film is preceded by a text by Bert Schierbeek.

Gimme Shelter

A detailed chronicle of the famous 1969 tour of the United States by the British rock band The Rolling Stones, which culminated with the disastrous and tragic concert held on December 6 at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, an event of historical significance, as it marked the end of an era: the generation of peace and love suddenly became the generation of disillusionment.

The Road Forward

The Road Forward is an electrifying musical documentary that connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history—the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s—with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. Interviews and musical sequences describe how a tiny movement, the Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood, grew to become a successful voice for change across the country. Visually stunning, The Road Forward seamlessly connects past and present through superbly produced story-songs with soaring vocals, blues, rock, and traditional beats.

Unarmed Verses

Toronto filmmaker Charles Officer profiles the young people of Villaways Park, a housing project on brink of historic change.

Afro-Cuban All-Stars at the Salon of Dreams

This documentary, shot entirely on location in Havana, includes many band members' insights into this revival, and features performance footage of an All-Stars' concert at the city's Salon of Dreams.

Three Chords and the Truth

The passionate advocates of the ‘Cigar Box Guitar Revolution’ express their love of making unique instruments and the democratic, re-cycling ethos of the movement. Many are from the UK’s northern, post-industrial towns, recreating self-identity through hand-made guitars. Their emotional connection with their instruments creates a unique sound which is quite magical. A cinematic short, subsequently commissioned by the BBC as Cigar Box Blues. Festivals include: Woodstock, Nashville, Albuquerque (Honourable Mention)

Extranjeros de sí mismos

Csillagfény távolság

Self-effacing Hungarian pianist, József, has a unique talent for fusing contemporary jazz with traditional Roma music. This new sound catches the attention of the acclaimed saxophonist Tim Ries and the two begin performing together. József dreams of escaping his humdrum life and making it big in the home of jazz: America. Along the way, he conquers his demons and learns that when shooting for the stars, success is not the destination, but the journey itself.

Tränen der Sextner Dolomiten

In 1915, the First World War is in full swing and young men are called to military service in rows - including Franz and Peter. Both are sent to the Dolomite front, in order to fend off a threatened Italian attack. Comradeship and loyalty are needed in the fight, but Franz and Peter are ever enemies. Since Peter's romance with Anna, the competition between the two flares up more. But the circumstances of the war and the harsh weather in the mountains soon end those hostilities.

Gaga: Five Foot Two

Follow pop provocateur Lady Gaga as she releases a new album, preps for her Super Bowl halftime show, and confronts physical and emotional struggles.

Buddy Holly: Rave On

Documentary following the life of rock 'n' roll legend Buddy Holly.

Return to Sandakan

During World War II there were nearly 2,500 Allied prisoners held in Sandakan POW camp in British North Borneo. Along with the ravages of war and the struggle to survive abject conditions, only six of these POW's were found alive when the war finally ended. In the years that followed, the horror stories of human depravity and the atrocities committed by the Japanese at Sandakan POW camp would come to light, considered by many as one of the most devastating chapters of the Pacific War.

Woodstock

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden: A Portrait of David Toop Through His Records Collection

British musician and writer David Toop leads viewers through a tour of his voluminous record collection, reflecting on perception, the limits of music and the connections between seemingly disparate performers. This unusual documentary from filmmakers Guy Marc Hinant and Dominique Lohlé also captures Toop's progression from engagement to near exhaustion as he methodically combs through tens of thousands of records.

American Valhalla

The film takes you on a journey from the conception of this musical partnership and the first demos recorded in Californian desert by - what became - the Post Pop Depression band that included Dean Fertita (QOTSA) and drummer Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys), and onto the release of the album, proceeded by a sold-out American and European Tour that featured the epic performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Wirklich alles?!

Sicko

A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.

Straight Into a Storm

A portrait of a hard rocking band known for their substance-fueled live performances on their evolutionary journey to become one of the greatest cult rock bands of our time.