Birth of a Nation
★ 7 · 1997 · 85m · Documentary
Jonas Mekas assembles 160 portraits, appearances, and fleeting sketches of underground and independent filmmakers captured between 1955 and 1996. Fast-paced and archival in spirit, the film celebrates the avant-garde as its own “nation of cinema,” a vital community existing outside the dominance of commercial film.
More Like This
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
1988 · ★ 7.6
This documentary offers a rare glimpse of the legendary Soviet filmmaker, Andrei Tarkosvky, at work. Tarkovsky made only seven films in his brief, but brilliant, career; Michal Leszczylowski's respectful movie chronicles him at work on his last film, The Sacrifice. Offering insight into Tarkovsky's working methods and transcendental aesthetics, the movie is a compelling account of the difficulties of film production. In the case of an uncompromising and visionary filmmaker like Tarkovsky, the practical problems of filmmaking are only magnified, as cast and crew struggle to realize the ambitious concepts in Tarkovsky's mind.
More info →
Wojnarowicz: Fuck You Faggot Fucker
2020 · ★ 7.3
A collage-like, incisive look at the life of writer, painter and thinker David Wojnarowicz, whose powerful, unapologetic way of seeing the world gave voice to queer rights at a critical time in US history.
More info →
Art & Krimes by Krimes
2022
While locked-up for six years in federal prison, artist Jesse Krimes secretly creates monumental works of art—including an astonishing 40-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper. He smuggles out each panel piece-by-piece with the help of fellow artists, only seeing the mural in totality upon coming home. As Jesse's work captures the art world's attention, he struggles to adjust to life outside, living with the threat that any misstep will trigger a life sentence.
More info →
A Time for Making
2018
Nine artisans on secluded Gabriola Island reveal the differences between mass manufactured and authentic locally handmade through intimate portraits of their work and lifestyle.
More info →
The World According to Ion B.
2009 · ★ 7.5
The fascinating portrait of Ion Bârlàdeanu. The touching and inspiring story of a man who literally lived in the gutter for 20 years - and in the meantime managed to create paintings and collages which are now exhibited alongside works by Andy Warhol or Marcel Duchamp.
More info →
The Mysteries of Hieronymus Bosch
1983 · ★ 7.5
Nicholas Baum goes on a journey to Den Bosch, Hieronymus Bosch's town, and gives his explanation about what he thinks the painter's works originally meant.
More info →
Marcello Mastroianni, irrésistiblement libre
2024 · ★ 6.5
The 1960s opened with La Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini and its unforgettable lead: Marcello Mastroianni. The actor seemed to glide effortlessly through his roles — and through life — as if to say that life is not all that serious, or perhaps that it is far too serious not to be laughed at. But what kind of man was hiding behind the actor with the handsome, boyish looks, who appeared so gentle and nonchalant?
More info →
The Cinema and its Double: Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 'Despair' Revisited
2011 · ★ 6.5
This absolutely top-notch documentary by Robert Fischer is a fascinating look back at not just the film in question, but Fassbinder's meteoric career which ended all too soon with his untimely death. Archival footage of Fassbinder is utilized (including several fascinating snippets culled from interviews he did at the disastrous Cannes premiere of Despair), as well as many others involved in the film and its release. Even if you're not a particular fan of Despair, or even in fact of Fassbinder, this is stellar documentary film making and is an intriguing look at one of the most enigmatic masters of the New German Cinema.
More info →
Imitating Life - The Audacity of Suzanne Heintz
2019 · ★ 10
Satirical artist and art director, Suzanne Heintz, adopted her fake family more than 15 years ago to challenge persisting stereotypes about women's lives.
More info →
My Diagnosis
2025
Filmmaker Jon Beaton has always felt like an outsider. When TikTok’s powerful algorithm starts sending him content from the app’s autistic community, he has an epiphany – could this explain everything? My Diagnosis explores the tension between self-diagnosis and institutional validation through an intimate blend of personal vlogs and fictionalised recreations.
More info →