Psychohydrography

Into Eternity: A Film for the Future

2010 · ★ 7.2

Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storage, which is vulnerable to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and to societal changes. In Finland the world’s first permanent repository is being hewn out of solid rock – a huge system of underground tunnels - that must last 100,000 years as this is how long the waste remains hazardous.

Fernando Nation

2010 · ★ 6.1

In Fernando Nation, Mexican-born and Los Angeles-raised director Cruz Angeles traces the history of a community that was torn apart when Dodger Stadium was built in Chavez Ravine and then revitalized by one of the most captivating pitching phenoms baseball has ever seen. Nicknamed “El Toro” by his fans, Fernando Valenzuela ignited a fire that spread from LA to New York—and beyond. He vaulted himself onto the prime time stage and proved with his signature look to the heavens and killer screwball that the American dream was not reserved for those born on U.S. soil. In this layered look at the myth and the man, Cruz Angeles recalls the euphoria around Fernando’s arrival and probes a phenomenon that transcended baseball for many Mexican-Americans. Fernando Valenzuela himself opens up to share his perspective on this very special time. Even 20 years later, “Fernandomania” lives.

Kings Ransom

2009 · ★ 6.7

On August 9, 1988, the NHL was forever changed with the single stroke of a pen. The Edmonton Oilers, fresh off their fourth Stanley Cup victory in five years, signed a deal that sent Wayne Gretzky, a Canadian national treasure and the greatest hockey player ever to play the game, to the Los Angeles Kings in a multi-player, multi-million dollar deal. As bewildered Oiler fans struggled to make sense of the unthinkable, fans in Los Angeles were rushing to purchase season tickets at a rate so fast it overwhelmed the Kings box office. Overnight, a franchise largely overlooked in its 21-year existence was suddenly playing to sellout crowds and standing ovations, and a league often relegated to “little brother” status exploded from 21 teams to 30 in less than a decade.

Guardian

2019 · ★ 2

Guardian chronicles the work of wildlife stewards amid sweeping legislative rollbacks of environmental protections in Canada. Part hermit, part biologist, Guardians live on boats, full-time, in one of the last pristine frontiers of the world to monitor salmon, the backbone of the ecosystem, economy, and culture along British Columbia's coast. But, in an age of science censorship and soaring resource extraction in the form of fracking for oil and natural gas, Guardians and the wildlife they have dedicated their lives to protect are now disappearing.

A Water War

1996 · ★ 9

Four stories in a Mozambican village. Stories about a water can, a well that gets broken, a lonely hunter, and a bird that becomes a radio.

Un cusco en el Mapocho. Stories from the Tahuantinsuyu

An immigrant lost in Santiago's subway discovers that the city he inhabits conceals a buried secret: Santiago was founded over a cusco, an administrative center of the Tahuantinsuyo Empire. Through his wandering across the city and the testimony of pre-Columbian history researchers, the film reconstructs the Inca presence in the Mapocho Valley and proposes a decolonial reading of Chilean urban territory.

Asbestos

2024

A cinematic and introspective look at the residents of a Quebec town—once the site of the world's largest asbestos mine—as they grapple with their community's industrial past. Striving to honour their heritage while reconciling with their history and forging a new path forward, the miners delve into the intricacies of progress and healing.

Drip Dippy Donald

1948 · ★ 7.1

Donald gets off the bus and heads home hoping to get a good night's sleep. At first, his plans for rest are disturbed by an open window shade which lets light from a flashing sign in. After that problem is dealt with, Donald is kept awake by a persistently dripping faucet. Donald tries to ignore it but after a while, it becomes aggravating to put it mildly. Donald makes several attempts to stop the dripping and finally at least is able to keep it under control via a Rube Goldberg contraption. At this point, Donald receives a call from his water company telling him he hasn't paid his water bill so they're cutting off his water!

Dream

2016 · ★ 5

Four species facing extinction tell their stories of suffering at the hands of humans...

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

2004 · ★ 7.1

A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.

Hero's Journey: Myth or Delusion

A librarian explores the mythical landscape of a timeless storytelling concept and reveals a revelation about a critical key stage.

Shakedown

2018 · ★ 5.2

‘Shakedown’ was a series of parties founded by and for African American women in Los Angeles that featured go-go dancing and strip shows for the city’s lesbian underground scene. Inspired by trans woman Mahogany who, as the mother of the scene, presided over queer strip shows and balls for non-heterosexual audiences in the 1980s, butch Ronnie Ron created, produced and presented the new shows. In them, the largely female clientele from the ‘hood’ slipped dollar notes into lap dancers’ panties while celebrating lesbian sexuality to pulsating hip-hop beats.