Horse Language

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.

Tiverton Canal Co. 50th Anniversary

2024

A short documentary comemmorating 50 years of the Tiverton Canal Co. operating on the Grand Western Canal in Tiverton, Devon.

The Horses

2021

After the death of two mares at the stables where she works as a caretaker, a young woman travels from barn to barn in search of a horse to be a companion to the single remaining gelding at her barn.

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.

A Horse Called Nijinsky

1970 · ★ 9.5

Documentary, narrated by Orson Welles, about the legendary race horse Nijinsky, one of the greatest and most successful race horses in history and after his retirement from the racetrack in 1970 an important sire of thoroughbred horses.

Love in the Long Run

2024 · ★ 10

A young runner adventures solo from LA to Denver seeking answers and healing following a special love lost.

The Two Horses of Genghis Khan

2009 · ★ 6.8

An old, broken morin khurr (horse head fiddle) compels renowned Mongolian singer Urna Chahar Tugchi to take a road journey to Ulan Bator and the steppes of Mongolia.

Hitchin. Honouring the Brave

1912

Victims of a tragic air crash are honoured in a sombre military funeral procession through the streets of Hitchin.

Sons of the Soil

1915

Ilford's Fairlop Plain provides the battlefield for ploughing matches between local hands and Essex outsiders.