The intimate life of the mythical Candy Dubois, from her childhood in a correctional facility to her success with the "Blue Ballet" in the great "BIM BAM BUM".
Social & External
Gangstresses, a documentary by Harry Davis, tells the story of violence, poverty, and survival in the streets from a female perspective. Over a two-year period, Davis interviews female hustlers, drug dealers, rappers, porn stars, prostitutes, mothers, and daughters. Among them are Champagne, a well-known African American porn star who has a small child; Mama Mayhem, a street hustler; Uneek, a rapper from the Bronx; and Vanessa Del Rio, a famous porn actress. Musicians Lil' Kim, Mary J. Blige, Ice T, and Tupac Shakur also share personal stories of survival. The documentary conducts follow-up research on the women's complicated lives, offering glimpses of both tragic reality and hopeful recovery.
J and Jacky are good friends who attend the same school. J is from a single-parent family, and will be taken care by Jacky’s family whenever his mother has to return to Mainland to renew her visa; such kind of story is not an isolated case. These families have been uprooted for a “better future” in Hong Kong, but is this “future” that the children really long to have? A Chinese saying: “How does one understand the joy of fish, if one is not a fish?” Will the adults really understand what the children want?
A mother determines to see her son faced with autism and depression overcome challenges, along with support from family, the community and teachers.
Poet John Betjeman is shown visiting locations including Vauxhall Park, Aldersgate Street station, Camden Town and Hatfield, where he recites a handful of his poems.
An account of the journey that King Alfonso XIII of Spain made to the impoverished shire of Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in the region of Extremadura, in 1922.
Mina Smallman’s daughters were murdered. As their killer and police who took selfies with the bodies come to trial, she shares her journey of grief, rage and faith with Stacey Dooley.
Canberra, the National Capital of Australia, is a city which has been planned; a place where modern living is enriched by a lovely setting. But the hustling young city of today is expanding and developing, and there is emerging the pattern of the proud city of tomorrow.
Allegations of a significant elephant-poaching problem in Botswana have sparked a political row between the president and his predecessor. As Alastair Leithead reports, the issue has ignited a national debate over whether there are too many elephants and whether hunting should be re-introduced.
A student's increasingly intimate line of questioning causes his interview with a local horror host to take a vulnerable turn.
The Making of feature for the George Lucas movie 'THX 1138'.
A journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.
Citizen Film collaborated with the African American Cultural and Historical Society to produce an initial short film on African American migration, which was screened at African American Art & Culture Complex and other cultural venues around the city during Black History Month, February 2019. This first iteration of the migration stories will pave the way for Citizen Film’s collaborative process with the historical society to include a chorus of voices documenting personal and social histories.
Explore the complicated history of African Americans’ place in San Francisco politics in African Americans and The Vote – a collaboration between Citizen Film and the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society. African Americans and the Vote features San Francisco’s first Black mayor, Willie Brown and members of the next generation of leadership. Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema will be screening African Americans and the Vote virtually Tuesday, October 27 as a part of their “Best of Bernal” live streaming event!
Between the Lines is a visually lyrical experimental documentary about women who cut themselves. The film is about gray areas in women’s relationship to their bodies in the context of deliberate self-harm. The women in this film negotiate the fine lines between self-destructive behavior and self-preserving coping mechanisms, as well as personal marking and the record keeping of experiences that defy language.
An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.
University of Washington professor Noam Pianko and his students collaborated with Citizen Film, the Pacific Northwest Jewish Archive and Seattle’s Jewish Community Federation to unpack and digitize archival photos and documents, then turn them into shareable digital content.
Megacities is a documentary about the slums of five different metropolitan cities.
Klaira presents a surprising vision of assimilation and a loving depiction of San Francisco. She and her grandparents explore how the experience of immigration changed their sense of self and altered the fabric of their relationship.
This Ukrainian-Jewish teenager immigrated to San Francisco as a young child. Now on the brink of adulthood, she interviews her grandparents about their new lives yearning to see her American world through their eyes. Yelena understands that life in the US has changed her profoundly.
The feature documentary follows women of all walks of life, all ages and ethnic backgrounds, as they shed trauma, body image shame, sexual abuse and other issues locked in their bodies, and embark on a journey to reclaim themselves. The film also gives a rare window into the world of Pole artistry and expression.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.
Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
A documentary on the modeling industry's 'supply chain' between Siberia, Japan, and the U.S., told through the experiences of the scouts, agencies, and a 13-year-old model.
In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.
A documentary focused on plastic pollution in the world's oceans.
Lupita Nyong'o narrates a documentary about Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Famous fans—including Drew Barrymore, Kevin Smith, and Al Roker—share its influence on them, and a new animated story finds Charlie Brown on a quest.
In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.