"25 Years of Ghetto House"
Currently all the rage with hipsters worldwide, Chicago Juke music has roots that run deep. The film chronicles the birth and evolution of a genre over 25 years. A fascinating watch!
Social & External
The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults is a two-hour live American television special that was broadcast in syndication on April 21, 1986, and hosted by Geraldo Rivera. It centered on the live opening of a secret vault in the Lexington Hotel in Chicago once owned by noted crime lord Al Capone.
Caged. Invisible. Shamed. Trapped. These words mark the tenants, clerks and even the owners of Chicago's last remaining Singe Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels. These small spaces are home for many at the bottom of Chicago's housing ladder. Cloaked in darkness and secrecy, these hotels are often maligned as drug dens and havens for prostitution but the people who live, work and own these hotels have never fully shared their stories. Caged Men is a feature-length documentary which examines the disquieting stories of near-homeless Americans living on the margins and their invisibility in a largely indifferent and, at times, hostile community. It attempts to lend a voice to SRO residents, clerks, owners and to the hotels themselves.
Filmmaker Kevin McMahon accompanies the Haida delegation on a repatriation trip to Chicago in 2003. His film reveals the whole repatriation process through the stories and experiences of the people who participated, both Museum staff and the Haida people.
Discover the rise and fall of the legendary department store Marshall Field’s.
Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
This comprehensive documentary chronicles the underground rave culture in Southern California, one of its first American strongholds. With roots in a tribal past, this movement attempts to format the future of a truly global community by combining elements of electronic/percussive music, the psychedelic imagination, and mass dancing. From warehouses to mountain retreats to the deserts of the Mojave, an unseen world comes into clear focus; with kinetic camera work and candid interviews, this slice of visual anthropology probes the underbelly of a worldwide subculture with the help of some of electronic music's most acclaimed DJs, a technomusicologist, and a county sheriff. Open your mind to this moving entertainment experience and intimate portrait of a modern counter-culture that follows its own electronically induced beat.
There's No Fish in Lake Michigan is a short documentary exploring salmon's surprising presence in Chicago and the communities, industries, ecology, and history surrounding it. Made by Allegra Hatem, Macallister Rescorl, and Joshua Silver.
This Rose will forever be Chicago Red.
An intimate portrait of independent electronic music in Greece
Chicago 1969: Activists from the Black Panthers, Young Lords, and Young Patriots united African Americans, Latinos, and poor whites to confront police brutality and unfair housing practices in one of America’s most segregated cities. A timely story of collective action, The First Rainbow Coalition tells this little-known chronicle of political struggle with insight and urgency using archival footage and interviews with those who lived it.
The story of Catholic iconoclast Michael Pfleger who made it his mission to transform the drug ravaged south side Chicago community surrounding his parish. In so doing, Father Mike has run directly into conflict with the local Catholic hierarchy. The film explores issues of racism, the power of the media, and the tension between Pfleger's 'gospel of the streets' versus traditional Church theology.
A history of the UK Garage music scene
Few amateur films with sound were produced in the 1930s and fewer remain extant. A charming artifact that demonstrates the expressive possibilities and technical limitations of amateur talkies, "The Spider and the Fly" includes a backyard Labor Day gathering, a trip to the Riverview Amusement Park, and a homemade Halloween parade of witches and ghouls.
When you listen to The Years, the debut studio recording from Urbanites, you're hearing a band in progress. They wanted to make The Years differently, and decided to record the album together, live, in the same space - Studio A of Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois. With the exception of limited overdubs, (vocals, drum ensembles and laptop atmospherics) each song represented one collective take, warmly captured to two inch analogue tape. This recording method embraced the mistake as much as the moment. They also chose to document the making of the record with a film, appropriately titled, 'You Can't Rewind The Years'. With a new understanding and years of progress to come, these longtime friends are making the music that they'd always hoped to. As they sing, in The Years' standout track Restless, "Not without trial, not without err - this brokenness is ours to share."
The Vatican media documentary about the roots of Robert Francis Prevost in his native United States. It follows an itinerary that begins with his childhood in Dolton, through the memories of his brothers Louis and John, and continues among schools and universities, communities and parishes, featuring the voices of confreres, teachers, classmates, and longtime friends. A production of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Apostolate El Sembrador Nueva Evangelización (ESNE), broadcast on the official channels of Vatican Radio – Vatican News.
Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.
In this special documentary that inspired a two-season television series, scientists and other experts speculate about what the Earth, animal life, and plant life might be like if, suddenly, humanity no longer existed, as well as the effect humanity's disappearance might have on the artificial aspects of civilization.
Tito del Amo, a passionate 72-year-old researcher, takes the final step to unravel the enigma about the alleged Spanish origin of the American cartoonist Walt Disney, making the same journey that his supposed mother made to give him up for adoption in Chicago. A journey that begins in Mojácar, Almería, Spain, and ends in New York. An exciting adventure, like Alicia's through the looking glass, to discover what is truth and what is not, with an unexpected result.
'Looking for the Perfect Beat' is a cinema verite immersion inside the unique Los Angeles 'beat-scene' music community centered around the world famous Low End Theory club night. Filmed over the Summer of 2013, a climatic point in this particular music scene's trajectory, we are given the opportunity to elegantly lift the veil on the personal creative processes of the internationally-acclaimed pillars of the scene. Indie music luminaries such as Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Gaslamp Killer, Daedelus, Nosaj Thing, Ras G, Teebs, D-Styles, TOKiMONSTA and Matthewdavid are all featured in vivid detail. The soundtrack for the film creates itself live on camera as the film elapses. This avant-garde visual angle on each subject in their respective creative spaces provides for an introspective glimpse into what would otherwise be unseen.
A short documentary on the highly influential Los Angeles club night, The Low End Theory
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Daft Punk Unchained is the first film about the pop culture phenomenon that is Daft Punk, the duo with 12 million albums sold worldwide and seven Grammy Awards. Throughout their career Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo have always resisted compromise and the established codes of show business. They have remained determined to maintain control of every link in the chain of their creative process. In the era of globalisation and social networks, they rarely speak in public and neither do they show their faces on TV. This documentary explores this unprecedented cultural revolution revealing a duo of artists on a permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP is a feature length performance documentary about the runaway juggernaut that is Rap music. At the wheel of this unstoppable beast is the film's director and interviewer Ice-T. Taking us on a deeply personal journey Ice-T uncovers how this music of the street has grown to dominate the world. Along the way Ice-T meets a whole spectrum of Hip-Hop talent, from founders, to new faces, to the global superstars like Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West. He exposes the roots and history of Rap and then, through meeting many of its most famous protagonists, studies the living mechanism of the music to reveal 'The Art Of Rap'. This extraordinary film features unique performances from the entire cast, without resorting to archive material, to build a fresh and surprising take on the phenomenon that is Rap.
Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating singer.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
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.
The incomparable Bruce Springsteen performs his critically acclaimed latest album and muses on life, rock, and the American dream, in this intimate and personal concert film co-directed by Thom Zimny and Springsteen himself.
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.