The ‘Casa do Povo’ cultural centre in São Paulo, an icon of the secular Jewish workers’ movement: a crumbling theatre flanked by staircases, entryways and corridors. Construction noise drones away in the background, clinking crockery, a broom sweeping over tiled floors, an expressive façade of countless adjustable panes of glass covered by a patina. It’s October 2016 and a group of young people are preparing a preview of Bickels [Socialism]. The venue is to form a prologue to the completed film, which tours 22 buildings in Israel designed by Samuel Bickels, most of which for kibbutzim. Dining halls, children’s houses, agricultural buildings, bright structures inserted into the Mediterranean landscape with great ingenuity. An architecture with a sell-by date: That many are now empty or have been repurposed at best is linked to the decline of the socialist ideals they embody.

The extraordinary and hilarious saga of comedian Dave Griffiths’ fight against fashion industry giant French Connection, for the right to wear his CNUT t-shirt.

A documentary about the same-sex marriage movement, from the final frenetic months of the legal and grassroots campaign.

Spike Lee pays tribute to Michael Jackson’s Bad on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the epochal album, offering behind-the-scenes footage of Jackson recording the album and interviews with confidants, musicians, choreographers, and such music-world superstars as Kanye West, Sheryl Crow, Cee Lo Green and Mariah Carey.

Dogtown and Z-Boys follows the evolution of skateboarding from the 60’s and into the late 70’s as skateboarding’s california beach boy image is transformed into a low-riding surf oriented style.

Desperate, broken men chase their dreams and run from their demons in the North Dakota oil fields. A local Pastor’s decision to help them has extraordinary and unexpected consequences.

A documentary that argues that many pieces of Catholic religious art have for hundreds of years contained embedded (subliminal) images that have promoted sex, violence, and the degradation of the Church.

Acclaimed actors draw from five of Douglass’ legendary speeches, to represent a different moment in the tumultuous history of 19th century America as well as a different stage of Douglass’ long and celebrated life, while famed scholars provide context for the speeches, and remind us that Frederick Douglass’ words about racial injustice still resonate deeply today.

Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the “DP” (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

Back Issues is the definitive documentary of porn magazine Hustler, from its nightclub inception as it adapts to pornography in the 21st century. Director Michael Lee Nirenberg’s father was was one of the original art directors in the 1970s and 80s. Back Issues is a complete look at the personalities and features that made this the most offensive magazine of all time. The story is told by its publisher as well as the editors, cartoonists, models, attorneys, art directors and cultural figures for the first time ever.

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Following a series of great white shark attacks that dominated the headlines, one Cape Cod community renegotiates its relationship with the marine environment. Local residents, fishermen, and environmentalists are forced to confront dramatic changes to their way of life. How far can we push nature before it bites back?