The Volunteer Archivists (2022)

Nani Ma

Musamoni Panigrahi (1920s–2017), fondly called “Nani Ma” by her neighbours, appears in the centre of this first film in the Baleswari dialect of India's Odia language. The story revolves around folklore and folk songs narrated by Nani Ma. Born in the 1920s in pre-independent rural India in a coastal village in the Balasore district of Odisha, she never got to go beyond the first few days of school. The film is an alternate history of a society broken through colonization, Brahminical patriarchy and a post-famine (Orissa famine of 1866, killing nearly 5 million people, one-third of the population), and the dominance of formal writing over spoken tongues. Three academics -- Damayanti Beshra, PhD (recipient of India’s fourth civilian award, “Padma Shri”), Panchanan Mohanty, PhD (noted linguist), and Laxmikanta Tripathy, PhD, DLitt (anthropologist and author) -- also appear in the film to provide contextual commentary on patriarchy, oral history and the sociolinguistic diversity.

Beyond Paper

At a critical moment in the history of the written word, as humanity’s archives migrate to the cloud, one filmmaker goes on a journey around the globe to better understand how she can preserve her own Romanian and Armenian heritage, as well as our collective memory. Blending the intellectual with the poetic, she embarks on a personal quest with universal resonance, navigating the continuum between paper and digital—and reminding us that human knowledge is above all an affair of the soul and the spirit.

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

Marion Stokes secretly recorded television 24 hours a day for 30 years from 1975 until her death in 2012. For Marion taping was a form of activism to seek the truth, and she believed that a comprehensive archive of the media would be invaluable for future generations. Her visionary and maddening project nearly tore her family apart, but now her 70,000 VHS tapes are being digitized and they'll be searchable online.

A Life's Work

What’s it like to dedicate your life to work that won’t be completed in your lifetime? Fifteen years ago, filmmaker David Licata focused on four projects and the people behind them in an effort to answer this universal question.

Ananta

"Randi Pua Ananta" follows the journey of Ananta, a notorious troublemaker who undergoes a remarkable transformation into a selfless hero. When a devastating flood threatens his village, Ananta makes the ultimate sacrifice to save his people, proving that redemption can come in the most unexpected ways.

Life After Death from Above 1979

A documentary about the history and reformation of Toronto punk band Death from Above 1979.

Monster Camp

Welcome to Monster Camp, the true story about a world where people transform into creatures, heroes, and monsters to escape their daily lives. In the vein of Lord of the Rings, World of Warcraft, and Dungeons and Dragons; these enthusiasts have developed a complicated world to bring their fantasies to life. Romantic relationships are forged between characters. Friendships are destroyed over plot disputes. Characters are slain and never return. But keeping this world alive takes a lot of real world work. And unless someone is willing to take charge, the fantasy may be lost forever.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich and packed with rare concert footage and home movies, this documentary explores the history of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, including Petty's famous collaborations and notorious clashes with the record industry. Interviews with musical luminaries including Jackson Browne, George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, Dave Stewart and Petty himself shed some revelatory vision.

The Comrade: The Life of Luiz Carlos Prestes

Chronicles the life of military lieutenant, later communist militant and Brazilian politician Luiz Carlos Prestes.

Napoli magica

Plot unavailable

Wild Port of Europe

Plot unavailable

American Valhalla

The film takes you on a journey from the conception of this musical partnership and the first demos recorded in Californian desert by - what became - the Post Pop Depression band that included Dean Fertita (QOTSA) and drummer Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys), and onto the release of the album, proceeded by a sold-out American and European Tour that featured the epic performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Junk Story

A look back at the life and career of Japanese guitarist hide, who died under questionable circumstances in 1998.

Skid Row Marathon

On LA’s Skid Row, a criminal court judge organizes a running club comprised of homeless, recovering and paroled men and women who seek to rediscover their sense of self-worth and dignity.

England 79

"England 79" - 17 scenes from Great Britain the winter of discontent, 1979.

The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show

Join Kacey Musgraves for a holiday variety show featuring new songs, time-honored classics, and a rotating cast of celebrity friends.

Tales from a Hard City

This British-French documentary chronicles the endeavors of a group of star struck young people in Sheffield England as they attempt to break into show business. Glen, a petty thief, is pretty good at karaoke. Paul, a boxer who wants to act, must deal with an image consultant. He also is trying to wheedle local car dealers into giving him a free car in exchange for his star quality. Sarah, a young mother who was recently arrested and put in jail during a Greek holiday for immoral dancing, tries to take that incident and launch a singing career. She is assisted by several unscrupulous entrepreneurs. Wayne Chadwick, a bar owner, is one of them.

An Unknown Compelling Force

The truth of Russia's greatest unsolved mystery, the Dyatlov Pass Incident, is uncovered in this compelling documentary.

Die Akte Zarah Leander

Zarah Leander was one of the greatest film stars of the Third Reich. Adored by the Nazis, she rose to become the highest-paid female film star of National Socialism. To this day, she remains inextricably linked to our collective memory, reviled as a "Nazi siren" but also loved unconditionally. At the same time, there are files in Sweden that claim she was a Russian spy. Extremely contradictory rumors that continue to shape the myth of Zarah Leander to this day. She herself described herself as completely apolitical. "The Zarah Leander File" delves into the life of the Swedish film diva and asks: Who was the woman behind the mysterious gaze, the frivolous songs, and the pompous gestures? Who was "Leander" really?

James Dean: Little Prince, Little Bastard

The collar of his coat turned up in New York: Images which have collaborated on building a myth – the image of eternal and misunderstood youth. Unlike Marlon Brando, the proletarian rebel with identifiable goals, James Dean was the timeless and androgynous youthful rebel. His death on the Interstate 46 leads us back to 1950s America, a time when youth was re-interpreted all anew.

Kabul, Between Prayers

A devoted soldier of the Taliban's ideology that has shaped his destiny since birth, Samim (23) struggles between the alluring promises of martyrdom and the mundanity of his daily existence as a husband and farmer. Samim's younger brother, Rafi (14), idolizes his big brother as he navigates the confusion of adolescence, leaving behind playfulness to enter a world shaped by decades of military intervention and resulting radicalization.

Egypt: What Lies Beneath

History - Using sophisticated CGI re-creations, this BBC documentary follows the explorations of archaeologist Sarah Parcak, who has developed satellite technology to pinpoint the locations of thousands of buried Egyptian cities, temples and tombs. - Jane McGrath-Wild

Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons

From the A&E "Biography" series, a review of the birth, development and cinematic history of Betty Boop, the flapper cartoon character who has been a popular icon since the 1930s.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden: A Portrait of David Toop Through His Records Collection

British musician and writer David Toop leads viewers through a tour of his voluminous record collection, reflecting on perception, the limits of music and the connections between seemingly disparate performers. This unusual documentary from filmmakers Guy Marc Hinant and Dominique Lohlé also captures Toop's progression from engagement to near exhaustion as he methodically combs through tens of thousands of records.

Doctor on Display: The Museum of Classic Sci-Fi

In the early 1970s, the BBC decided to launch a series of exhibitions featuring monsters and props from Doctor Who. Over the next three decades, untold thousands of children (and adults too!) were thrilled by a mix of innovative, exciting and stunning extravaganzas! For many fans, these exhibitions were their first and only real chance to get close-up to their favourite TV programme … and the memories they share in this innovative documentary series are bound together by interviews with experts and people who actually worked at them! The museum re-opened in 2021 after extensive restoration work and we tell the story of that opening … and the incredible journey that led to that memorable day!

Agnelli

Documentary about the life of Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli, an influential Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat.

Doctor on Display: Longleat

In the early 70s, the Marquis of Bath, on the lookout for anything that would encourage more visitors to his estate at Longleat, decided that DOCTOR WHO would be just the ticket! In this production, we go behind the scenes in Wiltshire to reveal the story of DOCTOR WHO’s longest running exhibition, meeting the people who made it all happen, and those who visited … often many times a year! There’s drama, celebrations, days out and fire! It’s all here!

Talking Heads: The Name of this Programme is Once In A Lifetime

In 1984, David Byrne put together a TV special on the Talking Heads for U.K. TV’s Channel 4, a 68-minute mix of live material filmed at Wembley Arena, interviews with the band, TV news clips, commercials and other various bits of found footage and sound.

The Voice of Dust and Ash

When Iran’s ayatollah banned music and performances in the entire country, instruments and records became contraband, and artists were exiled, imprisoned, or executed. As the new government began to crush basic human rights, Maestro Shajarian risked everything to confront the regime, singing truth to power and uniting the country in a chorus of millions strong. His life long pursuit of equality through art is immortalized for generations to come, through his majestic, soaring vocals and lyrics. His internationally renowned hymn, “MORGHE SAHAR”, performed at the finale of all his concerts is widely considered the Unofficial National Anthem for Iranian Freedom.

The Last Waltz

This film is about Oleg Karavaichuk, eccentric musical genius and famous St. Petersburg composer, who takes his final stroll through Komarovo, a bay-side summer community just outside St. Petersburg where he spent his whole life and wrote most of his works. His final piece, “The Komarovo Waltz”, unveiled here for the very first time, was written as a tribute to the place. The film is the reclusive composer’s eulogy to the community. It also serves as Karavoichuk’s farewell to audience as well as his last address and reminder of things that are truly important – love for your fellow man and virgin nature.

A Hellish Chaos

Year 2017 would be the 100th Anniversary of the revolution in Russia. Film researches the reasons of the “Russian revolution”, First World War, external and internal conspiracies, which led to the collapse of the monarchy and traditional world order. Narration is build of quotes, memoirs and inferences of eyewitnesses. The facts are told based on the views of the authors of the film.

The Map to Paradise

Travel to the underwater lands of ice and corals to discover the birth of a movement to protect the sea. Through the eyes of a prince, a president, a pirate and even an island chief, see how a bountiful underwater paradise can thrive once more; paradise it is more than just a dream.

Jesus Christ Saviour

Klaus Kinski has perhaps the most ferocious reputation of all screen actors: his volatility was documented to electrifying effect in Werner Herzog’s 1999 portrait My Best Fiend. This documentary provides further fascinating insight into the talent and the tantrums of the great man. Beset by hecklers, Kinski tries to deliver an epic monologue about the life of Christ (with whom he perhaps identifies a little too closely). The performance becomes a stand-off, as Kinski fights for control of the crowd and alters the words to bait his tormentors. Indispensable for Kinski fans, and a riveting introduction for newcomers, this is a unique document, which Variety called ‘a time capsule of societal ideals and personal demons.’