The World According to Allee Willis (2024)

Fast, Cheap & Out of Control

Errol Morris’s Fast, Cheap & Out of Control interweaves the stories of four men, each driven to create eccentric worlds from their unique obsessions, all of which involve animals. There’s a lion tamer who shares his theories on the mental processes of wild animals; a topiary gardener who has devoted a lifetime to shaping bears and giraffes out of hedges and trees; a man fascinated with hairless mole rats; and an MIT scientist who has designed complex, autonomous robots that can crawl like bugs.

Bye Bye Birdie

A singer goes to a small town for a performance before he is drafted.

The American Mall

The executive producers of High School Musical keep the good times rolling with this upbeat musical comedy set in the one place every American teenager's home away from home - the local shopping mall. Ally (Nina Dobrev) is an optimistic adolescent singer/songwriter whose hard working mother owns the mall music shop frequented by every teen in town. When Ally shares her music with Joey (Rob Mayes), a janitor in the mall who harbors rock star ambitions, she is thrilled to find someone who can truly relate to her songs as well as her heart. Trouble looms on the horizon, however, in the form of the mall owner's spoiled rotten daughter Madison (Autumn Reeser). Madison is the kind of girl who's used to getting whatever she wants, and what she wants now could prove disastrous for both Ally's ambitions, and her mother's popular music store.

Gender Under Attack

This documentary portrays the way in which attacks against a twisted concept of “gender ideology” in four countries are being used to gain political power by right-wing conservative politicians supported by conservatives in the Catholic and evangelical churches.

The Hottest State

A young actor from Texas tries to make it in New York while struggling in his relationship with a beautiful singer/songwriter.

It's a Wonderful World

Two aspiring songwriters finally manage to sell a tune by claiming that it was composed by a reclusive musical genius. When the tune hits the top of the charts, they find themselves having to produce the "real" composer.

Searching Eva

This is the tale of a young woman, growing up in the age of the internet and turning the search for oneself into a public spectacle, allowing kids from all over the world to live their life through hers. Through her fragmented personalities you see the emergence of a new generation, in which the concept of a fixed identity has grown old.

Every Body

Three intersex individuals overcame shame, secrecy and unauthorized surgery throughout their childhoods to enjoy successful adulthoods, choosing to ignore medical advice to conceal their bodies and coming out as who they truly are.

Grey Gardens

Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.

A Happy Man

People who knew R. perceived her as a happy woman. A woman from Brno in her thirties who moved to Sweden together with her Slovak husband, psychiatrist Ivan. In their new home country, the young couple bought a house and had two children. It seemed that R.’s life would continue in a predictable way. As a distraction from the routine, she chose an unusual hobby. She created a male alter-ego and started writing novels for LGBTQ+ audiences. R. was happy but felt empty on the inside. She could only fill it by living out her true self. Things started speeding up and R. began changing. R. is now Marvin. And Marvin is a man.

Mortified Nation

Adults share their most embarrassing teenage writings and art in front of total strangers at Mortified stage shows across the country, as the filmmakers explore what the show's popularity says about all of us.

Get on Up

A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.

Love & Mercy

In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, under the sway of a controlling therapist, he finds a savior in Melinda Ledbetter.

Pronouns in Bio

Through a collection of video diary entries spanning more than a year, Pronouns in Bio delivers an offbeat and charming reflection on transness and identity. Part documentary, part video essay and part musical, the film follows director and star Lucy Rose Shaftain-Fenner, a recently out transgender, autistic woman, as she navigates the first year of her transition. Note: Lucy uses the name Frankie during the film but has since started using the name Lucy.

Saturday Church

Ulysses is a shy and effeminate boy who finds himself coping with new responsibilities as man of the house after the death of his father. Living alongside his mother, younger brother, and conservative aunt, Ulysses is also struggling with questions about his gender identity. He finds an escape by creating a world of fantasy filled with dance and music. Ulysses' journey takes a turn for the better when he finds a vibrant transgender community.

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)

The life and work of the enigmatic singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson.

Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

Ten years in the making, Strange Powers is an intimate documentary portrait of songwriter Stephin Merritt and his band the Magnetic Fields. With his unique gift for memorable melodies, lovelorn lyrics and wry musical stylings that blend classic Tin Pan Alley with modern sounds, Stephin Merritt has distinguished himself as one of contemporary pop's most beloved and influential artists.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.

Vernon, Florida

Early Errol Morris documentary intersplices random chatter he captured on film of the genuinely eccentric residents of Vernon, Florida. A few examples? The preacher giving a sermon on the definition of the word "Therefore," and the obsessive turkey hunter who speaks reverentially of the "gobblers" he likes to track down and kill.

American Pop

The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities.

What Is a Woman?

Matt Walsh's controversial doc challenges radical gender ideology through provocative interviews and humor.

Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric

Katie Couric travels across the U.S. to talk with scientists, psychologists, activists, authors and families about the complex issue of gender.

Heaven Adores You

Heaven Adores You is an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith. By threading the music of Elliott Smith through the dense, yet often isolating landscapes of the three major cities he lived in -- Portland, New York City, Los Angeles -- Heaven Adores You presents a visual journey and an earnest review of the singer's prolific songwriting and the impact it continues to have on fans, friends, and fellow musicians.

Three Little Words

Song-and-dance man Bert Kalmar can't continue his stage career after an injury, so he has to earn his money as a lyricist. By chance, he meets composer Harry Ruby and their first song is a hit. Ruby gets Kalmar to marry his former partner Jessie Brown, and Kalmar and Jessie prevent Ruby from getting married to the wrong girls. But due to the fact that Ruby has caused a backer's withdrawal for a Kalmar play, they end their professional relationship.

HAIYU: Rebel Singer Mariem Hassan and the Struggle for a Free Western Sahara

HAIYU interweaves Mariem Hassan’s music and her personal quest for her country’s independence with larger historical events dating back to the region’s Spanish colonisation, and subsequent occupation by Morocco.

Grace of My Heart

Philadelphia teenager Edna Buxton wins a talent contest during the early rock 'n' roll era, changes her name to Denise Waverly and moves to New York City to make it big. Though she flops as a recording artist, fast-talking record producer Joel Millner recognizes her songwriting talent and teams her with struggling songsmith Howard Caszatt.

Copacabana

In 1948, aspiring songwriter Tony works as a bar pianist; he meets aspiring star Lola, and is immediately smitten. At Manhattan's Copacabana lounge, they both start finding fame. However, fate steps in and she is swept to Havana to work in a splashy nightclub act where she is convinced she will find her stardom. Instead, she finds Rico, a suave gangster and the club owner.

Motel

Documentary looking at the culture of three motels and their owners who remain untouched by homogenization and corporatism, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Florence, Arizona; and the semi-ghost town of Death Valley Junction, California. Everyone has an unusual story to tell.

Aida

This Italian film version of Verdi's opera stars Sophia Loren on the screen, with Renata Tebaldi providing the vocals.

Green Day - 20 Years of American Idiot

A celebration of the 20th anniversary of the punk band's bestselling and award-winning seventh studio album.

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

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.

Sing Me a Love Song

A young playboy inherits a financially-troubled New York City department store. To learn the business, he poses as a store clerk, and quickly falls for a pretty employee in the store's music department. Comedy with songs.

Billy Elliot: The Musical Live

In County Durham, England, 1984, a talented young dancer, Billy Elliot, stumbles out of the boxing ring and onto the ballet floor. He faces many trials and triumphs as he strives to conquer his family’s set ways, inner conflict, and standing on his toes in a musical that questions masculinity, gender norms and conformity.

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man

Poet, singer / songwriter and ladies man Leonard Cohen is interviewed in his home about his life and times. The interview is interspersed with archive photos and exuberant praise and live perfomances from an eclectic mix of musicians, including: Jarvis Cocker, Rufus & Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, ANOHNI, The Handsome Family and U2's Bono and The Edge.

My Name Is Violeta

Violeta leads a normal life in a well-off family, with loving parents, surrounded by everything the heart of an eleven-year-old girl might wish for. But she hasn’t always been the pretty girl she is today; she was born a boy. At age 6, she baffled her parents (the famous adult movie stars Nacho Vidal and Franceska Jaimes) when she told them she wanted to be called and dress as a girl. After the initial shock, they decided to give her all their support on the long and tough road that will lead to her becoming a woman someday. Violeta faces many challenges, medical (such as deciding whether or not to take hormone-blockers to stop the development of masculine features as soon as puberty kicks in) and legal (obtaining an ID card with her new name and gender). Later, she may consider getting a sex reassignment procedure, or the possibility of becoming a mother through adoption.

John Mayer: Someday I'll Fly

John Mayer: Someday I'll Fly chronicles the musical evolution of one of the most influential solo artists of his generation. Featuring rare demos, interviews and live performances; it is told in it's entirety from Mayer's perspective. Centered mostly on his career and professional accomplishments, Someday I'll Fly strips away the typical gossip surrounding Mayer to provide an intimate look at the life and career of a lauded musician.

The Nitwits

A would-be songwriter and a would-be inventor run a cigar stand and get mixed up in the murder of a song publisher.

Welcome to L.A.

The lives of a group of Hollywood neurotics intersect over the Christmas holidays. Foremost among them, a songwriter visits Los Angeles to work on a singer's album. The gig, unbeknownst to him, is being bankrolled by his estranged father, a dairy magnate, who hopes to reunite with his son. When the songwriter meets an eccentric housewife who fancies herself a modern-day Garbo, his world of illusions comes crashing down.

Blaze

Re-imagining the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting Texas legend.

Girl or Boy, My Sex Is Not My Gender

Being born a woman, feeling like a man & deciding to cross the boundary between the genders. That’s the path taken by those known as trans-boys. In San Francisco, Paris & Barcelona, a four-way portrait of Lynnee, Kaleb, Rocco & Miguel, four individuals who embody & explore the fluidity of gender.

They and Them

At the age of 15, can you know if you ever want to conceive or give birth to a child? The team coordinator at the gender clinic in the Dutch city of Zaandam is doubtful. And yet this is one of the questions he asks the young people who register for psychological guidance. A fellow psychologist trusts that young people know what is good for them. He is a trans man and one of the experts by experience who work at the clinic. The use of language, already such a sensitive instrument, proves to be more complex than some expect. There are those who see it as unnecessary to mention your pronouns when you introduce yourself, but the majority are in favor. Director Ingrid Kamerling switches smoothly between observation and interviews. Above all, there is a sense of the need to equip young people and their parents as well as possible for the emotional journey of drastic change that lies ahead of them.

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story

The troubled fraternal relationship between songwriters Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar and Grammy-winning Sherman Brothers, famous for the iconic hits they wrote for Disney.

Get Yourself a College Girl

A young music student faces expulsion after her instructors learn she is moonlighting as a pop-music writer.

American Reflexxx

American Reflexxx is a short film documenting a social experiment that took place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Alli Coates filmed performance artist Signe Pierce as she strutted down a busy oceanside street in stripper garb and a reflective mask. The pair agreed not to communicate until the experiment was completed, but never anticipated the horror that would unfold in under an hour. The result is a heart wrenching technicolor spectacle that raises questions about gender stereotypes, mob mentality, and violence in America.

Diagnosing Difference

How does it feel to have your gender identity included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders? Diagnosing Difference is a documentary featuring interviews with 13 diverse scholars, activists, and artists who identify on the trans spectrum (transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender variant) about the impact and implications of the Gender Identity Disorder (GID) on their lives and communities.

My Last Day Without You

On a one-day business trip to New York, a German business executive falls in love with a singer-songwriter who exposes him to her Brooklyn world and emotions he's never experienced before.

Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story

The hilarious and bizarre story of Frank Sidebottom, the cult British comedian in a papier mâché head, and the secretive life of Chris Sievey, the artist trapped inside.

Swanee River

Swanee River is a 1940 American biopic about Stephen Foster, a songwriter from Pittsburgh who falls in love with the South, marries a Southern girl, then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out. Typical of 20th Century Fox biopics of the time, the film is more fictional than factual biography.

Last Summer

As summer ends, Ren's bandmates and childhood friends are leaving for college. He struggles to write the lyrics of their final song.

I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now

A biopic of the career of Joe Howard (12 Feb.,1878 - 19 May, 1961), famous songwriter of the early 20th Century. Howard wrote the title song, Goodbye, My Lady Love; and Hello, My Baby among many others. Mark Stevens was dubbed by Buddy Clark, well known singer of the 30's and 40's

Songwriter

Doc Jenkins may be one of country music's most beloved stars, but his private life is a wreck. He's split up with his longtime partner, Blackie Buck, a country outlaw with a heart of gold. Doc's singer-wife, Honey Carder, has thrown him out of the house. And now he's gotten involved with a sleazy music manager, Rodeo Rocky, who's out to steal his material. Teaming up with Blackie, Doc takes drastic measures to win back his family and reclaim his songs.

Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones

The extraordinary life of Quincy Jones -- one of the 20th century's most influential and talented composers, musicians and music producers -- provides the basis of this offbeat, free-form documentary tribute. With little regard for formal timelines and traditional documentary biography methods, the film is an amazing patchwork of personal insights featuring a constellation of music stars including his long-time friend Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Herbie Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie and rappers Big Daddy Kane and Flavor Flav, as well as politicians, filmmakers and other important people. Some of the most moving scenes involve Jones returning to his childhood home in Chicago and recounting honest and painful memories from his childhood. Jones does not shy from discussing everything -- from his mother's mental illness, to his marital problems, to his serious health conditions. He also looks frankly at his career.

Rukus

A hybrid of documentary and fiction, Rukus is a queer coming-of-age story set in the liminal spaces of furry conventions, southern punk houses, and virtual worlds.