Moscow 1996, Vote or Lose!

Moscow, January 1996. Boris Yeltsin gets ready to run for a second mandate of the presidency of the young Russian Federation. Polls are in the single digits. A painful economic transition, war in Chechnya, and the rise of criminal groups have left the majority of Russians dissatisfied with Yeltsin… and willing to vote for the communist leader Gennady Zyuganov. Yet six months later, Yeltsin won the election with nearly 54% of the vote. How did that happen?

Haiti's Tourniquet

The Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH) invited an Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) delegation to Haiti to learn about their fight against "le plan neoliberal" and recruit help in the form of material aid and solidarity. The delegation was in Haiti from April 24 to May 25, 2008, two weeks after the country erupted in mass protest at burgeoning food prices. This video shares the stories and experiences.

L'Ultimo Pizzaiolo

A journey through abandoned cinemas of Sardinia interspersed with memories of three senior projectionists, a profession now suppressed by technology.

No Measure of Health

No Measure of Health profiles Kyle Magee, an anti-advertising activist from Melbourne, Australia, who for the past 10 years has been going out into public spaces and covering over for-profit advertising in various ways. The film is a snapshot of his latest approach, which is to black-out advertising panels in protest of the way the media system, which is funded by advertising, is dominated by for-profit interests that have taken over public spaces and discourse. Kyle’s view is that real democracy requires a democratic media system, not one funded and controlled by the rich. As this film follows Kyle on a regular day of action, he reflects on fatherhood, democracy, what drives the protest, and his struggle with depression, as we learn that “it is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

Divoké pivo

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Ghosts of Christmas Eve

Enchanting holiday tale of a young runaway who has broken into an old movie palace, looking for shelter on a snow-filled Christmas Eve. Closed for decades, the building is filled with countless discarded artifacts from the past. The girl is discovered by the old caretaker, who uses the ghosts and spirits that inhabit this long-abandoned world to turn her life around.

Urinetown

In the not-so-distant future, a terrible water shortage and 20-year drought has led to a government ban on private toilets and a proliferation of paid public toilets, owned and operated by a single megalomaniac company: the Urine Good Company. If the poor don’t obey the strict laws prohibiting free urination, they’ll be sent to the dreaded and mysterious “Urinetown.” After too long under the heel of the malevolent Caldwell B. Cladwell, the poor stage a revolt, led by a brave young hero, fighting tooth and nail for the freedom to pee “wherever you like, whenever you like, for as long as you like, and with whomever you like.”

La Oveja Negra

A group of thieves and outcasts are living in a big abandoned movie theater where they have created a very friendly and very particular universe. The police will use all its resources to violate their space, but again and again fail in their attempts.

The Last Cinema

Cinema clerks Silva and Felix work the final night before their beloved cinema is demolished by private investors. An empty final screening allows them to reflect on the meaning of cinema in an age wherein art no longer occupies physical space.

Homeless in America

A documentary about people who are homeless and those who help them. Don't give the homeless a hand out; give them a hand up.

Remember Me

Remember Me is a 1979 American short documentary film produced by Dick Young, that was filmed in the US, the Middle East and Asia. The film depicts the youthful exuberance of children from many nations in contrasted with the squalor, hardship, and unfulfilled potential of their lives. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Koryo Celadon

Koryo Celadon remains one of the high points of world art. This Korean pottery style, which was at its peak in the 12th Century A.D., and called by the Chinese "one of the ten most wonderful things in the world," was a truly major achievement in the field of ceramics. Its most important element was its delicate green glaze, a secret formula now lost. As simple and elegant as Koryo Celadons appear, they were the result of intricate craftsmanship that often employed up to four inlays.

Nails

This Oscar-nominated documentary short tracks the shift in the relationship of an individual to his work between the 19th century and today. Focusing on how nails are made, we first see a blacksmith laboring at his forge, shaping nails from single strands of steel rods. The scene then shifts from this peaceful setting to the roar of a 20th century nail mill, where banks of machines draw, cut, and pound the steel rods faster than the eye can follow.

Karl Hess: Toward Liberty

A look at Karl Hess, libertarian intellectual and activist, from his background as a magazine editor in his youth to his work as a Republican speechwriter, as he became simultaneously a writer for Barry Goldwater and a member of Students for a Democratic Society. In the late 1960s he embarked on a new period in his life, moving to rural West Virginia and becoming involved in movements promoting alternative technologies and renewable energy. He discusses his views opposing large institutions, ranging from government to corporations to universities.

Don't Mess with Bill

Don't Mess with Bill is a 1980 Canadian short documentary film about Canadian martial arts pioneer Bill Underwood. At eighty-four, Underwood is a specialist in his own brand of self defense, which he still teaches to police, students, and senior citizens. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Luther Metke at 94

Portrait of Luther Metke, a Spanish American War veteran, poet, philosopher, and log-cabin maker, aged 94 at the time of filming. In voice over narration drawn from interviews, Metke recites his own poetry and talks about his life and his philosophy. Includes footage of Metke building a six-sided cabin, being interviewed by a local TV news station, and visiting with his family. Oscar nominated documentary short in 1980.