In 1918, when New York City hired its first scientifically trained medical examiner Charles Norris. Over the course of a decade and a half, Norris and his extraordinarily driven and talented chief toxicologist, Alexander Gettler, would turn forensic chemistry into a formidable science, sending many a murderer to the electric chair and setting the standards that the rest of the country would ultimately adopt.
Saul Leiter could have been lauded as the great the pioneer of color photography, but was never driven by the lure of success. Instead he preferred to drink coffee and photograph in his own way, amassing an archive of beautiful work that is now piled high in his New York apartment. An intimate and personal film, In No Great Hurry follows Saul as he deals with the triple burden of clearing an apartment full of memories, becoming world famous in his 80s and fending off a pesky filmmaker.
The story of an Afro-Cuban group who kept alive songs and dances their ancestor had brought aboard the slave ship from Africa. They were so specific that around 200 years later, a village of Africans watched them, joined in singing, and said simply, joyously: "They Are We". This film tells the story of how they found each other and how they work to be able to reunite.
The Nature of Cities explores both the nature in our own backyards - San Diego and Austin - and the possibilities in projects of cities of the future in Malmo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Freiburg, Amsterdam and Paris.
Cody High: A Life Remodeled Project focuses on the efforts of the impoverished Cody Rouge community pulling together to provide safe pathways for children by removing blight and abandoned homes in Detroit. In 2014, with the partnership of Life-Remodeled, a Detroit-focused non-profit organization, the Cody-Rouge Community rose up alongside over 10,000 volunteers in order to remodel three schools, tear down three burned-out houses, remodel 25 homes of students and their families, board up 254 vacant houses, and remove blight/create beauty on 303 blocks. Cody High: A Life Remodeled project skillfully portrays the powerful stories of community members directly involved, and how their lives are being shaped as beacons of hope within the great City of Detroit.
Every Year in New Orleans, Louisiana the Mardi Gras Indian tribes gather on the Sunday closest to St. Joseph’s Day to celebrate their pride and joy. Influenced by his father Les Blank, son Harrod Blank joins the parade with his camera. This is a tribute piece to “Always for Pleasure”.
With unprecedented access to one of the most controversial agencies within America's Department of Homeland Security, this film follows US agents in Cambodia as they track down American pedophile sex tourists. Working with local activists and police, the American agents use forensics and surveillance techniques to collect damning evidence of sexual predators preying on young children.
In his contribution to the On Art and Artists interview series, Nathaniel Dorsky (b.1943) begins by discussing his childhood love of the John Ford film Stagecoach and its influence upon his decision to make films while attending Antioch College. Describing the affinity he developed for work operating at the intersection of film materiality and personal language, Dorsky explains how he developed his philosophy of the “devotional film” and the “microcosmic viewer.” Dorsky likens his practice to Buddhist sculpture, referring to himself as a “Japanese poet continuing aspects of the ethos of the Marxist revolution.” In the interview, the artist describes his use of the screen as an “altarpiece for the image” and emphasizes his use of editing to create works which “harmoniously coalesce.” Interview conducted by Jeffrey Skoller in May 2000, edited in 2014.
Kabelbel follows a group of villagers as they are taught the art of canoe making and seafaring by clan elders. Intergenerational differences and a sense of social change emerge along the way, along with a profound sense of cultural pride. Shot entirely on the remote island of Masahet in Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland Province, Kabelbel captures the daily rhythm of contemporary village life and reveals with great nuance the importance of custom and tradition in a changing world.
Women and art rarely get serious attention in our culture, and older women in art are virtually ignored. In TRIPTYCH: 3 Women Making Art, we see three artists who debunk the myth of the older woman as a used up and useless part of society. In fact, these women have remained vibrant and creative well into their sixties and seventies.
Why are two modern Buddhist countries fighting over an ancient Hindu temple because of a bad French map from the early twentieth century? By documenting this modern conflict over an ancient temple this film addresses a critical question for our times: How does culture matter in matters of war?
After decades struggling to protect her ancestors' burial places, now engulfed by San Francisco's sprawl, a Native woman from a federally unrecognized tribe and her allies occupy a development site to prevent desecration of sacred ground. When this fails to stop the development, they vow to follow a new path: to establish the first women-led urban Indigenous land trust. BEYOND RECOGNITION tells the inspiring story of women creating opportunities to preserve Native culture and homeland in a society bent on erasing them. Through cinema verite, interviews, and stunning footage of the land, the film introduces Corrina Gould, Johnella LaRose, and Indian People Organizing for Change as they embark on an incredible journey to transform the way we see cities. The film invites viewers to examine their own relationship to place, revealing histories that have been buried by shifting landscapes.
Considered the finest example of Byzantine architecture in the world, Hagia Sophia was constructed on a scale unprecedented in human history. Built in the amazingly short time of five years, it bears witness to an amazing scientific knowledge and a rich cultural heritage from the past.
Consumer capitalism dominates our economy, our politics, and our culture, even though a growing body of research suggests it may be well past its sell-by date. In this illustrated presentation based on his latest critically acclaimed book, media scholar Justin Lewis makes a compelling case that consumer capitalism can no longer deliver on its promise of enhancing quality of life, and argues that changing direction will require changing our media system and our cultural environment. After showing how consumer capitalism has become economically and environmentally unsustainable, Lewis explores how our cultural and information industries make it difficult to envision other forms of human progress by limiting critical thinking and keeping us locked in a cycle of consumption. And he argues that change will only be possible if we take culture seriously and transform the very way we organize our media and communications systems.
"The New Clark: Bringing the Ando Experience to the Berkshires" is a revealing insight into a long-term radical expansion of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The film follows the close collaboration between the museum and its internationally-acclaimed Japanese architect, Tadao Ando. Both Ando and the director of the Clark Art Institute, Michael Conforti, ponder the complexities of the project and the challenges involving aesthetic, setting, and community impact during the difficult twelve-year period. Determined to honor the institute's original buildings while introducing the modern elements associated with his unique style, Ando's design evokes a classic tranquility that seamlessly blends the Clark Art Institute with its stunning surroundings.
In an effort to work without the distractions of the city, artist Carroll Dunham moved his studio from Manhattan to a small village in Connecticut, not far from where he grew up. Finding himself to be more at peace in the calm, rural setting, Dunham feels the freedom to create wildly bold and visually stimulating work, painting his way through expression and sexuality. Continuously holding a mirror up to society, Dunham aims to examine the ways in which we interpret images and ideas surrounding the physical human form and our contrived notions of appropriate depictions of it through art and media. Dunham's large canvas works are flooded with vivid color and striking imagery that grabs the attention of its audience and encourages a reconsideration of form and gaze. "The Artist's Studio: Carroll Dunham" documents a visit with critic Roberta Smith as she observes his new captivating work: a series entitled "In the Flowers" and a large canvas "The Beach".
Greg Lynn, one of the leading figures in computer-aided architectural design, visits the first in a series of exhibitions initiated by the Canadian Centre for Architecture for which he is the curator. The exhibitions, which will travel to the Yale School of Architecture Gallery, are meant to explore the role of digital technologies in the design process since its beginnings. The first exhibition, entitled "Archaeology of the Digital", features four individuals who are pioneers in applying new technologies to architectural design: Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Chuck Hoberman, and Shoei Yoh. At the exhibition Lynn is joined by three of the four practitioners: Eisenman, Gehry and Hoberman, who each explain their path to the digital at the time.
Deep in Brazil, where law and justice require first and last name, the struggle for a piece of land becomes a matter of life or death. "Threatened" shows peasants in the South and Southeast of Pará, who have to fight for a piece of land for farming and living.
In 2007, the Writers Guild of America, the Screenwriters Union, hit an impasse in their contract negotiations with the Studios. At the center of the dispute was jurisdiction over the internet. Unable to make progress, the WGA called a strike which brought Hollywood to a halt for 100 days.