American History
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BELLADance American Studies American History Cinema Studies Cultural Studies Directed by Women Performing Arts 2024
Bella, is about the life, influence and impact of California-based artist and activist Bella Lewitzky. Designated one of America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures by the Dance Heritage Coalition Lewitzky’s life demonstrates how a “uniquely Californian” artist with vision and tenacity can change the lives of her fellow citizens.
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RECORDIALLY YOURS, LOU CURTISS2023 American History Business Music Performing Arts Sociology
Filmmaker Yale Strom explores the life and work of Lou Curtiss - creator of the San Diego Folk Festival, Adams Ave. Unplugged Festival, audiophile, folklorist, author, raconteur, radio host and proprietor of Folk Arts Rare Records, a mecca for some of the most celebrated American roots musicians in America.
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MISS ALMA THOMAS: a life in color2022 American Studies American History Art History African-American Studies Education Short Films Directed by Women Women's Studies Alma W. Thomas, a Black woman painter, broke color barriers on and off the canvas, yet did not receive national attention until she was 80 years old. “Miss Alma Thomas” is the first documentary film that explores Thomas’ incredible life through the lens of curators, art specialists, scholars, and her family. |
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CANE FIRE2022 American Studies American History Cinema Studies Indigenous Studies Media Studies A kaleidoscopic portrait of Hawaiʻi and the economic and cultural forces that have cast Indigenous and working-class residents as "extras" in their own story |
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ROCK BOTTOM RISERAnthropology Asian-American Studies Cinema Studies Economics Media Studies Photography Political Science Science Physical Science Sociology American Studies American History 2022 Explorers have long made Hawaii the hub for their searching. Today-as lava continues to flow on the island—another crisis mounts as scientists plan to build the world's largest telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii's most sacred and revered mountain. The film weaves a vital tapestry of post-colonialism and pop culture with cinematic brio and a wry wit. Rock Bottom Riser is an essential document and an exhilarating tour-de-force, a palimpsest that traverses geology, ethnography and astronomy. |
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LA MANPLESA: an uprising remembered2022 American Studies American History Criminal & Law Cultural Studies Directed by Women Latin-American Studies Sociology
On May 5th, 1991, people took to the streets of Washington D.C.’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood to protest the police shooting of Daniel Gomez, a young man from El Salvador. Through testimony, song, poetry, and street theatre, La Manplesa weaves together the collective memory of one of D.C.’s first barrios and dives into the roots of the ‘91 rebellion.
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STRANGE NEGOTIATIONS2021 American Studies American History Anthropology Cinema Studies Family Relations Music Religion & Spirituality Political Science
Musician David Bazan retreated into a solitary life after renouncing his long-held Christian beliefs and walking away from his critically-acclaimed band, Strange Negotiations follow David a decade into his journey, during which he has become a sort of reluctant prophet to Americans during the 2016 presidential election.
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DESALAMBRANDO: THE DOCUMENTARY2019 American History Chicano Studies Cultural Studies Latino Studies Political Science Puerto Rican Studies World History
Desalambrando examines the history of Puerto Rico’s squatter movement, also known as rescates de terrenos and its current relevance in a post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico.
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JEWEL'S CATCH ONE2018 African-American Studies AIDS American History Directed by Women Human Sexuality LGBTQ Women's Studies American Studies 2019
The story of famed Los Angeles nightclub Catch One and its owner Jewel Thais-Williams, who defied all odds and provided a safe space for both black and LGBT communities.
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OWNED: A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS2018 Sociology American History Urban Studies Cultural Studies African-American Studies 2019
Owned: A Tale of Two Americas is a fever dream vision into the dark history behind the US housing economy. Tracking its overtly racist beginnings to its unbridled commoditization, the film exposes a foundational story few Americans understand as their own.
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THE ISSUE OF MR. O'DELL2018 African-American Studies American History American Studies
The Issue of Mr. O’Dell examines the lifelong work of a pioneering civil rights organizer Jack ODell, who was a close colleague and advisor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but was ousted from King's organization after President Kennedy named him the number five Communist in America.
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SPIRITS OF REBELLION: Black Independent Cinema from Los AngelesAfrican-American Studies Directed by Women American Studies Cinema Studies Media Studies Cultural Studies American History 2018
Spirits of Rebellion: Black Cinema from UCLA documents the lives and work of a small critically acclaimed group of black filmmakers and media artists known as the Los Angeles Rebellion, the first collective of minority filmmakers that aimed to reimagine the production process to represent, reflect on, and enrich the day to day lives of people in their own communities.
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FIVE FINGER DISCOUNT: a crooked family historyPacific Street Films Family Relations American History American Studies Criminal & Law 2017 Literature
Based Helene Stapinski’s best selling memoir “Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History.” The book and the film tell the story of Helene’s childhood, of her growing up working-class in Jersey City, New Jersey – in a family nearly overrun with crooks, petty criminals, corrupt politicians, mobster wannabes and murderers – and how she became a journalist and a best-selling author.
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HERE COME THE VIDEOFREEXCinema Studies Women's Studies 2016 Cultural Studies American Studies Media Studies American History Directed by Women
Here Come the Videofreex tells the enthralling story of a pioneering collective of video journalists known as the Videofreex who in the 60s and 70s became the forerunners of public access television and the modern internet news era as they deployed the first handheld video cameras to report and observe the world around them.
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SHE'S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE'S ANGRYPolitical Science American History American Studies Women's Studies 2015 Directed by Women
An essential documentary about the birth of the women's liberation movement. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage and new interviews, She's Beautiful When She's Angry tells the story of one of the most important social movements of the 20th century, bringing to light the efforts of lesser-known activists and grassroots organizations from across the country who played a pivotal role in the struggle.
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RED HOLLYWOOD2014 Labor Studies Cinema Studies American History
A revelatory documentary by Thom Andersen (Los Angeles Plays Itself) and film critic Noel Burch, Red Hollywood, which has been remastered and re-edited, examines the films made by the victims of the Hollywood Blacklist and offers a radically difference perspective on a key period in the history of American cinema.
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BAM150Performing Arts Art History New York City Dance Music American History 2013
A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the staging of a major operatic production, Verdi's masterpiece, "La Traviata," starring world-famous French coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay and directed by the celebrated Jean-Francois Sivardier.
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AS GOES JANESVILLEAmerican Studies Labor Studies Political Science Sociology Economics American History Business Cultural Studies Kartemquin Films 2013
With efforts to recall newly elected Governor Scott Walker making national news, As Goes Janesville provides an in-depth account of the struggles and hopes of union workers, business leaders and elected officials in Janesville, WI to rebuild their town's economy following the closure of the local General Motors plant.
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CHILD OF GIANTS: my journey with maynard dixon and dorothea langeArt History Photography American History Psychology & Psychiatry Family Relations Native American Studies 2011
An intimate appreciation of two iconic American artists, photographer Dorothea Lange and painter Maynard Dixon, this engrossing documentary recounts their story from the unique perspective of their eldest son, featuring plentiful examples of their work alongside rare and never-before-seen photographs.
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TWO SPIRITS2010 Human Sexuality World History Psychology & Psychiatry Native American Studies LGBTQ Family Relations Education Criminal & Law Anthropology American Studies American History Directed by Women
An exploration of gender and sexuality in Native American culture, Two Spirits interweaves the story of the life and brutal murder of a Navajo teenager with the largely unknown history of the 'two-spirit' tradition - the acceptance, even celebration, among indigenous cultures of people with both masculine and feminine traits.
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