As the unabashed cradle of Hollywood superficiality and smoggy urban sprawl, Los Angeles has long been condemned as a cultural wasteland. In the richly penetrating documentary odyssey City of Gold, Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold shows us another Los Angeles, where ethnic cooking is a kaleidoscopic portal to the mysteries of an unwieldy city and the soul of America.
You May Also Like
What’s it like to feel no emotion?
In 1875, Captain Matthew Webb – with little more than some brandy, beer and beef tea to keep him going – became the first man to successfully swim from England to France. Since then more people have conquered Everest than successfully swum across the Channel. To this day, it remains the ultimate open water swimming challenge. This documentary tells the story of those who keep Captain Webb’s vision alive – the volunteer coaches and the unlikeliest of athletes who they tirelessly support in their dream to swim from England to France. The rules are simple – no physical aids, no wimp/wet suits, just a swimsuit, goggles, the all-important swimming cap and a spot of grease to stop the chafing. At the heart of the community are pensioners Freda, Irene and Barry. They can be found in Dover every weekend from May to September come rain or shine, ready to train, feed and grease the wannabe Channel swimmers. The swimmers do not take on this arduous journey alone, and also rely on the skill of …
A series of snapshots from the life of a fictional actress named Shirley serves to weave together thirteen paintings by Edward Hopper (e.g. “Office at Night”, “Western Motel”, “Usherette”, “A Woman in the Sun”) into a fascinating synthesis of painting and film, personal and political history. Each station in Shirley’s professional and private life from the 1930s to 1960s is precisely dated: It is always August 28/29 of the year in question, as the locations vary from Paris to New York to Cape Cod.
“Wishful Drinking” is based on Fisher’s memoirs of the same title. The stage adaptation had its world premiere in 2006 at the Geffen Playhouse in L.A. It later played at Berkeley Repertory before opening on Broadway in October at Studio 54. The show takes audiences on a comic tour of Fisher’s messy personal life and career. The actress-writer recounts stories about her work on the “Star Wars” series as well as her relationship with her parents Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. She also discusses her much-publicized problems with alcohol and drugs.
Hollywood, land of the famous, the infamous, the beautiful, the ugly and the WEIRD. Join your Host Dark Infinity on a journey through the dark side of Hollywood on a visit to the California Institute of Abnormal Arts, a chat with adult actress Alana Evans, a look back AND ahead with Breakdance Entrepreneur The Egyptian Lover, a visit with the legendary The Goddess Bunny and more.
A tribute to The E Street Band, rock ‘n’ roll, and the way music has shaped Bruce Springsteen’s life, this documentary captures Bruce reflecting on love and loss while recording with his full band for the first time since Born in the U.S.A.
A look at the life of Cecil Gaines who served eight presidents as the White House’s head butler from 1952 to 1986, and had a unique front-row seat as political and racial history was made.
Exclusive behind-the-scenes footage offers a glimpse into the comic minds behind a “Wet Hot” summer-camp cult hit featuring many future stars.
This documentary follows two inner-city Chicago residents, Arthur Agee and William Gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars. Beginning at the start of their high school years, and ending almost 5 years later, as they start college, we watch the boys mature into men, still retaining their “Hoop Dreams”.
FREE ANGELA is a feature-length documentary about Angela Davis and the high stakes crime, political movement, and trial that catapults the 26 year-old newly appointed philosophy professor at the University of California at Los Angeles into a seventies revolutionary political icon. Nearly forty years later, and for the first time, Angela Davis speaks frankly about the actions that branded her as a terrorist and simultaneously spurred a worldwide political movement for her freedom.
A look at the life and music of legendary singer and civil rights activist, Mavis Staples.
Passionate in his anti-Semitic beliefs, Csanád Szegedi was the rising star of Hungary’s far-right party until he discovers his family’s secret—his maternal grandparents were Jewish. The revelation prompts an improbable but seemingly heartfelt conversion from anti-Semite to Orthodox Jew.