A video essay using images and interviews to critically explore the history and current role of pornography.
Social & External
The people behind it
Michael Sheen faces the interview of a lifetime with The Assembly, a group of autistic, neurodivergent, and learning disabled people. Expect revelation, chaos, and a lot of laughs.
Juxtaposing scenes from the 1967 Royal Commission on the Status of Women with the 2nd Pan-Canadian Young Feminist Gathering in 2011 in Winnipeg, organized by the rebELLEs movement, the film explores the progress made on concerns raised 45 years ago: universal childcare, violence against women, and abortion access.
From the flickering screens of Hollywood horror, to the haunted cane fields of colonial Haiti, Black Zombie unearths the buried origins of the zombie, reclaiming it as a symbol of survival and spiritual resistance.
An intimate, arresting portrait of cyclist Moriah Wilson—raised by a fierce, loving family—whose singular drive becomes her superpower, carrying her to athletic brilliance and, devastatingly, toward a life cut short by murder.
Olly Alexander is preparing to fulfil one of his biggest life ambitions - to represent the United Kingdom in the much-loved Eurovision Song Contest. Ahead of the grand final in May, Olly joins fellow Eurovision lover and commentator Graham Norton to talk candidly about competing in Sweden. As an extra treat for Eurovision fans, Olly reveals the first full play of the music video on TV for his Eurovision song Dizzy.
With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.
Shot at the Cheetah Club in Atlanta, this documentary takes a behind the scenes look of a strip club and the women that make it work.
Nearly every major element of making the 1991 film Thelma & Louise is examined here from how the script was written to how Ridley Scott got involved, to how the big tanker explosion was pulled off. Some funny stories are shared and some great trivia as to what was improvised on set and actually left in the film.
An interview with Hisayasu Satô about "Turtle Vision" (bonus feature on the "The Films of Hisayasu Satô: Volume #3" Bluray set released by Vinegar Syndrome).
Since before time, humankind has pondered one central question...who are we, and why are we here? Many theories have been put forth by religious leaders, scientists, philosophers, writers, artists, and countless others. None of the theories have held the test of time because there is a central fact, a hidden truth so powerful it almost transcends comprehension. It is so shocking, few dare imagine it. To keep this secret question hidden countless people throughout the centuries have been misled, manipulated, lied to, and even slaughtered, their lives ruined to benefit the ruling class. The most powerful and successful people on earth do not want you to know these truths, because it would undermine their control over the earth's population of sheeple. Once this incredible truth sweeps the world, nothing will be the same. Don't be left behind on this one. Watch for...The Endless Question.
Amid shifting times, two women kept their decades-long love a secret. But coming out later in life comes with its own set of challenges.
In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.
Facing the risk of deportation from Germany, Altay learns that he must present a valid reason to the immigration office to stay. On his way home, he encounters a man wearing a Spider-Man mask and, curious about his valid reason, conducts a brief interview. During their conversation, Altay realizes that a series of encounters has been helping him make sense of his recent anxieties. Inspired by this, he begins recording conversations with people who share a similar sense of delusion and brings strangers into organic dialogues. Through a blend of fiction, documentary, and animation, the film explores ...
Huiju learned of her biopsy test results, but lied to her mum about them. Feeling guilty about the lie, she embarks on her journey to find cancer patients who have the same diagnosis as hers and learns about their experiences. After hearing their stories, she finds the courage to tell the truth to her mum.
A journey into French exploitation cinema from 70's and 80's with Brigitte Lahaie. This panel discussion held on June 23, 2016, includes trailers and film clips from Brigitte's many films.
A feminist activist organization determined to bring attention to superficiality and the rampant objectification of women in modern American society chooses the 1985 Miss California Beauty Pageant as the site for its disruptive guerrilla demonstration. The group meets in Santa Cruz, Calif., and orchestrates its own competition -- one that attracts media attention and shocks passersby with its thought-provoking and satirical alternate reading of the institution of the American beauty pageant.
The James Brown Story
The evolution of adult cinema through the most influential films in history, a journey that begins in the 1970s and ends nowadays. An in-depth analysis of the success of the most prestigious erotic films, their impact on industry and society, and their influence on cinema and contemporary culture.
Get up close and personal with 16 of the most successful women in the adult film industry as they shed their clothes for an intimate photo shoot with director Deborah Anderson. As questions are asked, personal stories about their lives are revealed, from why they chose the business of sex to how they got into it in the first place. These porn stars have always been discreet about their private lives in the past, yet Anderson has a way of opening up a dialog allowing them to share more than just their naked skin on screen. Their true inner vulnerability is touching, yet the characters they have created are confident and intoxicating. Once you hear their stories, you'll never look at them in the same way again.
The definitive documentary on the history of nudity in feature films from the early silent days to the present, studying the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped that history. Skin will also study the gender inequality in presenting nude images in motion pictures and will follow the revolution that has created nude gender equality in feature films today.
A first-ever look at the realities of the professional “amateur” porn world and the steady stream of 18-to-19-year old girls entering into it.
Robert Altman's life and career contained multitudes. This father of American independent cinema left an indelible mark, not merely on the evolution of his art form, but also on the western zeitgeist. With its use of rare interviews, representative film clips, archival images, and musings from his family and most recognizable collaborators, Altman is a dynamic and heartfelt mediation on an artist whose expression, passion and appetite knew few bounds.
From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.
A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.
In 1997, Louis Theroux made a documentary about the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles. 15 years later, he returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn on the internet. Louis revisits some of the original programme's contributors as well as meeting the latest crop of porn performers dreaming of porn stardom.
A deep dive into the making of the Paranormal Activity films with first time ever interviews with cast and crew, never-before-seen footage from the movies, and a preview of the seventh installment in the franchise.
Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged, creating a groundbreaking evolution in the medium. Keanu Reeves explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters, such as James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Soderbergh, and many more.
This documentary explores the mystery surrounding the death of movie icon Marilyn Monroe through previously unheard interviews with her inner circle.
The world's greatest pin-up model and cult icon, Bettie Page, recounts the true story of how her free expression overcame government witch-hunts to help launch America's sexual revolution. When she saw the film The Notorious Bettie Page, produced by HBO in 2006, the main person concerned reacted unequivocally: “Lies! Lies!” In a long interview recorded shortly before her death, the woman who entered the collective unconscious as the ultimate pin-up gave her version of events to director Mark Mori. In a gravelly voice, Bettie Page tells her own story and lifts the veil on areas often hidden by images that have made so many men and women fantasize since the 1950s: her abused childhood, an eclipse that lasted forty years, her mental illness. Through testimonies and unpublished archives, this documentary brings back to life a body and a face endlessly declined before our eyes, just as Bettie wanted: “I would like people to remember me as I was in the photos.”
In her own words, through personal video and diaries, Pamela Anderson shares the story of her rise to fame, rocky romances and infamous sex tape scandal.
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
A documentary about the making of the controversial Life of Brian and the surrounding accusations of blasphemy.
A documentary about the rise and fall of the Cannon Film Group, the legendary independent film company helmed by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.
A documentary on the modeling industry's 'supply chain' between Siberia, Japan, and the U.S., told through the experiences of the scouts, agencies, and a 13-year-old model.
Matt Walsh's controversial doc challenges radical gender ideology through provocative interviews and humor.
Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.
In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel: "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self-appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film's star.