Main cast Tilda Swinton; Thomas Jay Ryan; Josh Kornbluth; Peter Coyote
Genres Documentary
Description Strange Culture is a 2007 documentary film directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson. It stars Tilda Swinton and Thomas Jay Ryan. It premiered January 19, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film examines the case of artist and professor Steve Kurtz, a member of the Critical Art Ensemble (CAE). The work of Kurtz and other CAE members dealt with genetically modified food and other issues of science and public policy. After his wife, Hope, died of heart failure, paramedics arrived and became suspicious when they noticed petri dishes and other scientific equipment related to Kurtz's art in his home. They summoned the FBI, who detained Kurtz within hours on suspicion of bioterrorism.
In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world. Is it any wonder that so many of our heroes are on performance enhancing drugs? Director Christopher Bell explores America's win-at-all-cost culture by examining how his two brothers became members of the steroid-subculture in an effort to realize their American dream.
Documentary filmmaker Robert Kenner examines how mammoth corporations have taken over all aspects of the food chain in the United States, from the farms where our food is grown to the chain restaurants and supermarkets where it's sold. Narrated by author and activist Eric Schlosser, the film features interviews with average Americans about their dietary habits, commentary from food experts like Michael Pollan and unsettling footage shot inside large-scale animal processing plants.
The film discusses the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, Nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. Dunn uses a family-tree-type flowchart to document some of the most popular metal subgenres. The film also explores various aspects of heavy metal culture.
In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West's most maligned musical genre - heavy metal - has impacted the world's cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world's emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren't just absorbing metal from the West - they're transforming it - creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.
A film about the cultural evolution of the Sydney beach side suburb of Maroubra and the social struggle faced by it's youth - the notorious surf gang known as the Bra Boys.
AMERICAN MOVIE is the story of filmmaker Mark Borchardt, his mission, and his dream. Spanning over two years of intense struggle with his film, his family, financial decline, and spiritual crisis, AMERICAN MOVIE is a portrayal of ambition, obsession, excess, and one man's quest for the American Dream.
A chronicle of the production problems â including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more â which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.
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.
In the mid-1990's, spurred on by both the sudden world-domination of bands such as Oasis and Prime Minister Tony Blair's "Cool Brittania" campaign, British culture experienced a brief and powerful boost that made it appear as if Anglophilia was everywhere--at least if you believed the press. Pop music was the beating heart of this idea, and suddenly, "Britpop" was a movement. Oasis, their would-be rivals Blur, Pulp, The Verve, and many more bands rode this wave to international chart success. But was Britpop a real phenomena, or just a marketing ploy? This smart and often hilarious documentary probes the question with copious interviews from Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn of Blur, Sleeper's Louise Wener, and many other artists and critics who suddenly found themselves at the cultural forefront.
Documentary - COUNTERFEIT CULTURE is a one-hour documentary that explores the dangerous and sometimes deadly world of fake products. An industry that once dealt in imitation designer handbags and shoes has exploded into a global epidemic of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, foods, toys, electronic goods, car parts and microchips. COUNTERFEIT CULTURE challenges consumers to take a deeper look at what appears to be harmless knock-offs at bargain prices. - Ann-Marie MacDonald, Tim Phillips, Todd Gilmore
Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.
Documentary about the National Film Registry, featuring clips of films that have been included in the registry, as well as interviews with members of the National Film Registry Board.
The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? feature film documents the process of development of the ill fated "Superman Lives" movie, that was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the man of steel himself, Superman. The project went through years of development before the plug was pulled, and this documentary interviews the major players: Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Jon Peters, Dan Gilroy, Colleen Atwood, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and many many more.
This dryly funny mockumentary about the lost work of a pioneering New Zealand film genius is probably one of the best examples of the faux-documentary genre. In fact, it was so successful that when it originally aired on New Zealand television, hundreds of viewers bought the premise hook, line, and sinker. If you didn't know any better yourself, it's entirely possible you might be duped into believing the extremely tall tale of one Colin MacKenzie, an ambitious filmmaker who made the world's first talking movie (years before The Jazz Singer), invented color film, and created a huge biblical epic that would put Cecil B. DeMille and D.W. Griffith to shame. Filmmaker Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures) shrewdly inserts himself into the film via his documentation of the "discovery" of McKenzie's lost epic, which for years was preserved in a garden shed.
"Touring makes you crazy," Frank Zappa says, explaining that the idea for this film came to him while the Mothers of Invention were touring. The story, interspersed with performances by the Mothers and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, is a tale of life on the road. The band members' main concerns are the search for groupies and the desire to get paid.
The Go-Go Boys tells the inside story of two Israeli-born cousins, the late Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, who in pursuit of the âAmerican dreamâ turned the Hollywood establishment upside down. Together they produced more than 300 films and founded the most powerful independent film company in the world, Cannon Films, which was responsible for Israeli and mainstream, Hollywood-blockbuster, action/exploitation hits during the duoâs 1980s hey day, starring the likes of Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Charles Bronson. Up close and personal, and with the complete cooperation of the filmâs subjects, the film examines the complex relationship between two contradictory personalities, whose combined force fueled their successes and eventual split. A film about filmmaking and two dogged, exceptional characters with modest origins taking on the big boys.
This historical and critical look at slasher films, which includes dozens of clips, begins with "Halloween," "Friday the 13th," and "Prom Night." The films' directors, writers, producers, and special effects creators comment on the films' making and success. During the Reagan years, the films get gorier, budgets get smaller, and their appeal wanes. Then, "Nightmare on Elm Street" revives the genre. Jump to the late 90s, when "Scream" brings humor and TV stars into the mix. Although some criticize the genre as misogynistic (Siskel and Ebert), most of the talking heads celebrate the films: as long as there are teenagers, there will be slasher films, says one.
The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio manâs moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party. Filmed with inspiration from the 1973 documentary Wattstax.
Julian Assange. Bradley Manning. Collateral murder. Cablegate. WikiLeaks. These people and terms have exploded into public consciousness by fundamentally changing the way democratic societies deal with privacy, secrecy, and the right to information, perhaps for generations to come. We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks is an extensive examination of all things related to WikiLeaks and the larger global debate over access to information.
Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, by director Peter Joseph, is a feature length documentary work which will present a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society. This subject matter will transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical "life ground" attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a "Resource-Based Economy".
An examination of the evolution of commercials as an artistic medium, featuring interviews with media luminaries who relate how the in-your-face stylistic conventions of commercials have influenced feature films and the visual arts. A documentary film talking about art and advertising divided in three parts: 1. Crossing Over - from cinema to ads from ads to cinema 2. Humour - How humour affects us in advertising 3. Shock - The way shock is used to sell
A sport like football is primarily a passionate celebration, but one that is so massive (economically, politically and socially) that it, of course, also brings many problems. Olallo Rubio's third documentary (and fourth film in total), Ilusión Nacional, is a take on how the world's most popular sport relates to Mexican society and politics.
When Nirvana burst onto the scene in 1991, the music they played spoke directly to an angry and disenfranchised generation. As grunge took over MTV and radio, the music industry was transformed overnight. But just three years later, the drug-related deaths of several musicians, capped by the suicide of Kurt Cobain, closed the books on an all too brief era. Hit So Hard follows the rise to fame (and the near-fatal fall from it) of Patty Schemel, drummer for Courtney Love's seminal rock band, Hole. Given a Hi-8 video camera just before Hole's infamous Live Through This world tour, Patty captured stunningly intimate footage of the scene that has never been seen... until now. Not just an all-access backstage pass to the music that shaped a generation, Hit So Hard is a harrowing tale of overnight success, the cost of addiction, and ultimately, recovery and redemption.
In 2003, Iraqi journalist Yunis Abbas was taken from his home by American soldiers and detained at Abu Ghraib prison on suspicion of planning to assassinate Tony Blair. Only thing is, he was innocent. Through his months-long ordeal played out like a comedy of errors, Yunis learned the true meaning of liberation. His unique story is told via co-director Michael Tucker's footage, Yunis's home videos and illustrations by co-director Petra Epperlein.
A fictional investigative documentary looks back on the "assassination" of George W. Bush and attempts to answer the question of who committed the murder. Perhaps less morbid and disturbing to watch now than during Bush's presidency, the film doesn't address Bush's policies at all, instead focusing on the way a nation assigns blame in a time of crisis.
Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill is pulled into an unexpected journey as he chases down the hidden truth behind America's expanding covert wars.
"Disturbing the Peace" is a documentary of an incident during Tan Zuorenâs trial on August 12, 2009. Tan Zuoren was charged with âinciting subversion of state powerâ. Chengdu police detained witnessed during the trial of the civil rights advocate, which is an obstruction of justice and violence. Tan Zuoren was charged as a result of his research and questioning regarding the 5.12 Wenchuan studentsâ casualties and the corruption resulting poor building construction. Tan Zuoren was sentenced five years to prison.
In 1994, Andres Rabadan surrenders to the police after derailing three trains and killing his father with a crossbow. At trial he is found not guilty when diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and is forced to be detained in a psychiatric ward for the next 20 years. After a personal descent into hell, Rabadan is ricovered as a person using the painting to exorcise the demons. And in this new bloom, new evidence of himself and his immediate environment make us see a more complex reality than that which emerged in the trial, revealing intimate secrets that have remained hidden for over a decade.
The egocentric documentary-maker Chris Waitt traces his romantic ineptitude and sexual impotence through awkward interviews with irate ex-girlfriends and stunts involving S&M parlours, Harley Street doctors and Viagra overdoses. The results are often hilarious, sometimes moving and speak directly to the hapless paramour in all of us.
Shot in 11 cities and 5 countries, Speaking in Code provides a glimpse into the world of electronic dance music through the eyes of Modeselektor, the Wighnomy Brothers, Philip Sherburne, Monolake and David Day. Director Amy Grill documents their successes and failures over a three-year period.
Documentary about the modern apocalypse caused by a rapacious banking system. 23 leading thinkers â frustrated at the failure of their respective disciplines â break their silence to explain how the world really works.
Examined Life pulls philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, and puts it back on the streets. Offering privileged moments with great thinkers from fields ranging from moral philosophy to cultural theory, Examined Life reveals philosophy's power to transform the way we see the world around us and imagine our place in it.
Overfed and Undernourished examines a global epidemic and our modern lifestyles through one boy's inspiring and personal journey to regain his health from the inside out.
Regular opening times do not apply as we accompany Sir David Attenborough on an after-hours journey around Londonâs Natural History Museum, one of his favourite haunts. The museum's various exhibits coming to life, including dinosaurs, reptiles and creatures from the ice age. Shot by the same 3D team that worked on Gravity, examines how the animals and creatures at the London museum once roamed the earth.
The documentary recounts the world's first nuclear attack and examines the alarming repercussions. Covering a three-week period from the Trinity test to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the program chronicles America's political gamble and the planning for the momentous event. Archival film, dramatizations, and special effects feature what occurred aboard the Enola Gay (the aircraft that dropped the bomb) and inside the exploding bomb.
Determined to find out the true effects of marijuana on the human body, stand-up comedian and former Stoner of the Year Doug Benson documents his experience avoiding pot for 30 days and then consuming massive amounts of the drug for 30 days. More than just an amusing story of one man's quest to get superhigh, this documentary also examines the hotly contested debate over medical marijuana use.
Gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, Waiting for Superman is an impassioned indictment of the American school system from An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim.
Filmmaker and ex-Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints member Reed Cowan examines that church's nationwide efforts to prevent the legalization of gay marriage - including California's Proposition 8, which was passed by voters in 2008. Confidential church documents, statements by high-ranking church officials and other sources detail 30 years of efforts to turn back gay rights, particularly by the Mormon-sponsored National Organization for Marriage.
Hosted by Ben Stein, this controversial documentary examines how pro-intelligent design scholars and scientists are often chastised, fired or denied tenured positions by those who believe in Darwin's theory of evolution. Nathan Frankowski's film explores how scientists who believe in God are oppressed and how the acceptance of Darwinism might have played a role in the formation of the Nazi regime.
Within Temptation's tour DVD in support of their album, "The Silent Force." The Silent Force Tour is a double DVD which was released on November 18, 2005. In addition to the standard double DVD release, the deluxe edition includes a bonus CD. The main concert features the band playing at the Java-eiland, Amsterdam. Three songs that were performed at the concert were not included on the release ("Somewhere", "Enter" and "Running Up that Hill"). The song "World of Make Believe" was also scheduled to be played, but keyboardist Martijn Spierenburg felt "unprepared" to play this song live. Live concert at the Java Island, Amsterdam,live videos from two European summer festivals (Helsinki, Finland, 2005 and Rock Werchter, Belgium, 2005) and the three music videos of off the album The Silent Force ("Stand My Ground", "Memories" and "Angels"). Disc 2 consists of Backstage footage, making of documentaries, Impressions and Interviews and extras.
Commentator-comic Bill Maher plays devil's advocate with religion as he talks to believers about their faith. Traveling around the world, Maher examines the tenets of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and raises questions about homosexuality, proof of Christ's existence, Jewish Sabbath laws, violent Muslim extremists.
An investigative and powerfully emotional documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military, the institutions that perpetuate and cover up its existence, and its profound personal and social consequences.
I Just Wasn't Made for These Times is a documentary about the life of Brian Wilson, the musical mastermind and songwriter for the Beach Boys. The film examines the ups and downs of Wilson's life, including the early years of the Beach Boys, his years of substance abuse, and his long road to recovery. The film was directed by music producer Don Was, who also worked on the soundtrack for Backbeat, a film about the early days of the Beatles.
This film examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news, and provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangerous impact on society when a broad swath of media is controlled by one person. Media experts, including Jeff Cohen (FAIR) Bob McChesney (Free Press), Chellie Pingree (Common Cause), Jeff Chester (Center for Digital Democracy) and David Brock (Media Matters) provide context and guidance for the story of Fox News and its effect on society. This documentary also reveals the secrets of Former Fox news producers, reporters, bookers and writers who expose what it's like to work for Fox News. These former Fox employees talk about how they were forced to push a "right-wing" point of view or risk their jobs. Some have even chosen to remain anonymous in order to protect their current livelihoods. As one employee said "There's no sense of integrity as far as having a line that can't be crossed."
Using the reflections and analysis of many renowned intellectuals, this documentary draws a portrait of neoliberal ideology and examines the various mechanisms used to impose its dictates throughout the world.
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.
David Attenborough tells the story of the discovery and reconstruction in Argentina of the world's largest-known dinosaur, a brand new species of titanosaur. Measuring 37m long and weighing 70 metric tons, it now holds the record as the biggest animal ever to walk the Earth. In 2014, a shepherd spotted the tip of a gigantic fossil bone sticking out of a rock in La Flecha Farm in the Chubut Province in the Argentinian desert. Palaeontologists soon uncovered a massive 2.4m long thigh bone, the largest ever found. By the end of the dig they had uncovered more than 220 bones. As the programme reveals, these all belong to a new species of the giant plant-eating titanosaur. Filmed over the next two years, Attenborough witnesses the uncovering and examination of these stupendous fossils and the dramatic construction of the complete skeleton. The film also reveals the internal secrets of this dinosaur and what it means to be a giant.
Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world).
Today in the United States, by the simple acts of feeding ourselves, we are unwittingly participating in the largest experiment ever conducted on human beings. Each of us unknowingly consumes genetically engineered food on a daily basis. The risks and effects to our health and the environment are largely unknown. Yet more and more studies are being conducted around the world, which only provide even more reason for concern. We are the oblivious guinea pigs for wide-scale experimentation of modern biotechnology. GMO OMG tells the story of a fathers discovery of GMOs in relationship to his 3 young children and the world around him. We still have time to heal the planet, feed the world, and live sustainably. But we have to start now!
Have you ever read the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies connected to every website you visit, phone call you make, or app you use? Of course you havenât. But those agreements allow corporations to do things with your personal information you could never even imagine. This film explores the intent hidden within these ridiculous agreements, and reveals what corporations and governments are legally taking from you and the outrageous consequences that result from clicking âI accept.â
The Loverâs Guide 3D is the latest in the best selling series of sex education DVDs that help to educate consenting adults in the pleasures of love making. By imparting knowledge of how the body works along with how to stimulate your partners desires by being attentive to their needs, showing you specific techniques and maintaining a clear open approach to the subject matter, the documentary manages to inform and express without the need to be graphic. By advocating safe sex within a loving relationship and an emphasis on increasing desire and sustaining sex, this educational tool should appeal to those starting out or those already in a stable relationship.
A look at the world of genetically modified foods through the lens of New Mexico's iconic chile pepper. The Chile pepper defines New Mexican cuisine and is considered a sacred plant by many cultures. Despite overwhelming evidence of gene flow, persistent safety questions, predatory multinational agribusiness corporations and potential economic damage, the State of New Mexico funded research to produce a GMO chile. It was the first time a state government directly targeted a crop for genetic modification. Because the funding is public, we were able to force a rare interview with a genetic researcher at NMSU. This film is packed with information about the harmful use of GMO technology and the ignorance shown by the proponents of GMO crops.
J'accuse is an 'essay-istic' documentary in which Greenaway's fierce criticism of today's visual illiteracy is argued by means of a forensic search of Rembrandt's Nightwatch. Greenaway explains the background, the context, the conspiracy, the murder and the motives of all its 34 painted characters who have conspired to kill for their combined self-advantage. Greenaway leads us through Rembrandt's paintings into 17th century Amsterdam. He paints a world that is democratic in principle, but is almost entirely ruled by twelve families. The notion exists of these regents as charitable and compassionate beings. However, reality was different.
Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.
Please enter your e-mail address to subscribe for updates
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Cookies
On 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 will come into force. The GDPR strengthens and clarifies the rights of EU-resident natural persons with regard to their personal information The Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy for Valossa services have been updated accordingly.
Please review Valossa's updated Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and the Cookie Policy. If you use our services to process personal information of EU-resident natural persons you need to comply with the GDPR. By using our services on or after 25 May 2018, you will be agreeing to the changes.
Under the GDPR, you have several rights, such as accessing your own personal data, erasing of that data, and the right to be notified within 72 hours of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk for your rights and freedoms. You may reach the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of Valossa when needed, and the details for doing so can be found in the updated Privacy Policy.
Click 'OK' to agree and continue using WhatIsMyMovie.com.