Happy Pills

Rather Be Ashes Than Dust

October 2023 •

Memories of his four-year journey focused on the Hong Kong protests. Narrated in the first person, is rich with reflections and contemplations, most intertwined with feelings of guilt.

INSIDE: Narrative of Our Journey

May 2023 •English

A series of indie filmmakers are documented over the course of a few months throughout the production of their passion projects, as they change professionally and personally; moving closer to the lives they wish to live.

Microcosmos

September 1996 •French

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

Woodstock

March 1970 •English

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

La peur au ventre

October 2024 •French

Exploring the rise of anti-abortion groups in Canada, the filmmaker also presents the feminist and pro-choice response that is being organized across the country.

A Fire in the Cold Season

September 2019 •English

A whisper among the sprawling forests and mill towns of central Newfoundland. A body found on the side of a river brings together a reclusive fur trapper and a heartsick mother-to-be. Scott is lonely and desperate to give himself meaning. Mona is strong-willed, but frustrated by her fragility. As a reluctant dependence blossoms the pair find themselves wading into violence, answering for the debts of a dead man. Stalked by outlaws, they plan an exit.

54

August 1998 •English

Shane O'Shea, a Jersey boy with big dreams, crosses the river in hopes of finding another, more exciting life at Studio 54. When Steve Rubell, the mastermind behind the infamous disco plucks Shane from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, Shane not only gets his foot in the door, but lands a coveted job behind the bar - and a front-row ticket to the most legendary party on the planet.

Swipe, Match, Murder: The Disappearance of Grace Millane

October 2023 •English

The story of the murder of British backpacker Grace Millane and how her killer was caught.

Wonderland

October 2003 •English

On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes.

Une vie avec Oradour

September 2011 •French

Inside Chernobyl's Mega Tomb

December 2016 •English

Documentary which follows the construction of a trailblazing 36,000-tonne steel structure to entomb the ruins of the nuclear power plant destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Valley of the Dolls

December 1967 •English

Lured by their dreams of fame and fortune, three ambitious young women enter the world of show business and discover how easy it is to sink into a celebrity nightmare of ego, alcohol and pills — the beloved "dolls."

Police

September 1985 •French

Mangin, a police inspector in Paris, leans hard on informants to get evidence on three Tunisian brothers who traffic in drugs. He arrests one, Simon, and his girl-friend Noria. Simon's brothers go to their lawyer. He springs Noria, who promptly steals 2 million francs that belong to the Tunisians. They suspect her of the theft; her life as well as the lawyer's is in danger. Meanwhile, Noria is playing with both the lawyer and Mangin's affections. Mangin is mercurial anyway: intimidating and bloodying suspects, falling for a police commission trainee before flipping for Noria, wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Can he save the lawyer and Noria, and can he convince her to love?

Carlito's Way

November 1993 •English

Free after years in prison, Carlito Brigante intends to give up his criminal ways, but it's not long before the ex-con is sucked back into the New York City underworld. Reconnecting with his dancer girlfriend, Carlito gets entangled in the shady dealings of his friend Dave Kleinfeld, who also serves as his lawyer. An encounter with shifty gangster Benny Blanco sets the duo on a dangerous path.

Gomorrah

May 2008 •Italian

An inside look at Italy's modern-day crime families, the Camorra in Naples and Caserta. Based on a book by Roberto Saviano. Power, money and blood: these are the "values" that the residents of the Province of Naples and Caserta have to face every day. They hardly ever have a choice and are forced to obey the rules of the Camorra. Only a lucky few can even think of leading a normal life.

Letter to My Tribe

September 2024 •English

Letter to My Tribe started with a question: Why don’t more Jews and Israelis speak out about Palestine? Over many years my mother, who represents a more messianic perspective, and I have had numerous arguments, some recorded, some not. These form the backbone of this video essay in which Israelis and Jews, journalists, activists and a rabbi are interviewed, and in which documentation of actions on the ground, in the West Bank, are woven with more personal family histories and journeys to Iraq and to Poland.

Modern Life

October 2008 •French

For ten years, Raymond Depardon has followed the lives of farmer living in the mountain ranges. He allows us to enter their farms with astounding naturalness. This moving film speaks, with great serenity, of our roots and of the future of the people who work on the land. This the last part of Depardon's triptych "Profils paysans" about what it is like to be a farmer today in an isolated highland area in France. "La vie moderne" examines what has become of the persons he has followed for ten years, while featuring younger people who try to farm or raise cattle or poultry, come hell or high water.

The Society of the Spectacle

May 1974 •French

Guy Debord's analysis of a consumer society.

Dog Days

September 2001 •German

Vignettes of the lives of several residents of a Vienna suburb during a heat wave.

Lower City

May 2005 •Portuguese

Best friends Deco and Naldinho co-own a cargo boat in Brazil's Salvador da Bahia. They give a ride to a sultry prostitute named Karinna, and soon both men fall prey to her considerable sexual charms, pushing the bounds of their friendship to the limit.