Taking the City By Storm: The Birth of Milwaukee's Punk Scene

The Year Of Punk

January 1978 •English

The summer of the Jubilee in 1977 was mentally dominated by another national anthem - "God Save the Queen" by The Sex Pistols. That same summer was also the summer of punk. Janet Street Porter Reviews The Year Of Punk, Featuring Early Classic Footage Of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Siouxsie And Others.

Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution

June 2017 •English

A documentary on Queercore, the cultural and social movement that began as an offshoot of punk and was distinguished by its discontent with society's disapproval of the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender communities.

Why Am I Doing This? (A Film About Touring)

April 2021 •English

This is a film about touring musicians who don't care about making it in the music business and all of the hardships they face without the fame.

Una vez iniciado el fuego

October 2024 •Spanish

Documentary on the recording of the Album Una vez iniciado el fuego by Sakatumba

Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt

March 2025 •English

Follows the story of the groundbreaking Texas-based art-punk band founded by frontman Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary.

The Blood Is at the Doorstep

March 2017 •English

After Dontre Hamilton, a black, unarmed man diagnosed with schizophrenia, was shot 14 times and killed by police in Milwaukee, his family embarks on a quest for answers, justice and reform as the investigation unfolds.

Manolo Kabezabolo

November 2023 •Spanish

Documentary about Manuel Méndez, better known as Manolo Kabezabolo, a punk artist who in a somewhat implausible way has crossed time, space and fashions, without giving up his essences and principles.

Reality 86'd

September 1991 •English

Three bands and crew (a combined total of 13 individuals), 2 Dodge Ram extended cab vans, one equipment truck, one PA system traverse the continental US for six months. A road documentary shot from the inside of the last Black Flag tour ever (the 1986 “In My Head” US tour.) Featuring behind the scenes proceedings and live performances from Black Flag, Painted Willie, and Gone. David Markey was along for the entire trip as the drummer / singer for Painted Willie, documenting the six month tour with his Super-8 camera as it happened. Also features roadie Joe (“Planet Joe”) Cole, soundmen Davo Claasen and Dave “Ratman” Levine, and the tour manager who kept it all together, Mitch Bury. A crucial turning point in American underground rock. The end of the line for a trail blazing American band. Shot in 1986 and completed by director David Markey in 1991 for We Got Power. (futuristika.org)

Moments Like This Never Last

August 2021 •English

Dash Snow rejected a life of privilege to make his own way as an artist on the streets of downtown New York City in the late 1990s. Developing from a notorious graffiti tagger into an international art star, he documented his drug- and alcohol-fueled nights with the surrogate family he formed with friends and fellow artists Ryan McGinley and Dan Colen before his death by heroin overdose in 2009. Drawing from Snow’s unforgettable body of work and involving archival footage, Cheryl Dunn’s exceptional portrait captures his all-too-brief life of reckless excess and creativity.

DIY: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Punk

April 2025 •English

D.I.Y. is an extrospective dissection of Pop-Punk; from the SoCal garages of the 80’s to the enduring impact the genre has had on music, fashion, and culture.

Cycle

May 2025 •English

The narrative of police violence in the United States is shaped by viral videos, hashtags, and a cycle of profiling and abuse, followed by law enforcement immunity. The killing of Racine"s Ty’rese West pushes this narrative forward, exposing the truth behind unchecked police reports when incidents aren’t captured for the world to see. CYCLE investigates this systemic whitewashing and gives a voice to the countless victims whose names have yet to be heard.

The Exchange. In White America. Kaukauna & King 50 Years Later

April 2022 •English

Joanne Williams' documentary captures an experiment of sorts. In 1966, amid the Civil Rights era, students from Milwaukee's Rufus King High School and students from Kaukauna High School participated in an exchange program that culminated in a production of Martin Duberman's play IN WHITE AMERICA. Now, over fifty years later, the original participants come together with a new generation, reprising this play with reflection and new energy amid our own racial reckoning.

Punk Girls - Die weibliche Geschichte des britischen Punk

April 2024 •German

London 1976: Between economic crises and the Silver Jubilee, something is brewing in the squats and basement clubs of West London: Punk. A promise, a new beginning. Punk meant self-empowerment, especially for the women in the scene. For the first time, women picked up guitar, bass and drums, formed bands and wrote their own songs.

Flipside Video Fanzine Number Two

August 1983 •English

White Flag : Flipside, Not Alright, Communication Breakdown G.B.H. : Gimme Fire, Wild Thing, I Am The Hunted 7 Seconds : This Is My Life, out of Touch, Skins brains guts Tesco Vee : worshiping /s - 7 seconds with a cat and a guessing game with: SSD doing Shangri-las, White Flag doing Pink Floyd & GBH doing the Buzzcocks. Battalion of Saints : I Wanna Make You Scream Minor Threat : Stand Up And Be Counted, Stepping Stone Rodney Mullen skating Minor Threat: betray & Jeff Nelson Brian baker (skating) it Follows Big Boys : Brickwall Stretch Marks : Professional Punks Urinals/100 Flowers : California Falling, Surfing With The Shaw, With: Keith Morris and D Boon Black Flag : Scream in Mike Muir's garage Kraut : Kill For Cash Minutemen : Split Red, Life As A Rehearsal, Ack Ack Ack Ack Angst : This Guns For You, Neil Armstrong Dickies : If Stuart Could Talk, Manny, Moe, and Jack, You Drive Me Ape, Gigantor ENDCLIPS: The Avengers, The Eyes, 45 Grave, SIN 34

Tompa Eken - ett liv i punkens tjänst

March 2023 •Swedish

Minimum Wages: The New Economy

January 1992 •English

Bill Moyers takes a piercing look at how global economic changes are destroying the lives and livelihoods of hardworking Americans. The documentary follows several individuals and their families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as they fight to make ends meet in the “new economy.” In sheer numbers, more jobs were created than lost in America during the last decade, but a look behind those numbers reveals a shortage of jobs that pay enough to support a family. The program intimately portrays the lives of workers and their families as they struggle to make it in today’s job market.

Hultsfred - berättelsen om en musikfestival

May 2023 •Swedish

In the early 80s, some bored young people in Hultsfred arrange a gig with the bands Ebba Grön and Dag Vag. It will be the starting point for what would become Sweden's biggest music festival.

Einfach machen! She-Punks von 1977 bis heute

May 2025 •German

At the end of the 70s, punk promised rebellion and self-empowerment, also for women in the scene. They fought for their place on stage among the dominant punk top dogs, battling against social norms and long-outdated female role models. This is their story.

Crass: The Sound of Free Speech (The Story of Reality Asylum)

September 2023 •English

The film dives into 1970's Britain; the birth of punk and the formation of Crass, with an in-depth look at their art, music and ethos.

The Punk of Natashquan

March 2025 •French

In 1981, an unusual person arrives in Natashquan, marking the beginning of an unlikely love story between this small Quebec village and the young man they call “The Punk”. Five years later, he vanishes without a trace, forever impacting the community.