The Case of the Legless Veteran: James Kutcher

High Noon on the Waterfront

September 2022 •English

An inventive remembrance of the impact of the Hollywood blacklist on two American classics, rendered as a visually mesmerizing dialogue between Carl Foreman and Elia Kazan.

The Border City 2

March 2010 •Korean

In 2003 Song Du-yul, a philosophy professor, decides to go back to his homeland after spending thirty-seven years in Germany. Within a week after crossing the border, his reputation falls from a respected global political figure to an infamous communist spy. During a five-year-long trial, he was arrested and held in custody. This throws Korean society into turmoil and brings a big conflict between the Conservative and the Progressive parties. The filmmaker calmly contemplates this long period of the incident in detail and depicts a society with an indifferent manner. The story builds through an accretion of whimsical facts and it sometimes brings up uncomfortable truths which will irritate viewers. This film is a camera inside of us that evokes what viewers may have tried to forget.

The Day Called X

December 1957 •English

Portentously portrays the evacuation of Portland, Oregon, when threatened by a nuclear attack on its state-of-the-art civil defense system.

The Rosenbergs: Atomic Spies

February 2025 •French

Based on testimony by Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass, the Rosenbergs are arrested by the FBI. The couple is accused of passing secret information about the atomic bomb to the USSR. Though the Rosenbergs maintain their innocence from the start, the media and public opinion seem to have condemned them from day one. The trial does nothing to change this and ends in a death sentence. On Friday June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed in the electric chair. Julius first, then Ethel. 30 years later, the truth finally comes out. Declassified FBI archives reveal that Ethel was not guilty of being a spy; she was merely married to one. Julius did indeed commit espionage for the Soviet Union, though primarily as a recruiter, nothing at all like the fictional James Bond. This documentary, made entirely of archival footage and animated illustrations, offers a tale of espionage as well as a complex family tragedy.

The Border City

February 2010 •Korean

Professor Song, staying in Germany, was suspected of espionage and banned from Korea. Now he's expecting to visit Korean after 33 years. The Border City', by whech Berlin was called during the period of partition, could also be a name for Seoul naw that the city is haunted by the 'red complex' and refuses Prof. Song to come back to his homeland.

To Kill Alice

August 2019 •Korean

Eunmi, a woman who underwent intense anti-communist education while she grew up in South Korea, lives a normal life in America. However, after going on a trip to North Korea with her husband, her life begins to change. During an open forum event in South Korea, where she was invited to speak, she suffers the unimaginable, and the more she tries to escape from the situation, the worse and worse it gets.

Tail Gunner Joe

February 1977 •English

Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin accuses prominent people of Communist sympathies in order to give him a national power base when he later planned to run for President.

Sacco & Vanzetti

March 1971 •Italian

Boston, 1920. Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are charged and unfairly tried for murder on the basis of their anarchist political beliefs.

Oppenheimer

July 2023 •English

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

Modern Living & You!

July 2021 •English

A promotional short for the feature film "Roach Motel". The short film "Modern Living and You!" satirizes "Red Scare" era instructional shorts, while the time period itself is up in the air and left ambiguous. The short follows "Your Neighbor Margie" at the hands of a ruthless, demanding, and godlike narrator, as he puts her on display and on the spot, asking her questions, that he himself may not even know the answers to.

Project X

October 1949 •English

Project X was one of a cycle of anti-Red films produced in the late 1940s. Keith Andes plays an ex-Communist who is strongarmed into cooperating with the Feds. Pretending to become a "comrade" again, Andes rejoins the local Communist cell. Moving about freely, he is able to track down a gang of spies who are smuggling atomic secrets. Filmed on location in New York, Project X has the surface "feel" of a documentary, though the dialogue is strictly from the funny papers. Keep an eye out for a very young Jack Lord.

Occidente y sabotaje

May 1963 •Spanish

Two Communist agents plot an attack on a dam in Spain.

House of Z

June 2016 •English

A feature documentary on the life and career of designer Zac Posen.

Niñato

April 2017 •Spanish

Jobless and with no prospects, Niñato (Brat) lives with his parents and does hip-hop music. He lives the life of the outskirts, it's the Madrid of the chronic crisis. But he is 34 years old and has three children to bring up. Time goes by, the kids are growing up and Niñato carries on, making music and looking after the children, without worrying too much about his future. Oro, the smallest one, not too motivated at school, will demand more attention and drive Niñato to face his own conflicts.

BE' JAM BE the Never Ending Song

April 2017 •English

“The Mutan tree, well we say tree, but originally it’s a liana that uses the tree to climb. And its grasp ends up killing the tree. That’s what is going to happen between us and the companies.” In Sarawak, one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo, the Penan — who not that long ago were still nomads — are the first to be affected by deforestation.

Long Echo

April 2020 •German

Dobropillia is a town located in Eastern Ukraine: 70 km from the border where conflicts with the breakaway republics are raging on and people feel always like being on the verge of total war. The sheer uncertainty about the future pushes folks to cling on to their daily habits while trying to get along with the ever-shifting political landscape. A wide array of wildly diversified characters try to cope as good as they can with the hardships in their town. A death metal band keeps rehearsing daily. A teacher guides visitors through the story of the city. The wonders of a vibrating armchair are tested as a tool against stress and anxiety. An elderly lady who has lost her son tries to talk some sense into her fellow citizens urging them to accept peace.

Cassini's Grand Finale

April 2017 •English

To help visualize the dramatic final chapter in Cassini's remarkable story, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory produced this short film that features beautiful computer-generated animation, thoughtful narration and a rousing score. Producers at JPL worked with filmmaker Erik Wernquist, known for his 2014 short film "Wanderers," to create a stirring finale video befitting one of NASA's most successful missions of exploration.

Encyclopedia

July 1998 •Spanish

Hollywood - The Second Step

June 1936 •English

This short follows the early career of actress Jane Barnes. She starts by doing extra work. After several months she is offered a studio contract (the "first step"). However, her work consists mostly of fashion shoots and bit parts that end up on the cutting room floor. She is even used as a stand-in for Maureen O'Sullivan on the set of a Tarzan movie when camera angles and lighting must be set up.

Wasted! The Story of Food Waste

July 2017 •English

See how the world’s most influential chefs battle food waste through the eyes of chef-heroes like Massimo Bottura, Dan Barber and Danny Bowien.