Squat 69

Theory and Practice: Conversations with Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn

January 2010 •English

This timely, bold set of one-on-one interviews presents two of the most venerable figures from the American Left—renowned historian Howard Zinn and linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky—each reflecting upon his own life and political beliefs. At the age of 88, Howard Zinn reflects upon the Civil Rights and anti–Vietnam War movements, political empires, history, art, activism, and his political stance. Setting forth his personal views, Noam Chomsky explains the evolution of his libertarian socialist ideals, his vision for a future postcapitalist society, the Enlightenment, the state and empire, and the future of the planet.

The Salt Mines

October 1990 •English

Explores the lives of Sara, Gigi and Giovanna, three Latino transvestites who for years have lived on the streets of Manhattan supporting their drug addictions through prostitution. They made their temporary home inside broken garbage trucks that the Sanitation Department keeps next to the salt deposits used in the winter to melt the snow. The three friends share the place known as "The Salt Mines".

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks

September 2003 •Chinese

A detailed look at the gradual decline of Shenyang’s industrial Tiexi district, an area that was once a vibrant example of China’s socialist economy. But industry is changing, and the factories of Tiexi are closing. Director Wang Bing introduces us to some of the workers affected by the closures, and to their families.

The Bombing of Wall Street

February 2018 •English

On September 16, 1920, as hundreds of Wall Street workers headed out for lunch, a horse-drawn cart packed with dynamite exploded in front of Morgan Bank — the world’s most powerful banking institution. The blast turned the nation’s financial center into a bloody war zone and left 38 dead and hundreds more seriously injured. As financial institutions around the country went on high alert, many wondered if this was the strike against American capitalism that radical agitators had threatened for so long.

Ipotesi sulla morte di G. Pinelli

January 1970 •Italian

After a wave of arrests in 1969, Italian anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli allegedly falls out of a police building window while being interrogated. The circumstances leading to his death are re-enacted in three hypothetical versions in this attempt at counter-investigation. Released together with Nelo Risi's 'Giuseppe Pinelli', as 'Documenti su Giuseppe Pinelli'.

Cançons d'amor i Anarquia

January 2014 •Catalan

The Sand Island Story

January 1981 •English

This short documentary chronicles a four-month period between 1979 and 1980 when residents of Hawaii's Sand Island "squatter" community attempted to resist eviction from the Honolulu shoreline - resulting in displacement, arrests, and the destruction of a community.

Projekt A - A Journey to Anarchist Projects in Europe

February 2016 •German

PROJEKT A is a documentary that resists the common clichés about anarchism to instead show anarchist ideas of a society in which no one shall have the power to control knowledge, natural resources, land, soil or other people. After inspiring over 25,000 German cinema-goers, this award-winning documentary about anarchism and anarchist projects in Europe is now available on VoD! “Projekt A stirs up the audience and is grippingly shot, getting close to the kinds of tenacious people who are so vital to change in our society.” (kinokino) “…a cinematic portrait, not of anarchy, but of anarchists. A story, not of possibilities, necessities or even failure, but a depiction of achievements, initiative, action, ideas, as well as success.” (kino-zeit.de) Audience Award Filmfest Munich

How to Squash a Squat

January 1989 •English

1989, New York City's Alphabet City and East Village. A year after the Tompkins Square Park Riot, squatters and their community allies try to stop the demolition of their building after an arson. Police forces occupy the neighborhood while the demolition continues. A portrait of an East Village that is no more. An homage to the voices and sounds of a neighborhood before its gentrification.

How to Fix the World

March 2023 •Finnish

How to Fix the World? is a comprehensive and informative documentary about direct action in the 1990s and 2000s, directed by Jouko Aaltonen. In the documentary, anarchists, climate activists, and squatters openly describe their experiences and link them to mainstream phenomena in society. A wide range of archive material sheds a light on the history of direct action and activism in the Finnish society.

Montaje: Caso Bombas

June 2013 •Spanish

The Liberal War

November 1974 •English

The Vietnam War during the JFK years and beyond. Made in 1972 in the filmmaker's apartment, without documentary footage of the war, metaphors are created through the animation of images and objects, and through guerrilla skits. By rejecting the authority of traditional documentary footage, the anarchist spirit of individual responsibility is established. This is history from one person's point of view, rather than a definitive proclamation.

Fever Dream Jan10

November 2024 •English

The Netherlands, a bastion of capitalism, has struggled with unprecedented housing crises since 2018. This brings a rise of different ideologies that challenge the dominant status quo. In the city of Nijmegen, an anarchist collective JAN10 battles the ongoing housing crisis by squatting empty buildings, which poses a threat to the established capitalist interests.

Knust

January 2019 •English

This documentary traces the history of Knust, an independent printing press based in Nijmegen that is regarded as one of the pioneers of risography. Founded in 1984, Knust was part of the Nijmegen artists’ initiative that originated during the squat movement in the Netherlands, where self-publishing ignited the clash between anarchist politics and neo-liberal urban reforms.

El kapo

January 2023 •Catalan

For decades, the name of the Valencian anarchist César Orquín Serra responded to that of one of the 7,251 Spanish republicans deported to the Nazi concentration camp of Mauthausen-Gusen between 1940 and 1945, although the controversy surrounding his role as Chief of Kommando pursued him with the survivors, divided between those who highlighted his actions to help the survival of his men and those who accused him of collaborating with the SS.

An Injury to One

September 2002 •English

An experimental documentary exploring the turn-of-century lynching of union organizer Frank Little in Butte, Montana.

Edward Abbey: A Voice in the Wilderness

October 1993 •English

When Edward Abbey died in 1989 at the age of sixty-two, the American West lost one of its most eloquent and passionate advocates. Through his novels, essays, letters and speeches, Edward Abbey consistently voiced the belief that the West was in danger of being developed to death, and that the only solution lay in the preservation of wilderness. Abbey authored twenty-one books in his lifetime, including Desert Solitaire, The Monkey Wrench Gang, The Brave Cowboy, and The Fool's Progress. His comic novel The Monkey Wrench Gang helped inspire a whole generation of environmental activism. A writer in the mold of Twain and Thoreau, Abbey was a larger-than-life figure as big as the West itself.

De Kinderen van Møkum, en ik

September 2021 •Dutch

Documentary about a group of young idealistic friends in their squat in Amsterdam. Chased by the police and the press, they moved from squat to squat, with a clear message: don't make the city too expensive for the new generation of Amsterdammers. But living with such a large group and the flaws of the squat begin to take their toll. When the squatters collective falls apart halfway through the film, the filmmaker is left disillusioned and decides to confront the young squatters with her feelings of disappointment.

Living the Utopia

November 1997 •Spanish

A retrospective look at the anarcho-syndicalist and anarcho-communist experience in Spain from 1930 until the end of the Civil War in 1939.

Sur les traces de Madeleine Pelletier

October 2021 •English

In April, 1939, the police came to the home of Dr. Madeleine Pelletier. Who could this woman declared as a threat to pubic order and safety be? Seen as so dangerous that she should not be allowed to defend herself, she was interned in an asylum. Feminist activist, asexual / lesbian and libertarian, the first French female psychiatrist, she invented the concept of gender.