Second Lane

Megacities

August 1998 •English

Megacities is a documentary about the slums of five different metropolitan cities.

Meth Storm

March 2017 •English

As police and DEA agents battle sophisticated cartels, rural, economically-disadvantaged users and dealers–whose addiction to ICE and lack of job opportunities have landed them in an endless cycle of poverty and incarceration–are caught in the middle.

A Murder in Abidjan

November 2000 •French

1995. On the outskirts of Abidjan, the largest city in Ivory Coast, a policeman is murdered. Shot outside his vehicle, while his fiancée sits in the car, terrified. Superintendent Kouassi is the detective in charge of the investigation. Tall and lanky, he moves with the tired energy of a man who has seen it all. Drawing on a network of underworld characters with dubious information, Kouassi’s team begins bringing in potential suspects and subjecting them to horrific brutality: beating them with sticks, hanging them upside-down, threatening their lives. Some of the men are left so broken they have to literally drag themselves into Kouassi’s office later, to be interrogated while lying on the floor, their bodies a mess of bruises, broken bones, and lacerations.

Cocaine: History Between the Lines

August 2011 •English

Cocaine has always gotten a bad rap, and for a reason. It is a drug used by the rich and the poor legally and illegally, Mexican cartels fought over it with Colombia once associated with the brutal cocaine wars, and a source of tension between the American and Mexican borders on the people who are illicitly bringing in cocaine from one side of the border to another and will do anything to do it. So it can be surprising at times to the viewer throughout the course of the documentary special, that it was never always like this.

All This Mayhem

July 2014 •English

A searing account of what happens when raw talent and extreme personalities collide. In this unflinching, never-before-seen account of drugs and the dark side of professional skateboarding, brothers Tas and Ben Pappas' intense bond and charisma take them from the pinnacle of their sport into a spiraling world of self-destruction.

Mr. Untouchable

October 2007 •English

The true-life story of a Harlem's notorious Nicky Barnes, a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord. Follow his life story from his rough childhood to the last days of his life.

Desolate Rome

October 1995 •French

Chronicles of a male homosexual drug addict in 1980's in voice-over with long take scenes from Rome, television snippets of news of Gulf War and commercials.

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".

The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story

March 2003 •English

The full bizarre, tragic but celebratory story of Syd Barrett, the co-founder of Pink Floyd.

Jim Morrison: The End

July 2021 •French

Paris, Rue Beautreillis, July 3, 1971. The corpse of rock star Jim Morrison is found in a bathtub, in the apartment of his girlfriend Pamela Courson. The chronicle of the last months of the life of the poet, singer and charismatic leader of the American band The Doors, one of the most influential in the history of rock.

I forgive you, Mama

June 2024 •Spanish

Maya is Ayaibex's daughter, an addict in recovery that feels a blame for damages that caused her daughter, Maya decides to remember her mother's childhood experiences in her world of addiction to seek the redemption of the weight that her mother has loaded for 20 years and get both to forgiveness.

Heroin(e)

September 2017 •English

This documentary follows three women — a fire chief, a judge, and a street missionary — as they battle West Virginia's devastating opioid epidemic.

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

June 2018 •English

The life and career of the hailed Hollywood movie star and underappreciated genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.

Let's Get Lost

September 1988 •English

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.

The Smashing Machine

May 2002 •English

An unflinching look at the life and story of Mark Kerr between 1999 and 2001, an intelligent, articulate, and emotionally vulnerable athlete, considered by many at the time to be the most dominant ultimate fighter in the world. A former Olympic wrestler, Kerr easily dominated all his opponents, earning him the nickname "The Smashing Machine." With the promise of big money and the euphoria of his early victories, Kerr must battle his injuries and inner fears. The shock of these fights takes a heavy toll on his body and mind, and Kerr attempts to overcome these physical and psychological traumas by turning to painkillers. Kerr's addiction is shown in its raw form, with the camera capturing him desperately soliciting drugs from friends and staff, and injecting painkillers into his veins. His shocking defeat to Fujita in Japan shows us a story that is sometimes difficult and heartbreaking to watch.

Thumbsucker - Behind the Scenes

January 2006 •English

Who Killed Nancy?

April 2009 •English

On October 12th, 1978, New York Police discovered the lifeless body of a young woman, slumped under the bathroom sink in a hotel room. She was Nancy Spungen, an ex-prostitute, sometimes stripper, heroin addict, and girlfriend of Sex Pistols' bassist Sid Vicious.

Pay-Off In Pain

August 1948 •English

The personal and social tragedy of drug addiction with its evil accompaniment, drug traffic. Over the side of the silent liner in the darkness slips the package of smuggled narcotics, introducing us to the complex problem which involves all races and classes of man. We see many aspects of addiction - the addict preparing an injection, a group waiting tensely for their dope peddler; agents preparing and adulterating the illegal product; the police catching a pusher red-handed. International and national authorities are working from two angles - suppression of the illicit traffic; and where possible, rehabilitation of the addict.

Reindeerspotting: Escape from Santaland

April 2010 •Finnish

Reindeerspotting is a documentary film of a group of young guys living in Rovaniemi, Arctic Circle, dabbling in petty crime and hard drugs. One of them, Jani, has lost five years of his life and two fingers to his debotators. He wants to leave Lapland and his old life behind. Robbing a supermarket is a start for his getaway. A few years back a documentarist, Joonas Neuvonen, was a young men living on social welfare, using drugs on daily basis. He started to film his friends and their life. This is the story of Jani.

Invisible

February 2005 •Bulgarian

The story of six young people addicted to heroin in Sofia, Bulgaria.