A Norml Life

Ava Gardner: Life Is Bigger Than the Movies

June 2017 •French

A barefoot contessa, a screwed-up princess, an exquisite drunk, a bawdy aristocrat, a nightmare for puritanical America and the moguls of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Ava Gardner never stopped loving those she loved. She turned women green and made men sweat. And rejected with all her force the bulwark of normality.

Filmmakers of Our Time: François Truffaut or the Critical Spirit

December 1965 •French

The House on Coco Road

June 2016 •English

An intimate documentary exploration of heritage and history against the backdrop of a brewing Afro-centric revolution as the U.S. government prepares to invade the island nation of Grenada. First hand accounts from activists Angela Davis, Fania Davis and Fannie Haughton weave together director Damani Baker’s family portrait of utopian dreams, resistance and civil unrest with a film score composed by music luminary Meshell Ndegeocello.

ABBA: In Concert

December 1979 •English

ABBA's 1979 tour of North America and Europe, with emphasis on performances at Wembley Arena, London.

Plasticine Family

December 2016 •English

It is hard to find a family home where all the members have gone to live their separate lives in different parts of the world. Travelling between different continents, the director visits divorced parents and their new partners and also meets her sister who decided to join an alternative community. Their family exists on archival films and photographs only. Is it still possible to put it all together against all odds?

Opera About Poland

May 2017 •Polish

Pole, who are you? This film collage that combines archival and contemporary materials, documentary and staged pictures, press reports, social announcements, sale offers and speech excerpts is an attempt to answer this question. Referring to the Polish tradition of a creative documentary in the style of Wojciech Wiszniewski, the film presents various manifestations of Polishness: patriotic and religious rituals, everyday traditions as well as characteristic landscapes or intimate memories from childhood.

Polanski y los ojos del mal

April 2002 •Spanish

Documentary that describes and analyzes the characteristics, themes and central concerns of Roman Polanski's cinema.

Katy Perry: The Outrageous World of Katy Perry

May 2013 •English

This fascinating DVD tells the definitive story of Katy Perry through interviews and onstage performances of some of her greatest hits, including California Gurls, Firework, Ur So Gay and Hot N Cold. From struggling gospel artist to one of the worlds biggest pop sensations, Katy Perry continues to rock the world both on and off stage! Take an inside look at the multi-award nominated singer song writer behind such hits as I Kissed a Girl and California Gurls.

The Movie Palaces

June 1987 •English

A documentary about the great American movie palaces of the 1920s and 1930s. Filmed on location at some of the extraordinary theaters across the country, the program explores the diverse and priceless architecture of such greats as the Atlanta Fox, the Wiltern in Los Angeles, San Antonio's Majestic, Seattle's Fifth Avenue and, perhaps the most famous, Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Also included are stills and vintage clips of classic movies and newsreels of the era that illustrate the historical evolution and mass appeal of the movie palaces. Picture palace organist Gaylord Carter performs a variety of movie accompaniments.

Shirley Temple: America's Little Darling

August 1993 •English

There never was a star quite like her. Adored by adults and children alike, at four she already led at the box office — ahead of Gable and Cooper. Her films saved a movie studio from bankruptcy, and a President credited her with raising the morale of Depression-weary Americans. Her earliest movies gave a foretaste of her talents and soon would become the songs and dances that helped make those movies immortal.

Duran Duran: Unstaged

March 2014 •English

Duran Duran: Unstaged is a multimedia event that takes the audience on a cinematic journey with one of the most successful acts in the world during their performance at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait

January 1988 •English

A documentary about the classic 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' film, including interviews with Gunnar Hansen, Edwin Neal, John Dugan and Jim Siedow.

Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stones

January 2008 •English

For over four decades the Rolling Stones have been on top. Arrests, drugs, fall-outs, death and relationships have stood center stage with eight consecutive number one albums in the US and sold out live shows.

Frontrunners

October 2008 •English

A documentary on the competition for student body president at New York's Stuyvesant High School. As the notoriously competitive school's election draws near, the campaign becomes a microcosm for the nation at large, with race, gender and appearance vying for attention with real issues.

Facing Ali

May 2009 •English

Ten of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute to the three-time world heavyweight champion.

Adele: Homecoming

May 2017 •English

The eagerly anticipated wait is over, after 5 years since the release of her last album, Adele is back! Fans have applauded her return, by breaking the record for most viewed video in a single day, reaching an astounding 28.7M views in the first 24 hours. The British singer has knocked Taylor Swift off the record, previously holding most viewed video in a single day for her Bad Blood video which reached 20 million views. “Hello” has now been viewed nearly 89 million times on Vevo alone since the day of its release, and has already topped the iTunes charts in 85 countries. The success of this debut single has blown everyone away and the rest of her album will most likely follow suit. Through her own words, video and live performance this documentary takes an incredible look at the life and times of this truly amazing young artist.

Resolved

January 2007 •English

The fascinating complexity of high school debate gives way to a portrait of the equally complex racial and class bias of American education in Greg Whiteley's riveting documentary.

Francisco Boix: A Photographer in Hell

January 2000 •Spanish

In 1939, just finished the Spanish Civil War, Spanish republican photographer Francesc Boix escapes from Spain; but is captured by the Nazis in 1940 and imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp, in Austria, a year later. There, he works as a prisoner in the SS Photographic Service, hiding, between 1943 and 1945, around 20,000 negatives that later will be presented as evidence during several trials conducted against Nazi war criminals after World War II.

Junk Story

May 2015 •Japanese

A look back at the life and career of Japanese guitarist hide, who died under questionable circumstances in 1998.

That World Is Gone

Invalid date •English

Kathy's family left on a Saturday morning in 1965. The rumble of bulldozers echoed through the neighborhood, and her block was empty. Federally-funded urban renewal had arrived in Charlottesville, scattering dozens of families like Kathy's. The once-vibrant African American community, built by formerly enslaved men and women who had secured a long-denied piece of the American dream, disappeared.