Cinematic Era: 2004 Vintage

2004 release

Japan, early twentieth century. U.S. Navy Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton inspects the house he has leased from a marriage broker. The broker, Goro, has procured him three servants and a geisha wife, Cio-Cio-San, known as Madama Butterfly. He is enchanted with the fragile Cio-Cio-San. Cio-Cio-San is heard in the distance joyously singing of her wedding. In a quiet moment, Cio-Cio-San shows her bridegroom her few earthly treasures and tells him of her intention to embrace his Christian faith. The Imperial Commissioner performs the wedding ceremony, and the guests toast the couple. The celebration is interrupted by Cio-Cio-San's uncle, a Buddhist priest, who bursts in, cursing the girl for having renounced her ancestors' religion. Alone with Cio-Cio-San in the moonlit garden, her husband dries her tears, and she joins him in singing of their love.

On May 17, 1954, in its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the doctrine of "separate but equal," ending legal segregation in American education. Fifty years later, how close is America to fulfilling the promise of Brown?

A bored boy decides to go out and have some fun, but what to wear?

"What drives the collector? Textures. Colors. Dust. Phantasmagoric memories and associations. A scattering. The present. The passage of time. Sleep." - E.G.

Watch the animated story of the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Mirjana is returning to Croatia from Germany where she spent some time as a refugee. She is pregnant. Now, when the war in Croatia is over and her visa expired, Mirjana is coming back to her family in a remote and devastated village. Her family is trying to move on with their lives after the war. They rebuild their house and they are trying to find a new husband for their pregnant daughter. Being patriarchal and devoted to their tradition they believe a woman needs to have a husband and a child has to have a father. Of course, the child and the father have to be of the same nationality. Problems start when Mirjana gives a birth to a boy with Asian features. The family and the neighbors are shocked. Mirjana¡¦s rigid father refuses to accept a grandchild of a different nationality, not to mention the one of a different race! Mirjana and her son are forced to leave. She returns only when her father falls seriously ill and requests to see his grandson before he dies.

What happens when a group of hairdressers from America travel to Kabul with the intention of telling Afghan women how to do hair and makeup? This engaging, optimistic documentary tracks a unique development project: a shiny new beauty school, funded in part by beauty-industry mainstays, which sets out to teach the latest cutting, coloring, and perming techniques to practicing and aspiring Afghan hairdressers and beauticians. The American teachers, all volunteers, include three Afghan-Americans returning home for the first time in over twenty years. The Beauty Academy of Kabul offers a rare glimpse into Afghan women’s lives, and documents the poignant and often humorous process through which women with very different experiences of life come to learn about one another.

A brutal double murder in a hotel room. A suspect confesses at the scene. An open and shut case turns into a psychological thrill ride as tough NY detective, Gloria Hernandez starts a crusade to prove confessor Janie Holtz innocent despite her adamant admissions of guilt.

This video captures folk music balladeer Joan Armatrading performing live as part of her 2003 world tour. The gifted storytelling singer-songwriter combines her greatest hits with intriguing new songs from her most recent studio album, "Lover's Speak," and serves them up to a sell-out crowd of devoted fans at the Lillian Fontaine Theatre in Saratoga, California.

Filmmaker Karen Cho travels from Montreal to Vancouver to uncover stories from the last survivors of the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act, a set of laws imposed to single out the Chinese as unwanted immigrants to Canada from 1885 to 1947. Through a combination of history, poetry and raw emotion, this documentary sheds light on an era that shaped the identity of generations.

Marco was accidentally born into an overcrowded Australian-Italian household. He is relegated to his parents’ bedroom, but has other dreams.

When a supernatural phenomenon causes a group of people in the North Georgia Mountains to mysteriously disappear, a small team of research scientists rush to the area to begin a dangerous investigation which leads them into a spiraling psychological battle for survival.

A 64-year-old mother is asked to decide whether to donate the organs of her 27-year-old brain-dead son to the man who caused his death in their car accident.

Action Man returns to the Everglades to face his past after finding out that he was once a skullman working for Dr X. Action Man's lost memory holds the code to rid them of the missiles Dr X plans to re-activate. Includes 'Soul Of Evil' and 'We Come In Peace'.

The new decade brought a record number of entries for the start of the season. Expectations were high that the champions of 1979, Ferrari and Jody Scheckter, could be beaten. Enter Team Williams and Alan Jones - the new force in a bright new era for Formula One racing. But it took the entire 1980 season before the victory was in the bag. Jones took the opening race, but then faltered. Brabham’s Nelson Piquet took advantage in the interim, completing a spectacular double in the Dutch and US GPs to lead the championship with two races remaining. It was up to Williams and Jones to pull out all the stops to seize the title.

Interview with Susan Hampshire about her role in Disney's The Three Lives of Thomasina.

“Rahal” immigrated to Europe forty years ago. Scandalized by the behavior of his eldest son who participated in a heist, he decides to return to Morocco for good. In his native country, “Rahal” intends to take matters into his own hands. Events take another detour.

Over forty years ago, one extraordinary American family moved into the most famous house in the world and changed the nature of the Presidency forever. With glamorous Hollywood good looks and two camera friendly children, the Kennedys helped to usher in a youth culture that affected every aspect of American life. From behind closed doors in the White House to intimate family vacations, photography and television took the American public behind-the-scenes into the lives of its most regal...but just how true were the images projected? Featuring photographs that have never been shown before, and rarely seen home movies, this probing documentary captures private moments with the most well-known First Family as well as recollections from former White House staff, journalists, photographers and biographers.

Kenny Kramer, inspiration for the iconic Cosmo Kramer, takes Seinfeld fans on a reality tour throughout New York City. A few familiar faces make an appearance as well.

There are approximately 6.5 billion moments that occur on Earth everyday... Some remembered. Some forgotten.

T?ICK is the depiction of the relationship between man and woman, or if you like, separate but according to their function, connected principles. However, there is no philosophy or doctrine behind it, which could make it tangible. Thus, it doesn't operate in a complete system, but in one that can be continued. It tries to be a wake-up call to help everyone get rid of their daytime inhibitions and liberate their personal capacity for understanding.

A dance set to Pierre Boulez's recording of Ravel's Ma Mere l'Oye

Tony Robinson explores the major uprising across large parts of England in 1381; it's origins, motives and aftermath.

It’s not always easy when you are a kid. Bullying, cussing, growing up. It’s all a part of life. Adaptation of the Charles Bukowski story.

Sound/intoxication (Rauschen) is what the music video is about, say the artists, and the ecstatic (Rauschhaft). The German play on words actually makes sense in MY KINGDOM FOR A LULLABY #2; it suits a piece, in which electronically generated sounds and images are modulated and combined in a thoroughly sensorial or even ecstatic manner. The term «white noise» refers to both visual and acoustic elements. It is a prevailing theme in this video, an abstract piece, which requires that the viewer look and listen with utmost attention. On a white screen appear horizontal and vertical lines in delicate gray. First they alternate, then overlap, fade, then become more intense. The soundtrack plays a primary role, is equally as powerful (and elusive) as the images: a composition of crackling, noises (Rauschen), and whirring begins to emerge; music comprised of subtle electronic tones and high frequency distortion.

A cultural analysis of what causes zine makers to tick; what the hell zines are, why people make zines, the origin of zines, the resources and community available for zine makers, and the future of zines. Interviews with about 70 zine makers, ex-zine makers, and readers from the northwest. Featuring footage of the Portland Zine Symposium, a zine bicycle tour of Portland, and activities bringing zine culture to life. Music by J Church and Defiance, Ohio.

Disorderly Conduct features a fresh crop of new young rippers. Strap in and hold on for the continuing evolution of the sport with Monster Park and Crankworx slopestyle competitions, more BC stunt riding than you can throw a stick at and huge air time and big booters that we're renowned for!!! Journey to New Zealand, Australia, Whistler, Europe, Alaska, BC and Utah.

A broken-hearted woman, an eccentric man and a lonely owner. Three has met at an Italian restaurant closing down. Comical yet sad… a short story of one single night.

Avril takes the stage in Germany in June 2004 for the annual Rock am Ring (Rock at the Ring) Festival, performing songs off her first two albums.

Tymofiy Sautkin, a potter from Kyiv, is trying to escape from daily routine and his quarrelsome wife. He finds himself on an island, where he sculpts an ideal woman out of clay. However, time passes, and he comes back home…

Experimental work by Isao Yamada (Color, 8mm).

An aspiring actress gets an audition that may change her life.

Witness Grammy Award-winning musician Bruce Hornsby performing with his band in Los Angeles. Hornsby rocks the stage at Paramount Studios for this concert recorded in 1990, which includes appearances by Joe Henderson, Bela Fleck, Jerry Garcia, Shawn Colvin and Jimmie Wood for renditions of his best-loved tunes: "A Night on the Town," "Fire on the Cross," "Barren Ground," "Stranded on Easy Street," "The End of the Innocence" and the chart-topping "The Way It Is."

There is something evil about The Tenement. It does something strange to the people who live there. Ethan Fernier is obsessed with the horror movies of B-movie director, Winston Korman. His destiny lies in the shadows of a black rose - the symbol of decayed innocence. Sarah, a simple mute, lives her life listening to the radio but obsessed neighbor, Henry Wallace has other plans for her. Jimmy Wayne Garrick is bitten by a wild animal and becomes obsessed with the idea that he is becoming a werewolf. The Taxi Driver is a serial killer who picks up innocent women. One of his victims gives him more than he bargained for.

Mr. Jiang is a Shanghai dandy, living by himself in a house that stood the test of time since the 1930s as a witness to what happened to the city. Now, the house is about to be torn down as part of a redevelopment plan. A woman becomes a tenant and fiercely pursues the taciturn man, until he opens his mouth unraveling his unique philosophy and personal history. Combined with the verbal sparring between the two and the scenes around the house, the sadness that oozes from Mr. Jiang's life at the mercy of Chinese history-Shanghai during the war, the fury of the Cultural Revolution, and now the present-casts a subtle shadow over the film.

Spring, 1982. During the conflict of the islands Malvinas, a secret command of the Marine Argentina, comes to Spain with the mission to sabotage the British Base of Gibraltar across the Embassy in Madrid. A few events that they have to see with Spain in the times of the government of Bald man Sotelo, during the conflict that faced the United Kingdom and Argentina. The history is narrated and reconstructed by his own protagonists who reveal a few facts palmed to the public opinion and to the justice.

Honzík has to spend his holidays with his grandfather because his divorced mother is very busy. However, she doesn't want her father, a former military pilot, to tell her grandson anything about airplanes. She doesn't like airplanes because her childhood memories are mostly of her father constantly being at the airport, and when her mother died, she had to take care of everything herself. The film is about the love of flying. A love that brings both joy and pain in equal measure. It is a story about searching for lost relationships. About building new trust between loved ones. About the permanence of certain values that we often wastefully overlook, not out of malice, but because we take them for granted. The entire film is interwoven with unique real footage of MIG21 fighter jets, the likes of which have never been filmed before and probably never will be again. Other flight scenes feature a number of beautiful machines, from historic gliders to the L159 ALCA.

A two-hour Cat Power solo performance in the middle of a forest, capturing all the ambient sounds of the setting.

A man finds in a flea market an old photo album. When looking at the images, he begins to invent a narrative where mix descriptions, fantasies and personal memories. Slowly, he skips into the photographer's shoes and tells his story, that of a forgotten love.

Sai is forced to marry Tuyet at the age of ten and leaves his home by the river wharf to live with an old man named Kien. As the war against France accelerates, Sai enlists to fight and falls in love with another woman named Huong. While the affair is fated not to last, Tuyet struggles to keep her marriage together.

The first Japanese Road Movie in Australia follows the psychedelic adventures of four punked up Manga inspired Japanese characters; Shark, Yuto, Kimiko and Gunja Man as they travel up the east coast of Australia in a 1961 EK Holden.

A couple breaks up.

Musical tragic play was held in Dammam, Saudi Arabia

The story of a woman who's inability to end a relationship causes her belly button to mutate, not to mention her mind.

A stunning compilation of the Modfather's album EPK's for his self-titled solo album, Stanley Road and Heavy Soul in addition to the concert films Live Wood and Heavy Soul - Live at the Southbank.

Pastor Greg cashes in on a shopping spree the day of his much-anticipated sermon. In a frenzy to get back in time, he unwittingly gets stuck in an elevator along with cohorts Lori, John, Frank and a pregnant woman.

A young boy fighting for his mother's love.

"CHICKS WITH STICKS" is a martial arts film now being developed by White Gazelle Productions, LLC. In conjunction with the movie, we now offer a live, Kung Fu show featuring sexy female martial artists.

An incisive documentary of how Roxy Music hit the ground with four albums in two years.

An American director is coming to Russia to implement his project dedicated to Pushkin here. In St. Petersburg, Ray meets a charming girl Natalia, who is surprisingly similar to Natalia Goncharova. Young people are brought together by the poetry of the great Pushkin and love for this city. The film is based on historical parallels. And, as before, honor fights dishonor, talent fights mediocrity, and good fights evil...

The story revolves around different comical events regarding telephonic conversation. Athoi (Shrabanti), a young girl loves to dial wrong numbers and through such an incident, gets involved with a boy Abir (Riaz). The story advances through a series of humorous events.

A fantastic tale about a superhero who comes face to face with his arch nemesis. It is an allegory about the shooting death of West African immigrant Amadou Diallo.

Petter won't let go of his Frida, even though she weds another man. Gradually he acquires more and more features of a faithful dog.