Squatting (2009)

Squatting is a film by Larissa Matteyssen which follows anarchists and activists, who occupy different empty buildings and territories - from rooms, houses and industrial buildings to complete villages and ports. Dutch and Russian activists are telling about their experiences of squatting and reactions of authorities to self-organisation. Anti-squatters explain why they are in side of the state.

More on the subject:

 * http://video.squat.net

 * https://vimeo.com/6812727

 * https://documentaryheaven.com/the-art-of-squatting/

Aelita: Queen of Mars

Aelita (Russian: Аэли́та, pronounced [ɐɛˈlʲitə]), also known as Aelita: Queen of Mars, is a silent film directed by Soviet filmmaker Yakov Protazanov made at the Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio and released in 1924. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's 1923 novel of the same name. Nikolai Tseretelli and Valentina Kuindzhi were cast in leading roles. It is the first science fiction film made in Russia

Though the main focus of the story is the daily lives of a small group of people during the post-war Soviet Union, the enduring importance of the film comes from its early science fiction elements. It primarily tells of a young man, Los (Russian: Лось, literally Moose), traveling to Mars in a rocket ship, where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group of Elders, with the support of Queen Aelita who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a telescope. In its performances in the cinemas in Leningrad, Dmitri Shostakovich played on the piano the music he provided for the film.

In the United States, Aelita was edited and titled by Benjamin De Casseres for release in 1929 as Aelita: Revolt of the Robots.

What Happened to Kerouac?

Jack Kerouac is the author of On the Road and a pivotal figure of the 1950s countercultural revolution. This portrait shows what happened when fame and notoriety were thrust upon an essentially reticent man. What Happened To Kerouac? is a lively and revealing investigation into the man’s personal history and creative process. Kerouac speaks for himself most eloquently in television appearances with Steve Allen and William F. Buckley, along with a fine visual tribute featuring his poetry. The result is a touching and exhilarating film about a troubled writer whose influence is still being felt all over the world. Featuring Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, William S. Burroughs, Steve Allen, William F. Buckley, Charlie Parker, Neal Cassady, Carolyn Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure and Gary Snyder.

Charles Mingus - Triumph of The Underdog

Don McGlynn's uncompromising and soulful documentary look at the tumultuous life of musician and rebel Charles Mingus is fascinating stuff. Mingus said of himself "I am half black man, half yellow man, but I claim to be a Negro. I am Charles Mingus, the famed jazz musician--but not famed enough to make a living in America." His statement summed up the conflict that plagued this musical genius his entire life: volatility, pain, prescience, and raw rage roiled inside a complex man, composer, bass player, and trombonist who transcended labels and refused to be pigeonholed into a single musical style--and who did not achieve real fame until late in his career. The documentary is full of well-preserved footage and contains interviews with many Mingus followers like Wynton Marsalis as well as performances by icons Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Gerry Mulligan. The film traverses past the musical legend with insight and information into Mingus's personal life, his civil rights activism, and his final triumph in the music world--just as his body began to deteriorate from Lou Gehrig's disease--to his eventual death in 1979. Mingus left a legacy composed of genius, vulnerability, brilliance, anarchy, and, as one friend noted, "the entire range of human emotion that is reflected in his music. 

Ladakh: A Documentary

The isolated region of Ladakh in northern India has changed rapidly in the past two decades due to sudden and shocking contact with the outside world. Tourists love to frequent the unique Himalayan region wedged between Tibet and Kashmir, but their presence is not without consequences.

HOME - Yann Arthus-Bertrand (English version)

"We have created phenomena that we cannot control"
Home is a 2009 documentary directed by French photographer, reporter and environmentalist Yann Arthus-Bertrand and produced by Luc Besson. The film is almost entirely composed of aerial shots of various places on Earth. It shows how tightly linked Man and nature are, and how humanity is threatening the ecological balance of the planet. The English version of the film is narrated by Glenn Close. 

 Yann Arthus-Bertand is especially known for his book Earth from Above, published in 1999. As a aerial photographer, the main goal of his work is to help people see how beautiful Earth is and to raise awareness of the negative impact of human activities on our ecosystem.

MOVE narrated by Howard Zinn

MOVE is a black liberation group founded in 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by John Africa (born Vincent Leaphart) and Donald Glassey, a social worker from the University of Pennsylvania. The name is not an acronym. The group lived in a communal setting in West Philadelphia, abiding by philosophies of anarcho-primitivism. The group combined revolutionary ideology, similar to that of the Black Panthers, with work for animal rights.

The group is particularly known for two major conflicts with the Philadelphia Police Department. In 1978, a standoff resulted in the death of one police officer, and injuries to several other people. Nine members were convicted of killing the officer and received life sentences.

In 1985, another confrontation ended when a police helicopter dropped a bomb on the MOVE compound, a row house in the middle of the 6200 block of Osage Avenue. The resulting fire killed six MOVE members, and five of their children, and destroyed 65 houses in the neighborhood. The police action was strongly condemned. The MOVE survivors later filed a civil suit against the city and the police department, and were awarded $1.5 million in a 1996 settlement. Other residents displaced by the destruction of the bombing filed a civil suit against the city, and in 2005 were awarded $12.83 million in damages in a jury trial.