September 30, 2016 – Command and Control, Director Robert Kenner

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On the evening of September 18, 1980, Airmen David F. Powell and Jeffrey L. Plumb were performing routine maintenance at the Titan II silo in Damascus, Arkansas. At the age of 21, Powell was considered a highly experienced missile technician; Plumb, who had just turned 19, was still in training. As the two stood on a platform near the top of the Titan II, a socket fell from Powell’s wrench, plummeted 70 feet and, shockingly, punctured the missile. A stream of highly explosive rocket fuel began pouring into the silo of the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the United States. A chilling, Dr. Strangelovian nightmare plays out at a Titan II missile complex in Arkansas in September, 1980. A deadly accident leads Air Force personnel, weapon designers, and first responders to work feverishly to prevent a catastrophic explosion. Directed by Robert Kenner (FOOD, INC.) and based on the critically-acclaimed book by Eric Schlosser (FAST FOOD NATION), COMMAND AND CONTROL is a minute-by-minute account of this long-hidden story – much of it based on recently declassified documents that expose other freak accidents and near-misses. How do you manage weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? COMMAND AND CONTROL chronicles nine hours of terror that prevented an explosion 600 times more powerful than Hiroshima. Director Robert Kenner joins us for a lively conversation on impact nuclear weapons have on our lives and the horrifying 36-year old apocalyptic tale that is just now being told.

For news and updates go to: commandandcontrolfilm.com

Screening in Los Angeles at the Landmark Theatres Nuart Theatre | 11272 Santa Monic Blvd | Los Angeles, CA 90025 |

In person Q&As with director Robert Kenner and Author Eric Schlosser following the 7:30pm screenings on 9/30 and 10/1.

98% Rotten Tomatoes

“Lots of documentaries these days will tell you to be afraid, to be very afraid, but few will scare you as coolly and as convincingly as “Command and Control.”” – Kenneth Turan, LA Times

“Kenner stages his story like a thriller, using the reminiscences of those who were on site to unspool the white-knuckle story.” – Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post

“Our most destructive weapons are somehow immune to our own clumsiness and inexactitude, aren’t they? No, they’re not.” – Neil Genzlinger, The NYTimes

“Despite the high stakes, Command and Control is morbidly fun to watch, in the manner of good suspense thrillers and disaster films.” – Chris Packham, Village Voice

**Official Selection – Tribeca Film Festival 2016**

**Official Selection – Sheffield/Doc Fest 2016**

**Official Selection – AFI Docs 2016**

September 30, 2016 – Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four, Director Deborah Esquenazi and Film Subject Anna Vasquez

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The award winning acclaimed SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR chronicles the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez – four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas over 20 years ago during the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s-1990s. Despite flawed medical evidence and convictions based solely on the testimony of two young children, the women always maintained their innocence—and have waged an ongoing fight for exoneration.  Documentary filmmaker  Deborah S. Esquenazi weaves together emotional interviews with the women (labeled the San Antonio Four) and their families with actual news footage and home videos, equally showcasing the injustice of the situation and the families that were torn apart as a result.  Unique to the San Antonio Four case, none of the four women ever took a plea bargain or even considered it, despite serving their time in separate prisons. While the state offered deferred adjudication, requiring no time in prison but probation for ten years, the women turned down the offer, maintaining their innocence and faith in truth and justice. Esquenazi follows the work of attorneys from the Innocence Project of Texas, who played a pivotal role in securing an on-camera recantation by one of the victims, now 25 years old—and their ultimate release from prison in 2013. Director Deborah S. Esquenazi and film subject Anna Vasquez stop by to talk about the journey, heartbreak and triumph of a 22-year nightmare.

For news and updates go to: southwestofsalem.com

Screenings:

September 30 Alamo Drafthouse Kalamazoo, MI

September 30 – October 5 Laemmle Music Hall Los Angeles, CA

October 1 Arc Cinema Canberra, AU

October 13 Frameline Encore Screening Roxie Theater San Francisco, CA

“Has your blood pressure been sufficiently raised by shows like “Making A Murderer” and movies like the “Paradise Lost” trilogy? Buckle up, because we’ve got another unbelievable true crime story story that will leave you equal parts fascinated and furious.”-  INDIEWIRE

“With intimate access to the subjects over a period of years, Esquenazi’s film builds into a horrifying indictment of justice gone awry, and one that left much of the audience in tears. Among those who broke down were the four subjects of the film, who have been released pending a new trial and who say they still cry every time they see the movie.” – Steve Pond, THE WRAP

“Its heart lies in the relationships between the women, who remained close and loyal to one another through it all, and the families and children they had to leave behind. “- Jen Yamato, THE DAILY BEAST

“Director Deborah S. Esquenazi brilliantly tells a toxic tale mix of discrimination, familial dysfunction, religious/political paranoia, and a system full of biases. Grade: A+” – Lee Romero, CORRIENTE LATINA

Danny Says, Director Brendan Toller

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DANNY SAYS is a documentary on the life and times of Danny Fields. Since 1966, Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in music and “culture” of the late 20th century: working for the Doors, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins and managing groundbreaking artists like the Stooges, the MC5 and the Ramones. DANNY SAYS follows Fields from Harvard Law dropout, to the Warhol Silver Factory, to Director of Publicity at Elektra Records, to “punk pioneer” and beyond. Danny’s taste and opinion, once deemed defiant and radical, has turned out to have been prescient. DANNY SAYS is a story of marginal turning mainstream, avant-garde turning prophetic, as Fields looks to the next generation. DANNY SAYS is lead by Fields voice and is largely crafted from over 250 hours of present-day interviews and items from Danny Fields’ immense archive (thousands of photographs, audio cassettes, ephemera).  Director Brendan Toller  (I Need That Record) joins us for a conversation on the wild, hedonistic, boundary pushing times when Danny Fields was the first and last word on music that changed American culture.

For news and updates go to: magpictures.com/dannysays

Also… dannysaysfilm.com

Watch Danny Says in theatres: magpictures.com/dannysays/get-tickets

Watch Danny Says at home: magpictures.com/dannysays/watch-at-home

“One of those colorful non-famous characters whom “everyone” knows gets his due in this lively doc celebrating both him and the music scene in which he thrived.” – David Noh, Film Journal International

“Music buffs will want to see all these now-famous folks in their obscure early days. But they’ll come away admiring a man they’ve barely heard of before.” – Noel Murray, LA Times

“Danny Says is that delightful case in film where the subject whose raison-d’etre is explored is an immeasurably influential person you may not have known about.” – Charles Sternberg, Under the Radar

“Rock gadfly Danny Fields’ reminiscences of the 1960s and 1970s are pure gold in Brendan Toller’s documentary.” – Dennis Harvey

100 Years, Director Melinda Janko

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With the current coverage of the North Dakota Pipeline Protest, we are shown how the sacred lands of Native Americans in the United States are constantly being destroyed for capital and economic gain with the government failing to protect these tribal lands. In the new documentary 100 YEARS, we see another similar story come to the forefront when Elouise Cobell from the Blackfeet tribe in Montana discovers that the United States government has been mismanaging funds and the lands and exploiting the Blackfeet reservation. Many of the Blackfeet tribe members could see the oil being pumped out from their land on a daily basis.  But they saw barely a few dollars from the millions that was being made from their land’s natural resources. It was with the fierceness and dedication that Elouise Cobell embarked on a 30 year fight with the U.S. government that lead her to file the largest class action lawsuit in the history of the United States Government.  100 YEARS  is her story!  Below is more information on the theatrical release of this important film and event in our own American history. Director Melinda Jenko joins for a conversation on the indignities and the injustice that Native Americans continue to suffer under an oppressive and unethical federal government.

For news and updates go to:100yearsthemovie.com

“100 Years” will be screening for a limited engagement in the Laemmle Monica Film Center,

September 23-30, with a Q&A with the Director on Saturday, September 24.  The film will also screen in the Cinema Village in New York City, from October 14-21, with a Q&A with the Director on Saturday, October 15th.

“What emerges watching 100 Years is Elouise Cobell’s indomitable spirit and passion, her conviction in pursuing a case that seemed impossible to win.” – Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International

“With any luck, Hollywood will take note and someday present an Erin Brockovich-like adaptation of this tale, drawing more casual moviegoers into this ire-stoking story …” – John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

Cameraperson, Director Kirsten Johnson

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What does it mean to film another person? How does it affect that person – and what does it do to the one who films? A boxing match in Brooklyn; life in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina; the daily routine of a Nigerian midwife; an intimate family moment at home: these scenes and others are woven into Cameraperson, a tapestry of footage captured over the twenty-five-year career of documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. Through a series of episodic juxtapositions, Johnson explores the relationships between image makers and their subjects, the tension between the objectivity and intervention of the camera, and the complex interaction of unfiltered reality and crafted narrative. A work that combines documentary, autobiography, and ethical inquiry, Cameraperson is both a moving glimpse into one filmmaker’s personal journey and a thoughtful examination of what it means to train a camera on the world. Director and subject Kirsten Johnson stops by to talk about her career, what inspires her, the power of the image and often conflicting realities of documentary filmmaking.

For news and updates go to: camerapersonfilm.com

Sept. 23 – 29 — Los Angeles | Laemmle Royal | [More Info]

***Filmmaker Kirsten Johnson in-person Sept. 23 and 24

“… a uniquely insightful memoir-cum-critical-treatise on the nature and ethics of [Johnson’s] craft.” – Variety

“…an extraordinary self-portrait and an existential statement.” – Rolling Stone

“… a beautifully curated collage …” – The Guardian

“Transfixing…”- The New York Times

Landfill Harmonic, Co-directors Brad Allgood (Juliana Penaranda-Loftus)

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LANDFILL HARMONIC chronicles the incredible journey of Paraguay’s Recycled Orchestra of Cateura.   Orchestra Founder Favio Chavez had hopes of sharing music with the children of Cateura, a poverty stricken slum next to the capital’s largest landfill.  Since expensive musical instruments were not within attainable for families in Cateura, Favio, along with carpenter and trash picker Nicolas “Cola” Gomez, began to craft instruments from materials found in the landfill to provide children with the opportunity to play.  They journey exceeds all expectations as they find themselves playing for audiences around the world, even accompanying artists such as Stevie Wonder, Metallica and Megadeth.  They’ve also played for Pope Francis, and recently performed at The United Nations in NYC.  Winner of the Audience Award at the South By Southwest Film Festival, AFI DOCS Festival, Vancouver Film Festival; official selection at the Sheffield Film Festival and winner of the Documentary Award for The Humanitas Prize. Co-director Brad Allgood joins us for a conversation on this uplifting and captivating film.

For news and updates go to: landfillharmonicmovie.com/

OPENS IN LOS ANGELES SEPTEMBER 23rd

Laemmle’s Monica Film Center, 1332 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Laemmle’s Pasadena Playhouse, 673 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101

****WINNER: Audience Award: BEST DOCUMENTARY- SXSW

****WINNER: Audience Award: BEST DOCUMENTARY- AFI FEST

**** SPECIAL MENTION The Environmental Award- SHEFFIELD DOC FEST

“From Trash to Triumph: The Recycled Orchestra” – NPR

“An inspiring tale – if it were fiction you’d dismiss it as unbelievable.” – The New York Times

“[A] deeply inspiring doc about how trouble for a real-life river city was transformed into triumph.” – David Noh, Film Journal International

Operation Avalanche, Director Matt Johnson and Producer Matthew Miller

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1967: the height of the Cold War, Tte CIA suspects there is a Russian mole inside of NASA, sabotaging the Apollo program. They send two young agents on a mission to go undercover, posing as documentary filmmakers to capture NASA’s race to the moon. The real mission – use their access and technology to hunt down the leak. But what they discover is far more shocking than soviet spies… Their government may be hiding a secret about Apollo that could define the decade, and the White House will stop at nothing to silence anyone who learns it. Operation Avalanche, Director Matt Johnson’s follow-up to the widely-acclaimed The Dirties, is another fake documentary film starring Johnson and collaborator Owen Williams, once again as young would-be filmmakers. This time, though, the DV cameras and school-shooting plot are swapped out for 16mm and the faking of the moon landing. Director Matt Johnson and Producer Matthew Miller join us for a conversation on the inspiration for Operation Avalanche , striking the right tone and the wide variety of reactions of filmgoers to the “conspiracy.”

For news and updates go to: operation-avalanche

“A bold, imaginative and refreshingly diverting “documentary” that’s occasionally uneven in tone, and most fun and clever when it doesn’t take itself too seriously.” – Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guide

“Matthew Johnson may not have his big breakout with Operation Avalanche, but there is enough here to suggest that he possesses the triple-threat skills to build a comedy auteur career on the model of (hyperbole alert!) Woody Allen or Albert Brooks.” – Michael Agresta, Austin Chronicle

“A film for nerds, of the film, science and conspiracy variety. The attention to detail is astounding and the obsession with art and history is infectious.” – William Babbiani, CraveOnline

“Operation Avalanche” weaves well-known conspiracy theories into a goofily entertaining satire of youthful ambition co-opted as a tool of government intrigue.” – Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

When Two Worlds Collide, Co-directors Heidi Brandenburg and Mathew Orzel

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In this tense and immersive tour de force film, When Two Worlds Collide, audiences are taken directly into the line of fire between powerful, opposing Peruvian leaders who will stop at nothing to keep their respective goals intact. On the one side is President Alan Garcia, who, eager to enter the world stage, begins aggressively extracting oil, minerals, and gas from untouched indigenous Amazonian land. He is quickly met with fierce opposition from indigenous leader Alberto Pizango, whose impassioned speeches against Garcia’s destructive actions prove a powerful rallying cry to throngs of his supporters. When Garcia continues to ignore their pleas, a tense war of words erupts into deadly violence. Co-director Heidi Brandenburg (Mathew Orzel) joins us to talk about the physically arduous and personally dangerous challenges they faced in making this dynamic and compelling film. 

For news and updates go to: whentwoworldscollide.com

Opening Friday, September 16th  at the Laemmle Monica Film Center

Critic’s Pick! A stellar doc…devastating…the rawest vision of capitalism run amok. Epochal moments on the screen.” – Alan Scherstuhl, The Village Voice

“A potent chronicle of the fight between indigenous tribes and government-supported business interests in the Peruvian Amazon.” – Variety

“Potent…harrowing. Startlingly immersive in its immediacy.” – Kenji Fujishima , Paste Magazine

“A tour-de-force…damning…a must-see.” – Manuel Betancourt, Remezcla

“Gripping… serves as a reminder that when it comes to a fight between government-backed business interests and the rights of the people, the official story is rarely the whole story.” – Noel Murray, AV Club

The If Project, Director, Producer and Writer Kathlyn Horan

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In 2008, Seattle police detective Kim Bogucki walked through the gates of the Washington Corrections Center for Women, intent on asking a group of mothers for permission to work with their school-aged daughters in a Girl Scouts Beyond Bars troop for girls with incarcerated parents. On that day, Bogucki asked the mothers a critical question: “If there was something someone could have said or done that would have changed the path that led you here, what would it have been?” For one of the inmates in particular, this question struck a chord; Renata Abramson, a repeat offender serving a nine-year sentence. In the days that followed, Renata took it upon herself to answer that question inthe-if-project-kim-and-renata writing, and invited her fellow prisoners to do the same. When Bogucki returned to prison a month later, Renata handed her a stack of raw and poignant essays and The IF Project was born. In the United States, there are over 6.8 million people in prison, jail, on probation or parole. That is 1 in every 35 adults. Perhaps even more alarming is that women are the fastest growing segment of the incarcerated population, increasing at nearly double the rate of men since 1985. Director Kathlyn Horan joins us for a conversation on the challenges, the disappointments and the rewards that have been part of the 8-year odyssey behind the making of The If Project.

BROADCAST PREMIERE: Premiering on Logo on Wednesday, September 14 at 8pm ET/PT,

For news and updates go to: theifprojectmovie.com

Seattle International Film Festival – Winner Lena Sharpe Award for Persistence of Vision and Special Jury Award

“The IF Project I totally agree with it’s nutritive value as a story of prison reform’s human side, but I also think it’s a genuinely solid movie movie that plays really well on a big screen. It’s got the story thrust, colorful characters, nuance, and gradually unfolding structure of a great narrative fiction feature for me.”

– The Sun Break, Seattle

Author: The JT Leroy Story, Director Jeff Feuerzeig

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On January 9, 2006 the New York Times sent shockwaves through the literary world when it unmasked “it boy” wunderkind JT LeRoy, whose tough prose about his sordid childhood had captivated icons and luminaries internationally. It turned out LeRoy didn’t actually exist. He was dreamed up by 40­-year-­old San Francisco punk rocker and phone sex operator, Laura Albert. Director Jeff Feuerzeig’s AUTHOR: THE JT LEROY STORY takes us down the infinitely fascinating rabbit hole of how Laura Albert – ­like a Cyrano de Bergerac on steroids – breathed not only words, but life, into her avatar for a decade. Albert’s epic and entertaining account plunges us into a glittery world of rock shows, fashion events, and the Cannes red carpet where LeRoy becomes a mysterious sensation. As she recounts this astonishing odyssey, Albert also reveals the intricate web spun by irrepressible creative forces within her. Her extended and layered JT LeRoy performance still infuriates many; but for Albert, channeling her brilliant fiction through another identity was the only possible path to self­-expression. Director Jeff Feuerzeig join us for a lively conversation on how Laura’s life, her traumas and innate brilliance made JT Leroy such a hugely fascinating saga, on and off the screen.

For news and updates go to: jtleroydocumentary.com

Author: JT Leroy Story Distributor Magnolia Pictures

“Wildly entertaining. The movie this crazy, endlessly fascinating story deserves.” – Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine

“Four stars. Endlessly riveting. Albert is a hell of a storyteller.” – Nigel Smith, The Guardian

“Strange, existential and ultimately thrilling.” – Steven Zeitchik, Los Angeles Times

“A fascinating treatise on creative desire and fame, as compelling as anything the writer herself dreamed up.” – Eric Kohn, Indiewire

Demon, Producer Olga Szymanska, widow of DEMON director Marcin Wrona

demon-film-posterNewly arrived from England to marry his fiancée Zaneta (Agnieszk Zulewska, Chemo), Peter (Israeli actor Itay Tiran, Lebanon) has been given a gift of her family’s ramshackle country house in rural Poland.  It’s a total fixer-upper, and while inspecting the premises on the eve of the wedding, he falls into a pile of human remains.  The ceremony proceeds, but strange things begin to happen…During the wild reception, Peter begins to come undone, and a dybbuk, the iconic ancient figure from Jewish folklore, takes a toehold in this present-day celebration-for a very particular reason, as it turns out.  Based on noted Polish writer Piotr Rowicki’s play Adherence, DEMON is the final work by Marcin Wrona, who died just as DEMON was set to premiere in Poland, is part absurdist comedy, part love story-that scares, amuses, and charms in equal measure.  Acclaimed at several festivals including New Directors/New Films, the Toronto Film Festival, and Austin Fantastic Fest where it won the Award for Best Horror Feature. Producer Olga Szymanska, widow of DEMON director Marcin Wrona joins us for a conversation on this hauntingly beautiful film.

For news and updates go to: demon.film

Winner: Austin Fantastic Fest, Best Horror Feature, 2015

Winner: Haifa Film Festival, Tobias Spencer Award, 2015

“Wrona keeps everything creepily ambiguous right up to the end, when the foggy dawn breaks and what we have witnessed becomes like a dream within a dream.” – Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

“..a unique take on the Jewish legend of the Dybbuk that feels both deeply rooted in cultural nightmares and refreshingly new…“Demon” is stylish and clever from its concept..but it’s the execution that really matters.  There’s a great energy to the piece, from the framing of the visual compositions, to the eerie atmosphere created by the lights hanging from the ceiling of what looks like a barn.  There’s fantastic costume design as well as a lead performance that engages on every level.” — Brian Tallerico, Rogerebert.com

“Crackling, spookily atmospheric, intelligent, sometimes funny ghost story. It builds on family secrets to take on wider social and historical resonance for Poles and Jews.” – Nora Lee Mandel, Film Forward

“A darkly humorous reworking of “The Dybbuk,” with a deftly realized switch that turns that familiar tale of love from beyond the grave into a parable of Polish anti-Semitism in the post-war era….  a black comedy in the vein of “The Exterminating Angel.” — George Robinson, The Jewish Week