Citizenfour (2014) Director: Laura Poitras Actors: Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald Runtime: 114 min “We are building the biggest weapon for oppression in the history of mankind.” Edward Snowden In January of 2013 documentary film director and producer Laura Poitras received an encrypted e-mail from a stranger who called himself Citizen Four, who offered to provide …
Medium Cool (1969) Director: Haskell Wexler Actors: Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz Runtime: 111 min A realistic movie centered around a TV cameraman and his relationship with a single working class mother, made in the social atmosphere of a mass political awakening and loss of trust in the legitimacy of the system. The focus …
Amanece, que no es poco (1989) Director: José Luis Cuerda Actors: José Sazatornil, Carmen de Lirio, Francisco Martínez Runtime: 110 min A very intelligent Spanish surrealist comedy from the late 1980s that simply can’t be retold. Surrealism distorts reality to breaking point, to the absurd and impossible, and puts us in position to laugh at …
The Strawberry Statement (1970) Director: Stuart Hagmann Actors: Bruce Davison, Kim Darby, Bud Cort Runtime: 109 min Students are rebelling against the war in Vietnam, against co-operation of their university with corporations from the military-industrial complex, but also against the university’s appropriation of a playground in the poor African-American neighbourhood. The protesting students decide to …
Afrique 50 (1950) Director: René Vautier Runtime: 17 min René Vautier went to West Africa to make a documentary for the French League of Schooling, but when he arrived there he was appalled by the colonial exploitation, brutal crimes of the French army and poverty people lived in. Although upon his return to the country, …
La noche de los lápices (1986) Director: Héctor Olivera Actors: Alejo García Pintos, Vita Escardó, Pablo Novak Runtime: 105 min During the reign of the military junta in Argentina (1976-1983, a period now known as “The Dirty War“), between 17,000 and 30,000 people “disappeared”. In fact they were kidnapped by the military and the secret …
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) Director: Ivan Dixon Actors: Lawrence Cook, Janet League Runtime: 102 min In the political climate of integration, the CIA was required to enroll African-American recruits, but because of very rigid criteria, only one of them manages to complete the training, and the job assigned to him was …
Pandora’s Box (1992) Director: Adam Curtis Runtime: 6 x 45 min A six-part documentary series dealing with the effects and irrational consequences of political and scientific rationalism. The focus of the story is how the engineers and scientists inappropriately interfered in economy and politics, while on the other hand, economists and politicians equally inappropriately interfered …
