This documentary film series is a deep dive into the life of The Committee, San Francisco's radical comedy troupe that introduced the counterculture of the 1960s to mainstream America, pioneered an artform, and helped shape modern American satire.
An Indonesian boy and his mother pretend Chinese takeout is a traditional family dish at a potluck in order to impress the predominantly white church community.
A rebellious Indian-American teenage musician tries to bridge the cultural divide with his immigrant STEM dad, and finds his artistic voice in the process.
The Emerald Triangle explores the world’s favorite illegal drug, how it became legal, and its impact on our culture. Focusing on the heartland of cannabis, it tells the story of the original growers, how they survived everything… except legalization.
The life and legacy of Johnny Otis: the Godfather of R&B, composer, bandleader, disc jockey, civil rights activist, preacher, and artist, who grew up in a Greek immigrant family, but defined himself as African-American.
Fiddles on Fire explores the exploding popularity of fiddle music by following eight contemporary fiddlers whose excellence in their tradition-based fiddle styles has inspired audiences the world over.
How do we heal ourselves in the natural world? The necessity to nurture the earth and understand the power our natural world holds to heal us, as well as the capacity (and urgent necessity) we hold to sustain our planet... this is the journey into FOOLS’ PARADISE (lost?).
Fossil Foolish (working title) tells the story of two North American nations giving lip service to a clean energy transition while simultaneously ramping up fossil fuel exploitation.
Filmed over eight years, Grains of Sand accompanies the filmmaker's mother and mother-in-law, artists and close friends, as they enter their ninth decade. Through conversation, memories and artwork, they explore together the lifelong project of becoming oneself.
The Highway is a short animated film that recreates a highway protest against police violence in miniature toy scale, along with scenes from historic, cultural, and mythological antecedents in American and Western culture.
At the crossroads between the streets and the churches of San Francisco, In God We Trust follows the intimate journeys of Dawn, Tony, Terry and Harry as they fight to forge their place in a city ravaged by inequalities and for whom “God” has become the ultimate companion.
Three 90-year-old soldiers recount their experiences of life, death and loss on the European front during World War II in this powerful meditation on memory, trauma, and the brutality of war.
Inspired by true events, this feminist TV family drama follows a 1960s restless housewife and mother of three spirited teens who accidentally discovers her American Indian heritage then defies her conservative husband to join the Native fight for justice.
The Last Forests is a visually compelling, high stakes film following the decline of California’s kelp forests, the communities impacted by their decline, and the ongoing effort to save them from collapse.
Like Heaven Without God is a documentary about five Berkeley residents in a homeless RV community who struggle to survive on the margins of society. As a public program expires, they are forced to move out of the parking lot they have called home over the past year.
Loyal to the Truth tells the fascinating story of Katharine Lee Bates, poet, professor, and progressive advocate; an unsung hero best known for authoring America the Beautiful who was deeply committed to the beauty and principles of our country.
The Movement and the “Madman” chronicles the untold story of the mass movement that helped limit and end the long and brutal war in Vietnam, proving that nonviolent protest movements can make a difference.
Norton I, Emperor of America, Protector of Mexico, was an immigrant, a tycoon, a bankrupt, a fantasist, a mascot, a campaigner, a visionary and monarch. This film explores Norton’s legend, in his own time and ours.
PARAMITA is a poetic personal documentary bearing testament to the story of Prajna Paramita Choudhury, a first generaton South Asian American queer woman, as she comes out to her family and steps onto a spiritual journey that embodies Buddhist liberation practices, earth based mysticism and connection to nature as a pathway for collective healing.
Aging actor Scot Free performed comedy drag under the name Pippi Lovestocking starting in the early 1990s. After paying tribute to his recently deceased life-long friend in front of hundreds, he collapsed. A cardiac event then led to Scot becoming a quad amputee. This is his story.
A SF Bay Area based immigrant woman filmmaker searches for 'home' among intentional and radical communities in California as she wrestles with the legacy of her Iranian father and the rich, distinct culture she left behind.
In 1966, an obscure Beat poet was catapulted into the national spotlight when her self-published book of poems, The Love Book, was seized by police and subjected to San Francisco’s longest obscenity trial in history. POET ON TRIAL is the timely story of forgotten poet Lenore Kandel and her fight for artistic freedom.
When artist and filmmaker Mabel Valdiviezo reunites with her family in Peru after sixteen years of silence, she confronts childhood memories and her troubled past as an immigrant in the United States. Diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, Mabel embarks on a deeply emotional journey to heal her fractured family ties, using her art as a bridge between two worlds.
From a garage startup to 27 Gold and Platinum Records, A QUIET REVOLUTION explores the genre-bending history of a record label that developed a new sound and musical movement.
Re-Present Media’s purpose is to humanize media representations of underrepresented communities through a focus on personal stories from those communities in documentary film and nonfiction media.
A visionary Buddhist Monk, hailing from the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, embarked on an extraordinary journey to California, defying all odds to establish one of the Bay Area's largest Tibetan Monasteries—an invaluable sanctuary preserving the endangered Tibetan culture, traditions, and language.
SEARCHING FOR SABIHA follows an American journalist’s quest to uncover the astonishing story of her grandmother-- modern Turkey’s first professional female journalist. What she discovers is a trailblazer’s high stakes fight for democracy that’s remarkably relevant almost 100 years later as authoritarian leaders rise around the globe, even in democratic strongholds like the United States.
In the shadow of technological innovation, San Franciscans struggle to preserve neighborhood cinemas during a global pandemic, shifting social behavior, and a domineering streaming industry. Will they be able to keep the theatrical experience alive?
After years of caring for her cancer-ridden fiancé, a young woman must confront her feelings of guilt and grief to come to terms with the end of their relationship.
Combining the majestic music of JS Bach with the composer’s uniquely expressive autograph manuscripts, filmmaker and violinist Paul Festa presents the first fully realized films of the six sonatas and partitas for solo violin on the three-hundredth anniversary of their composition.
A documentary profile of Stewart Udall, who left a profound legacy of conservation and environmental justice as Secretary of the Interior during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
Sweetness & Power is the story of how Europe's taste for sugar transformed the world and developed a model of agriculture and labor that is defining our current and future existence.
Tails of the City is a cheerful, heartwarming short film about a neighborhood park that has become a touchstone for dogs, their owners, and families - finding love, laughter, and friendship in the process.
Through simple story telling and songs, four friends are introduced to ideas which build their emotional intelligence, self-awareness and social skills, while encouraging positive communication methods.
From Sacramento to San Jose, from the Central Valley to San Francisco, “Bike Life,” the big BMX wheelie bike scene, offers an outlet for kids and adults to push themselves physically, connect with peers, and find role models and community. Can a renegade bicycle movement be seen as a real sport and celebrated for its positive attributes, or will it forever exist on the fringe?
WHITEWASHED is the story of Eugenics, as promoted by Leland Stanford Jr. University's first president, David Starr Jordan, and how this theory's history was covered up and only recently revealed.