Tuesday, November 25th in HCL 7

6:00 PM to 7:30 PM – Jan Saudek

The full-length documentary film Jan Saudek provides a personally truthful yet harsh life story of a hero and dropout. It is presented as a grand drama, not just full of stirring, colorful photographs, but also provocative ideas, illusions and ideals. Jan Saudek became a world-renowned photographer, winning international awards and being exhibited abroad, long before he had gained recognition in his native country. He is a man who appears in many roles before the camera, often changing them, often surprising, and often shocking. However, even the most versatile illusionist is incapable of entirely hiding in the face of three cameramen in action under the supervision of a director.

With its creative approach, this documentary does not claim to adhere to the textbook forms of the genre. It tries to handle it freely, in order to portray and interpret the complete complexity of the artist’s personality. Each of the three interconnected plotlines tells the story of another world. The one in color refers to the films, clean and seemingly realistic, recounting and presenting factual information. The black-and-white film is concerned with the inner self of the photographer, which is why the camera never meets him face-to-face. And the raw documentary camera in the hands of the director himself maps out the intimate moments where no film-maker has so far been permitted to tread; the moments when Jan Saudek experiences his intellectual, sensual and sexually rich “orgies”. Likewise, though, he witnesses the genuine sentiments, true happiness and genuine loneliness of a genius.

Filmmaker and director Adolf Zika relies heavily upon his personal acquaintance with the portrayed photographer, but in spite of the fact that he greatly venerates him, the narration is far from being oversimplified in presenting the truths about this controversial master of photography. Along with the viewer, he attempts to look behind the artist’s mask, even at the price of a painful revelation – to get to the very core of these „truths“.

In some passages of the documentary, there are certain shots and scenes which might be considered as beyond the limitations of the ethics and morality of today’s society. However, this is not the case of the first Czech pornographic film, but of the greatest love story of recent years. He has contended with war, suffering, the loss of his dearest offset by blind love, dreams of a family and the intangible glory of fame. Poverty, condemnation and lack of appreciation are counterbalanced by wealth, hypocritical recognition and the freedom to reach the high heavens in an unstoppable aging process. This and much more which has gone unmentioned and ineffable is portrayed in this riveting documentary film about the life and work of the most famous living Czech photographer, Jan Saudek.

Tuesday, November 18th in HCL 7

6:00 PM to 7:30 PM – Elephant in the Room

The Elephant In The Room follows filmmaker Dean Puckett as he examines the cultural impact and paranoia that the events of 9/11 have had on British and American culture. From the 9/11 Truth Movement hoping to disseminate the evidence of the day, through the Muslim psyche in modern Britain, the film culminates in New York on the 6th anniversary, to see a nation torn apart by its Government’s lies and deceit over what exactly happened on the day

Best Documentary – London Independent Film Festival (2008)

Thursday, November 11th in the HCL 7

6:00 PM to 7:30 PM – The Cruise

This cult favorite is centered on the unique worldview and personality of New York City bus tour guide Timothy “Speed” Levitch, who later had brief appearances in Waking Life and School of Rock.

Timothy Levitch is profiled in this documentary that is basically a seventy-six-minute rant about what Levitch sees and what he thinks of his life in the city. Director Bennett Miller films him as a tourist would with a video camera-that is to say, poorly-but Levitch’s rich use of poetic language and imagery provides a strong counterpart. If Levitch seems a little unhinged at times-there’s a desperation and ugliness to some of his musings that is disturbing to watch-he’s still a fascinating, delusional raconteur. His travelogue is never glib, and often very funny.

Thursday, October 30th in the TA ( HCL 8 )

6:00 PM to 7:00 PM – The Zen Mind

The Zen Mind is a journey across Japan to explore the practice of Zen. We reveal the daily routine of a zen monk and take you inside the walls of the zen monastery and into a world never imagined by outsiders. Step inside the zendo or meditation hall, where the monks sit in zazen – searching for the middle path to enlightenment – it is a long hard journey. Every aspect of zen is uncovered – from a zen center in the middle of the bustling streets of Tokyo, to the mountains above Kyoto. Includes interviews with major zen masters and roshi.

Thursday, October 23rd in the TA ( HCL 8 )

6:00 PM to 7:30 PM – 11th Hour

The 11th Hour is a 2007 feature film documentary, created, produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, on the state of the natural environment. With contributions from over 50 politicians, scientists, and environmental activists, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, and journalist Paul Hawken, the film documents the grave problems facing the planet’s life systems. Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the oceans’ habitats are all addressed. The film’s premise is that the future of humanity is in jeopardy.

The film proposes potential solutions to these problems by calling for restorative action by the reshaping and rethinking of global human activity through technology, social responsibility and conservation. Scientists and environmental advocates such as David Orr, David Suzuki, Paul Stamets, and Gloria Flora paint a portrait for a radically new and different future in which it is not humanity’s intent to dominate the planet’s life systems, but to mimic and coexist with them.

Thursday, September 25th in the TA ( HCL 8 )

6:00 PM to 7:00 PM – Codename Artichoke

Artichoke, a government project that studied hypnosis, forced morphine addiction (and subsequent forced withdrawal), and the use of other chemicals, among other methods, to produce amnesia and other vulnerable states in subjects.

More than 40 years after his death, the body of former CIA scientist Dr. Frank Olson has been exhumed. Olson’s son Eric is convinced his father was murdered by agents of the American government because he wanted to leave the CIA. Dr. Frank Olson was an expert for anthrax and other biological weapons and had top security clearance. Forensic pathologists at George Washington University performed an autopsy and concluded that Olson probably was the victim of a violent crime.

Thursday, September 18th in the TA ( HCL 8 )

6:00 PM to 6:40 – “England Their England: Monsters, Maniacs, and Moore.“

Though not the only documentary about the comic book author Alan Moore, it is the only one to feature Moore onstage fielding accusatory questions from his own toughest critic: himself. The short film focuses mostly on Moore’s larger influences and his desire to create challenging and thought-provoking works, but also features readings from his books and addresses the man’s irrational hatred of ducks.

Moore discusses the shift from the public perception of comic books as a childish diversion to the acceptance of comics as a culturally relevant artform, and his own attempt to portray the struggle between mankind and nature through Swamp Thing.

Also featured is Moore’s ornithophobic tune “March of the Sinister Ducks.” Criticisms about the inclusion of political content in comic books and the inspiration behind Watchmen.

6:45 PM to 7:45 PM – Grant Morrison at Disinfo Con 2000

Comic book author and chaos magick practitioner, Grant Morrison’s gives a mind blowing talk at the Disinfo Con. Known for such contributions and works as Judge Dredd, Batman (Arkham Asylum), Superman, All Star Superman, JLA, Flash, Animal Man, Doom Patrol, Hellblazer, Swamp Thing, The Invisibles, The Filth, WE3, Seaguy, Marvel Boy, Fantastic Four, New X-Men, Spawn, Vampirella, and the list goes on and on….

Topics include: The Human Condition, The State of the World, Psychedelics, Magick, Society, The Invisibles, Terrence McKenna, Robert Anton Wilson, Aliens, and more.

Since 1992, the “recycled” house has been home to six young people, living in community – dividing up chores, holding biweekly house meetings, organizing community potlucks and parties. It has been a haven for college students trying to complete their theses, recent graduates making their way into the workforce, and others enjoying the “community” feel of the house. Known as “The 47th Street House”, this house has seen over 100 residents in the past 16 years, always full, with reasonable rent in this high-priced town and prospective roommates on a long waiting list. Residents work together to keep the house full of renters, the yard neat and clean, and everything in working order. “Living in this house has changed my life,” said resident Lynn Jacobsen, noting the sense of responsiblity and community living in the house entails.

In January, tenants were served with a lis pendens notice – the rent that they had been paying for the past 1 1/2 years to an absentee landlord had never been applied to the mortgage. The house was to be foreclosed. Right away, residents and friends organized. They secured a loan and got in contact with the bank in hopes of buying the house themselves. The only problem? The bank was virtually silent, would not return phone calls, and in the end, was not willing to sell.

The house will be up for auction at a foreclosure sale on Wednesday, June 18 at 8:30am. Current residents will be in attendence, with video cameras, as part of a documentary in remembrance of the house. Bidders would need to supply the full amount owed in cash at the time of the sale – no mortgages allowed.

This is just one example of effects of the nationwide foreclosure epidemic, which has hit Sarasota hard. If places like these which offer affordable rent are virtually inaccessible for purchase by “the little guy” then who does buy them? How can the cost stay down? And where do low income residents live in the meantime?

Contact: iggyspoon [at] gmail [dot] com

Tuesday, March 4th in the TA ( HCL 8 )

6:00 PM to 6:40 – Steal This Film pt 1

Steal This Film is a film documenting the movement against intellectual property released via the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol.

The film is notable for its critical analysis of an alleged regulatory capture attempt performed by the Hollywood film lobby to leverage economic sanctions by the United States government on Sweden through the WTO. Alleged aims included the application of pressure to Swedish police into conducting a search and seizure against Swedish law for the purpose of disrupting The Pirate Bay’s BitTorrent tracker.

6:45 PM to 7:30 PM – Steal This Film pt 2

This part examines the technological and cultural aspects of the copyright wars, and the implications of the internet for copying. It includes an exploration of Mark Getty’s infamous statement that ‘intellectual property is the oil of the 21st century’. It was selected for the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival and South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. It was also shown during the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.

Wednesday, December 5th in the TA ( HCL 8 )

5 PM and 6 PM – Century of the Self Part Four – Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering (60 min)

This episode explains how politicians on the left, in both Britain and America, turned to the techniques developed by business to read and fulfil the inner desires of the self.

Both New Labour, under Tony Blair, and the Democrats, led by Bill Clinton, used the focus group, which had been invented by psychoanalysts, in order to regain power. They set out to mould their policies to people’s inner desires and feelings, just as capitalism had learnt to do with products.

Out of this grew a new culture of public relations and marketing in politics, business and journalism. One of its stars in Britain was Matthew Freud who followed in the footsteps of his relation, Edward Bernays, the inventor of public relations in the 1920s.

The politicians believed they were creating a new and better form of democracy, one that truly responded to the inner feelings of individual. But what they didn’t realise was that the aim of those who had originally created these techniques had not been to liberate the people but to develop a new way of controlling them.