Birth of a Nation

Aug 6, 1997

1h 25m

★ 6.3

Overview

Jonas Mekas assembles 160 portraits, appearances, and fleeting sketches of underground and independent filmmakers captured between 1955 and 1996. Fast-paced and archival in spirit, the film celebrates the avant-garde as its own “nation of cinema,” a vital community existing outside the dominance of commercial film.

Genres

Documentary

Birth of a Nation Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self

Chantal Akerman

Self

Kenneth Anger

Self

Michel Auder

Self

Bruce Baillie

Self

Robert Beavers

Self

Jane Wodening

Self

Stan Brakhage

Self

Robert Breer

Self

James Broughton

Self

L.M. Kit Carson

Self

Tom Chomont

Self

Shirley Clarke

The fantastic story of how an ancient martial art, Chinese kung fu, conquered the world through the hundreds of films that were produced in Hong Kong over the decades, transformed Western action cinema and inspired the birth of cultural movements such as blaxploitation, hip hop music, parkour and Wakaliwood cinema.

5.5

The Sound of Identity

Aug 22, 2020

In the spotlight of global media coverage, the first transgender woman ever to perform as Don Giovanni in a professional opera, makes her historic debut in one of the reddest states in the U.S.

0.0

Livet är kort, konsten lång – filmen om Åke Göransson

Apr 14, 2023

No overview available.

0.0

Eclectic Shorts by Eric Leiser

May 30, 2006

Eric Leiser displays his boundless creativity in this short collection; A stunning compilation of works presented with a mixture of live action, stop motion animation, puppetry and pixilation techniques, produced between 2001 and 2006.

5.0

Waiting for Hockney

Jan 1, 2008

A young working class Baltimore man spends 10 years on a single portrait, believing it is his means to fame and fortune. But he also believes that only one man can lead him there---the famous artist David Hockney. What happens when you finally meet the god of your own making?

0.0

Heart of a Tiger

Jan 1, 2009

Somewhere between a diary and a filmed letter made while Caroline Champetier was shooting Benoît Jacquot's film L'Intouchable in India.

0.0

Haida Modern

Oct 1, 2019

In the 50 years since he carved his first totem pole, Robert Davidson has come to be regarded as one of the world’s foremost modern artists. Charles Wilkinson (Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World) brings his trademark inquisitiveness and craftsmanship to this revealing portrait of an unassuming living legend. Weaving together engaging interviews with the artist, his offspring, and a host of admirers, Haida Modern extols the sweeping impact of both Davidson’s artwork and the legions it’s inspired.

No Image Available

0.0

Collaboration: Ron Padgett

Apr 26, 2016

In 2002, Sophie Constantinou and Bill Weir interviewed Padgett about his life and works, specifically his friendship and collaborations with the New York School of Poets. These moments were captured as part a series of short films catalyzed by Kenward Elmslie. His vision was to illustrate the artistic spirit of and collaborations among American writers, poets and artists from the late 50s to today.

0.0

A.B.

Oct 8, 2023

A documentary-style capturing of the life of Ab, a young struggling artist trying to find her way, all while dealing with unwanted company.

0.0

You Will Never See It All

Dec 7, 2023

Conceptual visual artist Ján Mančuška died in 2011. However, in his short 39 years of existence, he managed to create a number of remarkable works, many of which have been exhibited in renowned galleries around the world – including the Centre Pompidou in Paris and MoMA in New York. In his homeland, however, his work reflecting everyday life, social reality or the meaning of language has never achieved comparable fame. Together with the children of an artist who was not afraid to confront the public with the question of the meaning of art, the director embarks on a journey that aims not only to get closer to Mančuška, but also to reveal him in hitherto unrecognised shades, thus filling in the gaps that are increasingly appearing in the context of the fading memory of his personality.

8.0

Jack Kerouac's Road: A Franco-American Odyssey

Mar 1, 1987

Part documentary, part drama, this film presents the life and work of Jack Kerouac, an American writer with Québec roots who became one of the most important spokesmen for his generation. Intercut with archival footage, photographs and interviews, this film takes apart the heroic myth and even returns to the childhood of the author whose life and work contributed greatly to the cultural, sexual and social revolution of the 1960s.

3.3

Gloria's Call

Oct 5, 2019

In 1971, graduate student Gloria Orenstein received a call from Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington that sparked a lifelong journey into art, ecofeminism and shamanism. This short film uses art, animation and storytelling to celebrate this wild adventure. Now more than 40 years later, award-winning Dr. Gloria Feman Orenstein is a feminist art critic and pioneer scholar of women in Surrealism and ecofeminism in the arts. Her delightful tale brings alive an often unseen history of women in the arts.

6.4

My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Feb 27, 2015

A documentary directed by Winding Refn's wife, Liv Corfixen, and it follows the Danish-born filmmaker during the making of his 2013 film Only God Forgives.

6.4

High Maintenance

Dec 12, 2020

A fascinating journey through the life of Israeli artist Dani Karavan, an irreverent and charismatic creator, recognized worldwide for radically transforming public space with his monumental environmental installations.

7.6

Waste Land

Jan 24, 2010

An uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit. Top-selling contemporary artist Vik Muniz takes us on an emotional journey from Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the heights of international art stardom. Vik collaborates with the brilliant catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, true Shakespearean characters who live and work in the garbage quoting Machiavelli and showing us how to recycle ourselves.