# Documentary recommendations...



## Treacle Toes (Aug 6, 2010)

One of my favourite pastimes when the weather is crap! I have a free afternoon and I intend curling up with a bottle of red and watching a few documentaries 

Any recommendations off the net? Cheers!


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## London_Calling (Aug 6, 2010)

Just a few mins. ago I linked to 'The revolution will not be televised' - have you seen that?


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 6, 2010)

London_Calling said:


> Just a few mins. ago I linked to 'The revolution will not be televised' - have you seen that?


 
 Thankyou, I haven't seen that yet and you have reminded me about it.


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 6, 2010)

Any more? Anyone?


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## marty21 (Aug 6, 2010)

Rutita1 said:


> Any more? Anyone?


 
not sure if it's on-line

but Ken Burns - The American Civil War is excellent - and will wile away several rainy afternoons


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## Reno (Aug 6, 2010)

I thought _Capturing the Friedmans _was the best documentary I've seen over the last decade. It's a bit of a downer though. _Into Thin Air_ about the catastrophic 1996 Mount Everest climb is tremendously gripping.


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## Nanker Phelge (Aug 6, 2010)

'Mine' - about pet rescue and pet/owner repatriation (or not) post katrina - watched it last night, happy, sad, frustrating.....


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## Nanker Phelge (Aug 6, 2010)

Dark Days about the people living in the New York Subway - oldie but goodie.


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## The Octagon (Aug 6, 2010)

Night & Fog, really uplifting.


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## DotCommunist (Aug 6, 2010)

Requim for Detroit comes highly recc'd- I've got it queued up for sat afternoon. It is about the decay and falling in of the once industrial powerhouse where people are growing crops in spaces where once people made cars etc.

RWNBT is a fucking ace documentary. Likely to provoke rage and incredulity by turns mind.


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## Nanker Phelge (Aug 6, 2010)

Big River Man - over 50s Nutter swims the entire length of amazon, with Piranha and Giant Anaconda - diet of of two bottles of red wine a day.....HEROIC


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## butchersapron (Aug 6, 2010)

The Octagon said:


> Night & Fog, really uplifting.


 Bit short mind.

The Battle of Chile


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## DotCommunist (Aug 6, 2010)

oh and a BB4 jobbie 'Black Power Salute' about THAT salute at the olympics is fascinating viewing- proper social history.


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## Nanker Phelge (Aug 6, 2010)

My Beast Fiend - Werner Herzog doc about Klaus Kinski

Grey Gardens - Mother and Daughter lived together at Grey Gardens for decades with limited funds, resulting in squalor and almost total isolation. In the fall of 1971 and throughout 1972, their living conditions—their house was infested by fleas, inhabited by numerous cats and raccoons, deprived of running water, and filled with garbage and decay. _It's how Miss-Shelf and her Daughter are gonna end up......_

Salesmen - 1969 doc about door tp door Bible salesmen

American Movie - if you can track it down this is both hilarious and sad.


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## butchersapron (Aug 6, 2010)

Harlan County USA


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## London_Calling (Aug 6, 2010)

Rutita1 said:


> Thankyou, I haven't seen that yet and you have reminded me about it.


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## butchersapron (Aug 6, 2010)

MC5: A True Testimonial

The Murder of Fred Hampton


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 6, 2010)

London_Calling said:


>




Found it on Free documentaries.org


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 6, 2010)

Great list so far everyone thanks...some I have seen others not so keep them coming please. I can keep coming back to the thread to find more.


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## butchersapron (Aug 6, 2010)

The Sorrow and the Pity

The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On


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## Nanker Phelge (Aug 6, 2010)

Going to Sea on Winston Churchill's Bogey - that's a good un.


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## butchersapron (Aug 6, 2010)

That is the end of the fucking world mate.


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## N_igma (Aug 6, 2010)

butchersapron said:


> Harlan County USA


 
Yes watch this. Brilliant show.


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## wayward bob (Aug 6, 2010)

anything on the iplayer on bbc4 is usually worth a punt. i'm a big fan of andrew graham dixon's art series - the art of spain and the art of russia were both fantastic.


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## butchersapron (Aug 6, 2010)

The Patriot Game


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## butchersapron (Aug 6, 2010)

Ways of Seeing


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Aug 6, 2010)

The Game of their Lives was recommended when the World Cup was on.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/the_game_of_their_lives.shtml


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## butchersapron (Aug 6, 2010)

Memories of Rain



> Terrorism in the present is decried by all right thinking people. But all too often, the eye of hindsight turns ‘terrorists’ into heroes. In Apartheid South Africa, men once described as enemies of freedom were exactly the people who earned and protected it for their peers. Many now lead the country. This week’s sumptuous documentary is the tale of two South Africans, one white, one black, who fought the Apartheid Government with the ANC’s guerrilla army. Filmed over a decade, this personal story paints a picture of humanity and bravery, of dedication and sacrifice, of people who gave up everything for what they believed in.


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## Citizen66 (Aug 6, 2010)

Capturing the Friedmans.
Jesus Camp.
Zizek!

Anything touched by Adam Curtis.


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 6, 2010)

wayward bob said:


> anything on the iplayer on bbc4 is usually worth a punt. i'm a big fan of andrew graham dixon's art series - the art of spain and the art of russia were both fantastic.


 
Yeah I scan them regularly as I don't have a TV.   I think at present I have seen all I want to off of them though hence the thread.


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 6, 2010)

Citizen66 said:


> Capturing the Friedmans.
> Jesus Camp.
> Zizek!
> 
> Anything touched by Adam Curtis.



Yeah I like him a lot. _Century of Self_ back to back last time I had an afternoon sesion like this.


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## ilovebush&blair (Aug 6, 2010)

Beautiful Losers is pretty fucking amazing



Yes men fix the world, Bus 174, End of the line, Manufactured landscapes, The cove, Starsuckers, Food Inc, Afghan Star and King of kong.


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 6, 2010)

Now I am spoilt for choice....


Thanks all.


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## Hollis (Aug 6, 2010)

Capturing the Friedmann's - fantastic stuff on dysfunctional family - great viewing
The Sorrow and The Pity (Parts I and II)- 6 hour epic - after the battle afterthoughts on the French Resistance, collaboration and more in world war two.


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## Maggot (Aug 6, 2010)

ilovebush&blair said:


> Yes men fix the world, Bus 174, End of the line, Manufactured landscapes, The cove, Starsuckers, Food Inc, Afghan Star and King of kong.


 I was gonna mention Afghan Star, about an Afghani version of Pop Idol, great doc.  The Cove, Starsuckers, Yes men and end of the line all good too.


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## bmd (Aug 6, 2010)

I found Fog of War to be very engaging both emotionally and rationally.


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## Hollis (Aug 6, 2010)

Great documentary.


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## dylans (Aug 6, 2010)

Ghosts of Rwanda. 

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/ghosts-of-rwanda/


> Ghosts of Rwanda, a special two-hour documentary to mark the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide — a state-sponsored massacre in which some 800,000 Rwandans were methodically hunted down and murdered by Hutu extremists as the U.S. and international community refused to intervene — examines the social, political, and diplomatic failures that converged to enable the genocide to occur.
> 
> Through interviews with key government officials, diplomats, soldiers, and survivors of the slaughter, Ghosts of Rwanda presents groundbreaking, first-hand accounts of the genocide from those who lived it: the diplomats on the scene who thought they were building peace only to see their colleagues murdered; the Tutsi survivors who recount the horror of seeing their friends and family slaughtered by Hutu friends and co-workers; and the U.N. peacekeepers in Rwanda who were ordered not to intervene in the massacre happening all around them.
> The documentary features interviews with Canadian Gen. Romeo Dallaire, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake as well as haunting interviews with the Hutu killers themselves, and a powerful interview with BBC journalist Fergal Keane who traveled through Rwanda as the genocide was drawing to a close.


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## ShiftyBagLady (Aug 6, 2010)

I watched War On Democrasy recently, predictable anti-american agenda but a lot of thought provoking stuff too


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## Captain Hurrah (Aug 6, 2010)

My own grim interest. 

The whole thing, although split into parts approximately ten minutes long.  A bit simplistic, but great rare footage too.


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## Captain Hurrah (Aug 6, 2010)

Nanker Phelge said:


> Dark Days about the people living in the New York Subway - oldie but goodie.



I remember a documentary shown on C4 ten years or so ago, about people who had made their homes in the tunnels.  Don't know if it is the same one.


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## AnnO'Neemus (Aug 6, 2010)

I watched a really good recently, called Two Sisters (Dwie Siostry) Director Jasna Krajinovič, about two sisters living in the Balkans, who, after the war, when job opportunities were scarce, ended up training and working clearing land mines.

I've found a synopsis on a Polish film festival website:
Violeta and Vyollca Dukay live in the south of Kosovo, close to the border with Albania. Faced with a very high unemployment in their country since the end of the war, they became deminers. They’ve been going to the minefields every day for six years now. A drama in a country of magnificent forests, pastures, mountains... and hidden mines.

No idea whether it's available on torrents anywhere, but it's worth checking out if you can find it.  Make sure you get a version with English subtitles though, as it's in some Balkan language.


I watched it on Al Jazeera English, I think it was broadcast in the Witness strand of programmes.  They don't appear to have uploaded it to their YouTube channel, so they mustn't have the rights to do that.  Some programmes they do, some they don't.

And I also really recommend Gaza We Are Coming - it's about the first flotilla to break the siege.  It's very moving, and also gives a lot of background information, about the historical solidarity between the Greeks and the Gazans, because some Greek refugees ended up living in Gaza at one point, which I hadn't been aware of:   






http://www.smallplanet.gr/index.php...we-are-coming&option=com_content&view=article

Al Jazeera English is available on Freeview channel 89 now, and they have some interesting and well made programmes, in-house, commissions and acquisitions, so there's a lot of variety of subject matter, covering Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, not just the Middle East...

Also check out Brave New Films: http://bravenewfilms.org/


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## _angel_ (Aug 7, 2010)

award winning documentary


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Aug 7, 2010)

I'm not sure if it's your sort of thing but 'King of Kong' is an excellent film doc about some donkey kong champions. It would be the spinal tap of video games if it wasn't all for real.


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## AnnO'Neemus (Aug 7, 2010)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> The Game of their Lives was recommended when the World Cup was on.
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/the_game_of_their_lives.shtml


That reminds me, I saw an interesting one about Barcelona football club, which is a co-operative or collective or something, owned by the fans anyway.  It's probably not on iPlayer any more though, because it was a few weeks ago.


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## toblerone3 (Aug 7, 2010)

Fourteen days in May


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## ilovebush&blair (Aug 7, 2010)

BEAUTIFUL LOSERS celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural moments of a generation

In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture.

Starring a selection of artists who are considered leaders within this culture, Beautiful Losers focuses on the telling of personal stories. It speaks to themes of what happens when the outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists and today's youth.


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## Citizen66 (Aug 7, 2010)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> I'm not sure if it's your sort of thing but 'King of Kong' is an excellent film doc about some donkey kong champions. It would be the spinal tap of video games if it wasn't all for real.


 
I've seen it and second that suggestion. 

The underhand tactics all over a game!


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## paulhackett (Aug 7, 2010)

Capturing the Friedmans is good but really?  The subject matter and lack of conclusion makes it a deeply uncomfortable watch?

Watched Heart of Apartheid on BBC archive recently. Filmed in 1968 (including interview with a very young TuTu) may be of interest.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/apartheid/7208.shtml


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## Mrs Magpie (Aug 7, 2010)

We Are The Lambeth Boys
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/439103/index.html


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## HAL9000 (Aug 7, 2010)

Touching the void

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379557/

If you search for "Moon Machines - Spacesuits 1" on youtube, excellent documentry that looks at the apollo program from the engineers view.  Numerous system were safety critical and if the engineers failed, by by astronauts.  One of the moon machine documentries looked at the lunar lander, when they tested it in a vacuum chamber on earth it failed and suffer catastrophic decompression but they never found the root cause.


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## AnnO'Neemus (Aug 7, 2010)

There's an interesting documentary Postcards from Tora Bora about some filmakers who went to Afghanistan and it includes footage from the 1960s and 1970s of people dressed in Western-style outfits, so it hasn't always been men dressed in shalwar khameez and women in burkhas:

http://www.postcardsfromtorabora.com/makingthefilm.html

I only saw some clips of it and a talk with the filmmakers on the Fabulous Picture Show:




But it's probably worth tracking down, not sure if you can torrent the full film from somewhere?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Aug 8, 2010)

Citizen66 said:


> I've seen it and second that suggestion.
> 
> The underhand tactics all over a game!


 
I started watch it again last night after typing. You couldn't write a better comedy villain if you had to.


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## Barking_Mad (Aug 8, 2010)

there used to be a political documentary thread on a sticky in world politics, but im not sure where it went....had lots of good stuff on it.

edit: Here you go, plenty on here although you might have to check the links as some might have died off...

http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/th...he-Internet?highlight=political+documentaries


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## BlackArab (Aug 8, 2010)

toblerone3 said:


> Fourteen days in May




This is absolutely brilliant and well worth watching.

My own recommendation: The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-boy-whose-skin-fell-off/4od


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## butchersapron (Aug 8, 2010)

BlackArab said:


> This is absolutely brilliant and well worth watching.
> 
> My own recommendation: The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off
> 
> http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-boy-whose-skin-fell-off/4od


 
Overlord X 

Find that other one hard to watch. Very worthwhile though.


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## brix (Aug 8, 2010)

Etre et Avoir
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/06/03/etre_et_avoir_2003_review.shtml
An incredibly touching documentary following a year in the life of a rural French primary school.

I also really enjoyed Dogtown and Z-Boys which is about skateboarding.  I was gripped even though I have no interest in skateboarding at all really - it's just a really fabulous, well done documentary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtown_and_Z-Boys


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## beeboo (Aug 8, 2010)

brix said:


> Etre et Avoir
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/06/03/etre_et_avoir_2003_review.shtml
> An incredibly touching documentary following a year in the life of a rural French primary school.


 
Yes this is great 

As has been mentioned numerous times already Capturing the Friedmans (sp?) is outstanding if you haven't seen it already.

I've got a thing about hospital-based docs.  Neither of these are particularly obscure, but the whole 'One Born Every Minute' series on C4 recently was at least periodically brilliant, as was the 'Between Life and Death' on BBC a couple of weeks ago (no longer on iplayer but is on youtube).


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## Part 2 (Aug 8, 2010)

Agree on Dogtown and Z boys it's a top film. There's a BMX film in a similar vein called Joe Kid on a Stingray. Also a film called Klunkerz about the birth of mountain biking which isn't that great. On any Sunday is another great one about America's love of motorbikes.

Jonestown: the life and death of people's temple (religious cult antics)
Grizzlyman (daft bloke lives with bears)
One day in September (Munich Olympics hostages)
The times of Harvey Milk (Gay rights campaign in the US)
Little Dieter needs to fly (Amazing, almost unbelievable)
Deep Water (Excellent film about fella who tried to cheat in the first Round the world yacht race)
Bus 174 (bus hijack in Brasil)
The king of kong (As mentioned already, funny as fuck)
The devil and Daniel Johnston (bi-polar musician)
Metallica: Some kind of monster 
Anvil:The story of Anvil


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## idioteque (Aug 9, 2010)

Chip Barm said:


> Anvil:The story of Anvil


 
this.


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## sim667 (Aug 9, 2010)

"We live in public" is excellent.


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## Citizen66 (Aug 9, 2010)

Anything with Charles Manson rattling on in it.


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## AnnO'Neemus (Aug 9, 2010)

beeboo said:


> ...I've got a thing about hospital-based docs.  Neither of these are particularly obscure, but the whole 'One Born Every Minute' series on C4 recently was at least periodically brilliant, as was the 'Between Life and Death' on BBC a couple of weeks ago (no longer on iplayer but is on youtube).


Then you might like Saving Soweto, which was a documentary series filmed at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, the only hospital in South Africa's biggest township.
"Known affectionately as "Bara", the hospital is the largest in the world sprawling over 173 acres, 429 buildings and 10km of corridor. There are more than 3,000 beds to serve a population of about four million."

It was incredibly well made (and incredibly expensive to produce, so you don't get many films like this).  Here's the first episode, follow the other links on the right hand side for the subsequent episodes.




More information about the series and the individual episodes here:

http://www.lefthandfilms.co.za/soweto/

p.s. I enjoyed that One Born Every Minute as well.  Although I wanted to slap some of the expectant fathers round the head with a wet fish!


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## AnnO'Neemus (Aug 9, 2010)

.


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## BlackArab (Aug 9, 2010)

butchersapron said:


> Overlord X



Predictably, I still have that on vinyl somewhere


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## Part 2 (Aug 11, 2010)

Just like to say thanks to those who recommended Grey Gardens and Beautiful Losers. I've had a wonderful evening of viewing...thanks


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## Tooter (Aug 13, 2010)

Good thread although aren't these supposed to be viewable online?

Children underground is very interesting




> During the Ceauçescu-era contraception and abortions were forbidden and so thousands of unwished children were born. After the fall of Ceauçescu's dictatorship many of them ran away from the orphanges or their parent's home to escape the cruelty what happened to them in these places...
> 
> They live in the underground stations or in abandoned houses, they live in small groups with strong hierarchies, they copy what they have experienced in their life among adults, their lifes are dominated by violence, drugs and the daily struggle to survive in a hostage world, which offers them barely changes to escape it.



Vice guide to North Korea is also good




> Getting into North Korea was one of the hardest and weirdest processes VBS has ever dealt with. After we went back and forth with their representatives for months, they finally said they were going to allow 16 journalists into the country to cover the Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang. Then, ten days before we were supposed to go, they said, No, nobody can come. Then they said, OK, OK, you can come. But only as tourists. We had no idea what that was supposed to mean. They already knew we were journalists, and over there if you get caught being a journalist when youre supposed to be a tourist you go to jail. We dont like jail. And were willing to bet wed hate jail in North Korea. But we went for it.


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## JonnyD (Aug 13, 2010)

For anyone that enjoys a bit of science I'd heartily recommend the secret life of chaos: 
BBC4 documentary on chaos theory. Comes fully complete with that slight tingling of awe/wonderment at how amazing the universe and life actually is (without any need for the belief in a spaghetti monster/fairy to bring it about) that great science documentaries have in common. Ace!


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## Steel Icarus (Aug 13, 2010)

Watched a doc about Mike Tyson made not long after he got banged up. Loads of really early footage, him and Cus D'Amato sat round the tea table spraffing. Very interesting. ABout 15 parts to it on YouTube. Called "Tyson: The untold story" or something.


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## girasol (Aug 17, 2010)

Nanker Phelge said:


> Big River Man - over 50s Nutter swims the entire length of amazon, with Piranha and Giant Anaconda - diet of of two bottles of red wine a day.....HEROIC


 
Watching this now, it's amazingly insane!  And sad 

Anyone mentioned 'Cat Dancers' yet?  Fascinating, odd and shocking...  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1333635/

and the wonderful 'Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski' by Werner Werzog  (apols if it has been mentioned already)


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 20, 2010)

Thanks all, keep them coming...shameless bump!


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## Johnny Canuck3 (Aug 20, 2010)

Rutita1 said:


> One of my favourite pastimes when the weather is crap! I have a free afternoon and I intend curling up with a bottle of red and watching a few documentaries
> 
> Any recommendations off the net? Cheers!


 
Grizzly Man




Amerika Idol


> A small village in Serbia believes that Rocky Balboa can reverse their 4,000 years of bad luck.


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## Captain Hurrah (Aug 20, 2010)

The Children of Leningradsky.


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## Proper Tidy (Aug 20, 2010)

Some decent ones on 4OD.

Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine - although the book is much better.

The Enemy Within - documentary apparently drawing comparisons between the anarchists in Victorian London and modern day Islamism, but that is by the by and the good stuff is all about the Victorian anarchists.

Travels of a Gringo - great political doc, Sean Langan travels through Latin America in 2003. 

There is an absolute shit load of stuff on there.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/tags/documentaries


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 20, 2010)

Just to be clear I regularly check 4od and bbciplayer...I have pretty much seen all I want to on them at present... although I see The Shock Doctrine is available again now (it wasn't for a while) so might cram that in tonight.

Have watched _Starsuckers_ and _we live in public_so far today 

So many more suggestions on this thread, I love it.


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## Brubricker (Aug 21, 2010)

Right America: Feeling Wronged


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## Part 2 (Aug 21, 2010)

Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost: Revelations as recommended elsewhere by Sadken. 

3 teenage metallers gulty of looking different, imprisoned for life for the murder of three 8 year olds.


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## ilovebush&blair (Aug 21, 2010)

Chip Barm said:


> Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost: Revelations as recommended elsewhere by Sadken.
> 
> 3 teenage metallers gulty of looking different, imprisoned for life for the murder of three 8 year olds.


 
murder and rape wasnt it?


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## Proper Tidy (Aug 21, 2010)

Rutita1 said:


> Just to be clear I regularly check 4od and bbciplayer...I have pretty much seen all I want to on them at present... although I see The Shock Doctrine is available again now (it wasn't for a while) so might cram that in tonight.
> 
> Have watched _Starsuckers_ and _we live in public_so far today
> 
> So many more suggestions on this thread, I love it.


 
Ooops. I only discovered 4OD fairly recently so I'm still in the evangelical 'there's fucking loads of there' phase.


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## Lakina (Aug 22, 2010)

sounds great i'll get the beers in


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 22, 2010)

Other sites that I use:

http://www.watch-documentaries-online.com/

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/

http://www.archive.org/details/movies

http://freedocumentaries.org/

http://www.britishpathe.com/

http://documentaryheaven.com/

http://www.iwatchdocumentaries.com/

http://www.documentary-film.net/

http://freeonlinedocumentary.com/

http://www.documentarywire.com/

http://www.documentarytube.com/

http://www.documentary24.com/


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## Disjecta Membra (Aug 22, 2010)

Thats quite a list rutita1, cheers


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## friedaweed (Aug 22, 2010)

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/ get's me off to sleep


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## Citizen66 (Aug 22, 2010)

Documentaries, not fairy stories.


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## Rosco (Aug 22, 2010)

Chip Barm said:


> Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost: Revelations as recommended elsewhere by Sadken.
> 
> 3 teenage metallers gulty of looking different, imprisoned for life for the murder of three 8 year olds.


 


Blimey just watched both of those and A cry for innocence, shocking and sad stuff on both sides. Three little boys brutally murdered and three innocent teenagers set up with absolutely no evidence whatsoever and locked up since 1993 til now, one on death row  

linky here to cry for innocence


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## AndyFilo (Aug 22, 2010)

This is really good:


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## johnnyjonjonjo (Aug 23, 2010)

I liked this documentary about writer and poet Piri Thomas. It's about his life growing up in a New York slum as a Puerto Rican in the 30's(?), his poetry and what bought him to it.


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## Treacle Toes (Aug 31, 2010)

Brubricker said:


> Right America: Feeling Wronged


 
Watched this last night....some of the comments left me speechless tbh.


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## psycherelic (Oct 25, 2010)

*Good documentaries*

I'm looking for recommendations for good documentaries, they don't have to be old, just good. Ones which don't ignore facts in an attempt to make an exciting story or to include lots of exciting computer graphics. Not boring ones, just ones that let the facts tell a good story and leave you feeling like you've learned something.

I'm most interested in history documentaries, but science, nature and anything else is also good. If at all possible torrent links where they can be found would be nice too.

I'll get us started with Terry Jones's brilliantly informative and entertaining Medieval Lives series
http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/90071797/Medieval+lives+terry+jones?tab=summary

Over to you!


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## Reno (Oct 25, 2010)

Some good recommendations here:

http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/th...ary-recommendations...?highlight=documentries


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## marty21 (Oct 25, 2010)

I've just ordered - Ken Burns - The American Civil War - saw it years ago on the telly and thought it was excellent, just read a history of the civil war and want to see the Ken Burns thing again.


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## spawnofsatan (Oct 25, 2010)

Anvil! The story of Anvil

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1157605/

Great film, even if you're not a fan of the genre.


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## psycherelic (Oct 25, 2010)

Reno said:


> Some good recommendations here:
> 
> http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/th...ary-recommendations...?highlight=documentries


 
Oh whoops, sorry I did a cursory search but somehow missed that thread, could a kindly mod merge this pointlessly duplicated thread into that one please?


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## Bakunin (Oct 28, 2010)

If you're interested in motor racing, then may I recommend 'The Deadliest Crash'? It's a fairly recent documentary about the 1955 Le Mans disaster, which is still the single worst accident in motor racing history:

http://www.veoh.com/search/videos/q/the+deadliest+crash#watch=v20149145HBzF6nRf


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## Cheesypoof (Oct 28, 2010)

Good thread! was gonna do the same one myself


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## 1927 (Oct 28, 2010)

If anyone can help I am trying to track down a series called American Eats, sometimes called What America eats. It was shown oin History Channel about 4 years ago and I caught a few on holiday, but can't find it anywhere. Any help would be much appreciated.


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## Sir Belchalot (Oct 29, 2010)

spawnofsatan said:


> Anvil! The story of Anvil
> 
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1157605/
> 
> Great film, even if you're not a fan of the genre.



On BBC4 tonight, well worth a look at even if you hate metal.


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## Reno (Oct 29, 2010)

Crazy Love is worth checking out. This was a big news story in the 60s in the US and its one of those "life is stranger than fiction" documentaries, which sounds like a sleazy film noir.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790706/

Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy hires thugs to throw acid in her face disfiguring and blinding her permanently. Boy marries girl and they live happily ever after. Kind of.


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## Tooter (Apr 11, 2012)

Bump! Wierd one! I need more good things to watch! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLCDD19C0B83DEEF3B&feature=player_embedded&v=h93Q_RruQJY


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## Part 2 (Apr 11, 2012)

I'm looking for a couple of Cutting Edge documentaries The Complainers and Rogue Males. They're the ones that got Channel 4 into trouble because they were set up.Both were set in or around Salford.

Another I'm looking for is the one in this Bob Mills clip "My sons a grass"



Bot of a long shot but anyone know where I might find these? I've tried thebox.bz


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## A. Spies (May 10, 2012)

About train graffiti in Berlin,the best most honest, warts and all graffiti documentary I've seen and really well produced. The interviews are good because despite being on the macho side the writers explain themselves well and the attractions of it.


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## blossie33 (May 10, 2012)

That looks really good but it's difficult for me to watch at work and I don't have the internet at home.
Was just looking on Amazon to see if there's a DVD but it doesn't look like it


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## 8115 (May 10, 2012)

Afghan Star and Sound it out are both completely brilliant. I also liked how much does your building weigh, Mr Foster.

If you like environmental type documentaries (I do), these are ok

Food, Inc
No Impact Man
Gasland
The End of the Line


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## Fez909 (May 10, 2012)

I've been looking for the Solitary Life Of Cranes for a bit....anyone point me to it?  I've heard it's great.


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## Jeff Robinson (May 19, 2012)

Brutal.


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## DaveCinzano (May 19, 2012)

Chip Barm said:


> Another I'm looking for is the one in this Bob Mills clip "My sons a grass"
> 
> 
> 
> Bot of a long shot but anyone know where I might find these? I've tried thebox.bz




That chap died this year didn't he? Someone on the AFA or IWCA threads would likely have a copy.


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## Part 2 (May 19, 2012)

He did yes. When I made that post I honestly thought it was another fake.


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## danny la rouge (Feb 10, 2014)

butchersapron said:


> Ways of Seeing


I was looking for this on DVD, but found out that "copyright restrictions on the hundreds of paintings and advertising images quoted in Ways of Seeing have made it impossible to release the series on DVD" (FT.com).

The book is a classic, but I wanted to give the DVD to someone.  It was shown on BBC2 in 2008, and there's a ghost of it on iPlayer saying it's unavailable.  

All I could find was this:



If anyone hears of it being shown on TV again, give me a nudge will you?  Cheers.


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## danny la rouge (Feb 11, 2014)

While I'm here I may as well say that I recently watched a David Attenborough 80s series called First Eden.  It's about the Mediterranean.  Starts with how the Mediterranean basin is created and its subsequent dessication. Then, 5 and a half million years ago, it is re-flooded by the Atlantic.  

It's subtitled "the Mediterranean World and Man", and so, unusually for Attenborough, it has a lot of social science in it.  History, anthropology, culture and so on.  Some great stuff about how bird migration from Africa to Europe began.  Domestication of animals.  The beginnings of agriculture.  Human impact on environment.  As well as stuff about prehistoric cave and cliff art, Ancient Mediterranean cultures, Minoans, Pharonic Egypt, Rome, the spread of Islam.  And then the impact of the 20th Century, with species travelling along the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean.  And so on.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.


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## albionism (Feb 11, 2014)

The Outer Edges by Karl Hyde from Underworld was an interesting 
watch. A nicely meditative journey through the edgelands of Essex
with a cast of interesting characters being interviewed along the way.


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## Ming (Feb 11, 2014)

The Act of Killing or Inside Job probably. But you might have heard of those. Frontline (a PBS documentary show) is brillliant. Here's an example.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/to-catch-a-trader/

Here's the main online video page: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/view/


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## AmateurAgitator (Apr 11, 2020)

The Clash (2014)


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## weltweit (Apr 11, 2020)

Our World
Wuhan: Life under Lockdown








						BBC News Channel - Our World, Wuhan: Life under Lockdown
					

Coronavirus is now spreading around the world as governments scramble to contain it.




					www.bbc.co.uk


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## JuanTwoThree (Nov 6, 2020)

i found this from its being recommended on Language Log here





__





						Language Log » The dissemination of iron and the spread of languages
					





					languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu
				




and here's the link









						The Iron Road - NHK Documentary | NHK WORLD-JAPAN On Demand
					

Before the Silk Road, another route carried iron eastward from Western Asia to Japan. Recent discoveries along its path are shedding light on ancient civilizations once shrouded in mystery. With special access to archeological sites, and featuring exquisite, highly sophisticated artifacts, this...




					www3.nhk.or.jp
				




very good with some beautiful scenery and artifacts and a fascinating subject matter


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## blossie33 (Nov 6, 2020)

Thanks - that was great, just watched it


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## [62] (Nov 10, 2020)

Back on the i-player. It helps that Godspeed You! Black Emperor provide much of the music and I'm a bit of a Germanophile, but just brilliant. We've watched it multiple times.









						BBC Two - The Secret Life of the Berlin Wall
					

Documentary telling the story of the Berlin Wall and its impact on Berliners' lives.




					www.bbc.co.uk


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## trabuquera (Nov 11, 2020)

JuanTwoThree said:


> The Iron Road - NHK Documentary | NHK WORLD-JAPAN On Demand
> 
> 
> Before the Silk Road, another route carried iron eastward from Western Asia to Japan. Recent discoveries along its path are shedding light on ancient civilizations once shrouded in mystery. With special access to archeological sites, and featuring exquisite, highly sophisticated artifacts, this...
> ...



True and thank you for posting this - it's fascinating stuff . But fuck me NHK's documentary-making style is poor. Slowest .... voice ... over .... EVER.... and some of the script lines were properly WTF ... "the Scythians were known for their big eyes and thick lips, as seen in this panel" !?!?!   

Very noticeable how they do the same thing (it's annoying in UK TV too) of basing a whole programme around the unique researches of one person who happens to be from Japan (or in UK documentaries' case from Britain), painting them as the 'leading expert in the field' when in fact they're just there to link the pictures together. And the real experts/excavators just have to stand about pointing at things occasionally when they're asked


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## blossie33 (Nov 11, 2020)

Yes, I know what you mean    I've watched some of their short docs on FB too.


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## AnnO'Neemus (May 14, 2021)

Watched Salt Beef & Rye last night on that Rokuten channel on my smart TV, in the free selection. 

It's about Brick Lane, mentions Huguenots, Jack the Ripper, Jewish immigration, Cable Street riot, the Kray Twins and one of their business associates, how the changing face of the area is reflected in what was a church, established by (were the Huguenots Catholic or Protestant?), turned methodist, then synagogue, now a mosque, Bangladeshi immigration and a racist murder, touching on the 'curry capital of Europe' and the continuation of the textiles trade, and more recently art and gentrification. And of course Beigel Bake. 

It's not all dry documentary with historians pontificating, it's mostly told from a contemporary perspective, featuring local residents, including some colourful characters, with interesting insights, some poignant memories and perceptive political points, but overall a sense of communities coming and going, and the current community, feeling increasingly marginalised and priced out and edged out.

I've just looked it up and it turns out it's on Amazon Prime too.

It's only 48 minutes, so not a huge commitment, just a nice slice of East End life. 

(I first went to Beigel Bake in the 1990s with a Jewish boyfriend, but lived in Hackney around a decade ago and sometimes went to Brick Lane, Truman Brewery, Rich Mix round the corner, etc.)

Am now salivating at the thought of a salt beef beigel.





__





						Watch Salt Beef & Rye | Prime Video
					

This vibrant documentary is inspired by the colourful characters who frequent the world famous Brick Lane. London's reputation as the cultural hub of the world can be attributed in part to its deep-rooted history and diverse communities. Salt Beef & Rye takes audiences on a tour through one of...



					www.amazon.com


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## not-bono-ever (May 14, 2021)

Cold Case Hammarskjöld - Wikipedia
					






					en.m.wikipedia.org
				



.  

this blurs evidence and maybe fantasy but is well worth a watch


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## AnnO'Neemus (May 14, 2021)

not-bono-ever said:


> Cold Case Hammarskjöld - Wikipedia
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Honestly, in around 2010, I was doing some (UK desk-based) journalism research about mining, gems/minerals, sustainability, etc., was reading some stuff about Angola, went down an internet rabbit hole, reading about the conflict, the various factions and players. And came across mention of peace negotiations and Hammarskjöld's untimely demise. 

And then it occurred to me, what if Lockerbie wasn't a random act of terrorism, what if it had been an assassination?

And then I started thinking it would be a great premise for a book, or a film, an international political action thriller, where the investigation of what looks like and is assumed to be an act of terrorism about one thing, turns out to be a political assassination for other reasons. 

I was actually thinking about writing a screenplay, a fictional account, loosely based on that scenario, even enquired about going on a short screenwriting course to develop the idea, but unfortunately the course was already full, no spare places, so I parked the idea. Then life took me in other directions and I completely forgot about it.

And then, fast forward a few years, and fuck me, a friend shared an article about that documentary, basically putting forward the hypothesis that I'd vaguely wondered about several years previously. And I said "I knew it!" 

Straight up. 

Kicking myself I didn't write a book or a screenplay now.


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## not-bono-ever (May 14, 2021)

AnnO'Neemus said:


> Honestly, in around 2010, I was doing some (UK desk-based) journalism research about mining, gems/minerals, sustainability, etc., was reading some stuff about Angola, went down an internet rabbit hole, reading about the conflict, the various factions and players. And came across mention of peace negotiations and Hammarskjöld's untimely demise.
> 
> And then it occurred to me, what if Lockerbie wasn't a random act of terrorism, what if it had been an assassination?
> 
> ...












						BBC Four - Storyville, Murder in the Bush: Cold Case Hammarskjöld
					

A search for the truth behind the plane crash that killed a UN secretary-general in 1961.




					www.bbc.co.uk


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## AnnO'Neemus (May 15, 2021)

not-bono-ever said:


> BBC Four - Storyville, Murder in the Bush: Cold Case Hammarskjöld
> 
> 
> A search for the truth behind the plane crash that killed a UN secretary-general in 1961.
> ...


Cheers, I'll check it out.


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## Yuwipi Woman (May 17, 2021)

This is a film about David Wojnarowicz, an artist in NY during the AIDS crisis   He was part of the SOHO scene in the 80s and 90s and died of AIDs in the early 90s.  Its pretty intense in places so its not for the faint of heart.









						Wojnarowicz
					

Filmmaker Chris McKim examines the life and work of artist, writer, photographer and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz.




					www.rottentomatoes.com


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