1. Darwin's Nightmare
Africa in the sixties. The Nile perch, a ravenous predator, is introduced into Lake Victoria as a scientific experiment, causing the extinction of many native species. Its meat is exported everywhere in exchange for weapons, creating a globalized evil alliance on the lake shores. An infernal nightmare in the real world that wipes out Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
It has an average vote of 6.938 on TMDB.
2. My America... or Honk If You Love Buddha
Renee Tajima-Peña takes to the road to investigate questions about Asian-American identity.
3. Working Class
Loosely based on Charles Dicken’s book “A Tale of Two Cities”, Working Class tells the tale of underground street artists Mike Giant and Mike Maxwell and their decade long friendship that started with a tattoo. The story is told through the cities they call home by, cutting back and forth between the neighborhoods of San Francisco and San Diego, as the artists talk about their life philosophies and the work they create.
It has an average vote of 5.2 on TMDB.
4. Last Fast Ride: The Life, Love and Death of a Punk Goddess
Henry Rollins narrates Lilly Scourtis Ayers' no-holds-barred profile of volatile Bay Area punk legend Marian Anderson, whose hypnotic beauty, devil-may-care rebellion and shocking sexual exploits onstage launched her to infamy before tragically dying of a heroin overdose at the tender age of 33.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
5. Ellis Island, une histoire du rêve Américain (Ellis Island, une histoire du rêve Américain)
In 1892, Ellis Island, in New York Bay, became the main gateway to the United States for immigrants arriving increasingly from Europe. The story of immigration to the United States from 1892 to 1954, an enthralling polyphonic narrative that embraces both small and great history.
It has an average vote of 4.5 on TMDB.
6. Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary
Filmmaker Arturo Perez Torres follows in the footsteps of two friends traveling on an extraordinary and extremely dangerous journey from Central America to North America. On their journey they encounter gangs and vigilantes as well as border patrol. But these immigrants navigate real-life nightmares with uncanny calm, grace and even humor in their perilous pursuit of the a better life.
It has an average vote of 6.2 on TMDB.
7. Carol Doda Topless at the Condor
On a fateful San Francisco night in the early 60s, Condor nightclub performer Carol Doda was lowered to the stage on a floating piano, topless. Word spread quickly, setting off a wave of controversy and delight, with raids soon to follow. There was even a trial for the new celebrity. Doda’s dry wit and charisma made her an instant sensation of the night club scene: an empowered woman in full control. Or so it seemed.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
8. Unknown Territory (Neuland)
Young migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Serbia and Venezuela attend a Swiss integration class where they learn a new language and prepare for employment.
It has an average vote of 8.5 on TMDB.
9. Innocence (เด็กโต๋)
In the mountains of Northern Thailand lies a boarding school. The students come from different tribes in the area and live together with their Thai teacher, grow their own crops and cook their own meals while continuing their education. The biggest question on their mind, having spent all their lives in the mountainside, is where the rivers running down the hills end. If they pass the final exams their reward is a trip to the end of the river, to the ocean itself. The children are poor, some orphans, and most of them only speak their tribe's language, but all try their best to pass the exams to be able to take the long-awaited trip. This trip is not only a journey from the children's villages to the ocean but also a journey that symbolizes the change from childhood to adulthood.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
10. 575 Castro St.
Images set to a tape recording that slain San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk made in November 1977 to be played in case he was killed.
It has an average vote of 4 on TMDB.
11. Berlin Babylon (Berlin Babylon)
A documentary focusing on the rebuilding projects in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
It has an average vote of 7.6 on TMDB.
12. Mama General (Mama General)
A film about poverty in a rich country: father, mother, seven children have made it out of the homeless asylum. The author met the Cologne family B. for the first time in 1976. Living with debts, installments, reminders, living with the certainty that the children will not fare any differently. For more than twenty years, between dreams and fears, the camera recorded two generations' fear of failure and hunger for middle class. A unique film chronicle from the "latest economic miracle" - between 1976 and 1997.
13. Cavalcade of San Francisco
This Traveltalk series short celebrates San Francisco, past and present.
It has an average vote of 4 on TMDB.
14. The Hippie Temptation
CBS TV news special hosted by Harry Reasoner explores the way-out world of the Hippies and the Haight-Ashbury psychedelic 1960s LSD scene. Footage of LSDs users experiencing bummer trips. The Diggers, the Oracle and cool street and Golden Gate Park scenes with hippies tripping out. The Grateful Dead are interviewed and are shown performing "Dancin' in the Streets" on a flatbed truck in Golden Gate Park. The Hippie Temptation!
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
15. The Flood
The decision to move to Holland doesn't sound like a wise idea. Why move to a country that could be flooded at any moment? For the last 25 years, the political climate has shifted. The public debate on migration has become harsher, more heated, and polarized. What would have been considered right-wing xenophobia back then, is now considered mainstream. Populists simplify complex realities into good and evil, victims and perpetrators: ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Their rhetoric often consists of dehumanizing words and metaphors. One of these is ‘water’. In reality, water is not an immediate threat to the average Dutch person; but it is a huge threat to the thousands trying to reach the Netherlands. People trying to survive the Mediterranean Sea in rubber boats. Trying to survive winter on the Aegean coast in primitive tents. To them, water really is deadly.
16. Bread
Life on the breadline in the 1930s was hard enough, but times were desperate when you fell beneath it. Hunger marches organised by the National Unemployed Workers' Movement drew attention to the cause, but this left-wing collective picked up a cine-camera. The fictional story at the heart of the film is somewhat melodramatic, but the authentic surroundings give its message realism and weight.
17. Ilse
When Ilse Cruz was a toddler, she and her mom immigrated from Mexico to Chicago in search of better opportunities. Now a passionate dancer and ambitious high school student, Ilse hopes to go to college and one day visit the family she left behind. However, her undocumented status pushes these dreams further out of reach. Halfway through her senior year, Ilse learns her DACA permit qualifies her for a special document that allows her to return to Mexico. Through a life-changing trip, Ilse reconnects with her family and Mexican roots – and her legal re-entry to the U.S. fast-tracks her application process for permanent residency. Six months after she graduates from high school, Ilse obtains her green card – mere weeks before Donald Trump takes office. While Ilse’s mother rejoices in these unexpected events for her daughter, her own fate grows ever more uncertain.
18. Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Eyeballs
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Eyeballs features a brief history of the Dead Kennedys' early years up to their first UK tour, never before seen live performances, interviews with Klaus Fluoride and East Bay Ray, comments by music journalists, and insights from the key people involved with the recording of the DK's first album. Jello Biafra's 1979 run for mayor is also highlighted.
It has an average vote of 5.2 on TMDB.
19. Like It Is
This documentary on the "youth movement" of the late 1960s focuses on the hippie pot smoking/free love culture in the San Francisco Bay area.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
20. Coach Zoran and His African Tigers
Documentary following Serbian football coach Zoran Đorđević as he helps form South Sudan's first national football team.
It has an average vote of 4.2 on TMDB.
