Everyone knows Robin Williams, Dana Carvey and Paula Poundstone. This is the story about their friends, the other jokers in the room, the ones who stayed in San Francisco, worked the clubs and rode a comedy movement right up until the comedy bubble burst in 1992. In the 1980s, the comedy scene in San Francisco … Continue reading 3 Still Standing →
Desert Migration focuses on gay men living long-term with HIV who have sought out an oasis in Southern California’s Palm Springs, where both their homosexuality and health condition is not just tolerated, but understood. They represent a huge number of people who migrated to this desert community burdened with memories of watching their friends die, … Continue reading Desert Migration →
San Francisco artist Frank Wong is a 3-D memorialist. He has spent the last four decades crating his memories in miniature form, pulling inspiration from his life, family and city. His dioramas — each not much larger than a shoebox —reflect a life he once knew and encapsulate monuments of Chinatown’s past with vibrant romantic … Continue reading Forever, Chinatown →
Screaming Queens introduces viewers to a diverse cast of former prostitutes, drag entertainers, police officers, ministers and neighborhood activists, all of whom played a part in the events leading up to San Francisco's Compton's Cafeteria riot of 1966.
Bill Babbitt supported the death penalty until it came knocking at his door. In this richly animated personal narrative, one man makes a decision to stand by his brother in the face of war, crime and capital punishment.
Oakland has been rated a top travel destination ... and one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. Once a month, those two realities meet at First Friday, an immersive art and community experience.
The origins and history of lowriding in San Diego and the borderlands are chronicled in Everything Comes from the Streets, including the creative men and women who pioneered and shaped the unique car customizing tradition among Chicano and Mexican communities.
Plagues and Pleasures explores the economic, political and environmental issues that face the Salton Sea, a one-time vacation destination for the rich and famous now occupied by an eccentric and individualistic populace.
At once quirky and colorful, heartbreaking and redemptive, Gumby Dharma takes us on a journey through the life and career of spiritual seeker Art Clokey, whose famous characters, Gumby and Pokey, and Davy and Goliath, echoed the spiritual path of their creator.
Sons of a Gun tells the story of Lance, Craig and Ubaldo, who live with schizophrenia. They also live with Larry, their troubled alcoholic caregiver. Though not related by blood, this unlikely family has been together for 20 years.
Stand depicts South LA residents using krump dancing to take a stand and is part of the episode Truly CA Shorts: State of Discovery, which features five short films exploring the California experience.
By the 1960s, twins George and Mike Kuchar were shaping the underground film scene alongside Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger. It Came from Kuchar interweaves the brother's lives, their admirers and a 'greatest hits' of Kuchar clips into a hilarious and moving tale.
View Brian Favorite's short film, Heklina, which profiles the hostess of Trannyshack, San Francisco's longest running, current drag show.
Sean Penn narrates Witch Hunt, a startling indictment of the American justice system. Dozens of innocent, working class parents in Bakersfield, California are wrongly convicted of child molestation as a result of severe misconduct and "cowboy law enforcement" perpetuated under the watch of Kern County's District Attorney in the 1980s.