Blank City (2009), Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005), Wallowitch & Ross: This Moment (1999), The Mystery of Picasso (1956), Teenage Superstars (2017), Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), Barbara Rubin and the Exploding NY Underground (2018), Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King (1993) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Cultural Documentary movies.
Storyline: Jim Jarmusch, Debbie Harry and others discuss the No Wave and Cinema of Transgression movements that took place in New York in the late 1970s and early '80s.
Plot Keywords: independent film, documentary, experimental film, 1970s, 1980s, film history, counterculture ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Award-winning director Fatih Akin takes us on a journey through Istanbul, the city that bridges Europe and Asia, and challenges familiar notions of east and west. He looks at the vibrant musical scene which includes traditional Turkish music plus rock and hip-hop.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: music documentary, musical journey, multiculturalism, music history, documentary, music scene, art documentary ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Shortlisted for the 1999 Academy Award, this non-fiction musical follows John Wallowitch, a star of New York cabaret and partner Bertram Ross, Martha Graham's lead dancer for 20 years. Together they formed the unforgettable cabaret duo "Wallowitch and Ross." A hidden gem of queer cinema recently preserved in the Academy Archives, you'll want to return to this magical little world time and time again.
Plot Keywords: music documentary, concert film, art film, independent production, composer, musician biography, classical music ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Using a specially designed transparent 'canvas' to provide an unobstructed view, Picasso creates as the camera rolls. He begins with simple works that take shape after only a single brush stroke. He then progresses to more complex paintings, in which he repeatedly adds and removes elements, transforming the entire scene at will, until at last the work is complete.—Jean-Marc Rocher <rocher@fiberbit.net>
Plot Keywords: documentary, art, painting, creative process, french film, black and white, experimental film ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A look at the bands from the alternative pop music scene in Glasgow from the mid 80's to early 90's.
Plot Keywords: music documentary, youth culture, independent music, band history, underground music, cultural impact, music interviews ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In 1994, a group of scientists discovered a cave in Southern France perfectly preserved for over 20,000 years and containing the earliest known human paintings. Knowing the cultural significance that the Chauvet Cave holds, the French government immediately cut-off all access to it, save a few archaeologists and paleontologists. But documentary filmmaker, Werner Herzog, has been given limited access, and now we get to go inside examining beautiful artwork created by our ancient ancestors around 32,000 years ago. He asks questions to various historians and scientists about what these humans would have been like and trying to build a bridge from the past to the present.—napierslogs
Plot Keywords: documentary, france, archaeology, art history, cultural heritage, natural history, exploration ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Barbara Rubin's twenty-nine-minute experimental film 'Christmas on Earth' caused a sensation when it first screened in New York City in 1963. Its orgy scenes, double projections and overlapping images shattered artistic conventions and announced a powerful new voice in the city's underground film scene. All the more remarkable that the vision belonged to an 18-year-old girl. A virtual Zelig of the '60s, Barbara Rubin introduced Andy Warhol to the Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan to Kabbalah and bewitched Allen Ginsberg. The same unbridled creativity that inspired her to make films when women simply didn't, saw her breach yet another male domain, Orthodox Judaism, before her mysterious death at thirty-five years old. Life-long friend Jonas Mekas saved all her letters, creating a rich archive that film-maker Chuck Smith carefully sculpts into this fascinating portrait of a nearly forgotten artist. An avant-garde maverick, a rebel in a man's world, Barbara Rubin regains her rightful place in film history.
Plot Keywords: documentary, art, avant-garde, experimental film, 1960s, biography, film history ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A documentary covering the rise of extremely alternative band Half Japanese: from the early days when Jad and David Fair recorded loud music in their bedroom for distribution via mail order cassette tape, to their contemporary incarnation after David's departure for married life and Jad's increased stature among musicians and critics. Includes interviews with Jad, David, Mo Tucker of Velvet underground fame, and Penn Jillette, who produced an album of theirs.—James Meek <james@oz.net>
Plot Keywords: music documentary, independent music, japanese culture, music history, art film, music legend, independent film ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Larger than life, wild, scary and androgynous - Grace Jones plays all these parts. Yet here we also discover her as a lover, daughter, mother, sister and even grandmother, as she submits herself to our gaze and allows us to understand what constitutes her mask. The stage is where her most extreme embodiments are realised and her theatrical imagination lets loose: this is where the musical of her life is played out. The film includes Grace's unique performances singing iconic hits such as Slave To The Rhythm, Pull Up To The Bumper, as well as the more recent autobiographical tracks Williams' Bloods and Hurricane. These personal songs also link to Grace's family life, as the film takes us on a holiday road trip across Jamaica, where her family roots and the story of her traumatic childhood are uncovered. In Jamaican patois, 'Bloodlight' is the red light that illuminates when an artist is recording and 'Bami' means bread, the substance of daily life. Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami weaves together the layers of Grace Jones' public and private life, as she moves effortlessly between different facets: she is gypsy, artist and partying hedonist, warm and funny but also a fierce and tenacious businesswoman. The performance continues to move thematically though the film, with Love Is The Drug acting like an aria, bringing the film to its final and most touching scenes. This is a Grace we have not seen before, someone who reminds us of what it is to dare to be truly alive.
Plot Keywords: music documentary, biography, concert, behind the scenes, music career, stage performance, documentary ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In 1997, six African women pledged that in the first year of the new millennium they would tell their stories, stories by African women. They called their series "Mama Africa" and drew their tales from the depths of their hearts. The result is a groundbreaking initiative bringing together the incredibly fresh talents of six female directors from the vast and diverse continent of Africa.
Plot Keywords: african culture, documentary, music legend, south africa, social justice, human rights, music history ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: This documentary combines interviews and concert footage for an in-depth look at the history of No Wave, an aggressive flavor of underground rock music born in New York City in the 1980s. Subjects run the gamut from Glenn Branca and his influential all-guitar orchestra to the undulating minimalist punk of Suicide and the art-rock experimentation of Sonic Youth. The filmmakers also catch up with contemporary bands inspired by No Wave, including Liars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Gogol Bordello.
Plot Keywords: documentary, music, independent film, new york, underground culture, punk, experimental music ...
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