This film traces the evolution of Animation from the earliest feature, Winsor McCay's Gertie the Dinosaur, and the genius of Walt Disney to the CGI megahits of studios like Pixar in Animation's Second Golden Age.

While one half of Hollywood is the glitz and glamor of the studios, the other half is the Indie. This film examines the independent auteur, the author of the avant-garde literature of modern American film.

Hollywood has always attracted foreign directors with superb cinematic dreams, including visionaries such as Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock and Ang Lee. This film describes the impact of immigrant filmmakers not only on American cinema, but on the story of America, showing Americans who they are from the outsider's perspective.

In the 1970s Hollywood escaped slow financial ruin with the introduction of the summer Blockbuster. This film shows how this idea not only redefined Hollywood, it established one of the cinema's greatest financial marvels - the franchise.

Stars of the 40s and 50s-were they cast for their mutual affinities or for their commercial appeal? If and when they were re-starred years later, did the magic still work, did sparks still fly? The movie business-a machine that manufactured romance and desire at the same time that it documented the process of aging. A meditation on youth and beauty, aging, and box office.

A spirited look at the first 21 years of writer/director Richard Linklater and his remarkable career in film, featuring interviews with his collaborators: Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Billy Bob Thornton, Keanu Reeves, Jack Black & more.

The process of documenting ordinary or exceptional events in such a way that they tell a compelling story is the skill set that documentary filmmakers bring to moviemaking. This film describes the genre of short documentaries and experimental films from the 20's and 30's blossomed into the megahit documentary features of the 21st Century.

A documentary film starring TV writer and producer Dan Harmon (Community, Rick and Morty) as he takes his popular podcast of the same name on a calamitous cross-country tour meeting fans and playing Dungeons and Dragons along the way.. Much more than a comedy-tour documentary, the film uncovers Harmon's public persona to reveal his complex character and his equally complex personal relationships. Featuring interviews with legendary comedians Jack Black, John Oliver, Sarah Silverman and many more.. Nominated for the Documentary Spotlight Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival.. "As much a portrait of a community as of its brilliant, de facto mayor, Harmontown is a stirring tribute to the restorative power of finding your people." - Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle

In the 21st Century, Hollywood has retained the glitz and glamor of its past as well as its great studios. But the genius of American cinema is that it has evolved with the times. Directors have become the creative force behind films, while movies themselves, from documentaries and animation to blockbusters and insightful Indies have taken on the mantle of great literature.. THE GREAT DIRECTORS: THE MAKING OF 21st CENTURY HOLLYWOOD traces the evolution of Hollywood after the studio system failed, from the introduction of the summer blockbuster, to the thought-provoking movies of independent auteurs, to world renown immigrant directors, to the rise of mega-hit documentaries, and to the 21st Century's second Golden Age of Animation.

Debra Paget was a contract player for 20th-Century Fox, whom they groomed and coached for stardom. But she never quite caught on. Maybe the movies weren't interesting enough. Or maybe she didn't stand out from the rest of the pack. Or the studio didn't take enough care in shaping her image.. She had a ten-year run during the 1950s as an above-the-title star, but left it all at the age of 29, never to return to the screen. A reconsideration of her career and the fetishistic aftershock of some of her films. Even the memory and essence of minor stars can affect people's lives...

In this short film, Mark Rappaport begins musing on "the movies" and then quickly turns to the subject of "his movies" in this raffish introduction to his work up to the late-1970s.. Hiding behind a beard, sunglasses and a fedora, he offers fleeting insight into his means (credit cards) and methods ("a kind of mix-and-match theory of creating"). But mostly, he presents Filmclips from films few broadcast viewers have heard of -- let alone seen -- including his early features, MOZART IN LOVE, LOCAL COLOR, THE SCENIC ROUTE and IMPOSTORS.

Once a successful Syrian actor, Jihad Abdo has now arrived in Hollywood as a refugee and struggles to reinvent his life and renew his career.. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Short at the Kuwait Int'l Film Festival.