Stages

The coming of age story of Shéár Avory, a 17 year old trans* aspiring social justice advocate in Los Angeles who navigates housing instability and familial dependency on their journey to adulthood. Shéár depends closely on their mother for continued access to their medical transition, though struggling in her recovery from addiction, she is unable to always offer Shéár the support they need. An observational piece, the film aims to ask, what does coming into adulthood actually look like, for a young Black trans* femme in today’s America?

In the spring of 2017, film-makers Vincent Moon and Priscilla Telmon were invited to make a contemporaneous portrait of The Sai Anantam Ashram, the multi-ethnic and multi-generational spiritual community founded in 1983 by Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, which included speaking with some of the community's elders, as well as Alice's sister, singer Marilyn McLeod.

Billy Yeager is a musician, singer-songwriter, filmmaker, activist, humanitarian and an all around living breathing performance artist. He has written and recorded over 2600 songs, produced 6 films and been discovered many times by several well known artists, yet most of his works are extremely hard to find and are considered to be very valuable by serious collectors, but if it can't change the world, the artist wants no part of it. Turning his back on the music and film industries, Yeager retreats into the desert to make his films and create his music.

In the deep hills of northeast India, Christianity and pop culture have taken over the lifestyle and imagination of the Tangkhul tribes. Rewben Mashangva from Choithar travels through the remote villages of the Tangkhul Naga to talk to the old people and collect songs and instruments. The rhythms, melodies and lyrics form links to his own music, which he describes as Naga Folk Blues. In his traditional 'Haokuirat' hairstyle and western boots along with his 9 year old son Saka, he performs across India and South-East Asia spreading the message that some songs have no end.

A portrait of the Chicago Near-North nightlife scene in the mid-1960s, centering around the struggles and romantic desires of an African American singer played by long-forgotten folk sensation Willie Wright. (Courtesy Chicago Film Archives)

In the Espinhaço Mountains one winter, a group of small-town Brazilian girls are experiencing the end of their youth. Impossible romances leave marks on their bodies and the surrounding landscape. Each of the friends finds her own particular way to overcome the loneliness and to live within a tangle of uncertainty.

In JINGLE BELL ROCKS!, director Mitchell Kezin delves into the minds of some of the world’s most legendary Christmas music fanatics and hits the road to hang with his holiday heroes – including hip hop legend Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons of RUN-D.M.C., The Flaming Lips’ frontman Wayne Coyne, filmmaker John Waters, bebopper Bob Dorough, L.A. DJ and musicologist Dr. Demento, and Calypso legend The Mighty Sparrow. In his search for the twelve best, underappreciated Christmas songs ever recorded, Kezin both asks and answers the question, “Why, when Christmas rolls around, are we still stuck cozying up with Bing Crosby under a blanket of snow?”

A Big Package for You: 1999-2003 is a DVD/CD by the pop punk band Simple Plan from Montreal, Canada. The band consists of five members Pierre Bouvier, guitarist and lead vocalist, David Desrosiers, bassist and backing vocalist, Sébastien Lefebvre, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist, Chuck Comeau, drummer, and Jeff Stinco, lead guitarist.

Beautiful tribute to the composer Elton Medeiros. Together with his last partner Vidal Assis, he sings, tells stories and moves.

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.