Vowellet - An Essay by Sarah Vowell

After being estranged from his family, we observe a young man over four seasons and from far away as he navigates his solitude – all the while attempting to reconnect with his mother.

Big Papi was at his best when it mattered, heralded as the greatest playoff clutch hitter of all-time. Filmed over the course of just six weeks, David Ortiz: Legend Of The Fall documents the three time world champion's recent induction in the baseball Hall of Fame – capturing the lead-up to this momentous event, the actual ceremony and the afterglow of his enshrinement.

”I haven’t been in love with any of the men I have been with. I don’t know what love is.” A 66-year-old woman examines her life. We see her memories take shape through bizarre experiences at night clubs and during hotel nights spent with strangers. Those have not provided any comfort or safety for her. Rag dolls by artist Pauliina Turakka Purhonen portray the woman at the ages of 3, 5, and 60.

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

In 2020, unable to travel, Ico Costa left a small camera with Ailucha and Domy, two young Mozambicans from the city of Inhambane, and asked them to film their daily lives. The result: working, playing, walking, hanging around, smoking, listening to music, singing, dancing, feeling desire – being teenagers.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, one veteran dies by suicide in America every 80 minutes. While only 1% of Americans has served in the military, former service members account for 20% of all suicides in the U.S. Based in Canandaigua, NY and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Veterans Crisis Line receives more than 22,000 calls each month from veterans of all conflicts who are struggling or contemplating suicide. This timely documentary spotlights the traumas endured by America’s veterans, as seen through the work of the hotline’s trained responders. CRISIS HOTLINE captures extremely private moments, where the professionals, many of whom are themselves veterans or veterans’ spouses, can often interrupt the thoughts and plans of suicidal callers to steer them out of crisis.

No clothes. No apologies. This film marks artist Spencer Tunick's third 'Naked' documentary which feature photo shoots that create art from the naked bodies of men and women. In this shoot, 85 HIV-positive men and women gather in a downtown Manhattan bar where they bare it all for Tunick's camera, creating an unsentimental look at life with AIDS in America today.

A group of Macedonian women are shown hard at work.

Academy Award winning film maker Hilary Harris’ epic vision of New York City shot over 15 years [1959-74] during which time Mr. Harris pioneered and contemporized time-lapse film making techniques to achieve this unique experiential view of the world we inhabit: chaos and confusion seem to multiply in every corner of the Big Apple. Yet there seems to be some order in all that chaotic and relentless system and things seem to work just fine. The same can be said about the human body. Director Hilary Harris proves with this short documentary that cities and organisms are all-alike.

A film made by Victress Hitchcock and Ava Hamilton in 1989 on the Wind River Reservation for Wyoming Public Television.