Perhaps there is no architectural feature more distinctly Angeleno than a strip mall. The city is full of them with their busy facades and bright neon signage. Their wonderfully eclectic, multi-purpose tenants give shape and home to the multitudes of ethnic communities that make up LA’s diverse population. Trois Mec and Petit Trois can be found side-by-side in a Hollywood strip mall, nestled between a dry cleaners and a Yum Yum donut. Ludo’s restaurants and the dishes he creates for them embody the cultural mash-up and high/low flair that is the strip mall philosophy.
The filmmakers challenge former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers. Anwar Congo and his friends have been dancing their way through musical numbers, twisting arms in film noir gangster scenes, and galloping across prairies as yodeling cowboys. Their foray into filmmaking is being celebrated in the media and debated on television, even though Anwar Congo and his friends are mass murderers. Medan, Indonesia. When the government of Indonesia was overthrown by the military in 1965, Anwar and his friends were promoted from small-time gangsters who sold movie theatre tickets on the black market to death squad leaders. They helped the army kill more than one million alleged communists, ethnic Chinese, and intellectuals in less than a year. As the executioner for the most notorious death squad in his city, Anwar himself killed hundreds of people with his own hands. The Act of Killing is about killers who have won, and the sort of society they have built. Unlike ageing Nazis or Rwandan génocidaires, Anwar and his friends have not been forced by history to admit they participated in crimes against humanity. Instead, they have written their own triumphant history, becoming role models for millions of young paramilitaries. The Act of Killing is a journey into the memories and imaginations of the perpetrators, offering insight into the minds of mass killers. And The Act of Killing is a nightmarish vision of a frighteningly banal culture of impunity in which killers can joke about crimes against humanity on television chat shows, and celebrate moral disaster with the ease and grace of a soft shoe dance number.
Snowboarding as you've never seen it, unless you are one of the handful of daredevils willing to risk life and limb for the glory revealed here. Jaw dropping footage with a pulse-pounding soundtrack, shot in some of the most rugged, remote and beautiful snow country on the planet. "The Art of Flight" gives iconic snowboarder Travis Rice and friends the opportunity to redefine what is possible in the mountains. Experience the highs, as new tricks are landed and new zones opened, alongside the lows, where avalanches, accidents, and wrong-turns strike. Directed by Curt Morgan ad converted by Venture 3D, one of Hollywood's leading 3D conversion companies, the feature combines meaningful storytelling and sport progressing action with some of the most captivating 3D visuals to date. The film was shot using state of the art equipment and technologies, much of which was custom designed for this project. The film transcends snowboarding with an inspirational message about adventure and exploration.
Vintage footage from the Vietnam war is presented along with narration from both war veterans and Hollywood voice talent. The documentary follows key events and their impact on both the war effort and the American public. The Beginning: The first episode looks at the early months of the Vietnam war from the escalation following the Gulf of Tonkin incident to the grim fighting of the Battle of Ia Drang where a few hundred American soldiers are pinned down by three battalions of North Vietnamese infantry. Using superior air power and reinforcements, the Americans fight the North Vietnamese to a draw.
Cursed Films is a five part documentary series which explores the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood's notoriously cursed horror film productions. Filmmaker Jay Cheel explores the facts, myths and mysterious surrounding iconic films and franchises whose casts and crews have been struck by misfortune and tragedy. The release of The Exorcist was surrounded by controversy, as reports of fainting theatre-goers and mysterious on-set accidents raised questions as to whether or not the film itself was evil.
The wartime contributions of five prominent Hollywood film directors during World War II are profiled. The documentary focuses on five directors – John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens – whose war-related works are analysed by modern filmmakers, respectively Paul Greengrass, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, and Lawrence Kasdan. In the first episode, John Ford's The Battle of Midway was approved directly by President Franklin D. Roosevelt while Frank Capra fights to get Why We Fight made.
Trois Mec and Petit Trois can be found side-by-side in a Hollywood strip mall, nestled between a dry cleaners and a Yum Yum donut. Ludo’s restaurants and the dishes he creates for them embody the cultural mash-up and high/low flair that is the strip mall philosophy.