"It is very difficult for a writer of my generation, if he is honest, to pretend indifference to the work of Somerset Maugham," wrote Gore Vidal. "He was always so entirely there." Originally published in 1915, Of Human Bondage is a potent expression of the power of sexual obsession and of modern man's yearning for freedom. This classic bildungsroman tells the story of Philip Carey, a sensitive boy born with a clubfoot who is orphaned and...

Seductive, fearless, and outrageous, Marina Abramovic has been redefining what art is for nearly forty years. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her physical and mental limits––and at times risking her life in the process––she creates performances that challenge, shock, and move us. Through her and with her, boundaries are crossed, consciousness expanded, and art as we know it is reborn. She is, quite simply, one of the...

After assembling mock assault rifles out of everyday found objects, sculptor David Hess decides to turn them into an experimental public art installation to explore America’s obsession with guns. The fruits of that mission comprise the story of Gun Show, a fascinating and deeply moving documentary that steers clear of advocating a position and instead invites meaningful dialogue about the cultural power of guns. Beginning in Hess’s sculpture studio,...

Sister filmmakers, Julie Simone and Vicki Vlasic return to their Appalachian roots to film at the world's oldest Fiddler's Convention. With multiple generations jamming together, Fiddlin' is a love-letter to American roots and the uplifting power of music. Audience Favorite at the **Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival**. *"[A]n undeniably heartfelt if overlong affair, especially for the uninitiated." - Michael Rechtshaffen, **Los Angeles Times***...

IT'S BAD FOR YA, Carlin's Emmy-nominated 14th and final HBO special from March of 2008 features Carlin's noted irreverent and unapologetic observations on topics ranging from death, religion, bureaucracy, patriotism, overprotected children and big business to the pungent examinations of modern language and the decrepit state of the American culture. Carlin once again comes up with an hour of brand new material that not only makes you laugh, but makes...

The proudly erotic drawings of artist Touko Laaksonen, known to the world as Tom of Finland, shaped the fantasies of a generation of gay men, influencing art and fashion before crossing over into the wider cultural consciousness. But who was the man behind the leather? Dome Karukoski's stirring biopic follows his life from the trenches of WWII and repressive Finnish society of the 1950s through his struggle to get his work published in California,...

Since 1946, Lucien Mouchet has been making small-scale reproductions of carousels and fairground scenes that existed in the past or are still in operation today. A machinist by trade, Mouchet retired nearly two decades ago, but his obsession with precision and detail has continued. To date, he has created 48 carousels; each is a functioning masterpiece that is constructed to be exactly 1/20 scale of the original. Mouchet works from photographs and...

Gregory Crewdson is a leading figure in a major movement in photography, one that favors fantasy over realism and is often inspired by the cinema. Crewdson is interested in the psychology underlying the American suburban experience and finds photography to be the ideal medium to create the tense and often eerie scenes he envisions. His photographs emphasize the human condition; the melancholic nature of life in the suburbs and the alienation between...

'Seeing Red' is the latest work from veteran avant-garde filmmaker Su Friedrich. In this, one of her most deeply personal films to date, Friedrich takes a look back at her evolution both as a woman and as an artist, tackling her own insecurities via several on-camera diary entries. While 'Seeing Red' is a film about the existential crises of the individual, it is also a film about what unites all humanity and what unites humanity with all the matter...

Described by Picasso and Matisse as “the father of us all” Paul Cézanne is considered one of the greatest artists of all time. During his life Cézanne painted almost a thousand works, two hundred of which were portraits. Despite this proliferation he remains the least well known of the impressionists and perhaps the most misunderstood. Cézanne - Portraits of a Life is based on a ‘never-to-be-repeated’ exhibition from the National Portrait...