The third time was the charm. Twice turned down by "Menudo" for being too short, Ricky Martin (born Enrique Martin Morales) joined the boy band at the age of 12 and emerged as a teen heartthrob. Five years later, he was on his own, singing in 5 languages, propelling Latin pop to mainstream music. There was Mexican theater, a TV show, and then an American soap opera and sitcom along the way. The child who began as a choir altar boy and sang fast food TV ads in Puerto Rico would transcend his "Livin' La Vida Loca" lyrics and reveal his true self as a gay man. A six-year marriage, 4 children by surrogacy, and divorce would follow. Some may call it "A Loco Life."
19 Dec 2018
Exploring the pre-fame years of the celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and how New York City, its people, and tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and '80s shaped his vision.
25 Nov 2014
A documentary about the work and personality of artist David Hockney.
01 Dec 2017
A documentary about Academy Award-winning costume designer Cecil Beaton. A respected photographer, artist, and set designer, Beaton was best known for designing on award-winning films such as 'Gigi' (1958) and 'My Fair Lady' (1964). The film features archive footage and interviews with a number of models, artists, and filmmakers who worked closely with Beaton during his illustrious career.
31 May 2024
An intimate look at pioneering artist George Platt Lynes, who took radically explicit photographs of the male nude. The documentary reveals Lynes’ gifted eye for the male form, his long-term friendships with Gertrude Stein and Alfred Kinsey, and his lasting influence as one of the first openly gay American artists.
01 Jan 1999
Released in 1999, The Devil's Picturebook is a stunning collection of card material that was years ahead of its time. The card magic that Derren performs and teaches offers a rare glimpse into how he thinks about his magic, and how he constructs routines. Then, as now, the audience's emotions are always Derren's primary focus. Over the course of three hours, The Devil's Picturebook gives the audience a detailed insight into this rare Derren Brown material. The first half explains in detail some classic card routines from his early career as a conjurer, all of which rely on sleight of hand, misdirection, and audience management. The second half features his incredible, pioneering psychological card routines and shows a distinct move towards the mentalism for which he is now known.
25 May 2018
Built upon a 14 hour interview, McKellen: Playing the Part is a unique journey through the key landmarks of McKellen's life, from early childhood into a demanding career that placed him in the public eye for the best part of his lifetime. Using an abundance of photography from McKellen's private albums and cinematically reconstructed scenes, a raw talent shines through in the intensity, variety and devotion to that moment in the light.
18 Mar 2015
DANNY SAYS is a documentary unveiling the amazing journey of Danny Fields. Fields has played a pivotal role in music and culture with seminal acts including: the Doors, the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, MC5, Nico, the Ramones and beyond.
19 Nov 2021
In his time of greatest splendor, the singer Miguel 'Bambino' Vargas Jiménez (1940-99) was the last frontier of flamenco, an immense musical genre that he developed and brought closer to large audiences: an artist of artists, the idol of the roadside bars, whose inimitable style, scenic magnetism and heartbreaking personality made of his figure a myth, a king without a kingdom, a giant of the popular music of the 20th century.
22 Aug 2019
Film biography dwelling on the hectic artistic life of António Variações, a famous Portuguese pop rock singer from the 80s, who died from AIDS-related complications in 1984.
16 May 2008
"GENERAL IDEA: Art, AIDS and the fin de siècle is a humorous, informative and ultimately poignant documentary about General Idea. Formed in 1969, they produced art that targeted and mimicked media, consumerism and celebrity, creating a revolutionary new spirit of art making. Interviews with AA Bronson, the sole survivor of the trio, lends personal relevancy to this story of art and sexual politics. GENERAL IDEA: Art, AIDS and the fin de siècle is a tale of love, fame, overwhelming loss and, ultimately, renewal." -AGO.net
30 Apr 2015
A film portrait of the influential Bavarian actor, director, and screenwriter who publicly confessed his homosexuality, which chronologically covers all the important stages from Action-Theater to the director's early death, supplemented with anecdotes.
16 Mar 2017
Skin diving with Miss Rosewood. Take a plunge into the dark side of uber-sophisticated New York with performance artist, Jon Cory, performing as Miss Rosewood. She strips to full she-male nudity and shares her passion for her art and shows you just how far she's willing to go to blow your mind. Raw. Intense, and without filters, you'll explore her explicit universe from the safe distance of your plush theatre seat.
23 Jan 1999
Traces the Beats from Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's meeting in 1944 at Columbia University to the deaths of Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs in 1997. Three actors provide dramatic interpretations of the work of these three writers, and the film chronicles their friendships, their arrival into American consciousness, their travels, frequent parodies, Kerouac's death, and Ginsberg's politicization. Their movement connects with bebop, John Cage's music, abstract expressionism, and living theater. In recent interviews, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Kesey, Ferlinghetti, Mailer, Jerry Garcia, Tom Hayden, Gary Snyder, Ed Sanders, and others measure the Beats' meaning and impact.
01 Jan 1970
Renowned English painter, David Hockney, takes us on a visual journey as he shares with us his treasured photo diaries. Consisting of polaroids Hockney has been collecting since 1967, the diaries act as both a tribute and an artist's notebook, often times including images the painter used for his large canvas works. A fine example of Hockney's pictorial inspiration are several photographs of castles he took during a boat trip down the Rhine that were later adapted for a suite of etchings to accompany six Grimm's fairy tales. Seeing his projects long before the work begins, Hockney used his camera to slow time and capture images that would go on to boast his unique style of realism. In David Hockney's Diaries the artist is seen at work on a large canvas of his friends Celia and Ossie Clark and their cat Percy, commissioned by the Tate Gallery.
27 Aug 2002
A short documentary about the Disco legend Sylvester. Sylvester James began as a child gospel singer and sashayed past barriers of race and sexual identity to become the definitive anthemist of disco and dance soul. With a vibrant falsetto and genderbending persona, he redefined what it means - on stage and in life - to be "mighty real." This documentary will restore to the spotlight a pivotal performer whose music defined an era and whose influence is still felt by dozens of current vocalists.
18 Jun 2021
The parallel lives of writer Truman Capote (1924-84) and playwright Tennessee Williams (1911-83): two friends, two geniuses who, while creating sublime works, were haunted by the ghosts of the past, the shadow of constant doubt, the demon of addictions and the blinding, deceptive glare of success.
15 Sep 2023
An account of the life and work of the charismatic Spanish writer Terenci Moix (1942-2003).
26 Nov 2016
The last years of Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), rock legend and frontman of Queen, a band that conquered the world of music in the seventies and eighties: what was his lifestyle and the path that led him to a tragic death due to AIDS when he was only 46 years old.
20 Nov 2024
A film that charts the artistic and personal relationship between two era-defining artists, Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (At the Drive-In/The Mars Volta), told almost entirely through hundreds of hours of self-shot footage filmed by Omar over the last 40 years.
14 Feb 2021
Through letters, diaries and personal testimonies, an account of the complexity and variety of experiences of LGBT Italians during the Fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini (1922-43); intimate words that contrast with the lyrics of popular songs and the propaganda of the time, obsessed with extolling the myths of virility, femininity and motherhood and constrained by sexual repression.