Browse 47 movies from First Run Features
On a mission to sell his last remaining prize hog and reunite with old friends, an aging farmer abandons his foreclosed farm and journeys to Mexico. After smuggling in the hog, his estranged daughter shows up, forcing them to face their past and embark on an adventurous road trip together.
Jul 2016
A biographical portrait of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, twentieth century colossus: public intellectual, policy specialist, ambassador, and NY senator.
Oct 2018
Documentarian Ross McElwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing General William T. Sherman's infamous scorched-earth march through the Confederacy in the latter stages of the Civil War. Instead, haunted by a recent breakup with a girlfriend, McElwee ends up documenting his progress -- or lack thereof -- in starting a new relationship. His journey then becomes one of self-reflection and self-discovery rather than a historical/sociological exploration.
Sep 1986
These sexy and surreal shorts from innovative gay filmmakers feature party-loving plastic dolls, domineering moms, mad scientists, stuttering sidekicks and adorable break-dancing foreign exchange students! "Jeffrey's Hollywood Screen Trick," "Shame No More," "Pyongyang Robogirl, Soda Pop," "The Trey Billings Show" and the bonus film "Dirty Baby Does Fire Island" are among the funny, provocative, award-winning films in this collection.
Jun 2002
Joel, Dennis and Sonny are three poor, handsome brothers who support their parents by working as "macho" dancers in the lively gay club scene of Manila in this dramedy that was originally banned in the Philippines.
Sep 1994
Once upon a time in the village of Kromer lived two beautiful young wolves. Cocksure Gabriel takes newcomer Seth under his paw and helps reconcile him to the vilification associated with being a wolf. They fall head-over-heels in puppy love, playing together around picturesque waterfalls, secluded woodlands, and moonlit lakes. One day a wicked old crone and her goofy sidekick kill their mistress, frame the wolves, and incite a torch-bearing mob of religious zealots to seek vengeance on the hapless pair. But who will live happily ever after?
Oct 1998
One of Mark Rappaport's later narratives (which won the Gold Hugo for Best First Feature at the Chicago International Film Festival in 1979), Impostors is an off-kilter comedy/mystery focused on two magicians trying to find Egyptian jewels, their promiscuous assistant, and a man who loves the assistant.
Mar 1979
For 40 years, the community-organizing group ACORN advocated for America’s poorest communities, while its detractors accused it of promoting the worst of liberal policies. Riding high on the momentum of Barack Obama’s presidential victory in 2008, ACORN was at its political zenith when a hidden-camera video sparked a national scandal and brought it crashing down. The story involves voter fraud, a fake prostitute, and the rise of Breitbart.com.
Apr 2017
This essential new documentary pays tribute to the legacy of the late, legendary casting director Marion Dougherty and shines a light on one of the most overlooked and least understood crafts in filmmaking.
Nov 2012
Lord Glenconner, a Scot, once owned Mustique, a verdant island in the Caribbean. He lives in St. Lucia with wife Lady Anne Coke (herself an Earl's daughter and lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret) and their sole surviving son, Christopher, disabled by an accident. Glenconner visits Mustique, explores old haunts, and prepares an outdoor lunch for the Princess. He gets on with his wife; he's charming, irritable, waspish, a snob. With Margaret, he's unctuous and outrageously ribald. It's up close and personal with this aging, white-robed, old-moneyed European amongst Black workers and nouveau riche Americans. A portrait emerges of the rich against the backdrop of third-world paradise.
May 2001
Documentary film maker Ross McElwee returns to his family home in Charlotte NC. In filming his family, he captures a microcosm of Southern society.
Jan 1984
A busload of women become stranded in an isolated part of the Canadian countryside. As they await rescue, they reflect on their lives through a mostly ad-libbed script.
Oct 1990
This sequel to "Before Stonewall" documents the history of gay and lesbian life from the riots at Stonewall in 1969 to the present. Narrated by Melissa Etheridge, the film explains the work, struggles, victories, and defeats the gay community has weathered to become a vibrant and integral part of North American society.
Jun 1999
At the Limit is a documentary about extreme climbing. In this sports documentary, Pepe Danquart shows brothers Thomas and Alexander Huber climbing in Patagonia and on the granite rock "El Capitan" in Yosemite Valley (USA). A key part of the film is their attempt at a speed ascent of the 1,000-meter-high route "The Nose," in which the two athletes aim to break the then speed record of 2:48:30 hours, set by Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama in September 2002.
Feb 2007
INVISIBLE SCARS is a feature documentary that explores hope, healing, and resilience through the eyes of one woman who was sexually abused by her father. Johnna is a mother, wife, student, and friend who appears strong and confident. She candidly reveals the life-long struggles she has faced from the events that have affected her since childhood. Johnna meets dedicated scholars and leading experts who discuss the topic of child sexual abuse. In addition, she comes face to face with other people who were also sexually abused. With the perspective of others, she comes to understand how her experiences have negatively impacted her life choices, self-image, and interpersonal relationships. Through this journey, Johnna is forced to face her past and learn to live in the present.
Apr 2015
The titular troublemakers are the New York–based Land (aka Earth) artists of the 1960s and 70s, who walked away from the reproducible and the commodifiable, migrated to the American Southwest, worked with earth and light and seemingly limitless space, and rethought the question of scale and the relationships between artist, landscape, and viewer. Director James Crump has meticulously constructed Troublemakers from interviews (with Germano Celant, Virginia Dwan, and others), photos and footage of Walter De Maria, Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Nancy Holt, and Charles Ross among others at work on their astonishing creations.
Oct 2015
A film about modern Japanese architecture, its roots in the Japanese tradition and its impact on the Nordic building-tradition. Winding its way through visions of the future, traditions, nature, concrete, gardens and high-tech, KOCHUU tells us how contemporary Japanese architects strive to unite the ways of modern man with the old philosophies in astounding constructions. Interviews with, and works by, Japanese architects Tadad Ando, Kisho Kurokawa, Toyo Ito and Kazuo Shinohara and Scandinavian architects Sverre Fehn, Kristian Gullichsen and Juhani Pallasmaa.
May 2003
In a triumphant career that lasted forty years Erroll Garner pushed the playability of the piano to its limits, developed an international reputation, and made an indelible mark on the jazz world. And yet, his story has never been told. Until now. The film explores Erroll's childhood in Pittsburgh; his meteoric rise in popularity while playing on 52nd street, New York's famed jazz epicenter; the origins of his most famous album (Concert By The Sea) and his most famous composition (Misty); his singular, virtuosic piano style; and his dynamic personality, both on and off the stage.
Apr 2013
Since its inception, performance art provided a forum for those artists whose work challenges the dominant aesthetic and cultural status quo. In "Sphinxes Without Secrets", performers, curators and critics unravel the mysteries of performance art and ponder the world women confront today.
Aug 1991
In January 1961, a new generation in the guise of John F. Kennedy moved into the White House. All of a sudden politics were youthful, dynamic and sexy. During the brief period in which he was in office, the first pop star of politics accompanied America through the darkest days of the Cold War. At the same time, his signal to embark in new directions was eagerly welcomed by younger generations all around the world. Later on, Jackie Kennedy was to compare his presidency with Camelot - the legendary court of King Arthur. Yet, there were also dark sides to this popular president's life.
Jan 2013