New Videos - August 2006
On DVD:
Camille - DVD TAC-689
Life in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In gambling dens and lavish soirees, men of means exert their wills and women turned courtesans exult in pleasure.
Nalini By Day, Nancy By Night - DVD TAC-712
Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night is a documentary about the outsourcing of American jobs to India . From the perspective of an Indian immigrant living in the United States, using humor and satire to capture the lives of Indian telemarketers who undergo voice and accent training to speak to US customers with an American accent. A complex look at life as per Eastern Standard Time in India .
Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease & Pushing Drugs - DVD TAC-713
Big Bucks, Big Pharma pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry to expose the insidious ways that illness is used, manipulated, and in some instances created, for capital gain. Focusing on the industry's marketing practices, media scholars and health professionals help viewers understand the ways in which direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising glamorizes and normalizes the use of prescription medication, and works in tandem with promotion to doctors. Combined, these industry practices shape how both patients and doctors understand and relate to disease and treatment. Ultimately, Big Bucks, Big Pharma challenges us to ask important questions about the consequences of relying on a for-profit industry for our health and well-being.
Shark Mountain - DVD TAC-714
Underwater filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall explore the sea around Cocos Island in the Pacific famous for its sharks.
The Island - DVD TAC-715
Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a utopian facility in the mid 21st century. Like all of the inhabitants, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the "The Island." But Lincoln soon realizes that everything about his existence is a lie. He discovers that all of the inhabitants of the facility are actually human clones. Lincoln makes a daring escape with a beautiful fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta. Relentlessly pursued by the forces of the evil facility that once housed them, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a race for their lives.
Ghost in the Shell - DVD TAC-716
In a world caught in the grip of information overload, Major Kusanagi is an elite officer and heavily modified cybernetic agent on the trail of a computer-criminal who turns people into human marionettes, controlled by computer. She discovers that his true identity lies at the center of a vast and lethal political conspiracy.
Solaris - DVD TAC-717
On a space station orbiting the mysterious planet Solaris, terrified crew members are experiencing a host of strange phenomena, including eerie visitors who seem all too human.
On VHS:
William Kentridge: Drawing the Passing - Videorecord TAC-1892
Kentridge discusses the creative process of making his animated films, drawings, and theatre work. Shows him in the final stages of animating "Stereoscope" and includes excerpts from various works. In his artistic works he has investigated the diseased, amnesiac consciousness of late and post-apartheid South Africa .
The Fillmore - Videorecord TAC-1893
Remembered today mainly for its rock and roll auditorium, San Francisco 's Fillmore District is one of the great cautionary tales of American urban life. From the wholesale removal of Japanese Americans during World War II, to the jazz heyday of the 1950s to the bulldozers of urban renewal, the Fillmore District has seen its share of drama. This video explores the many worlds of the neighborhood, past and present, and the bittersweet memories of residents who fought for the survival of one of America 's premier black communities.
The Castro - Videorecord TAC-1894
Chronicles the history of the Castro district from a working class neighborhood to the center of gay and lesbian life in San Francisco .
The Mission - Videorecord TAC-1895
Few people know that San Francisco 's story begins in the Mission District, the vibrant neighborhood where the city was born more than two hundred years ago. Now the center of a vital cultural renaissance, this video brings the Mission to life through its people, its history, and its unique and little-known treasures.
Chinatown - Videorecord TAC-1896
Video takes you inside Chinatown 's tumultuous and inspiring history to witness how the past and present live together in one of san Francisco 's oldest communities. Through a vivid mixture of personal recollections, archival photos, poetry and narration, Chinatown recalls the days when the neighborhood was shut out from society, a distinct ghetto and a refuge for new immigrants. Poignant documentary footage reveals the stories of how residents made a life and thrived despite discriminatory legislation--starting with local ordinances and culminating with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.
