David Rakoff

This American Life Live: The Invisible Made Visible

It features all sorts of things that are way too visual to be on the radio: dance, animation, illustration, an interactive musical performance, photographs, a short film, and David Sedaris in clown makeup. Along with Sedaris, there are stories by the now-famous Tig Notaro, Glynn Washington, Ryan Knighton and David Rakoff. Lots of the stories are funny. David Rakoff's is particularly touching. He talks about the abilities he’s lost during his fight with cancer, and then, gracefully, beautifully, does a solo dance onstage. It was the last story Rakoff ever wrote for the radio show. He died three months later, in August. OK Go provides music. Monica Bill Barnes & Company dance. Ira Glass tells a story using things he normally can't: photos. Mike Birbiglia casts Terry Gross in a surprising, hilarious little movie.

Boys On Film 7: Bad Romance

Experience an alternative take on attraction with Boys On Film. Bad Romance explores the darker side with a collection of edgy and sexy short films, including: Alain Hain's "Curious Thing" starring Danny Bernardy and Matthew Wilkas; Christoph Scheermann's "Cake and Sand" starring Bartholomew Sammut and Jan Andreesen; Michael Rozanov's "Watch Over Me" starring Guy Kapulnik and Davidi Hoffman; Joachim Back's "The New Tenants" starring David Rakoff and Jamie Harrold; Kim Jho Gwang-soo's "Just Friends?" starring Lee Je-hoon and Yeon Woo-jin; Étienne Desrosiers's "Mirrors" starring Xavier Dolan, Stéphane Demers, and Julie Beauchemin; Christopher Banks's "Communication" starring Rudi Vodanovich and Alexander Campbell; Tomer Velkoff's "The Traitor" co-starring Shmulik Goldstein; Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein's "The Strange Ones" starring David Call, Tobias Campbell, and Merritt Wever; and Tamer Ruggli's "Cappuccino" starring Benjamin Décosterd and Manuela Biedermann.

The New Tenants

A prying neighbor, a glassy-eyed drug dealer, and a husband brandishing both a weapon and a vendetta make up the welcome wagon. Set amidst the as-yet-unopened boxes and the hopes for a fresh start of two men on what might just be the worst moving day ever. Their new apartment reveals its terrifying history in a film that is by turns funny, frightening, and unexpectedly romantic.

Intolerable

A casting director puts a group of actors through hell.

The Watermelon Woman

A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.

The Naturalized

Weaving together the lives of different people from different countries who all share a quest for citizenship by choice, not birthright, this documentary travels from a citizenship class in San Jose to a naturalization ceremony in Iraq. Along the way, there's unprecedented access to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, revealing the complex process up close, including a marriage interview and the one-on-one Citizenship Exam. How many amendments are in the Constitution? To become an American, not knowing is not an option. Contemporary stories of struggle and success are combined with insightful interviews from notable naturalized citizens like Fareed Zakaria, Alan Cumming, David Rakoff, and Isabel Allende.