William Brayne

The Dragon's Egg: Making Peace on the Wreckage of the Twentieth Century

A third of Estonia's people are Russian, most of them put there by Stalin. For Estonians it is like having a dragon's egg laid in your nest: you wait in fear for it to hatch. The Russians in Klooga, an abandoned Soviet Army base, are struggling to build a community with their new Estonian neighbours. Estonians would rather not give Russians citizenship, residence or jobs: they wish they would go home. But for Russians, Klooga is home. A group of American scholars exploring ethnic reconciliation and democratic practice, led by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Vamik Volkan, offers $50,000 to any group of Estonians and Russians who can work together for a common goal. Twenty Russians and Estonians in Klooga form a committee and seize the challenge to build a better life for their children.

The Cold War Killers

A missing 1950s era airplane is found 27 years later at the bottom of a lake. British and Soviet spy agencies are intensely interested.

A Flame to the Phoenix

A countess and her military sons prepare for the German invasion of Poland in 1939 as World War II begins.

Running Blind

Cold War thriller set in Iceland – a British agent and his Icelandic fiancee try to protect an electronic device from falling into the clutches of the KGB.

Sinai Field Mission

SINAI FIELD MISSION shows the routine activities of the diplomats and electronics technicians who operate the U.S. Sinai Field Mission, the early warning system established in 1976 to help facilitate the disengagement between Egypt and Israel after the 1973 war. The major purpose of the Mission is to monitor the approaches to strategic passes and to verify the operations of the Egyptian and Israeli surveillance stations in the Sinai Buffer Zone.

Blacks Britannica

A documentary illustrating the black community's understanding of, and response to, racism in Britain. It presents from a black working class perspective, an analysis of racism within the context of British history and the post-war crisis of the British economy. At the same time the film reflects the increasingly militant response within the black community to the continuing attacks upon it, both by organised fascist elements on the streets, and by the state itself.

Canal Zone

CANAL ZONE is about the people who live and work in the Panama Canal Zone and shows both the operation of the Canal and the various governmental agencies — business, military, and civilian — related to the functioning of the Canal and the lives of the Americans in the zone. The film includes sequences of ships in transit, the work of special canal pilots, aspects of the civil government, work of the military, and the social, religious and recreational life of the Zonians.

Meat

MEAT traces the process through which cattle and sheep become consumer goods. It depicts the processing and transportation of meat products by a highly automated packing plant, illustrating important points and problems in the area of production, transportation, logistics, equipment design, time-motion study, and labor management.

Welfare

WELFARE shows the nature and complexity of the welfare system in sequences illustrating the staggering diversity of problems that constitute welfare: housing, unemployment, divorce, medical and psychiatric problems, abandoned and abused children, and the elderly. These issues are presented in a context where welfare workers as well as clients struggle to cope with and interpret the laws and regulations that govern their work and life.

Primate

Primate sees realist documentarian Frederick Wiseman hone his lens on the inmates of the Yerkes Primate Research Centre. A representative scientist explains the aims and outcomes of the organisation, describing the mating habits and relationships of the animals.

Juvenile Court

JUVENILE COURT shows the complex variety of cases before the Memphis Juvenile Court: foster home placement, drug abuse, armed robbery, child abuse, and sexual offenses. The sequences illustrate such issues as community protection vs. the desire for rehabilitation, the range and the limits of the choices available to the court, the psychology of the offender, and the constitutional and procedural questions involved in administering a juvenile court.

Essene

Essene is about daily life in a Benedictine monastery and the resolution of conflict between personal needs and the institutional and organizational priorities of the community. In the Order, where the focus of life is the relationship of individual work and worship to the community as a whole, the brethren must cope with the same issues that arise in any community: rules, work, worship, values, love, and play.

'Til the Butcher Cuts Him Down

A documentary and tribute to the great trumpeter and singer, Punch Miller; retracing his career and the famous jazz musicians he worked with - Jack Carey, Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton.

Reggae

BBC documentary focusing on a reggae concert held at Wembley Stadium in 1970 featuring the Pyramids, Pioneers, Black Faith, Millie, the Maytals, and Desmond Dekker. Includes interviews with DJ Mike Raven and producer Graham Goodall, who review the history and development of reggae.

Basic Training

Shot during the summer of 1970 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Frederick Wiseman’s film Basic Training focuses on a group of men going through infantry training, showing how they are turned from civilians into soldiers. As well as being a unique portrait of the US army at work, the film is also a fascinating snapshot of a time and place at a defining moment in American history.

Hospital

Daily activities of the Metropolitan Hospital in New York City, with emphasis on the emergency ward and outpatient clinics. The cases depicted illustrate how medical expertise, availability of resources, organizational considerations and the nature of communication among the staff and patients affect the delivery of health care.

A Horse Called Nijinsky

Documentary, narrated by Orson Welles, about the legendary race horse Nijinsky, one of the greatest and most successful race horses in history and after his retirement from the racetrack in 1970 an important sire of thoroughbred horses.

Law and Order

LAW & ORDER surveys the wide range of work the police are asked to perform: enforcing the law, maintaining order, and providing general social services. The incidents shown illustrate how training, community expectations, socio-economic status of the subject, the threat of violence, and discretion affect police behavior.

What's a Girl Like You?

A visit to the Vauxhall Tavern in London to see the drag acts.

The Creative Person: Satyajit Ray

In 1967, Canadian documentarian James Beveridge traveled to Kolkata to film director Satyajit Ray at work. The resulting program, produced for the American public television series “The Creative Person,” features interviews with Ray, several of his actors and crew members, and film critic Chidananda Das Gupta.

The Flying Alberts

The Alberts (Bruce Lacey, Tony Gray and his brother Dougie Gray) attempt to take off. There are two edits to this film, both with their distinct ending. The other version is edited by Bruce Lacey and is four minutes shorter.