Filmmaker Rustin Thompson journeys into the American West on a search for traces of what was once a center of small-town life: the movie theater. On the trip, he finds long abandoned and forgotten cinemas; movie houses that have fallen into disrepair; theaters recently closed, theaters struggling to hold on, and theaters that—thanks to their thoughtful caretakers—are not only surviving but thriving. Between the stops along the way, Rustin poetically intersperses excerpts from Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 classic film The Last Picture Show, as well as reflections on past and present hardships facing the film exhibition industry. The Last Picture Shows is not only a timely portrait of an industry in crisis, one facing the headwinds of consolidation, streaming, and the diminishing theatrical experience, but it also reminds viewers that even in vast cinema deserts, there are oases of community and gathering that remain, where the movie house continues to be a place of wonder, contemplation, and connection.
Rachel is a well-off, childless 50-year old woman who recognizes that she is the last of her line and is headed toward, in the vernacular of old-time obituaries, “dying without issue.” Mining her own past as she looks for a way to leave something of herself behind, she discovers an ancestor who fled the French Revolution and ended up on a Georgia Sea Island with an ill-fated plan to get rich quick. The plan, Rachel discovers, included enslaving the local Gullah-Geechee population and logging the island’s ancient forest of live oak trees. With the island’s modern-day community facing economic, cultural, and ecological pressure as they envision the future of their unique home landscape, what began as an intimate journey into family history evolves into a complex consideration of the legacy of colonialism, and whether one woman can make amends for the sins of her forebears.
Slow Revolution (Now streaming on Vimeo)
Winner of the Best Documentary Award at the West Sound Film Festival, the Most Fearless Cinematography award from Portugal’s Make Art Not Fear film festival, an Honorable Mention at the Brighton Rocks Film Festival, and an Honorable Mention at Mexico’s Cine Pobre film festival. In this film, a globe-trotting cameraman sends letters, postcards and videos from his more than 38 years of travel to his former colleague and lover. She shares them with us in an intimate voice-over, as he reflects on his experiences and reframes them for a present in which democratic instability, climate catastrophe, runaway technology and a global pandemic threaten the future of the planet. Official Selection of the Tacoma Film Festival, the Cine Pobre Film Festival, Berlin Revolution Film Festival, and the Visions du Reel Film Market. Watch the trailer!
My Mother Was Here (2019) Best Documentary, Audience Award, 2018 Tacoma Film Festival and the 2020 Best Seattle Filmmaker Award at the Seattle Film Festival. Official Selection of the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, Local Sightings Film Festival, and the Anderson Island Film Festival. Now available on Vimeo-on-Demand.
Zona Intangible (2017) Acquired for distribution by leading educational distributor Pro Quest; available for rent or purchase on Vimeo-on-Demand;
30 Frames A Second: The WTO in Seattle (2000): Distributed by Bullfrog Films; Available for rent or purchase on Vimeo-on-Demand. Click here for an excerpt.
Quick Brown Fox: An Alzheimer’s Story (2005): Distributed by Women Make Movies. Available for rent or purchase on Vimeo-on-Demand.
The Church on Dauphine Street (2007): Available for rent or purchase on Vimeo-on-Demand
False Promises: The Lost Land of the Wenatchi (2003): Distributed by Pro Quest. Available for rent or purchase on Vimeo-on-Demand.
Go to the independent documentaries page of our Vimeo site to see clips from other projects.