The Stand-In

Oscar Micheaux, Film Pioneer

Oscar Micheaux, Film Pioneer is one of seven films in the "Were You There" series produced by Carol Lawrence (the others include The Black West, The Cotton Club, The Facts of Life, Portrait of Two Artists, Sports Profile, and When the Animals Talked). This film's story revolves around Bee Freeman's (the Sepia Mae West) and Lorenzo Tucker's (the black Valentino) recollections of their relationships with Micheaux and their perceptions of his character. Danny Glover plays the role of Oscar Micheaux, Richard H arder is shown as the young Lorenzo Tucker, and Janice Morgan portrays the vamp that was Bee Freeman in Shuffle Along.

John Coltrane Four Tenors

Four giants of the tenor saxophone -- including the legendary John Coltrane -- are featured in this collection of rare performances recorded in the '60s. Filmed for the television series Jazz Casual, which was hosted by the great jazz writer Ralph Gleason, John Coltrane: Four Tenors features Coltrane and his group (featuring Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner) from 1963, Ben Webster (with Jimmy Witherspoon and Vince Guaraldi) from 1962, Charles Lloyd (accompanied by Keith Jarrett and Jack de Johnette) in 1968, and Sonny Rollins (joined by Jim Hall and Ben Riley) in 1962.

Read You Like a Book

A magical book transforms all who come into contact with it. Meet Dante, a bookstore manager with a crippling secret; Gina, a customer, who knows everything but love; Zoe, and among others, Dante's former lover who's life is falling apart.

Dylan Speaks

The legendary press conference in San Fransisco at KQED studios on Dec. 3rd 1965. This was a pivotal year in Bob Dylan's career. In the early part of the year he released "Bringing It All Back Home", the first album that saw him move distinctly away from his folk music origins. In the summer he followed it with "Highway 61 Revisited", an out and out rock 'n' roll album, and the single "Like A Rolling Stone" hit No.2 on the US charts. His appearance at that year's Newport Folk Festival saw him use an electric guitar on stage, a hugely controversial move at the time that saw him booed by much of the audience. Against this background, Dylan went into the studios of TV station KQED in San Francisco for a broadcast press conference hosted by Ralph J. Gleason, his only one from this era ever to be filmed.

Descartes

An early videotape by Joanne Kyger

Linearity

A television piece for Harp and Live Electronics (1968) created as a part of the Rockefeller Foundation's inquiry into the artistic capacities of broadcast television, at NCET (National Center for Experiments in Television).

Drugs in the Tenderloin

Drugs in the Tenderloin is a documentary shot guerilla style by Robert Zagone in 1966; It captures the Tenderloin as it transformed into a center for young queers and drug users.