Frazer Pennebaker

Movies

Unlocking the Cage
Executive Producer
Renowned filmmakers D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus follow determined animal rights activist Steven Wise into the courtroom for an unprecedented battle that seeks to utilize the writ of habeas corpus to expand legal “personhood” to include certain animals. Wise’s unusual plaintiffs—chimpanzees Tommy and Kiko, once famed showbiz stars—are now living in filth, struggling to survive. Wise and his impassioned legal team take us into the field, revealing gripping evidence of such abuse and plunging us into the intricacies of their case as they probe preconceived notions of what it means to be a non-human animal.
Startup.com
Producer
Friends since high school, 20-somethings Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman have an idea: a Web site for people to conduct business with municipal governments. This documentary tracks the rise and fall of govWorks.com from May of 1999 to December of 2000, and the trials the business brings to the relationship of these best friends. Kaleil raises the money, Tom's the technical chief. A third partner wants a buy out; girlfriends come and go; Tom's daughter needs attention. And always the need for cash and for improving the site. Venture capital comes in by the millions. Kaleil is on C-SPAN, CNN, and magazine covers. Will the business or the friendship crash first?
The War Room
Producer
A behind-the-scenes documentary about the Clinton for President campaign, focusing on the adventures of spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos.
Chuck Berry: Rock and Roll Music
Producer
A pioneer in the world of rock-'n'-roll guitar, Chuck Berry has created a legacy that spans decades. Berry performs some of his greatest hits and all-time favorites in this concert video that was filmed on September 13, 1969 at 'Toronto Rock'n'Roll Revival.' The Concert includes the songs "Rock and Roll Music," "Long Live Rock and Roll," "Johnny B. Goode," "Promised Land," "Carol," "Hoochie Koochie Man," "Maybellene," "Too Much Monkey Business," "Reelin' and Rockin'," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "In the Wee, Wee Hours."
Depeche Mode: 101
Producer
A fascinating documentary focusing on backstage realities of art and business during the British synthesizer band's 1988 American tour.
Depeche Mode: Live at the Pasadena Rose Bowl
Producer
Depeche Mode's famous 101st and final concert of the 1987-1988 Music For The Masses Tour at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Jimi Plays Monterey
Executive Producer
It's no exaggeration to say this might be the most intense and groundbreaking 45-minute performance in the history of rock. Jimi Hendrix's debut American set at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival is generally considered one of the most radical and legendary live shows ever. Virtually unknown to American audiences at the time, even though he was already an established entity in the UK, Hendrix and his two-piece Experience explode on stage, ripping through blues classics "Rock Me Baby" and Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor," interpreting and electrifying Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," debuting songs from his yet-to-be-released first album and closing with the now historic sacrificing/burning of his guitar during an unhinged version of "Wild Thing" that even its writer Chip Taylor would never have imagined. Hendrix uses feedback and distortion to enhance the songs in whisper-to-scream intensity, blazing territory that had not been previously explored with as much soul-frazzled power.
Little Richard: Keep on Rockin'
Producer
Keep On Rockin', aka Little Richard: Keep On Rockin' (USA video title) is a film of a 1969 Little Richard concert at the Sweet Toronto Peace Festival, originally released in 1970. Richard performs a number of his greatest hits, including "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Long Tall Sally," and "Tutti Frutti." The film is in color.
Sweet Toronto
Executive Producer
Sweet Toronto is a documentary by D.A. Pennebaker of the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, a one day festival held September 13, 1969 at Varsity Stadium on the campus of the University of Toronto and attended by some 20,000 persons. John Lennon played as part of the Plastic Ono Band, whose members also included Yoko Ono, Klaus Voorman, Alan White, and Eric Clapton. The video also features a selection of other acts: Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Bo Diddley.