Nancy Baker

Movies

Streetwise Revisited: Rat
Editor
Filmmaker Martin Bell reconnects with Rat, one of the subjects of his 1984 documentary STREETWISE.
Cocaine Prison
Story Editor
From inside Bolivia's craziest prison a cocaine worker, a drug mule and his little sister reveal the countries relationship with cocaine.
Roving Mars
Editor
Join the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity for an awe-inspiring journey to the surface of the mysterious red planet.
Havoc
Editor
A wealthy Los Angeles teen and her superficial friends wants to break out of suburbia and experience Southern California's "gangsta" lifestyle. But problems arise when the preppies get in over their heads and provoke the wrath of a violent Latino gang. Suddenly, their role-playing seems a little too real.
Lisa Picard Is Famous
Editor
A documentarian decides to follow the career of New York actress Lisa Picard, believing she is on the brink of fame. Instead, he bears witness to Lisa's continued, humorous, struggles as an actress, as well as the conflict that arises when Lisa's best friend Tate hits it big with an off-Broadway one-man show.
Brotherhood of Murder
Editor
Set against the backdrop of the true story of the largest cash robbery in the history of the USA.
On the Ropes
Editor
The story of three young boxers and their coach who is determined to guide them in a positive direction in and out of the ring.
Hidden in America
Editor
Story of a man whose pride in being the head of his family won't let him accept help from his sick daughters doctor. He has to prove to his kids that even with the death of his wife and the loss of his job that they can and will survive. After hitting brick wall after brick wall comes a glimmer of hope.
The Amazing Plastic Lady
Editor
Between 1989 and 1990, photographer Mary Ellen Mark went to India to document the lives of circus performers—a journey that resulted in her book “Indian Circus,” published in 1993. In 1992, Mark and director Martin Bell returned to India to film many of the same performers. The resulting short, THE AMAZING PLASTIC LADY (1995), focuses on Pinky, a ten-year-old acrobat who, like the children in STREETWISE, lives on society’s margins. The film also continued Bell’s work with editor Nancy Baker.
Vanya on 42nd Street
Editor
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 1899 play "Uncle Vanya" played out by a company of actors. The setting is their run down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.
American Heart
Editor
An ex-convict is tracked down by his estranged teenage son, and the pair try to build a relationship and life together in Seattle.
A Gathering of Old Men
Editor
A regular day in a Louisiana sugarcane plantation changes course when a local white farmer is shot in self defense. A group of old, black men takes a courageous step by coming forward en masse to take responsibility for the killing of a white racist, whom one of their members has shot. As the sheriff confronts the suspects, the young plantation owner stands alone in her daring defense of this group of men, provoking racial tension that makes a compelling drama.
On Valentine's Day
Editor
Elizabeth defies her wealthy parents by running off and marrying a young man of humble prospects, and her parents have not spoken to her since - even though the couple lives in a rooming house nearby, they are struggling financially, and she is pregnant. The story of unselfish love between a man and a woman and the abiding love within a family, this American classic explores the enduring themes of human existence.
And the Pursuit of Happiness
Editor
In 1986, Louis Malle (himself a transplant to the United States) set out to investigate the ever-widening range of immigrant experience in America. Interviewing a variety of newcomers — from teachers to astronauts to doctors — in communities from coast to coast, Malle paints a humane portrait of their individual struggles in an increasingly polyglot nation.
Streetwise
Editor
This documentary about teenagers living on the streets in Seattle began as a magazine article. The film follows nine teenagers who discuss how they live by panhandling, prostitution, and petty theft.
The Atomic Station
Editor
The film tells the story of a young farmgirl moving to Reykjavík after the second world war, and her attempts to adapt to the city life.
Harlan County U.S.A.
Editor
This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastovers refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA.
First Edition
Editor
First Edition is a 1977 American short documentary film about the Baltimore Sun directed by Helen Whitney. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Winter Soldier
Editor
For three days in 1971, former US soldiers who were in Vietnam testify in Detroit about their war experiences. Nearly 30 speak, describing atrocities personally committed or witnessed, telling of inaccurate body counts, and recounting the process of destroying a village.
Winter Soldier
Producer
For three days in 1971, former US soldiers who were in Vietnam testify in Detroit about their war experiences. Nearly 30 speak, describing atrocities personally committed or witnessed, telling of inaccurate body counts, and recounting the process of destroying a village.