Annette Insdorf

Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become one of a select group who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Over a seventy year career, she has paved the way for Hispanic-American performers by refusing to be pigeonholed into one-dimensional stereotypes.

The feature documentary Searching for Mr. Rugoff is the story of Donald Rugoff, who was the crazy genius behind Cinema 5, the mid-century theater chain and film distribution company. Rugoff was a difficult (some would say impossible) person but was also the man who kicked art films into the mainstream with outrageous marketing schemes and pure bluster. Rugoff's impact on cinema culture in the United States is inestimable, and his influence on the art film business-from the studio classics divisions to the independent film movement to the rise of the Weinsteins-is undeniable. Yet, mysteriously, Rugoff has become a virtually forgotten figure. The story is told through the eyes of former employee Ira Deutchman, who sets out to find the truth about the man who had such a major impact on his life, and to understand how such an important figure could have disappeared so completely.

"Alan Pakula: Going for Truth" encompasses the personal and professional life of Alan J. Pakula, a lauded filmmaker and extremely private man, who was unflinching in his commitment to bringing some of the most memorable movies of the last half of the 20th century to the big screen. Always placing story first and going for truth, with anonymity being his preferred style of directing, this elusive artist finally gets his spotlight. Select cast and crew members from his wide ranging filmography including To Kill A Mockingbird, Klute, All the President's Men, Sophie's Choice, Presumed Innocent, and The Pelican Brief bring Pakula to life once more after he was lost so tragically; while family and friends share their memories of knowing him as an artist, a husband, and a stepfather.

For many, he is above all the fluffy and at the same time ingenious investigator who transfers the powerful to their luxury villas in a crumpled trench coat. But Peter Falk not only embodied Inspector Columbo, but also worked as an actor with directors such as Frank Capra, Sydney Pollack and Blake Edwards. And of course with his friend John Cassavetes, for whom he played alongside Cassavete's wife Gena Rowlands in the independent film "A Woman Under Influence" from 1975. The documentary gets to the bottom of the great success of the TV series character - and the legendary actor who embodied him.

Produced by Criterion in 2016, film professor Annette Insdorf, author of Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieślowski, examines the formal and thematic patterns of Dekalog.

An interview with film critic Annette Insdorf about Francois Truffaut's 1973 film "Day for Night."

A documentary directed by Laurent Bouzereau.

One of the great mavericks of cinema, John Cassavetes has earned a reputation as the godfather of American independent movies. The actor-turned-filmmaker invented a realist style of unadorned narrative films heavily influenced by documentaries. This in-depth analysis of Cassavetes' life and work features interviews with key collaborators and ensemble regulars, and explores the making of classics like "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," "Opening Night" and "A Woman Under the Influence."

During a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, a young Wall Street investment banker and an old shoeshine man begin chatting and discussing their life philosophies.

Revolutionary French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard conducts a twenty-five minute interview with influential and acclaimed American director Woody Allen on the cultural radiation, the ubiquity and significance of Television, and how Television compares with cinema as a medium and form of expression.