Documentary Movies 2004 List

With Jackie Kelman • Mateen Butt • Syed Ali • Alison MacLean • Daniel Massey • Muhamed Abushhaker • Nabil Ayesh • Tobias Perse • Khadrah Ali

A chronicle that depicts the human cost of the U.S. Justice Department's campaign against Arab or Muslim immigrants during the post-9/11 frenzy to combat terrorism. While few question the need to undertake measures to protect national security, the sweeping detention, arbitrary arrests and confinement (often without any family communication or legal representation), and subsequent deportation and/or ongoing imprisonment make a mockery of fundamental American principles like the presumption of innocence. Using a bare room and mostly static camera, the filmmakers record a series of encounters with a diverse range of detainees and family members and present them seemingly without much need for skill. But in fact, the subtle and creative direction of these individual and ultimately cumulative portraits belies the effortless appearance of the presentation and produces a simultaneous poignancy and disbelieving outrage. You may feel that you already know all about the issues and experiences communicated in Persons of Interest. Think again. The specific details of these disrupted lives speak volumes. Not since the massive internment of another ethnic group during World War II has the United States experienced such a massive assault on basic civil liberties.

With Jim Fields • Dee Dee Ramone • Joey Ramone • Johnny Ramone • Marky Ramone • Tommy Ramone • Michael Gramaglia

In 1974, the New York City music scene was shocked into consciousness by the violently new and raw sound of a band of misfits from Queens, called The Ramones. Playing in a seedy Bowery bar to a small group of fellow struggling musicians, the band struck a chord of disharmony that rocked the foundation of the mid-'70s music scene. This quartet of unlikely rock stars traveled across the country and around the world connecting with the disenfranchised everywhere, while sparking a movement that would resonate with two generations of outcasts across the globe. Although the band never reached the top of the Billboard charts, it managed to endure by maintaining a rigorous touring schedule for 22 years.

With The Yes Men • Dr. Andreas Bichlbauer • Dan Ollman • Sarah Price • Chris Smith

"The Yes Men" is a biting and revelatory documentary directed by the filmmaking team behind the acclaimed Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winner "American Movie". "The Yes Men" follows The Yes Men, a small group of prankster-activists, as they gain worldwide notoriety for impersonating the World Trade Organization on television and at business conferences around the world. The film begins when two members of The Yes Men, Andy and Mike, set up a website that mimics the World Trade Organization's and it's mistaken for the real thing. They play along with the ruse and soon find themselves invited to important functions as WTO representatives. Delighted to represent the organization they politically oppose, Andy and Mike don thrift-store suits and set out to shock unwitting audiences with darkly comic satire that highlights the worst aspects of global free trade.