Dossier Zinfandel

Explore the 1928 collapse of the St. Francis Dam, the second deadliest disaster in California history. A colossal engineering and human failure, the dam was built by William Mulholland, a self-taught engineer who ensured the growth of Los Angeles by bringing the city water via aqueduct. The catastrophe killed more than 400 people and destroyed millions of dollars of property.

A documentary about a pet cemetery in California, and the people who have pets buried there.

A documentary about punk and subculture scene of Pula, Croatia from 1978 to 1991, the city that gave birth to one of the most vivid punk and alternative rock scenes in former Yugoslavia, despite having population of just over 60,000 residents.

For decades, Barbara Dane lent her stellar singing voice to social-justice movements in the Bay Area and beyond, garnering an impressive FBI file along the way. Deeply respected by fellow luminaries in folk, blues and jazz, Dane built a far-reaching legacy with music, activism, and love. As Maureen Gosling’s celebratory portrait reveals, early solidarity with those suffering racial and economic injustice sparked Dane’s passion to use her talent to sustain marginalized people. Rather than chase stardom, she followed her own maternal instincts to root herself and her family among generations of activist performers. Bonnie Raitt, Jane Fonda and other notables attest to Dane’s unique way of shaping and being shaped by tumultuous social revolutions from the 1950s on. Nearing 90, Dane triumphantly tours with piano virtuoso Tammy Hall to celebrate a life of staying awake and connected, true to her ideals. One star among many illuminates so much.

A description and enactment of the discovery of gold by James Marshall, and the role played by John Sutter. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

Wine is confusing…overwhelming even. So where do you start if you want to learn more about it? Join John Cleese on an entertaining and personal look at the world of winemaking and discover: how to find wines that taste good to you, how to make sure you get the best value and how to keep and serve wine at home.

A feature-length documentary that captures the passion of famous hashishin, Frenchy Cannoli, and his pursuit of quality hashish within the context of a changing legal landscape in California's cannabis industry.

This documentary features extraordinary people whose passion for wine led them to create another career as a vintner, including: David Coverdale, lead singer of Whitesnake and Deep Purple Dick Vermeil, coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams, and Kansas City Chiefs Tamara Mowry-Housley, star of "Sister, Sister" and "Tia and Tamera" Bob the Steer, former slaughterhouse steer Jonathan Cain, songwriter and keyboardist of Journey Carmen Policy, president of the San Francisco 49ers- Just to name a few!

This documentary follows seven wine-making families in the Burgundy region of France, delving into the cultural and creative process of making wine. You'll never look at wine the same way again.

Once hunted to extinction, the California Grizzly survives only as a symbol, frozen on the state flag, waving over the land it once roamed. A century later, will California bring back its lost icon or leave it in myth?

"I especially hope to inspire young women, because I often feel like so much emphasis is put on how beautiful you are, and how thin you are, and not a lot of emphasis is put on what you can do and how smart you are. I'd like to change the emphasis of what's important when looking at a woman." Filmed in San Francisco in 2000, Margaret Kilgallen (1967-2001) discusses the female figures she incorporated into many of her paintings and graffiti tags. Loosely based on women she discovered while listening to folk records, watching buck dance videos, or reading about the history of swimming, Kilgallen painted her heroines to inspire others and to change how society looks at women. Three of Kilgallen's heroines—Matokie Slaughter, Algia Mae Hinton, and Fanny Durack—are shown and heard through archival recordings. Kilgallen is shown tagging train cars with her husband, artist Barry McGee, in a Bay Area rail yard and painting in her studio at UC Berkeley (source: Art21).

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

Gigantic machine combs beach in southern California and retrieves articles lost in sand; synthetic gems made by new chemical process; aviation school holds classes in grounded transport plane; how seaweed is processed for scientific use.

A core group of architects embraced the West Coast from Vancouver to LA with its particular geography and values and left behind a legacy of inspired dwellings. Today, architects celebrate the influence established by their predecessors.

The Center Of The Universe chronicles four days in the life of German climber Alexander Huber in Yosemite Valley, California. Living the typical Yosemite vagabond lifestyle, Alex reflects on his goal of successfully free-climbing "El Corazon" (35 pitches, 8a) on the famous El Capitan face, which is a combination of the historic routes "Salathé," "Albatross," "Son of Heart," and "Heart Route," connected by newly laid out sections. 35 challenging pitches, combining technicality, stamina, and commitment, with difficulty levels up to 8a. The film showcases the unique style of climbing in Yosemite, as well as a piece of history of the famous valley, narrated by Heinz Zak, Jim Bridwell, Lynn Hill, Alexander Huber, and Chongo Chuck themselves.

A wordless portrait of sculptor Jessica Jackson Hutchins shows us the artist in the process of transforming clay into uncanny forms.