Pilot

Mon, Feb 15, 2016
Filmmaker Alex Gibney (Going Clear) tells how the FBI could have prevented the 9/11 attacks - if it weren't for the CIA. Le Cafe de Balzac: Paul Giamatti plays 19th-century French author Honore de Balzac, who drank 50 cups of coffee each day. Unreality Star: Patients with "The Truman Show delusion" believe their lives are being watched on TV. Cartoon by Roz Chast.
7.7 /10
Episode #1.2

Mon, Feb 15, 2016
The Ride of Their Lives: Filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams) profiles two young people in the world's most dangerous sport - bull riding. Black Bodies in Motion and in Pain: Writer Edwidge Danticat looks at racist violence in America through art. The Death and Life of Atlantic City: Writer Nick Paumgarten on the closure of the Revel casino. Cartoons by Roz Chast and Liana Finck.
7 /10
Episode #1.3

Wed, Jan 14, 2015
What's Motivating Hayes: Filmmaker Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) profiles biologist Tyrone Hayes. When a pesticide manufacturer hired Hayes to test the effects of their product on frogs, Hayes discovered shocking results. A Sketch starring Alan Cumming and Brett Gelman. A Converstation with artist Marina Abramovic. A Poem written by Matthew Dickman. Cartoons by Emily Flake.
6.7 /10
Episode #1.4

Mon, Feb 22, 2016
Brazenhead, C'est Moi: Michael Seidenberg operates a secret bookstore in a Manhattan apartment, until he gets an eviction notice. The Man Without a Mask: Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (God Loves Uganda; Life, Animated) profiles Cassandro, the flamboyant gay star of Mexican wrestling. Symbols and Facts: Guns, Cars, and America: An essay by Adam Gopnik. Cartoons by Roz Chast and Farley Katz.
6.1 /10
Episode #1.5

Mon, Feb 22, 2016
Wolvesmouth: Filmmaker Lucy Walker (The Crash Reel) profiles renegade chef Craig Thornton. The Fried Chicken King of Harlem: Chef Charles Gabriel is an uptown institution. Couple's First Dinner Party, Serves Six: Director Janicza Bravo gives us the recipe for a dinner gone wrong. Reincarnation: A poem by Ellen Bass. Cartoons by Roz Chast and Benjamin Schwartz.
6.8 /10
Episode #1.6

Mon, Feb 29, 2016
Roy Spivey: An ordinary woman meets a movie star during an airplane flight. Adapted from a short story by Miranda July; starring Murray Bartlett and Allison Price. La Glows: Writer Lawrence Weschler explores the unique light of Los Angeles. The Caging of America: Writer Adam Gopnik takes on the epidemic of mass incarceration in the United States. Cartoon by Liana Finck.
6.5 /10
Episode #1.7

Mon, Feb 29, 2016
Avant Gardener: Acclaimed singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett has a photography show. Lone Star Nurse: Filmmaker Dawn Porter (Gideon's Army; Trapped) follows a dedicated nurse working with some of the poorest families in America. The Psychology of Space: Architect Craig Dykers redesigns a notoriously dysfunctional location - Times Square. Cartoons by Farley Katz and Liana Finck.
6.9 /10
Episode #1.8

Mon, Mar 07, 2016
Friend of Bill: When you least expect it, Bill Murray may appear to you. Last Session: Charles Grodin and John Turturro play a therapist and a patient who wants to end therapy. Eureka With Basil Twist: Meet genius puppeteer Basil Twist. The Hell-Raiser: Filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (The Celluloid Closet) profile apostate preacher Rob Bell. Cartoons by Farley Katz and Liana Finck.
6.7 /10
Episode #1.9

Mon, Mar 07, 2016
The Silver Thief: Filmmakers Chapman Way and Maclain Way (The Battered Bastards of Baseball) profile master thief Blane Nordahl. Up and Then Down: Writer Nick Paumgarten explains why life as we know it depends on elevators. Tom of Finland: The artist called Tom of Finland changed the image of gay men forever. Is his work porn, or is it art? Cartoons by Farley Katz and Benjamin Schwartz.
7.5 /10
Episode #1.10

Mon, Mar 14, 2016
Snoops: Welcome to the monthly dinner of the Society of Professional Investigators. The Cyclist: Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight) learns about Cuba by becoming a perp there. The Breath of the World: Pulitzer-winning composer John Luther Adams moved from Alaska to New York, but his music still reflects his original surroundings. Cartoons by Benjamin Scwartz and Farley Katz.
7.4 /10
Episode #1.11

Mon, Mar 14, 2016
Protect and Serve: Filmmaker Jesse Moss (The Overnighters) examines the Albuquerque Police Department, which has killed 28 civilians since 2010. Who's Your Daddy: Meet Kenny Burck, the proud father of The Naked Cowboy. Never Alone: The Iñupiat tribe needed a way to preserve their culture and language. So they created a video game. Cartoon by Benjamin Schwartz.
7 /10

Edit Focus

Xangadix Lives!

Xangadix Lives!

In 1992 The Johnsons was released in the Netherlands. A horror film where the cream of the crop of the Dutch film world had been working on. It was one of the biggest films of the year, won prizes at international film festivals, was released worldwide and even managed to acquire a cult status in the US. But few people know the history of the film and that it is actually a miracle that it has ever been made. The Johnsons was originally a collaborative effort of an American film writing duo. The script they wrote was a black comedy horror which can be best described as a mix of Deliverance meets Crocodile Dundee. The film never got off the ground. From there the script made its way to the Netherlands and into the hands of a Dutch production team. They saw something in the story, something that was unique for their country. They hired a director that had proved himself in making black comedy blockbusters. But it turned out he was impossible to work with. So much that he got fired three weeks before shooting the film. The project was shut down. There was no one to take over the job so the producers turned to an old friend, best known for documentaries and art-house dramas. He got carte blanche and rewrote the whole thing. The dark humor disappeared and in its place came an anthropological structure with a supernatural myth and an underlying coming of age story. Genre experts still find it the scariest and best horror film the Dutch soil has to offer, but many others still look down on it. Xangadix Lives. as a documentary doesn't only dives in the peculiar history of the Johnsons, but also shows that it is indeed an important film that has influenced and still influences people to this very day. Sometimes in the most unexpected places.

All Filters