The Essentials

Eye Filmmuseum and the British Film Institute present a compilation film of newly-restored rare images from the first years of filmmaking. Immerse yourself in enchanting images of Venice, Berlin, Amsterdam and London from 120 years ago. Let yourself be carried away in the mesmerizing events and celebrities of the time, and feel the enthusiasm of early cinema that overcame the challenge of capturing life-like movement.

In a series tracing the history of drug use, we begin our trip tracing the rise of marijuana and synthetic amphetamines. Marijuana, from the Indian hemp plant, has been used worldwide as a source of rope, cloth, and paper; its medicinal qualities were first documented 4,000 years ago in China. But it's best-known as the drug of choice in the 1960's. World War II U.S.troops were given an estimated 200 million amphetamines to fight drowsiness and battle fatigue and they're still used to fight depression.

Nine up-and-coming directors were given access to archival footage from WW1 to late 20th century. Each presents a ten-minute short film aiming to build up a composite image of Italy during that time.

Plastic Galaxy explores the groundbreaking world of Star Wars toys. Through interviews with former Kenner employees, toy experts, and collectors, it looks at the toys' history, their influence, and the feelings they elicit today.

Why did the Roman Empire, which dominated Europe and the Mediterranean for five centuries, inexorably weaken until it disappeared? Archaeologists, specialists in ancient pathologies and climate historians are now accumulating clues converging on the same factors: a powerful cooling and pandemics. A disease, whose symptoms described by the Greek physician Galen are reminiscent of those of smallpox, struck Rome in 167, soon devastating its army. At the same time, a sudden climatic disorder that was underway as far as Eurasia caused agricultural yields to plummet and led to the westward migration of the Huns. Plagued by economic and military difficulties, attacked from all sides by barbarian tribes, the Roman edifice gradually cracked.

East LA Interchange follows the evolution of working-class, immigrant Boyle Heights from multicultural to predominantly Latino and a center of Mexican-American culture. Boyle Heights was once far more diverse than most U.S. cities; Latinos, Asians, African-Americans, and the largest settlement of Jews west of Chicago lived and worked together side by side. Targeted by government policies, real estate laws and California planners, the neighborhood survived the building of the largest and busiest freeway interchange system in North America. Will Boyle Heights, like many cities across the country, survive the next round of challenges from development and gentrification?