Infiltrating terror networks and befriending suspected terrorists is *****’s specialty. He is one of a growing number of covert operatives in America who straddle the murky line between preventing crimes and inventing them. As secrets emerge from his past, ***** is caught between the consequences of his double life as a father to his young son and mounting pressure from his FBI handlers. Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, (T)ERROR gives a rare inside look at FBI undercover tactics and illuminates the behind the scenes of the surveillance state in modern America, and asks: Who is watching the watchers? -CM

The cast of a mid-90’s public access show reunite at their high school's 20-year reunion to film one final episode, but soon find it a challenge to reconcile their teenage dreams with the realities of adulthood. Their past videos are like a freakishly lo-fi, punk rock, high school production of Kids in the Hall or SCTV that united a ragtag bunch of high school outsiders from skaters to goths to punks, but when the cast of this real-life ‘Wayne’s World’ reconvenes in middle age they realize it's hard to go home again. -CM

From its humble beginnings in a small-town drugstore in Sacramento, Tower Records eventually became the heart and soul of the music world, and a powerful force in the music industry with hundreds of stores around the world. In 1999, Tower Records made $1 billion. In 2006, the company filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong? Everyone thinks they know what killed Tower Records: The Internet. But that's not the full story as All Things Must Pass examines the iconic company's explosive trajectory, tragic demise and legacy forged by its rebellious founder, Russ Solomon. -CM

A towboat drifts down the Mississippi River, due for port in New Orleans. The water, the banks, the bright lights of a port ahead; the lure of a coming paycheck and a home-cooked meal. This is the world captured in the visually beautiful observational documentary BARGE. A green deckhand's first days. A former convict working his way up job by job, hoping to become First Mate. A veteran engineer in no hurry to retire. Dry land's misfits find purpose and direction on this ancient waterway that is the backbone of our nation’s economy. -CM

One child. One wish. Millions touched. Who would have thought a 5-year-old boy who fought leukemia would transform a city and a nation for a day? No one. Not his family. Not his friends. Not the thousands of volunteers who came from near and far to help make his wish come true. But it did.

Batkid Begins is a documentary that takes you back to November 15th, 2013, the day San Francisco turned into Gotham City, and the day the internet was nice. More than a billion people took to social media to cheer on BatKid, even President Obama! In all, the #SfBatKid and #BatKid hashtags reached more than 1.84 Billion people on Twitter and Instagram. This wish and this little caped crusader resonated with so many people, this documentary finds out why.

Iceland is one of only three countries in the world that disregard international law and continue the archaic practice of commercial whale hunting. First-time filmmaker Jonathon Zwick is on a mission to save whales and specifically the endangered Finback whale that Iceland continues to hunt. Ironically, whale watching has exploded on the island in the last couple of years, but sadly many of the tourists step right off the boat and order whale meat at the nearby restaurants. -JM

Ex-Soviet soldier turned self-proclaimed savior and pastor, "Crocodile Gennadiy," doesn't feel he needs permission to do good deeds. So he has taken up the fight against child homelessness in Ukraine by kidnapping drug addicted street kids and bringing them to his DIY rehab center for forced treatment. His ongoing efforts and unabashedly tough love approach to his country's problems has made him a folk hero for some, and a lawless vigilante to others. It's a beautifully cinematic film that is a testament to the good in all of us. -CM

The curtain is pulled back on one of America’s (and San Francisco's) most accomplished and original -- yet least-known working artists -- David Beck. A master sculptor, carver, painter and miniature architect, Beck works in a fantastical genre all his own, creating intricate worlds, alive with playful and incisive observations of the world we know. With wit and charm Curious Worlds captures the artist at work in his studio, reflecting on his process in an intimate portrait illuminating what it takes to create a masterwork. -CM

You might not know it yet but gadfly Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in rock 'n' roll, working for the Doors, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins; managing groundbreaking artists like the Stooges, MC5 and the Ramones; and hanging out with Andy Warhol. Labeled a "must see" by Rolling Stone magazine DANNY SAYS tells the story of a Phi Beta Kappa whiz-kid turned Harvard Law dropout and punk pioneer. Danny’s taste and opinion, once deemed defiant and radical, has turned out to have been prescient. The film is a story of marginal turning mainstream, avant-garde turning prophetic. -CM

The lunatics really have taken over the asylum that sits on the outskirts of Juarez one of the most violent cities in the world. Over 100 live at the mental asylum that has been cobbled together from abandoned houses and has only a couple of staff and very little medicine. It is the patients who dress, clean, cook and feed each other. The government regularly drops people off including Josué who arrived mentally deranged and malnourished from drug addiction. The patients showed him empathy and compassion and now six years later he manages the asylum. His one dream is to find his daughter.-JM

Through previously undiscovered private letters, photos and diaries that were found in the Himmler family house in 1945, Vanessa Lapa’s powerful documentary exposes a unique and at times uncomfortable access to the life and mind of the merciless 'Architect of the Final Solution' Heinrich Himmler. We witness the developing of the relationship between Heinrich Himmler with his wife Marga from the time they meet, when he loves her, during parenthood, until the last letter in April 1945, shortly before his death. How could the man who often referred to so-called German virtues such as order, decency and goodness also write home in the midst of the Holocaust: ‘Despite all the work I am doing fine and I sleep well”? -JM

For two and half years Andrew Goldman was the weekly interviewer for the New York Times Magazine. Known for asking probing and often off kilter questions, he was deemed to have crossed a line first in a tweet to author Jennifer Weiner and then in an interview with Diane Von Furstenberg. He was fired and his life started to fall apart when his Zoroastrian psychiatrist suggested that making this film would be therapeutic. The Desk uses a creative blend of documentary and lightly fictionalized recreations to document this unraveling. -JM

“Don’t tell anyone” is a phrase heard often, whispered in the shadows and branded deeply on the consciousness of all who are undocumented. When Angy Rivera decides to pick up a bullhorn at a pro-immigration rally and tell all who would listen that she was Undocumented and Proud little did she know she would end up on the cover of the New York Times. Despite threats and the ever-present fear of deportation, Angy continues to be a beacon for others.-CM

Renowned Mexican filmmaker Nicolás Echevarría (Cabeza de Vaca) documents the life, work and struggle of Santos de la Torre, the great Huichol muralist whose work can be seen at the threshold of the Louvre in Paris. The film accompanies Santos and his family on their pilgrimage to the holy grounds and the Wirkuta, “The Peyote Country.” These sacred grounds are facing devastation from mining companies so Santos asks the gods for permission to weave a new mural that will illustrate their history and hopefully bring their struggle to the world.-JM

Equal parts punk and psychedelia, the Flaming Lips emerged from Oklahoma City as one of the most bracing bands of the late 1980's. The Fearless Freaks documents their rise from Butthole Surfers-imitating noisemakers to grand poobahs of orchestral pop masterpieces. Filmmaker Bradley Beesely had the good fortune of being the neighbor of lead Lip Wayne Coyne, who quickly enlisted his buddy to document his band's many concerts and assorted exploits. The early footage is a riot, with tragic hair styles on proud display as the boys attempt to cover up their lack of natural talent with sheer volume. During one show, they even have a friend bring a motorcycle on stage, which is then miked for sound and revved throughout the performance, clearing the club with toxic levels of carbon monoxide. Great punk rock stuff.

Shannon Whisnant has a nose for a bargain. But when he bought a used grill at a North Carolina auction, the severed human foot he found among its ashes was not part of the deal. Soon the gruesome discovery becomes the toast of the infotainment world, and the new owner spies a golden opportunity to cash in on the media frenzy, until struggling addict and amputee John Wood recognizes his missing member and demands his own foot back. It is the stuff of documentary legend. -Sundance

Already the recipient of two coveted stars from the Michelin Guide, Curtis Duffy is one of the country's most renowned chefs and is about to open his own restaurant in Chicago. FOR GRACE gives us the rare opportunity to see the immense dedication and sacrifice it takes to create a world-class restaurant. A troubled youth and an unimaginable family tragedy caused Duffy to retreat into the kitchen and gave him his laser focus on food that lead to his success. Soon the immense pressure of building a career, a restaurant and perfecting his craft takes a toll on his family. -JM

Join us in the courtyard of the Phoenix Hotel/Chambers Restaurant for a FREE outdoor screening of a selection of short films from this year's festival.

GTFO takes an unwavering look at the extreme level of sexual harassment in the video game world, a 20 billion dollar industry that can’t seem to understand that 96% of teen girls play games. The infamous GamerGate brought to light the massive amount of harassment women constantly receive ranging from name calling to cyber vandalism to threats of rape and murder. Shannon Sun-Higginson paints a complex picture of the video game industry through interviews with video game developers, journalists, academics, and most importantly the actual trolls. -JM

When Dutch immigrant Harry deLeyer locked eyes with an Amish plow horse headed to slaughter, little did he know that both their lives would be changed forever. Harry paid $80 for the horse, named him Snowman and in less than two years they rose to become the national show jumping champions and were the Cinderella story and media darlings of late 1950's and 1960's. They were featured twice in Life magazine and the subject of three best selling books, including the 2011 NY Times Best-Seller, The Eighty-Dollar Champion. Snowman forever transformed the life of Harry and his family and now at 85, Harry still rides and trains the horses he loves. -JM

As children at a segregated state-run vocational school for the blind where conditions were harsh, the boys used to sneak off campus to perform. Faced with the bleak career choice of making brooms for a living, the blind youngsters quit school and hit the road. Riding the ups and downs of Gospel’s popularity, through segregation and declining fortunes with Rock n Roll’s arrival, and later their resurgence, the Grammy award winning Blind Boys of Alabama continue to tour well into their 80s and tell their story in their own words. -CM

Jon Mikl Thor was a bodybuilding, steel bending, brick smashing rock star in the 70's & 80's whose theatrical band, THOR, never quite made it big. Ten years into retirement and incapable of living like a normal mortal human being, Thor attempts a comeback to achieve the level of success that had eluded him his entire career - a comeback that nearly kills him. After Thursday night's screening, see THOR live on stage at Thee Parkside! -JR

By now, the idea of Civil War re-enactment is familiar, but the subjects of this intriguing documentary relive the battles of a far more surprising conflict: Vietnam. Drawing a mix of combat enthusiasts, Iraq War soldiers, actual Vietnam veterans, and even a former South Vietnamese Army officer, this band of brothers regularly recreates an unpopular war that a whole generation would rather forget. IN COUNTRY blurs fantasy with trauma while questioning what compels these men to don the vintage uniforms and bring the controversial war back to life. -CM

Inspired by nostalgia and a romantic idea of family legacy, prominent hip-hop artist and songwriter Che "Rhymefest" Smith decides to purchase his childhood home on Chicago’s South Side and raise his new family in the same house where he grew up. He quickly discovers that his estranged father is a homeless alcoholic living only blocks away, and hesitantly sets out to reconnect with the man who abandoned him over twenty years ago. Soon Che finds that fatherhood is more complicated than his idealized version allowed him to believe. -CM

Documentaries have often been a strong filmmaking forum for women directors to carve their own path, especially in the Bay Area. Come enjoy this FREE panel discussion about the struggles and successes regarding the representation of women in the film industry, while also meeting some of the kick ass established and emerging female documentary filmmakers from the vast, varied and vital local film world as they share their insights and connect. Nibbles and libations will be provided.

In 1992, SFMOMA put on the first major retrospective of the work of Jeff Koons, who at a boyish 37 was already lauded as a visionary and reviled as a provocateur. As Koons and his wife, Italian porn star/politician Ilona Staller, roll into town for the show the filmmakers cannily document everyone caught up in Koons’s success? the curators, the consultants, and the collectors? while also capturing a multi-sided portrait of a man whose work co

Unconventional, dynamic and innovative - this defines San Francisco's own Juxtapoz Magazine. In celebration of their 20th anniversary covering contemporary artists who push the envelope to redefine originality we're excited to share Juxtapoz Presents: Art Shorts which offers a selection of just that, short documentaries featuring a range of artists and works covered in the magazine. Among the films in the program are world premieres of "Cheech Marin: De Colores de Cheech" and "Robert Williams: Slang Aesthetics" plus surprise content, special treats and giveaways. -CM

Bed Stuy, Brooklyn is the birthplace of Brukup, a new dance form that has provided BSV members Blackie and Poba an escape from the streets. All they care about is dancing and working to keep kids off the streets by showing them how to turn anger into the art of dance. As fame is within their reach, with millions of hits on Youtube and TV production companies wanting to film their every glide, each member vows to live and die in Brooklyn. -JM

A remarkable story of the first female Japanese country music star Tomi Fujiyama. From playing the USO circuit to headlining in Las Vegas, her career culminated in a 1964 performance at The Grand Ole Opry with Johnny Cash. Forty years later, Tomi and her husband set out on a journey through Japan and across the U.S. to fulfill a dream of performing at The Opry one more time. A funny yet poignant multi-cultural journey through music, marriage and the impact of the corporate world on the dreams of one woman. -CM

Michael Des Barres life takes us on a wild journey through the history of rock and roll, and TV. He was the glam front man for such seminal 1970s bands as Silverhead and penned the hit song “Obsession” for new wave group Animotion. When he wasn’t touring he turned to acting and guest starred in just about every 80’s TV show including recurring roles on MacGyver and Melrose Place. Not to be missed are interviews with Don Johnson and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols. -JM

A Tibetan teenager travels from Minneapolis to India to compete in a most unlikely beauty pageant. Long separated from their ancient homeland, Tibet’s exile community struggles to maintain a sense of tradition in the face of modernity, emblematic in the contradictions of the Miss Tibet pageant. While its suave organizer insists that he offers young Tibetans a chance to immerse themselves in their culture and language, critics take issue with the event’s decidedly un-Tibetan focus on outer beauty, replete with bikinis and catwalks. -Doc NYC

Tirtza Even uses documentary film, a gallery installation and an interactive online archive to challenge the inequities in the U.S. juvenile justice system by depicting the stories of five individuals who were sentenced to Life Without Parole for crimes they committed as youth. Their background and their potential for rehabilitation were never taken into account at any point in the charging and sentencing process. The U.S. is the only country in the world that allows Life Without Parole sentencing for youth. -JM

A very White college fraternity known to fly the Confederate flag moves into a historically Black neighborhood and establishes their presence by staging an antebellum style parade. What happens next might surprise you. In the aftermath of Ferguson everyone’s talking about race, but can we speak about it openly and honestly? Or even change? What starts as a neighborhood struggle over cultural legacies in the South winds up becoming a window into the underlying dynamics of race relations in many American communities. -CM

Director John Lowe follows Lale's Labuko’s five-year quest to put an end to a violent custom of the Kara people of the Omo Valley in southwest Ethiopia. For generations they have believed that certain children are cursed and must be killed to save the tribe from drought and disease. Lale is a young educated Kara who was 15 years old when he learned he had 2 older sisters who were killed. He returns to his village determined to not let another child killed. -JM

PAUL SHARITS is an engaging portrait of one of the key figures of the American avant-garde cinema. In the mid sixties he started to explore the potential of the flicker and pursuing the total deconstruction of the parameters of 16mm film for abstract films. Miron’s film sketches a portrait of a tormented, deeply romantic artist, always courting disaster but also cursed by an inherited mental condition. The many interviews and testimonies are also a portrait of a generation of leading voices in experimental filmmaking. -JM

The sex offender label is a scarlet letter in the United States. Individuals given this designation are relegated to a life of public shame, their photos posted online for all to see, with few opportunities for redemption. Only a small number of facilities, such as the beaten-down trailer park at the center of Frida and Lasse Barkfors’ unflinching new film, offer people the chance to confront their crimes and re-integrate?as much as the law will allow?into society. Although the formal title of the place is Florida Justice Transitions, local neighbors have nicknamed it “Pervert Park.” Within this outcast community, a handful of offenders tell searing personal stories that paint a troubling portrait of abuse and justice in America. PERVERT PARK seeks neither to forgive nor defend its subjects, some of whom have committed acts so atrocious they cannot even forgive themselves, but it does question the severity of laws designed to stifle rather than rehabilitate those yearning for a second

PETALS IN THE DUST: THE ENDANGERED INDIAN GIRLS is part of director Nyna Pais Caputi’s personal mission to understand and shed light on the enormity of the problem of gender discrimination and violence in India. Women from all economic backgrounds continue to lose their lives to infanticide, sex-selective abortions, starvation and medical neglect, dowry deaths and brutal gang rapes. The resultant gender imbalance is leading to an increase in sexual crimes, child marriages, trafficking, bride buying and even polygamy. -JM

Defying an adulterous husband at age 55, Marie “Mimi” Haist sought a better life, and ended up on the streets of Los Angeles. At age 70 Mimi found her way to a Santa Monica Laundromat where she has lived for 18 years. Mimi’s ‘the past is the past’ philosophy endeared her to regular fluff and fold clients and, after more than 20 years, Mimi has made some unlikely friends, ranging from local loves to Hollywood A-listers Zach Galifianakis and Renee Zellweger. -JM

In collaboration with ROUGH CUTS we're excited to share a special sneak work-in-progress screening of local filmmaker Tamara Perkins' new documentary "Life After Life". Please come to participate in this special opportunity to give feedback to the filmmaker via a moderated discussion as they move to the next stage of finalizing their film. Bagels and coffee will be provided

Larger than life deli owner Salam Kahil is an art collector, a former male escort, an amateur musician and a sandwich maker for the homeless in Vancouver’s poorest neighborhood but his true passion is talking about blowjobs. The film follows Kahil as he struggles to come to terms with aging, deteriorating health and a past that forced him to flee his home in Lebanon as a child. Fresh from its world premiere at SXSW THE SANDWICH NAZI features a foul mouth, nudity and lots of laughs.-CM

That unfathomable and sometimes unexplainable need to do something or believe in something or someone is what ties these shorts together. Spear hunting, maps, the Renaissance Faire, Mars, ballroom gowns, Santa and (for some) an unacceptable desire are all explored in these never boring and often fascinating docs. -JM

Our beloved Bay Area is changing before our eyes and we are fortunate to have great local filmmakers documenting those changes and all the things that make our cities unique and wondrous. The films take us from an Oakland circus school across Treasure Island up Oak & Page Street thru The Columbarium to the Mission and then over to Colma. The people who make up these great cities are documented and given a voice. -JM - Presented by KQED’s Truly CA

The filmmakers in this collection of shorts have pushed the boundaries of the typical doc. These films come alive through the use of animation, rotoscope, and other innovative techniques to reveal the stories of their subjects. - JM

Kristian, Casper, and Jakob are friends and neighbours and like most young men share a great interest in sports, girls, sex and partying. They also all have Progressive Muscular Dystrophy and live their lives strapped to wheelchairs. For obvious reasons it’s difficult, bordering on impossible for them to find love - and sex so they eagerly await a road trip to Berlin that brings the promise of parties and sex – and if there’s any time left – a bit of sightseeing. -JM

STINK! is a first-person story about one father's absurd journey to find out what kinds of chemicals are hidden in a pair of his kid's pajamas - and why no one will tell him what they are. John Whelan goes from the halls of Congress to the aisles of your local supermarket, to laboratories and boardrooms and confronts the secret culture of cheap and toxic chemicals that permeate our everyday products. After watching this film don’t be surprised if you go home to your bathroom and throw everything out. -JM

Often viewed as Satanic on the grounds that they worshiped both Christ and Satan, The Process cult was founded by a splinter group of Scientology. Accused of being the inspiration for Charles Manson's 'crimes of the century', influencing the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, and the notorious Son of Sam serial killings they have spawned a slew of conspiracy theories. Former members reveal long held secrets in this fascinating film that includes interviews with George Clinton and Genesis P. Orridge.-JM

While the world has seen an amazing increase in the visibility the transgender community there are still many questions about gender that remain under the radar. Lonny Shavelson’s groundbreaking film is the first to explore the world of people who identify as neither male nor female: agender, gender neutral, gender queer, and more. Teenagers, parents, singles and couples, younger and older people will guide you into their world, where gender is not limited to male or female but is a spectrum of possibilities.-JM

A quirky and spirited sports film about three driven teenage athletes attempting to go for the Olympic gold. Their sport? The perpetually popular but underappreciated game of competitive ping pong. Top Spin documents the unusual challenges of coming of age in a niche sport, while having to balance expectations from school, family and friends. Struggling with SATs and college applications, it’s not all a dream when the ordinary pressures of adolescence begin to affect the mental and emotional concentration required to play this intense sport. -CM

A pair of acrobatic burlesque performers attempt to juggle art, love and financial stability in this perceptive portrait. Following the effervescent Trixie and the puckish Monkey from their base in Baltimore to hone their skills at a New England circus school, to burlesque competitions in Las Vegas and, finally, to a new home in New York City, Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander explores the sacrifices made for one’s passion, the meaning of success and the strength that comes from partnership. -Doc NYC

Adopted at birth, filmmaker Jeff Togman doesn't know who he is - literally. But when Jeff's own children are born, it unleashes feelings of abandonment he didn't even know he had, and compels him to search for his biological parents. His search for clues up and down the east coast leads him to rap-star DMC, an abandoned Catskills resort, the New Jersey State Legislature, the streets of Miami Beach, and the coke-dealing, police-fleeing attorney who handled his adoption. -JM