Long before our current era of “fake news,” Marion Stokes was amassing an incredible archive in an effort to protect and tell the truth. Beginning with the Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979 and ending in 2012 with the massacre at Sandy Hook, Stokes archived and preserved the television that others were not. She recorded an incredible 70,000 VHS tapes capturing wars, triumphs, catastrophes, and more. The archive reveals the past and how it shaped television and the present moment.
Filmmaker Matt Wolf (Teenage, SF IndieFest 2014) goes deep inside this captured history of television, providing insight into Stokes as keeper of the archive, while also showing the world that she wanted humanity to see. Taking on the aura of a mystery, Recorder delves into the curious world of a Communist radical and genius recluse who dedicated her life to a seemingly crazy mission, which in the end, is a glorious gift to the world. -CM
Co-presented by Bay Area Video Coalition, SFFILM and The Internet Archive