Copyright Criminals examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. This documentary traces the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry. For more than thirty years, innovative hip-hop performers and producers have been re-using portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. When lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.” The film showcases many of hip-hop music’s founding figures like Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Digital Underground—while also featuring emerging hip-hop artists from record labels Definitive Jux, Rhymesayers, Ninja Tune, and more.
A host of personalities reminisce about the life and work of songwriter, lawyer, and congressman Humberto Teixeira — aka "Baião Doctor" — the author of such classic Brazilian popular songs as "Asa Branca". A musical film about the baião, a movement in Brazilian music in the 1940s and 1950s that was later snowed under by samba and bossa nova.
Naruse Uta is a "unique" 13 year old child. She possessed the talent to read sheet music even before she could speak, but has now come to the point where she hates playing the piano. Her father was also a piano virtuoso, but mysteriously disappeared from her life at a young age. Because of her father's disappearance Uta's mother had to move out of their posh home and into a far modest working class neighborhood. In this working class neighborhood there is a local grocer. The grocer's son Kikuna Oto happens to be a budding musician, but lacks the drive to truly succeed. That is until Uta Naruse comes into his life...
"5 Sides of a Coin" is a comprehensive overview of the worldwide cultural movement of Hip-Hop.
Celebrity Takedown is a compilation DVD by Gorillaz, released in November 2002. The DVD compiles the videos and animatics related to the release of the band's first album, Gorillaz, as well as the related singles.
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.
A film about the Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco in 1996.