Old Harp Singing of East Tennessee

Boomerang is a short film set in a post-collapse Berlin 50 years into the future: Raven finds an old diary from a 2020s pro Palestine activist and gets inspired to try some of its "recipes for disaster". Shot in an ASMR-style this experimental film is filled with sneaky folk songs leading Raven to turn their sadness into rage, and their rage into action. It's an attempt at making a piece of agit prop directed at passive "allies" and liberals who are too busy protecting their cushy lives, to realise their inactivity is making them complicit. It’s a film about the process of changing your mind, about what you’re gonna do, when presented with new information.

An intimate look into the lives of one of the most iconic folk-rock bands in America - the Indigo Girls. With never-before-seen archival and intimate vérité the film dives into the songwriting and storytelling of the music that transformed a generation.

Tracing his career up to the point of his 1966 motorcycle accident and subsequent disappearance from the spotlight, this unauthorized documentary uncovers a side of Bob Dylan never revealed before. Includes extensive interviews and rare footage.

With The Innocent Criminals, American singer Ben Harper set the legendary Olympia stage alight. He performed his album Bloodline Maintenance there.

In 1968 Roger Smith ate a peach during a break from work. When he was finished he took out a pocketknife and began carving the peach pit into a tiny pig. 43 years later the retired meter reader and cattle rancher from Culloeka, Tennessee, has carved hundreds of peach seeds into hummingbirds, stingrays, gospel choirs, entire villages, even a baseball stadium with more than 100 figures. "Given enough time," says Smith, "I don't think there is anything you can't make out of a peach seed."

The final episode in our Mini-Docs series comes from musician and writer Jake Anderson, who explores the niche music genres which find an increasing audience in the North East. On a mission to discover outside-the-mainstream sounds and the driving forces behind their creation, Jake chats with musicians Me Lost Me, SQUARMS and Mariam Rezaei, along with some of the major players keeping these sonically-engaging sound makers doing what they’re doing, including Simeon Soden from Kaneda Records and Lee Etherington of TUSK. This mini-documentary features reflections on some of the most unique acts in the North East, what genre boundaries actually mean and artists’ hopes for the future of the North East’s alternative scene. This is an Art Mouse film for NARC. TV, written and directed by Jake Anderson.

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A documentary about the well-known Latvian youth choir “Kamēr...” and its journey to the Tolosa Choral competition. A debut from a 20 year old singer of the choir, the film offers a deeply personal insight into the most difficult challenge the choir has ever faced. After the head conductor leaving, the choir has just 2 months to get used to a new leader. A test for the new conductor who has to prove his worth at one of the most important competi-tions of the choir’s history. It’s do or die, as nothing less than a victory will be accepted. Following the choir every step of the way, the director puts the audience in a first-row seat at rehearsals, performances, discussions and spectacular moments that can only be seen through the eyes of a singer. An unprecedented view of the personal battles and achieve-ments, that lead up to a real-life story, never captured before.

In 1940s France, a new teacher at a school for disruptive boys gives hope and inspiration.

Pop sensations the Lovin' Spoonful perform their biggest hits in this collection of television appearances from the 1960s and '70s. Lead singer and songwriter John Sebastian discusses the band, their music and their legacy. Songs include "Summer in the City," "She's Still a Mystery," "Nashville Cats," the hit theme to the sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter," "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and "Do You Believe in Magic?"

Youthful Father Chuck O'Malley led a colorful life of sports, song, and romance before joining the Roman Catholic clergy. After being appointed to a run-down New York parish, O'Malley's worldly knowledge helps him connect with a gang of boys looking for direction, eventually winning over the aging, conventional Parish priest.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced musical activities to shut down in March 2020, singers searched for ways to stay connected and sing live music together. Online solutions such as Zoom helped groups socially, but did not allow a choir to rehearse and perform together. Several tech-savvy musicians turned to old-school audio technology to organize parking lot choirs, with each singer safely isolated in their own car. The idea spread through social media across the US and Canada, and reached the attention of the New York Times, the Today Show, and NPR. "The Drive to Sing" tells the story of the parking lot choir, the cast of characters who worked together to develop and refine it, and the singers who kept their musical communities going during this time of fear and isolation.

When Miley Stewart (aka pop-star Hannah Montana) gets too caught up in the superstar celebrity lifestyle, her dad decides it's time for a total change of scenery. But sweet niblets! Miley must trade in all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for some ol' blue jeans on the family farm in Tennessee, and question if she can be both Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana.

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Following folk musician Joan Baez on her extensive 2008-2009 tour, this film commemorates her career, which has spanned five decades. It includes concert and archival footage as well as interviews with such disparate colleagues, friends and admirers as Bob Dylan, Jesse Jackson and David Crosby. In addition to the music, it also touchs upon Baez's long history of global social activism.

Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.

This program collects a number of the late singer/songwriter Steve Goodman's appearances on the classic AUSTIN CITY LIMITS television series. Probably best known for his song "City of New Orleans", Goodman's catalog of songs have earned him a large cult of fans, including luminaries such as John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, and Arlo Guthrie, all of whom appear here, talking about Goodman and his music. Containing a wealth of live material along with rare interview footage, this program is an excellent retrospective of a great career.

This television special is a first for the reclusive singer with the BBC documentary gaining new interviews with Young, nine months apart in New York and California. The documentary also looks back over the singer's archives, with some never-seen-before material.

Eric Andersen is widely regarded as one of the most poetic songwriters that sprang from the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1960s. His artful mélange of love, despair, hope and stirred memory has earned him a passionate international following and the respect and admiration of artists ranging from Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen to Lou Reed and Wyclef Jean. The Songpoet offers a look into the mind, soul and creative process of this multifaceted, complex and singularly driven artist whose career saw great expectations waylaid by misfortune.

When lively lounge singer Deloris sees her mobster beau commit murder, she is relocated for her protection. Set up in the guise of a nun in a California convent, she proceeds to upend the quiet lives of the resident sisters.