Howard Zinn’s alternate history of the United States, Paz Vega’s electrifying debut Sex and Lucia, Denys Arcand’s The Decline of the American Empire, the racy secret history of erotic art, and much more!
OVID.tv has announced its July slate of thirty (30) streaming releases, including seventeen (17) exclusively streaming on OVID.
Just in time for the 4th of July, OVID’s new lineup has films to challenge the status quo, including Howard Zinn’s A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, the Hollywood and 9/11 documentary BLOWBACK, and FRENEMIES, which combines Afro-Caribbean music and a critical perspective to examine the American embargo against Cuba.
OVID in July also features Denys Arcand’s classic 1986 comedy of sexual politics THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE, Belgian shocker ALLELUIA, and the steamy arthouse hit SEX AND LUCIA.
Streaming premieres include Dario Guerro’s deeply moving story of immigration and his mother’s battle with cancer ROCIO, and ORCHESTRATING CHANGE, a powerful doc about the only orchestra in the world for people living with mental illness. All this and more comes to OVID next month!
| Friday, July 1 |
| Howard Zinn: A People’s History of the United States Directed by Oliver Azam and Daniel Mermet, Under the Milky Way, Documentary, 2016 France With the tremendous success of his book, A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn radically changed the way Americans see themselves. His friend Noam Chomsky says that Zinn literally transformed a generation’s conscience. This 2016 adaptation of Zinn’s masterpiece focuses on the rise of labour in the 19th century. |
This Old Cub
Directed by Jeff Santo, Under the Milky Way, Documentary, 2004
US
A documentary about Ron Santo’s remarkable life and career, not only examining his years as a player and broadcaster, but his longtime struggle with the disease that has cost him a leg but has failed to break his spirit, and the crusade by fans and admirers to see Santo inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Noted Cubs enthusiasts Bill Murray, Dennis Franz, and Gary Sinese, and baseball legends Ernie Banks, Johnny Bench, Willie Mays, and Tommy Lasorda are interviewed onscreen; actor Joe Mantegna narrates.
The Girl With the Rivet Gun
OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere
Directed by Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly, Bullfrog Films, Documentary Short, 2020
US
Built entirely by women filmmakers, The Girl With the Rivet Gun is an unconventional animated documentary short based on the adventures of three real-life ‘Rosie the Riveters’ – Esther Horne, Susan Taylor King, and Mildred Crow Sargent. From vastly different backgrounds, these three women came of age in an America united by war but struggling with divisions of gender, economics, and race.
Tuesday, July 5
| Wrath of Silence Directed by Yukun Xin, Starring Wu Jiang, Under the Milky Way, Feature, 2017 China A young boy who tends sheep on a hillside in Northern China goes missing. His mute father looks for him with a special way of solving problems: Fisticuffs. “Long and twisty and attention-grabbing from the outset, this Chinese western cloaks its human poignancy in intricate action choreography and occasionally gory thrills.” —Screen International |
| Rock the Casbah Directed by Laïla Marrakchi, Starring Morjana Alaoui, Under the Milky Way, Feature, 2014 France The patriarch of a family dies suddenly, prompting a reunion of his four daughters, some of whom haven’t seen each other for a long time. In the midst of mourning their father, traditions are upheld… and secrets are revealed. |
Wednesday, July 6
| Connectivity Project OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere Directed by Rose Madrone, Bullfrog Films, Documentary, 2020 US This series highlights how science and different cultures and traditions from around the world embrace the importance of interconnectedness. As we follow inspiring individuals who are making a difference in the lives around them, we see these connections exhibited all around us. |
| CERN OVID Exclusive Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Under the Milky Way, Documentary, 2013 Switzerland Award-winning director Nikolaus Geyrhalter (Our Daily Bread, Abendland) delivers stunning images from inside the immense CERN, the research center in Switzerland where they try to recreate the big bang. Alternated by interviews with the experts who devised the “Large Hadron Collider,” the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, CERN gives an unprecedented insight into the complex experimental research institution and explores moments of tension between man and technology. |
| Thursday, July 7 |
| Blowback OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere Directed by George Lee and Terence McSweeney, Bullfrog Films, Documentary Short, 2019 US For a huge number of people around the globe, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have become “America’s story”. Films like the Academy Award-winning The Hurt Locker (2009) and the commercially successful and culturally impactful American Sniper (2014) have made a substantial impact on how these wars have been shaped in the global cultural imaginary. But what of films about these modern wars made outside of the United States? What of those narratives told by the Iraqis and Afghans themselves? |
| Master of the Universe OVID Exclusive Directed by Marc Bauder, Under the Milky Way, Documentary, 2013 Germany Investment bankers are the real Masters of the Universe, not politicians, armies or even countries. In economic powerhouse Germany, a top banker gives a disturbing insider’s account of his emotions, motivations, and predictions. Revealing a parallel universe of extreme income and merciless pressure. The system disconnects bankers from the outside world, unable to reflect on their work. |
Friday, July 8
The Decline of the American Empire
Directed by Denys Arcand, Under the Milky Way, Feature, 1986
Canada
When a Montreal professor (Rémy Girard) and his wife (Dorothée Berryman) gather six of their erudite friends for a holiday in the country, the conversation naturally turns to sex. The men brag about their promiscuity while their female counterparts dish on their own exploits at a nearby gym. But a fun and titillating topic devolves into a cavalcade of hurt feelings and accusations when an unexpected dinner guest (Gabriel Arcand) reveals some shocking secrets.
LOL
Directed by Lisa Azuelos, Starring Sophie Marceau, Under the Milky Way, Feature, 2008
France
When Lola’s boyfriend is unfaithful to her on his summer holiday, she dumps him and flirts with his best friend as punishment. But as their class prepares to leave on an excursion to London, the relationship heats up.
Tuesday, July 12
Rocío
OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere
Directed by Dario Guerrero, Icarus Films, Documentary, 2019
US
Weaving together footage from over a quarter of a century, Rocío follows the family of undocumented Mexican immigrant and Harvard University student Darío Guerrero as they struggle to stay together in the face of his mother’s terminal illness and the punishing constraints of U.S. immigration law. When news of Rocío Meneses Díaz’s diagnosis of cancer forces Darío to take a leave of absence from Harvard, he returns to his family’s Los Angeles home to help care for her and document the way illness profoundly transforms his family’s life.
| Activized OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere Directed by Eric Stange, Twin Seas Media, Documentary Short, 2014 US Activized follows the stories of ordinary Americans who, for the first time in their lives, have left their comfort zones and become involved in gun violence prevention, voting rights, and immigrants’ rights. Interweaving their personal stories against the backdrop of the causes they fight for, we experience their motivations, successes and failures, their sacrifices, and victories. Above all, we celebrate these inspiring, courageous citizens for embracing one of the most basic of American traditions – dissent. |
| Wednesday, July 13 |
Alleluia
Directed by Fabrice Du Welz, Music Box Films, Feature, 2019
Belgium
Based on notorious real-life “lonely hearts killers” who make victims of their romantic liaisons, Alleluia is a dark and fascinating love-story-gone-wrong from Belgian horror maverick Fabrice du Welz. Michel (Laurent Lucas, With a Friend Like Harry) is a born womanizer and professional hustler with a penchant for wooing lonely, vulnerable widows and divorcees. When he meets introverted single mom Gloria (Lola Dueñas, Volver) and treats her to an electrifying first date, she’s left completely smitten. Michel tries to swindle what he can out of the one-night stand, but his latest victim has other plans. Basking in the rush of new love, she frantically pursues him, witnessing the true depths of his depravity and offering herself as an accomplice in his seductive crimes.
| Secret Museums OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere Directed by Peter Woditsch, Icarus Films, Documentary, 2008 Belgium Throughout the ages, erotic art has been created by some of the world’s best-known artists, but it is rarely on public display. Whether it is held in private collections or kept under lock and key in museums and libraries worldwide, erotic art and literature remains censored. But when graphic, even extreme sexual imagery is freely available on the Internet, why is erotic art considered so dangerous that it must be prohibited? |
| Thursday, July 14 (Bastille Day) |
| Germinal OVID Exclusive Directed by Claude Berri, Starring Gérard Depardieu and Miou-Miou, Based on the novel by Émile Zola, Under the Milky Way, Feature, 1993 France During the Second Napoleonic Empire, Etienne Lantier finds employment as a coal miner in the north of France. He immediately encounters misery and degradation in the appalling conditions of the mine. There he meets men as unscrupulous as Chaval and, conversely, as generous as Maheu. In fact, a whole range of suffering humanity, labouring under the curse of capitalism. |
| Friday, July 15 |
Sex and Lucia
Directed by Julio Medem, Starring Paz Vega, Feature, Music Box Films, 2001
Spain
Lucía is a young waitress in Madrid, who seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island after the loss of her longtime boyfriend. Amidst the fresh air, dazzling sun, and glistening deep blue water, Lucía begins to piece together the dark corners of her past relationship. Enthralling on every level, Sex and Lucia is a stirring love story that dazzles with its labyrinthine plot, breathtaking cinematography and erotic passion.
| Wednesday, July 20 |
| 10 Billion OVID Exclusive Directed by Valentin Thurn, Under the Milky Way, Documentary, 2015 Germany In this century alone the world population will increase to 10 billion. Where do we get enough food that each individual needs to survive? How do we stop mankind from destroying the very foundation of its food source? Valentin Thurn travels the world to study the essentials of food production, during which he encountered diverse interest groups. He meets organic farmers and agro-industry speculators, and visits urban gardens and commercial slaughterhouses, showing sustainable and gentle methods that ensure food production for the future. |
| Wa-shoku Dream: Beyond Sushi OVID Exclusive Directed by Junichi Suzuki, Under the Milky Way, Documentary, 2015 Japan This feature documentary film shows the past and the future of Wa-Shoku, Japan’s traditional cuisine. |
Thursday, July 21
| Ruth Stone’s Vast Library of the Female Mind OVID Exclusive, SVOD Premiere Directed by Nora Jacobson, Icarus Films, Documentary, 2022 US After tragedy struck, acclaimed poet Ruth Stone retreated to the margins of the literary world, working tirelessly to provide for her children, and transforming her intense grief into poetry, using simple, startling language. Beloved by many, Ruth’s home in Goshen, Vermont became a mecca for her students, as well as poet friends and family members. This film hopes to acquaint more people with Ruth Stone’s poetry and the poignant tragedy at the heart of her oeuvre. |
| Renzo Piano: An Architect for Santander Directed by Carlos Saura, Under the Milky Way, Documentary, 2018 Spain Carlos Saura celebrates the relationship between architecture and cinema as imagined by Renzo Piano, the Genoese architect who designed some of the most significant contemporary buildings in the world. |
| Friday, July 22 |
| Arsène Lupin OVID Exclusive Directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, Starring Romain Duris and Kristin Scott Thomas, Feature, Under the Milky Way, 2004 France As an urbane and very successful thief, Arsène Lupin (Romain Duris) has earned the ire of the Parisian police, as he continually evades and foils their every effort to rein him in. A gentlemanly crook, Lupin’s code of conduct has served him well over the years, as he only robs the homes of the wealthy and of other criminals. Over the course of his many adventures, Lupin meets Joséphine (Kristin Scott Thomas), a mysterious woman with curious abilities, and becomes involved in a treasure hunt. |
| Female Agents Directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, Starring Sophie Marceau, Under the Milky Way, Feature, 2008 France May 1944. A five-woman commando unit parachutes into occupied France on a daring and dangerous mission to protect the secret of the D-Day Landings and eliminate Colonel Heindrich, the head of German counter-intelligence. Starring Sophie Marceau (The Party), Deborah François (Populaire) and Julie Depardieu. |
Nobody From Nowhere
OVID Exclusive
Directed by Matthieu Delaporte, Starring Mathieu Kassovitz, Feature, Under the Milky Way, 2014
France
Sébastien Nicolas (Mathieu Kassovitz, The Bureau) has always wanted to be someone else. But he lacks imagination, so he copies. He watches people, follows them, then impersonates the people he meets.
Tuesday, July 26
| Frenemies: Cuba and the US Embargo OVID Exclusive, SVOD Premiere Directed by Mirella Martinelli, Documentary, Bullfrog Films, 2020 US Set to the pulsating beats of Afro-Caribbean music, Frenemies examines the fraught relationship between the island nation of Cuba and the United States. Presenting a critical perspective on both governments, Frenemies blends archival footage with contemporary examples of Cuba’s economic decay and vibrant culture, painting a vivid portrait of a nation fighting for survival against the world’s longest-running embargo. |
| Wednesday, July 27 |
| The Dirty War on the National Health Service OVID Exclusive, SVOD Premiere Directed by John Pilger, Bullfrog Films, Documentary, 2019 UK Britain’s National Health Service, the NHS, was the world’s first universal public health service. Designed to give millions of people “freedom from fear” following World War II, the NHS today is under threat of being sold off and converted to a free market model inspired by America’s disastrous health insurance system, which results in the unnecessary death every year of an estimated 45,000 people. Filmed in Britain and the United States just prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, this timely and compelling documentary by BAFTA and Emmy award-winning journalist John Pilger reveals what may be the last battle to preserve the most fundamental human right of all. |
| Resistance is Life Directed by Apo W. Bazidi, Under the Milky Way, Documentary, 2017 Syria, Turkey, US From a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border, an 8-year-old girl named Evlin characterizes the resilience of her hometown of Kobane against ISIS militants. In the midst of the tragic war in Syria, Evlin’s story provides hope. |
| Thursday, July 28 |
The Passion of Augustine
Directed by Léa Pool, Starring Céline Bonnier, Under the Milky Way, Feature, 2015
Canada
In a small convent school in rural Quebec, Mother Augustine provides musical education to young women no matter their socio-economic background. However, with the looming changes brought by Vatican II and Quebec’s Quiet Revolution, the school’s future is in peril.
Friday, July 29
| Orchestrating Change OVID Exclusive, SVOD Premiere Directed by Margie Friedman and Barbara Multer-Wellin, Bullfrog Films, Documentary, 2021 US The inspiring story of Me2/Orchestra, the only orchestra in the world created by and for people living with mental illness and those who support them. With compelling characters, striking animation, and even humour, Orchestrating Change addresses many of the myths about mental illness by showing what living with a mental illness is really like — with both setbacks and accomplishments. The film culminates in an extraordinary concert that is a triumph for Me2/Orchestra’s conductor, who lives with bipolar disorder and thought he might never conduct again, and for the musicians, their families and the audience. |
| Django Directed by Etienne Comar, Starring Reda Kateb, Under the Milky Way, Feature, 2017 France The story of Django Reinhardt (Reda Kateb), famous guitarist and composer, and his flight from German-occupied Paris in 1943. |
