Ian MacKaye

Featuring original interviews with America’s punk pioneers and the U.K.’s most notorious bands, alongside a seamless blend of rare and unseen photos, gritty archival film and video, a crackling soundtrack of punk hits and misses, this documentary series explores the music, the fashion, the art and the DIY attitude of a subculture of self-described misfits and outcasts.

The band Fugazi is documented over a period of more than ten years (1987-1998) through performance footage and interviews with the band and their fans. Director Jem Cohen's relationship with band member Ian MacKaye extends back to the 1970s when the two met in high school in Washington, D.C.. The film takes its title from the Fugazi song of the same name, from their 1993 album, In on the Kill Taker. Editing of the film was done by both Cohen and the members of the band over the course of five years. It was shot from 1987 through 1998 on super 8, 16mm and video and is composed mainly of footage of concerts, interviews with the band members, practices, tours and time spent in the studio recording their 1995 album, Red Medicine. The film also includes portraits of fans as well as interviews with them at various Fugazi shows around the United States throughout the years.

Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.

Breadcrumb Trail focuses on Slint's seminal album, Spiderland, and the Louisville music scene from which the band originated.

When does art become obscenity? Cover Your Ears takes a close look at this question through the lens of the past 100 years of music and the ever-evolving discussion of legal and moral lines in the industry

Rare proshot

Follows the story of the groundbreaking Texas-based art-punk band founded by frontman Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary.

Through an oral history format of in-depth interviews and archival footage, RIOT ON THE DANCE FLOOR bring to life the gritty story of City Gardens, one of New Jersey’s most infamous clubs and its larger than life promoter, Randy Now. Featuring the stark and iconic photography of Thrasher Magazine’s Ken Salerno, the film chronicles the rise of several different music scenes in a venue for underground music that traversed the entertainment spectrum; from the comedy of Henny Youngman to Nine Inch Nails, New Order to Nirvana. It is the story of musical champions, underdogs and how hoards of misfit kids found an unlikely home and above all, the freedom and liberation of having complete creative control. - IFF Boston

The true story of punks, queers, & criminals on a ride with two men who accidentally changed music along the way.

The life and career of rock n' roll icon Joan Jett from her early years ripping it up onstage as the founder and backbone of hard-rock legends The Runaways, to her long time collaboration with Kenny Laguna as Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and her enduring presence in pop culture as a rock pioneer and mentor. With her inimitable singles "I Love Rock n Roll," and "Bad Reputation" Joan Jett inspired a generation of young women to rock.

On the edge of the 30th anniversary of punk rock, Punk's Not Dead takes you into the sweaty underground clubs, backyard parties, recording studios, shopping malls and stadiums where punk rock music and culture continue to thrive.

36 minutes of video footage shot by Lance Bangs and Jem Cohen (famously used in the Instrument movie).

An hour-long documentary filmed by the band, Superchunk, on its 2001 tour of Japan, Europe and the US

Rare multicam concert done in protest against the Gulf War.

A documentary about the life and career of UK singer-songwriter and Adverts frontman, TV Smith.

Rare proshot concert of the band

The most widely associated perception of Straight Edge involves abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and promiscuous sex. Since it's origin in the early 1980's these beliefs have spread all over the world, connected through the Punk and Hardcore music scenes. Through interviews with musicians that directly shaped the idea of Straight Edge from its inception until today, EDGE reveals that the abstinence from drugs was established as a youth counter culture rejecting a society dominated by substance abuse and hegemony. Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi), Ray Cappo (Youth of Today, Shelter) and Karl Buechner (Earth Crisis, Freya) give witness to their perception of the history of Straight Edge, why it was so important to them and what it changed in their personal and professional careers. But they also address problems like violence, sexism and intolerance that emerged within Straight Edge, and how it changed the 'scene' as well as its public image.

These days, there’s a lot of talk about outsiders in politics, but very few people can claim outsider status like Joe Keithley, punk legend turned a dedicated environmentalist and city councilor. Something Better Change follows Keithley’s absolutely fascinating life and career, showing us both his time as the front man of the formative hardcore punk band D.O.A., as well as his campaigns for city council as a Green Party candidate in his hometown of Burnaby, British Columbia. Featuring interviews with other punk luminaries like Jello Biafra and Ian MacKaye, as well as an appearance from Beto O’Rourke, whether you’re a hardcore punk fan or just a civically engaged citizen, Creem: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine director Scott Crawford’s latest film has a little something for everyone. – Daniel Abelow

"Dope, Hookers and Pavement" is a lively and unfiltered account of the early days of the Detroit hardcore punk scene, circa 1981-82, in the notorious Cass Corridor, arguably one of the worst neighbourhoods in the city at the time. Featuring over 70 in-depth interviews — including John Brannon (Negative Approach), Tesco Vee (Meatmen, Touch and Go), Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Dischord Records), pro skater Bill Danforth, scene kids, and members of the Necros, The Fix, Violent Apathy and Bored Youth — and never-before-seen Super8 footage of the Freezer, "Dope, Hookers and Pavement" is both hilarious and reflective, and an overdue record of a nearly invisible but magic little moment in the long history of Detroit rock'n'roll.

Documentary on doom metal band The Obsessed. Featuring members of: White Zombie, Fugazi, Pantera, Henry Rollins, L7, The Melvins and more.