Constructed entirely through 1980s network news and videotapes created by the Reagan administration itself, Velez and Pettengill’s prescient documentary presents Ronald Reagan as the first made-for-TV president—a man whose experience as a performer and public relations expert made him a unique match for an emerging modern political landscape, and for his chief rival: charismatic Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

As the new millennium began, one news story captured the attention and hearts of nearly every American. On Thanksgiving 1999, a young Cuban boy named Elián González was found floating in the Florida Straits by himself after his mother drowned trying to seek refuge in the United States. Before long, the 5-year-old González became the centerpiece of an intense custody battle between his father back in Cuba and his relatives in Miami, which, in turn, brought attention to the long-brewing tensions between Fidel Castro’s Cuba and the U.S. Throughout the news coverage, though, one voice was too young to join the heated international conversation: that of Elián himself. Eighteen years later, in the wake of Fidel Castro’s monumental death last November, ELIÁN lets the now 23-year-old tell his story, along with the other key players, of one of the biggest news events in modern times.

Executive produced by Alex Gibney, Tim Golden and Ross McDonnell use Elián’s intimate details as the jumping-off point for a powerfully relevant historical account.

Who killed Marsha P. Johnson? When the beloved, self-described “street queen” of NY’s Christopher Street was found floating in the Hudson River in 1992, the NYPD called her death a suicide. Protests erupted but the police remained impassive and refused to investigate. Now, twenty-five years on, Academy Award® nominated director and journalist David France (How to Survive a Plague) examines Marsh’s death—and her extraordinary life—in his new film.

Marsha arrived in the Village in the 1960s where she teamed up with Sylvia Rivera when both claimed their identities as “Drag Queens,” to use the vernacular of the times. Together, the radical duo fought arrests, condemned police brutality, organized street kids, battled the intolerant majority within the gay community, and helped spearhead the Stonewall Riots.

In 1970 they formed the world’s first trans-rights organization, STAR (Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries). Despite their many challenges over the years—bias, homelessness, illness—Marsha and Sylvia ignited a powerful and lasting civil rights movement for gender nonconforming people.

Now, a quarter century later, at a time of unprecedented visibility and escalating violence in the transgender community, a dynamic activist named Victoria Cruz has taken it upon herself to reexamine what happened at the end of Marsha’s Life. THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON follows as this champion pursues leads, mobilizes officials, and works to get to the bottom of Marsha’s death.

The psych-out nightmare feature directorial debut from Steve, the filmmaking alter-ego of Steve Ellison, better known as acclaimed musician Flying Lotus, KUSO takes those brave enough to tag along on a wild ride. Broadcasting through a makeshift network of discarded televisions, KUSO depicts the aftermath of Los Angeles’s worst earthquake nightmare. Viewers travel between screens and aftershocks into the twisted lives of the survived, experiencing a hallucination that feels like David Cronenberg meeting Ren & Stimpy.

Starring: Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller, Dan Hedaya, Robert Forster

A bright-eyed young actress travels to Hollywood only to be ensnared in a dark conspiracy involving a woman who was nearly murdered, and now has amnesia because of a car crash. Eventually, both women are pulled into a psychotic illusion involving a dangerous blue box, a director named Adam Kesher, and the mysterious night club Silencio.

Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher are back to serve up some of their all-time greatest VHS finds, with newly discovered footage and updates on the people in these videotaped obscurities. Highlights include:

 -An arts & crafts instructional video by a woman who is psychotically enthusiastic about sponge painting

-A montage of exercise video weirdos, including Angela Lansbury, Traci Lords, and a Rastafarian rooster

-On-air mishaps from a local pet advice call-in show called Petpourri

-Never-before-seen footage from Pickett and Prueher’s news pranks, include Kenny “K-Strass” Strasser, Chef Keith, and Chop & Steele

The Man With No Name (Clint Eastwood) enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers (Antonio Prieto, Benny Reeves, Sieghardt Rupp) and sheriff John Baxter (Wolfgang Lukschy). When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit.

A small group of typical Tromaville citizens find themselves in the path of a terrorist army controlled by the power elite. The freedom of Tromaville and the world is at stake! Troma‘s War creates new kinds of heroes. A used car salesman, a handsome environmentalist, an obese junk-food gourmand, a seventy-year-old housewife, some sensational young women, a year old jingoistic baby and more sensational women all become deadly soldiers.

PLEASE NOTE A CHANGE IN PROGRAM: this screening will now be shown in its original form/score and will not have a live sound performance.

The first part in Godfrey Reggio’s The Qatsi Trilogy, KOYANNISQATSI is a renowned documentary that reveals how humanity has grown apart from nature. Drawing its title from the Hopi word meaning “life out of balance,” it features extensive footage of natural landscapes and elemental forces, with a gradual evolution to scenes of modern civilization and technology. The film’s lack of narration or dialogue allows its purpose to be realized through creative uses of imagery and an inventive musical score.

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton

Steven Spielberg’s glorious Jaws is the film that defined the blockbuster and has made generations of movie-goers terrified of going into the water. When a giant great white sharks swims into the town of Amityville during the Fourth of July holiday and begins munching on vacationers, it sets off a battle on both land and in the sea.

The first half of Jaws is the struggle of New Yorker sheriff Brody is get the mayor on board with the idea that a man-eating shark is cause enough to close the beach. The second half is an adventurous boat trip with Brody, marine biologist “city hands” Hopper, and salty fisherman “chalkboard” Quint as they battle the shark on its own surf. In between, you get a lot of intensely scary moments. Trust us, you’ll never forget the first time you see that shark pop out of the water on the big screen!