California Movies

Through concerts and interviews, folk-progressive group Harmonium takes Quebec culture to California. This documentary full of colour and sound,...

CMC’s visionary leaders and artists to celebrate one of San Francisco’s most-revered and longest-running community arts programs.

An aerial journey through California's coastline.

Released on the 10th of December, 1917. Produced by Burton Holmes.

A series of static shots of the buildings of the California Mission system, as they existed in 1907. Because many of the Mission buildings were in...

Questions of race, identity and heritage are explored through the lives of young American women growing up as adoptees from China. These four...

"I especially hope to inspire young women, because I often feel like so much emphasis is put on how beautiful you are, and how thin you are, and not...

Wendell is trying to make peace with his earthly deterioration in the face of late-stage cancer. His son Josh is fighting it, fleeing it, denying it....

PURSUING BEAUTY: The Architecture of Bernard Maybeck tells the story of a 19th century romantic who used 20th century materials to create buildings...

Named after the Shoshonean word for "Earth", this is the third and final part of Benning's "California Trilogy" and his approach to the Californian...

Beyond the sensationalized stories dominating the news, real people share their unfiltered experiences of life in San Francisco, a city far more...

Tractor Harvesters at work in the San Joaquin Valley. A visit to Hopi House at the Grand Canyon.

Released on the sixth of March, 1916. Produced by Burton Holmes.

"I made this film when I went to the San Francisco Art Institute, after graduating from Smith a semester early. It was my reaction to California....

This in-depth analysis explores the disconnect between policymakers and regular Californians, causing a mass exodus from the state. It's an essential...

Released on March 13th, 1916. Produced by Burton Holmes.

Wendy, a Chinese “parachute kid,” is struggling to adapt to her new American life.

Every Christmas, Bruce Mertz lights up the neighborhood with the 50,000 lights covering his house. For decades he's obsessively added to his display,...

1967: Two of the world's best climbers, Yvon Chouinard and Royal Robbins, tackle the west face of Sentinel Rock, an iconic 2,100-meter granite peak...

Ancient documentary that presents the ascent of Higher and Lower Cathedral Spires in Yosemite Valley by a party of three climbers from the Sierra...