Documentary Films

Berkeley Documentary Film Series at the Hillside Club presents a documentary about mid-century architect and designer Eliot Noyes directed and written by Jason Cohn. Noyes designed programs and logos for some of America's most powerful corporations, including IBM, during the period of postwar economic expansion and culminates in the backlash against Noyes and his generation during the upheavals of the Vietnam era. ​ Cohn will be present after the screening to answer question

Wed., April 9, 7 p.m., the Berkeley Documentary Film Series features Skin of Glass, a film by Denise Zmekhol, an Arab-Brazilian, award-winning director whose documentary Children of the Amazon was broadcast on PBS. This new documentary starts with the discovery by the filmmaker that her late father's most celebrated work as an architect, a modernist glass skyscraper in the heart of Sao Paulo, has become occupied by hundreds of homeless families. Admission is $15 online or at

Berkeley Documentary Film Series at the Hillside Club presents The Power to Heal , a stirring 56-minute exploration of how grass-roots volunteers, movement leaders, and the federal government used the advent of Medicare to desegregate hospitals in the U.S. This remains an inspiring example of how motivated citizens and adept political leaders can successfully tackle issues of serious social injustice. After the screening, the film's producer, Barbara Berney, and a physician

The Art of Eating: The Life of M.F.K. Fisher is a feature documentary about the dramatic life and lasting impact of the California food writer M.F.K. Fisher, who elevated cooking from a domestic chore to a critical study of what it means to be human. Described by W.H. Auden as “the best prose writer in America,” the intrepid but underrecognized Fisher helped introduce continental sensibilities to America’s burgeoning culinary world. Perhaps more importantly, she forever tran

Cold Refuge , a documentary by Judy Irving ( Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill ), is about the physical, psychological, and spiritual effects of swimming in cold water filmed in the SF Bay and beyond. Irving and world-champion Ironman Triathlon swimmer Corvin Bazgum, who is blind, as well as Bruce Kaphan, film composer, will discuss the film with the audience after the screening. Films are $15 at the door and $10 for club members.

The Hillside Club presents a screening of Magical Imperfection an examination of the life of architect, Raymond Moriyama. Magical Imperfection tells the inspirational story of world-renowned Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama. Imprisoned in his own country during the 1940s because of his race, Ray found the strength to combat injustice by devoting his career to social justice and equality. Director: Scott Calbeck Writer: David Hoffert

The Hillside Club presents a screening of This Ain’t No Mouse Music! The Story of Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records This Ain’t No Mouse Music! The Story of Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records , a documentary film by Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling. In-Person: Maureen Gosling for a Q & A following the screening The 2013 film’s portrait of Strachwitz, who frequently attended the Hillside Club’s classical music concerts, follows his travels as a sonic sleuth and founder of

The Hillside Club presents a screening of Town Destroyer the story of the Washington High School mural controversy. TOWN DESTROYER explores the ways we look at art and history at a time of racial reckoning. The story focuses on a dispute over historic murals depicting the life of George Washington: slaveowner, general, land speculator, President, and a man Seneca leaders called "Town Destroyer" after he ordered their villages destroyed during the Revolutionary War. The mura