OVID’s September Lineup: Fifty years of indie docs from New Day, Labor Day films from Kartemquin, Woolly Mammoths in Siberia, and… Adults-only Cat-Noir!

This September OVID presents 30 new films and 21 exclusives.

As the premier streaming service for social-issue and political documentary films, OVID will continue to roll out titles from the pathbreaking filmmakers’ collective New Day Films. Highlights range from Bonnie Friedman’s much-loved Chris and Bernie, from 1974, to the contemporary Rabble Rousers, the timely story of a trailblazing, working-class housing organizer fighting New York’s real estate industry across five mayoral terms. One day features three environmental films on issues related to water, including the Emmy-award winning Three Ocean Advocates. 

Joining OVID’s collection of Japanese mob films, we present two compelling, stylish Yakuza titles: Underworld Beauty and Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza. We also have a music doc on the legendary Lead Belly, and wonder what Chris Marker would make of Felidae, an adults-only animated cat-noir from Germany involving death cults, genetic experimentation, and a mysterious martyr religion. 

And right below for Labor Day, you’ll see we have four classic labor films from Chicago’s celebrated Kartemquin Films.

Full details on September’s complete lineup are below.

Image above from Katô Tai's TOKIJIRO: LONE YAKUZA, premiering on OVID on September 12th.

Monday, September 1

Labor Day Special

UE/Wells 
Directed by Jerry Blumenthal, Gordon Quinn, Guillermo Brzostowski
Kartemquin Films | Documentary | USA | 1975 | 15 min

UE/Wells follows an organizing drive by the United Electrical Workers Union at the Wells Foundry in Chicago. The multi-ethnic workforce of Polish, Arab, Jewish, Hispanic and African American men and women unite together despite the company’s efforts to use race as a wedge to divide them.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

What’s Happening at Local 70?
Directed by Judy Hoffman
Kartemquin Films | Documentary | USA | 1975 | 45 min

Striking workers in one Chicago unemployment compensation office talk about working conditions that led to a walkout in July, 1975. Workers and claimants suggest possible solutions to the problems of understaffing and compulsory overtime. This tape was used to organize other offices to support the strike.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, September 2

Taylor Chain I: A Story in a Union Local 
Directed by Jerry Blumenthal, Gordon Quinn
Kartemquin Films | Documentary | USA | 1980 | 34 min

Taylor Chain I tells the gritty realities of a seven-week strike at a small Indiana chain factory during 1973-74. Volatile union meetings and tension-filled interactions on the picket line provide an inside view of the tensions and conflicts inherent to labor negotiations. Due to a lack of funds and a fire at Kartemquin which necessitated a re-edit of the film, the film was not released until 1980.

Filming then began a year later on Taylor Chain II: A Story of Collective Bargaining.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Taylor Chain II: A Story in a Union Local 
Directed by Jerry Blumenthal, Gordon Quinn
Kartemquin Films | Documentary | USA | 1983 | 31 min

In 1981-2, the Kartemquin filmmakers returned to the Taylor Chain plant to show labor and management working together against the odds, trying to save the plant from becoming the latest victim of anti-union legislation and the globalization of cheap, exploitable labor.

A sequel to Taylor Chain I: A Story in a Union Local.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, September 3

4K Restoration

Underworld Beauty
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
With Michitarô Mizushima, Mari Shiraki, Shinsuke Ashida, Tôru Abe
MVD/Radiance Films | Feature | Japan | 1958 | 87 min

Released from prison, a gangster immediately sets out to make things right with his friend and collaborator Mihara who was severely injured in the jewelry heist that went awry. Now he finds himself going to war with the people he pledged fealty to.

“A strangely compelling and odd film.” —Douglas Davidson, Elements of Madness

Thursday, September 4

Chris and Bernie
Directed by Bonnie Friedman
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1974 | 25 min

An intimate portrait of two divorced single mothers who share the responsibilities of family and career. The film explores the problems they face, the solutions they’ve found, and their hopes for the future.

“There is little doubt as to the courage and sincerity of Chris and Bernie… these ‘new women’ on and off the screen, are a tribute to the new feminism and also captivate the eye and ear.” —A.H. Weiler, The New York Times

The Flashettes
Directed by Bonnie Friedman
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1978 | 20 min

A young man returns to his community after college and decides to do something about the alcoholism, drugs and teen pregnancies he sees everywhere. He starts a girls track club for ages 6-16, and instilling the spirit of “I CAN”, The Flashettes becomes more than a team, but a second family, building self-confidence and self-respect for its members.

“An excellent film filled with humor, excitement, sensitivity, and human insight.” —Tom Foner, Rolling Stone

OVID EXCLUSIVE

The Last to Know
Directed by Bonnie Friedman
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1981 | 45 min

Nearly one half of the estimated ten million alcoholics in the country are women, yet their special problems are totally ignored. The Last to Know speaks directly to these women by sensitively focusing on four intimate stories and shows how the medical community, the media, and the values of society at large perpetuate alcoholism and prescription drug abuse in women.

“Moving and eloquent… an eye opener, one with both a heart and sense of humor.” —Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, September 5

Rabble Rousers
Directed by Kelly Anderson, Ryan Joseph & Kathryn Barni
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2022 | 83 min

A trailblazing housing organizer and her diverse working-class neighbors fight Robert Moses, the real estate industry, and five mayors to create the first Community Land Trust in New York City — an oasis of permanent low-income housing in the heart of the rapidly gentrifying Lower East Side. 

“At once a history of New York’s Lower East Side through the eyes of tenant organizers, and a how-to guide to beating the rich and powerful at their own game. And Frances Goldin is an utterly unforgettable heroine. It’s a joy to watch, and will make you want to go out and raise hell.” —Sarah Jaffe, Author of Work Won’t Love You Back 

“If this film doesn’t inspire you to take action for the future of your city, check your pulse.” —Samuel Stein, Author, Capital City: Gentrification and the Real Estate State

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, September 9

Watchers of the Sky
Directed by Edet Belzberg
With Samantha Power, Benjamin Ferencz, Emmanuel Uwurukundo
Music Box Films | Documentary | USA | 2014 | 120 min

Four modern stories look to the forgotten life of Raphael Lemkin, the Polish-Jewish lawyer and linguist who coined the term genocide. Inspired by Samantha Power’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Watchers of the Sky traverses time and continents to explore the cycle of violence. Four individuals keep his legacy alive: Luis Moreno Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the ICC; Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Ben Ferencz, a former Nuremberg prosecutor still tenaciously lobbying the UN for peace, and Rwandan Emmanuel Uwurukundo, UN Refugee Agency Field Director in Chad. 

★★★★! “Essential viewing. A story of how committed people have fought and struggled to create the possibility for hope.” —Keith Phipps, The Dissolve

★★★★! “An intricate and immensely powerful documentary…urgent and humane.” —Shelia O’Malley, RogerEbert.com

Wednesday, September 10

The Peace Patriots
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2005 | 78 min

At the start of the Iraq War, college students and others participated in a nationwide anti-war movement that received little coverage by the mainstream media. The Peace Patriots follows a diverse group of individuals as they take part in vigils, marches, theater performances, and civil disobedience sit-ins to protest the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

“Gives us hope and inspiration.” —Howard Zinn, Author, A People’s History of the United States

“A filmmaker unafraid to go against the tide.” —Rhonda Stewart, The Boston Globe

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Undeterred
Directed by Eva Lewis
New Day Films, Documentary, 2019, 76 mins
US

The story of the buildup of enforcement along the US/Mexico border and how it functions. Through intimate portraits, raw footage and artful animation, it shows how life in one small town has changed and how local residents have organized to push back and resist those changes.

“Gripping and beautifully executed.” —Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, September 11

I Was Born in Mexico, But…
Directed by Corey Ohama
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2013 | 12 min

A poetic short featuring the voice of an undocumented young Latina woman who was brought to the U.S. as a child. The film introduces viewers to a personal voice on the immigration debate: DACA, the Dream Act, and other immigration reform, speaking about what it’s like to grow up and face an uncertain future as a young undocumented person in America.

“A powerful reminder of the plight of illegal Mexican immigrants. Recommended!” —Kathy Fennessy, Video Librarian

OVID Exclusive

Gaucho del Norte
Directed by Andres Caballero, Sofian Khan
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2017 | 57 min

Far from his family in Chile, sheepherder Eraldo Pacheco endures harsh conditions in the high desert and isolated mountain pastures of the American west as he strives for a better life for his family.

“With sensitivity, and aided by impressive lensing, Khan and Caballero capture the dilemma of family men forced to separate from their loved ones due to forces beyond their control.” —Basil Tsiokos, Director of Programming, DOC NYC

“Caballero and Khan spare no preamble in making the audience face the nuanced realities of migrant workers. A rare glimpse at the unending questions immigrants face before and after committing to a physical, emotional and mental struggle that tests their fortitude in a foreign land.”  —Stanley Nelson, Director of The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

Friday, September 12

Lead Belly: The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll
Directed by Curt Hahn
MVD | Documentary | USA | 2025 | 79 min

George Harrison famously claimed: “No Lead Belly, no Beatles.” Revered by countless musicians – the first record Janis Joplin ever bought was by Huddie Leadbetter: Lead Belly, who was born in poverty and went on to become King of the 12-string guitar and the greatest folk singer in the world according to Woody Guthrie. Hundreds of artists have covered his songs from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, and Led Zeppelin. Interviews and performances by Janis Joplin, Harry Belafonte, Paul McCartney, B.B. King, Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Odetta. 

“The documentary includes a seriously cool segment where the names of artists who have recorded Lead Belly’s material come onto the screen… the music world knows Lead Belly. It is time everyone else did.” —Michael Doherty’s Music Log

4K Restoration

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza
Directed by Katô Tai
With Kinnosuke Nakamura, Junko Ikeuchi, Chiyonosuke Azuma
MVD/Radiance Films | Feature | Japan | 1966 | 90 min

Weary of the rigid codes of the underworld, gambler Tokijiro wanders Japan in search of freedom. But escape proves to be impossible when an obligation to a gang boss leaves him with no choice but to kill a man. To atone for his crime, he vows to take care of his victim’s widow and young son. But the gang won’t rest until they’ve killed the entire family – including the man who stands in their way.

“Stylistic verve, sophisticated, compelling!” —Derek Smith, Slant Magazine

Tuesday, September 16

Genesis 2.0
Directed by Christian Frei & Maxim Arbugaev
KimStim | Documentary | Switzerland, China, Russia, South Korea, USA | 2018

In a mission fit for a sci-fi plot, Genesis 2.0 observes the harsh and dangerous life of hunters on the remote New Siberian Islands searching for tusks of extinct mammoths. There is a kind of gold rush fever in the air, because the prices for this white gold have never been so high. The thawing permafrost unveils more than just precious ivory. Such finds are magnets for high-tech Russian and South Korean clone researchers in search of mammoth cells with intact DNA. A mission fit for a science-fiction plot.

“A double-stranded helix of a real-life thriller, chilling and unforgettable.” —Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, September 17

Crossing Lines
Directed by Indira S. Somani & Leena Jayaswal
New Day Films | Documentary | USA, India | 2008 | 32 min

The story of an Indian American woman’s struggle to stay connected to India after the loss of her father. Like most second-generation ethnic Americans, Indira Somani has struggled with identity issues since her parents migrated to the U.S. in the 1960s. The film explores how Indira stays connected to Indian culture and her extended family, despite the loss of her father. 

“The film is very moving and intimate, and to any of us with an Indian family, it makes a powerful connection.” —Peter Bhatia, The Oregonian

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Life on the Ganges
Directed by Indira S. Somani
New Day Films | Documentary | USA, India | 10 min

In Varanasi, India the boat rides on the Ganges River are part of the spiritual experience and the film introduces the audience to the river, an auspicious event called “Dev Diwali,” and one particular boatman, whose main source of strength and survival comes from the Ganges.

“Vivid and direct… manages in a short span to convey the sincere devotion of the Hindus who live and work along the sacred river… Somani poignantly juxtaposes scenes of a boatman’s humble home life with his young boss’s cavalier assessment of the job’s long hours and lack of a retirement system.” —Tim Lubin, Professor of Religion, Washington and Lee University

A Sentence Apart
Directed by Theo Rigby
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2010 | 12 min

The US imprisons more people per capita than any country in the world. A Sentence Apart follows three stories of people coping with a family member in prison, attempting to bridge broken relationships, and diligently working to reverse the generational cycle of incarceration.

“Speaks volumes about the complexity of issues facing the families and children of the incarcerated… An invaluable tool.” —Ruth Morgan, Executive Director, Community Works West

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, September 18

How I Live
Directed by Meghan Shea
New Day Films | Documentary | US, Singapore | 2020 | 87 min

How I Live follows the children, their families, and their healthcare providers as they confront the realities of living with cancer in Guatemala, El Salvador, Egypt, Myanmar, and Ghana. Through their journeys, we see the realities of global health inequities, yet also the movement underway to give all children access to treatment.

“Thought-provoking and inspiring.” —Farooq Kazi, The Lancet

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, September 19

Detroit 48202: Conversations Along a Postal Route
Directed by Pam Sporn
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2018 | 82 min

Examines the rise, demise, and contested resurgence of the City of Detroit through the lens of African-American mail carrier, Wendell Watkins, and the committed community he faithfully served for thirty years.

“A truly brilliant and illuminating film. By the simple act of trailing a mail carrier on his route through the city, Pam Sporn presents a stunning alternative history of Detroit that powerfully illustrates the impact that racist housing policies, capital flight, and neoliberalism have had on Black urban communities.” —Robin D.G. Kelley, Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, UCLA

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, September 23

Rosh Hashanah Special

Someone You Should Meet
Directed by Salome Chasnoff & Debra Chasnoff
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2024 | 30 min

Someone You Should Meet focuses on an extended family gathering organized by two filmmakers who only recently learned they were related through their great-grandparents. As the family explores their shared history and evolving Jewish identity over five generations, old wounds surface, and a sense of belonging is discovered.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tangled Roots
Directed by Heidi Schmidt Emberling
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2001 | 66 min

Decades after the end of World War II, Germans and Jews still struggle with the difficult legacies of war. Filmmaker Heidi Schmidt Emberling confronts her German father and Jewish mother about the devastating secrets and painful silence about the past as she struggles to reconcile her dual identity as both a German and a Jew.

“An intimate portrayal of a singular story and a window into two larger themes, namely, the hybridity of Jewish existence and post-WWII relations between Jews and Germans… A courageous act of charting territory that has far too long been left uncharted.” —Michael Zank, Asst. Professor of Religion, Boston University

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, September 24

The Year We Thought About Love
Directed by Ellen Brodsky
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2015 | 68 min

The Year We Thought About Love goes behind the scenes of the oldest queer youth theater in America. In a twist on the common image of LGBTQ youth as victims, the film reveals the troupe members as artists and activists, celebrating the fullness of their lives in both thoughtful and hilarious ways.

“Must-see…this generation’s love story….takes you from belly-aching laughter to a deluge of tears.” —Rev. Irene Monroe, The Hollywood Progressive

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, September 25

Ellavut Cimirtuq (Our World Is Changing)
Directed by Mischa Hedges, Jacqueline Cleveland, Sonia Luokkala
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2023 | 30 min

Many coastal villages in Alaska are under threat from thawing permafrost, sea-level rise and erosion. The accelerated retreat of Arctic sea ice has left shorelines unfrozen and exposed. As the village of Quinhagak works to save its cultural artifacts from washing into the Bering Sea, Yupik filmmaker Jacqueline Cleveland explores her community’s relationship with its language, and ways of life in Southwest Alaska.

“Examining how climate change affects Southwest Alaska villages, filmmakers highlight Yup’ik resilience and pride.” —Anchorage Daily News

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Three Ocean Advocates
Directed & produced by Andrea E. Leland, Cynthia Abbott
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2021 | 29 min

An Emmy award-winning film about an artist, a fisherman, and a photographer who take actions that inspire hope for our ailing oceans. Our oceans are suffering from plastic pollution, climate change, and acidification. Viewers see through example how actions can help determine the health of the ocean for generations to come.

“In a time when it’s easy to despair about the future, Three Ocean Advocates eloquently documents the lives of advocates who take on intransigent issues and help change practices and deepen public awareness. A beautiful, timely documentary.” —Liz Cunningham, author of the award-winning Ocean Country 

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Whose Water
Directed by Kate Levy
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2024 | 65 min

Through the stories of communities fighting for safe, affordable water and sanitation, Whose Water examines how the erosion of democracy prevents millions of people from accessing this basic necessity of life, and offers concrete solutions to address this unprecedented human rights crisis.

“A powerful journey through six communities – an urban neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan; agricultural and mining towns in Iowa and Kentucky; an African American community in the rural South; and tribal lands on the Navajo Nation – where local residents are all fighting for the right to clean drinking water.” —Neil M. Maher, Professor of History, Rutgers University

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, September 26

Felidae
Directed by Michael Schaack
Deaf Crocodile/MVD | Animation | Germany | 1994 | 82 min

The long-sought-after German animated mystery about a series of unsolved murders among a group of domestic cats. Part detective story, Gothic mystery and occult horror, the story follows green-eyed protagonist Francis (voiced by Ulrich Tukur) and his grizzled, one-eyed companion Blaubart (voiced by Mario Adorf) as they unravel the killings stretching back decades, involving death cults, genetic experimentation and a mysterious martyr religion.

“A cult classic that has gone under the radar for too long. While I highly recommend the film, a fair warning to all: this film is gruesome, bloody, sexual, and vulgar.” —Hanna Pape, Film Obsessive

Tuesday, September 30

From the Holocaust to Hollywood: The Robert Clary Story
Directed by Ron Small
MVD | Documentary | Germany | 2021 | 50 min

Best known for his role as Corporal Louis LeBeau on the television sitcom Hogan’s Heroes and the soap operas Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful, Robert Clary shares his story of how World War II shaped him and his family’s lives, and how he became the performer and man he is today.

“Clary’s passion to entertain helped sustain him during his darkest moments. At Buchenwald, he sang with an accordionist every other Sunday to an audience of SS soldiers. Clary feels certain that his singing gave him a purpose and an escape and thus helped save his life.” —Peter Flax, The Hollywood Reporter

Complete list of films premiering on OVID this month (in alphabetical order):

A Sentence Apart, Theo Rigby (2010)
Chris and Bernie, Bonnie Friedman (1974)
Crossing Lines, Indira S. Somani & Leena Jayaswal (2008)
Detroit 48202: Conversations Along a Postal Route, Pam Sporn (2018)
Ellavut Cimirtuq (Our World Is Changing), Mischa Hedges, Jacqueline Cleveland & Sonia Luokkala (2023)
Felidae, Michael Schaack (1994)
From the Holocaust to Hollywood: The Robert Clary Story, Ron Small (2021)
Gaucho del Norte, Andres Caballero & Sofian Khan (2017) 
Genesis 2.0, Christian Frei & Maxim Arbugaev (2018)
How I Live, Meghan Shea (2020)
I Was Born in Mexico, But…, Corey Ohama (2013)
Lead Belly: The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll, Curt Hahn (2025)
Life on the Ganges, Indira S. Somani (2018)
Rabble Rousers, Kelly Anderson, Ryan Joseph & Kathryn Barni (2022)
Someone You Should Meet, Salome Chasnoff & Debra Chasnoff (2024)
Tangled Roots, Heidi Schmidt Emberling (2001)
Taylor Chain I: A Story in a Union Local, Jerry Blumenthal & Gordon Quinn (1980)
Taylor Chain II: A Story in a Union Local, Jerry Blumenthal & Gordon Quinn (1983)
The Flashettes, Bonnie Friedman (1978)
The Last to Know, Bonnie Friedman (1981)
The Peace Patriots, Robbie Leppzer (2005)
The Year We Thought About Love, Ellen Brodsky (2015)
Three Ocean Advocates, Andrea E Leland & Cynthia Abbott (2021)
Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza, Katô Tai (1966)
UE/Wells, Jerry Blumenthal, Gordon Quinn, & Guillermo Brzostowski (1975)
Underworld Beauty, Seijun Suzuki (1958)
Undeterred, Eva Lewis (2019) 
Watchers of the Sky, Edet Belzberg (2014)
What’s Happening at Local 70?, Judy Hoffman (1975)
Whose Water, Kate Levy (2024)