Houston is one of the most unique cities in the country, certainly the most diverse. This naturally leads to having a bunch of people and places with stories waiting to be told in documentary film. In order to celebrate the folks that just made their Kickstarter goal in order to fund a film about Numbers, today we give thanks to some of the other great docs that have preceded it.
10. Houston Ship Channel: Deep Water Centennial I'm a public works nerd. Did you ever wonder who is up watching the history of concrete on the History Channel? That's me, and if it's you too you'll love this. The Texas Foundation for the Arts put together an hour-long documentary on the Houston Ship Channel to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its opening. It's a fairly basic account, but the importance of the Ship Channel is often overlooked on a national scale and it's nice to see someone making its story more accessible. Plus, it's completely free online as well.
9. Thunder Soul In the 1970s Kashmere High School fielded an all black funk band that was as good as anything that was on the contemporary charts. Led by director Conrad "Prof" Johnson they became a national phenomenon and their recordings continue to inspire musicians and DJs to this day. Jamie Foxx narrated this look back at the group when they reunited after 30 years to pay homage to Conrad and all that the Kashmere Stage Band managed to accomplish as an unstoppable soul juggernaut.
8. Tarnation Calling Tarnation a documentary is maybe a stretch. Personal video diary might be closer to the mark. Director Jonathan Caouette chronicled his life through dozens of video cameras as he grew up in Houston with his mentally-ill mother, finally editing them together as an adult into an award-winning film. Caouette will return to Houston at the end of March for the SWAMP Salon where he will discuss "Building A Strong Film Culture in Houston" with other members of the local film scene.
7. Bert - A Documentary Houston was poorer when it lost artist Bert Long to pancreatic cancer. The multi-talented painter, sculptor and performance audience left behind a career as a high end chef to ramble the world learning and growing as an artist. John Guess, Jr. compiled a loving look at the artist near the end of his life, leaving a moving picture memory of one of our city's most beloved contributors to the arts.
6 Lord of the Universe Probably the most famous Houston documentary follows an event that was supposed to change the world. In 1973 Prem Rawat was called Guru Maharaj Ji, and was the teenage leader of the exploding religious movement Divine Light Mission. In order to bring his message to the masses he planned a three-day event at the Astrodome that would encompass prayer and music and would supposedly usher in a thousand years of peace. Things did not work out quite like that and Top Value Television captured the whole thing on a fleet of mobile cameras. The result is a hard look at some of the desperate alienation of the fading flower children looking for meaning.
This story continues on the next page.
