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An unprecedented look inside one of the greatest media experiments to hijack American screens. Rare archives from New York’s underground capture a world of creators who shattered rules, defied censors, and transformed our televisions into a free-speech battleground where anyone could be a star.
+ MoreAn unprecedented look inside one of the greatest media experiments to hijack American screens. Rare archives from New York’s underground capture a world of creators who shattered rules, defied censors, and transformed our televisions into a free-speech battleground where anyone could be a star.
The internet and social media platforms may have given birth to influencers and content creators, but decades before their popularization, public access television such as New York City’s Manhattan Cable Television opened up the floodgates for technological free expression. With no editorial input allowed, ordinary New Yorkers had carte blanche to create — from the interactive Grube Tube to Glenn O’Brien’s underground scene free-for-all TV Party and the pioneering LGBTQ+ series The Emerald City. But when sexually explicit programming pushed the boundaries and stirred public debate, First Amendment court battles followed. David Shadrack Smith takes viewers through the unfiltered creativity and chaos of this paradigm-shifting new technology, which presaged today’s media-driven world. As Public Access cheekily warns, “Brace yourself! Nothing you have ever seen before can prepare you for this.” — BT
This film contains mature content and may not be appropriate for all ages.
Available in person. Also available online for the public (January 29–February 1) and credentialed press and industry (January 28–February 1).
The Ray Theatre
Park City
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Megaplex Redstone - 3
Park City
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Rose Wagner Center
Salt Lake City
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The Ray Theatre
Park City
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Megaplex Redstone - 4
Park City
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David Shadrack Smith
Sara Crow
Anne-Marcelle Ngabirano
Part2 Filmworks
Olive Productions
Out for the Count
Wren Arthur
Steve Buscemi
Benny Safdie
adore
Geoff Gruetzmacher
Anne-Marcelle Ngabirano
Maya Tippett
Craig Rinkerman
Cristian Uriostegui
Olivier Spencer
David Shadrack Smith
Norn Jordan
Erica Lee
Module
Steve Beganyi
Ruy Garcia
Maggie Pisacane
MAGS@wmeagency.com
Brooklyn-born filmmaker David Shadrack Smith began his career reporting in China and producing for National Geographic before founding Part2 Pictures. He’s produced award-winning nonfiction for CNN, Hulu, HBO Max, and more, which has earned Emmys and James Beard Awards, among other honors. Public Access is his feature directorial debut.
From deep behind enemy lines, a hidden chapter of American military history is uncovered, prompting the question of whether reckoning with the past can bring peace to those who lived it. The Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team reunites to tell their story.
(1hr 40mins)An environmental nuclear bomb looms in Utah. Two intrepid scientists and a political insider race the clock to save their home from unprecedented catastrophe.
(1hr 28mins)Joybubbles discovers he can manipulate the telephone system by whistling a magic tone. Born blind and yearning for connection, his early obsession unwittingly lays the groundwork for a subculture that shapes the future of hacking and technology.
(1hr 19mins)When the small town of Marion, Kansas, is thrust into the international spotlight after a police raid on the Marion County Record and the death of its 98-year-old co-owner, a fierce debate ignites about the abuse of power, journalistic ethics, local journalism, and the United States Constitution.
(1hr 34mins)FESTIVAL HOST STATE
FESTIVAL HOST STATE
FESTIVAL HOST STATE
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