Palestine 36 Reclaims a Buried Anti‑Colonial Revolt
Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36 resurrects the mass anti‑colonial revolt that Britain crushed with overwhelming force — and shows how its legacy still shapes the present.
27 Article(s) by: Ed Rampell
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Ed Rampell is an LA-based film historian/critic and the author of Progressive Hollywood: A People’s Film History of the United States.
How Thoreau Challenged America to Live Up To Its Own Ideals
A new PBS documentary, Henry David Thoreau, reveals the Thoreau often softened in high school textbooks — the abolitionist, antiwar dissident, and ecological thinker whose ideas still challenge a country failing its own revolutionary ideals.
A Child’s Voice Demands to Be Heard in The Voice of Hind Rajab
Built around real audio recordings of the Palestinian girl’s final moments, The Voice of Hind Rajab is a docudrama like no other. Jacobin spoke with the film’s director, Kaouther Ben Hania, about Hind Rajab’s death and the urgency of post–October 7 cinema.
A Palestinian Family Tale Made Epic in All That’s Left of You
Cherien Dabis’s film All That’s Left of You follows one Palestinian family from the Nakba to 2022. More than the story of a single family, it’s the story of a common humanity persisting through the nightmare of displacement and occupation.
Cover-Up Follows Seymour Hersh’s Life Uncovering Secrets
Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus’s Netflix documentary Cover-Up follows the life and work of legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh. Cover-Up depicts the kind of maverick journalism we desperately need in our authoritarian times.
Riefenstahl Exposes the Nazis’ Favorite Filmmaker
Darkly influential, the cinema of Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl is a powerful blend of art and propaganda. She’s now the subject of a new documentary that wrestles with the question of the culpability of a talented artist working for a vile regime.
The War in Gaza as Told Through Dead Journalists
Documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald talks to Jacobin about the targeted killing of journalists in his harrowing new film Gaza: Journalists Under Fire.
Robert Reich Teaches One Last Class to the Next Generation
Jacobin sat down with former labor secretary Robert Reich to talk about his new documentary, The Last Class, democratic socialism, and why we’re possibly in an even more unequal Gilded Age than the original.
With His New Film, Alex Gibney Shines a Light on Dark Money
Jacobin sat down with the prolific muckraking filmmaker Alex Gibney to discuss his new documentary The Dark Money Game, on the terrifying ramifications of Citizens United and how it’s empowered the same oligarchy now unleashed by the Trump administration.
Oliver Stone Goes to Washington
Jacobin sat down with legendary filmmaker Oliver Stone to talk about his recent testimony before Congress on the JFK assassination, the CIA’s continued stonewalling, and why we’re closer than ever to finally piecing together the mystery of November 22, 1963.
Ken Loach Is Back With One Final Film
Jacobin sat down with legendary director Ken Loach at the age of 87 to talk about his latest and final film, The Old Oak; the influence of the Czech New Wave on his movies; and why Hollywood filmmaking is antithetical to the working-class experience.
Ken Loach and Paul Laverty’s Final Show
Ken Loach’s longtime screenwriter Paul Laverty talks to Jacobin about their final collaboration on The Old Oak, which follows Syrian refugees and ex-miners in Northeast England, and why the working class remains the last hope for justice in the world.
Raoul Peck’s New Doc, Silver Dollar Road, Chronicles the Dispossession of Black Americans
Oscar-nominated documentarian Raoul Peck is back with Silver Dollar Road, the true story of black dispossession in America.
Oliver Stone Goes Nuclear
We talk to legendary director Oliver Stone about his new film Nuclear Now, what he thinks about his critics, and why he sees nuclear energy as a key solution to climate change.
The Best Political Movie Since Z Is Up for an Oscar
We spoke to director Santiago Mitre about his Oscar-nominated film Argentina, 1985, which depicts the struggle to bring the leaders of Argentina’s murderous military junta to justice.
The Anti-Capitalist Origins of the Monopoly Man
The new PBS documentary Ruthless: Monopoly’s Secret History tells the story of how a board game intended to warn Americans about inequality ended up teaching them how to be good little capitalists.
Ken Burns Talks to Jacobin About the Revolutionary Benjamin Franklin
Ken Burns sat down with Jacobin to discuss his new documentary, Benjamin Franklin, and how the founding father’s spirit of humanitarianism and progress led him to establish America’s first abolitionist society two years before the Declaration of Independence.
Gitmo’s Eternal Inmate Takes Center Stage in Alex Gibney’s New Documentary
Alex Gibney’s The Forever Prisoner reveals the brutal truth behind the nearly two-decade imprisonment of Guantanamo Bay inmate Abu Zubaydah — and the powerful men at the top of the American government responsible for his torture. We spoke with Gibney about it.
Sam Pollard Talks About Arthur Ashe, “The Jackie Robinson of Tennis”
Sam Pollard sat down with Jacobin to discuss his new documentary on black tennis legend Arthur Ashe — the man who broke down the racial barrier in “the sport of kings.”
Oliver Stone Talks to Jacobin About JFK’s Killing
Oliver Stone sat down with Jacobin to discuss JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, his new documentary that exhaustively makes the case that the national security state, including the CIA and FBI, killed John F. Kennedy — not a lone shooter.