Screening with open captions. There will be ASL interpretation for the intro and Q&A at all screenings.
The revolutionary rise of the first public-access station in the United States would signal one of the greatest media experiments ever recorded on television. In 1971, when New York City mandated its cable providers to reserve a channel for the public, it placed the tools of video production directly into the hands of ordinary people. Artists, activists and provocateurs flooded the airwaves, channelling underground culture directly into living rooms, showcasing early performances from musicians like Bob Marley and Patti Smith, edgy “sitcoms” devised at Andy Warhol’s Factory and vital reporting from the frontlines of the AIDS epidemic. As controversies mounted—due to everything from sexually explicit programming to First Amendment battles—the medium’s boundaries were continually tested. And yet, through it all, public-access television thrived as a playground for creators to experiment. This engaging documentary charts the messy evolution of a groundbreaking platform whose lo-fi spirit foreshadowed today’s open, participatory media landscape. Vivian Belik
Content advisory: This film contains nudity and sexual content.