Hubert Davis of Untitled Films, Toronto, directed this short documentary centered on a mom who after the Newtown, CT shootings–which claimed the lives of 20 elementary school children–joined Moms Demand Action, an organization for common sense gun control legislation.
She becomes involved in a campaign which points out that assault rifles–like the AR-15 fired at Newtown–are not banned in the U.S. but Kinder Surprise Eggs, chocolate eggs with a toy inside (the toy deemed to be a choking hazard), are. Moms Demand Action went to The White House on Easter Sunday to hand out Kinder Eggs and raise awareness of the pressing need for gun control, citing such facts as gun violence claiming the lives of eight children every day.
The Other Easter Egg Hunt chronicles this day and is part of an ongoing campaign by Grey Canada for Moms Demand Action.
Among the legislative initiatives advocated by Moms Demand action are universal background checks for all gun sales and making gun trafficking a federal crime with more serious punishment.
“Beatles ’64” Documentary Captures Intimate Moments From Landmark U.S. Visit
Likely most people have seen iconic footage of the Beatles performing on "The Ed Sullivan Show." But how many have seen Paul McCartney during that same U.S. trip feeding seagulls off his hotel balcony?
That moment — as well as George Harrison and John Lennon goofing around by exchanging their jackets — are part of the Disney+ documentary "Beatles '64," an intimate look at the English band's first trip to America that uses rare and newly restored footage. It streams Friday.
"It's so fun to be the fly on the wall in those really intimate moments," says Margaret Bodde, who produced alongside Martin Scorsese. "It's just this incredible gift of time and technology to be able to see it now with the decades of time stripped away so that you really feel like you're there."
"Beatles '64" leans into footage of the 14-day trip filmed by documentarians Albert and David Maysles, who left behind 11 hours of the Fab Four goofing around in New York's Plaza hotel or traveling. It was restored by Park Road Post in New Zealand.
"It's beautiful, although it's black and white and it's not widescreen," says director David Tedeschi. "It's like it was shot yesterday and it captures the youth of the four Beatles and the fans."
The footage is augmented by interviews with the two surviving members of the band and people whose lives were impacted, including some of the women who as teens stood outside their hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of the Beatles.
"It was like a crazy love," fan Vickie Brenna-Costa recalls in the documentary. "I can't really understand it now. But then, it was natural."
The film shows the four heartthrobs flirting and dancing at the Peppermint Lounge disco, Harrison noodling with a Woody Guthrie riff on his guitar... Read More