Hustlers, Hoaxsters, Pranksters, Jokesters and Ricky Jay
A documentary about the life and work of sleight-of-hand artist Ricky Jay, with appearances by Ricky Jay, David Mamet and Steve Martin.
Rex Bloomstein
Director
Casts & Crew
Also Directed by Rex Bloomstein
Even after 60 years, there is much to be explored and shared about the Holocaust. Scores of documentaries valiantly record survivors' harrowing testimonies or uncover a surprising new angle through archival research. But it's still possible to feel numb to the unspeakable images and stories from this diabolical chapter of human history. Propelled by this observation, Rex Bloomstein brings us KZ, a groundbreaking, haunting film that looks at emotional repression and confrontation today in relation to the Nazi atrocities. Bloomstein examines the spiritual shadow cast on visitors, tour guides, and local residents by Mauthausen, a concentration camp ("KZ" for short) on the banks of the Danube.
How do you turn your life around when you’ve been written off by society? This is the challenge faced by all prisoners – men and women, career criminals as well as first-timers – who find themselves marginalized and stigmatized on leaving jail. Providing a unique glimpse of lives regained, this film documents the importance of a second chance through employment and tells the heart-breaking and uplifting stories of prisoners trying to transform their lives.
Documentary film, without commentary, looking at events in Sheffield on 5th September 1973. Steelworkers retire, babies are born, there are fashion shows and council meetings, crashed lorries and policemen on the beat.
A documentary by Rex Bloomstein.
How do you deal with threats of imprisonment for drawing a cartoon of the president? What does it mean if you are thrown out of your country for singing a song? How does it feel to be condemned for denying the existence of the Holocaust? An Independent Mind explores one of the most important and controversial human rights: freedom of speech.Through testimonies from eight people who have experienced problems as a result of expressing their personal opinions, filmmaker Rex Bloomstein explores the limits of freedom of expression. It is not always easy to to find out where these are. Obviously, it is not difficult to empathise with Reggae singer Tiken Jah Kakoly, who was forced to flee his native Ivory Coast, or with the Algerian cartoonist Ali Dilem, who was condemned to nine years in jail. But does the same apply to Holocaust denier David Irving or the Basque rock group Soziedad Alkoholika that ridicules victims of ETA violence?
