Welcome back to the Cause Cinema Spotlight.
More great movies continue to roll out this December, many riddled with crimes against humanity. One of the year’s best hits theaters this week. A strong doc makes an Oscar push, and a murder mystery series manages to sprinkle in themes of climate change and AI.
We’ll start there with…
A Murder at the End of the World
A mystery series with a new kind of detective at the helm -- a Gen Z amateur sleuth and tech-savvy hacker named Darby Hart. In the new limited series, Darby and eight other guests are invited by a reclusive billionaire to participate in a retreat at a remote and dazzling location. When one of the other guests is found dead, Darby must put to use all of her combined skills to prove it was in fact murder, all against a tide of competing interests and before the killer takes another life.
See A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu.
Unzipped: An Autopsy of American Inequality
This intimate feature documentary focuses on one of the country's most iconic and income divided zip codes, Venice CA 90291. Once a mecca for artists, outsiders and a thriving black community, Venice is now the frontline for America's heated battles over gentrification, lack of affordable housing, and homelessness.
With moving, personal profiles of several artist families who struggle to remain in their neighborhood, to bitterly contested community fights over a proposed homeless shelter, UNZIPPED explodes stereotypes and humanizes the lived experiences of people caught in the crossfire of America's growing housing divide.
You can see Unzipped on Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube or Tubi.
To learn more about Unzipped and how to share with your friends and family, click here.
The Zone of Interest
Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss lives with his wife Hedwig and their five children in an idyllic home next to the camp. Gunshots and shouting are constantly heard, Jewish prisoners are used to do chores around the house, and their belongings are given to the family.
Winner of the Grand Prix in Cannes, The Zone of Interest was named one of the top 5 international films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and was selected as the British entry for the Best International Feature Film for the upcoming Academy Awards.
The Zone of Interest was just released in limited theaters.
That’s a wrap for the Cause Cinema Spotlight. Have a great weekend!
A Murder, Unzipped & The Zone of Interest