This program is a collection of four documentaries that deal with different aspects of American life, from personal recreation to the conduct of foreign policy. Lauren Madow’s Playground follows a few ordinary kids from New York City who make the city their playground. The Bear Hunter by Mary Robertson provides an intimate portrait of a Pennsylvania man who, after decades of unsuccessful bear hunts, finally meets with success, which turns out to not be quite what he expected. It’s not my memory of it: three recollected documents by Julia Meltzer and David Thorne is a documentary about secrecy, memory, and documents which raises questions about notions of disappearance and the tenuousness of historical fact in the current climate of terror. Last, but certainly not least, Matt McCormick’s American Nutria gives us a view of the life and history of a large rodent species that didn’t plan to emigrate to America, but came and prospered.

Mark Yzaguirre is an attorney in Houston and is the President of the Board of Aurora Picture Show. Mark recently produced a short documentary film called Floods, Ghosts and Contamination with Jenny Stark that has screened at FotoFest Houston and the New York Underground Film, among other venues.