This Thanksgiving, watch a movie you can’t stream anywhere,
by making a donation to Missing Movies.
Here’s how it works:
Select one of the three movies below by clicking on the DONATE button. When you make your Donation provide the name of the film in the notes on the payment page. Within 24 hours we will email you a link to watch the movie. The link will be available to you from November 27 to December 5.
Here are your three choices:
“The Hairy Bird” (aka “All I Wanna Do” aka “Strike!”) – 1998
Sarah Kernochan’s semi-autobiographical period comedy features an all-star cast of young actors in a transgressive teenage comedy. The film was buried in its U.S. release by Miramax, but was a hit in other countries. Originally titled “The Hairy Bird” (you’ll have to see the movie to get the meaning), it was retitled by Miramax, first as “Strike!,” which is what it is known as in Canada, and then to “All I Wanna Do.” Australia was the only country that kept the original title. The film is currently unavailable anywhere, but the Producer, Ira Deutchman, is trying to get back the rights, restore some deleted scenes and re-release it. This is the Australian trailer.
“Hands” – 2019
John Canemaker’s Hands, the followup to his Oscar®-winning short film The Moon and the Son features Canemaker’s most beautiful and imaginative animation. Narrated by the famed actress Estelle Parsons with a brilliant musical score by Ron Sadoff, Hands is taken from Sherwood Anderson’s 1919 short story. One of the earliest LGBTQ + stories by a major author, Anderson’s character Wing Biddlebaum is an eccentric, nervous, isolated individual who becomes a victim of homophobic prejudice as his benevolent touching of students in his charge arouses suspicions about him, leading to personal catastrophe. Unfortunately, the film was finished just before the pandemic, leading to the film’s disappearance. Tender, moving, and visually astonishing, this could be Canemaker’s best work. There is now a movement to restore his films and bring them all out on tour in 2025.
“Hot Tomorrows” – 1977
Martin Brest’s first feature was made while he was still in film school and qualifies as a “no budget” film. This imaginative rumination on death has one of the most surprising endings you’ll ever see. It stars Ray Sharkey in an early role and includes appearances by Hervé Villechaize and the theatre troupe The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Orson Welles provides the voice for a radio ad for a funeral home. The film has shockingly never been released and the only copy available is from a VHS tape.
Films participating in this promotion are used with the permission of the filmmakers. Missing Movies is a 501(c)3. Your donations are fully tax deductible. Give now to support our mission.