Downloaded
Director: Alex Winter
Cast: Shawn Fanning, Sean Parker, Don Lenner, Hilary Rosen, Henry Rollins, Billy Corgan, Lars Ulrich, Trent Reznor
VH1 Rock Docs
Not Rated | 106 Minutes
Release Date: March 10th, 2013 (SXSW)

Directed by Alex Winter (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Freaked), Downloaded chronicles the evolution of digital media, focusing primarily on the rise and fall of the pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service Napster.

Featuring exclusive interviews with Napster co-founders Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, software developers, musicians, and the music industry elite, Downloaded explores the controversial file sharing software and follows Napster’s rise in 1998, through the gauntlet of copyright infringement lawsuits, to its acquisition by Rhapsody in 2011.

Some of those interviewed for Winter’s documentary include Henry Rollins, Billy Corgan, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, former Sony Music Chairman Don Lenner, former CEO of the RIAA Hilary Rosen, Beastie Boys’ Mike D, and Noel Gallagher of Oasis.

Although there were already networks that facilitated the distribution of files across the Internet, such as IRC, Hotline, and USENET, Napster specialized in MP3 files, a user-friendly interface, and lightning-fast search speeds. At its peak, Napster had about 80 million registered users and revolutionized the music industry for better or for worse.

William and the Windmill
Director: Ben Nabors
Cast: William Kamkwamba, Tom Rielly, Trywell Kamkwamba, Agnes Kamkwamba, Andrea Barthello, Bryan Mealer

Following the award-winning short film Moving Windmills, the feature-length documentary William and the Windmill tells the story of Malawian William Kamkwamba, who teaches himself to build a power-generating windmill from bicycle parts, blue gum trees, and scrapyard materials, saving his family from poverty and famine.

After being forced to drop out of school due to his family not being able to afford the tuition, William decided to educate himself by going to his village’s library. There, he found Using Energy, a textbook that explained how windmills generate power. Using only that book and a few pictures, William constructed a working model, becoming an icon for the developing world.

Medora
Director: Andrew Cohn, Davy Rothbart
Cast: Dylan McSoley, Rusty Rogers, Robby Armstrong, Chaz Cowles, Justin Gilbert, Corey Hansen, Logan Farmer, Josh Deering, Rudie Crane, Dennis Pace

In the small town of Medora, Indiana, life revolves around high school basketball – but what happens to a community when their beloved team can’t win a single game?

Decades ago, Medora was a booming rural community with a thriving middle class, but the factories and farms have since closed and the population has dwindled. Medora has become something of a ghost town, riddled with trailer parks and abandoned businesses and one of the smallest schools in the nation.

Directed by Andrew Cohn and Davy Rothbart, Medora follows the down-but-not-out Medora Hornets, capturing the players’ stories on and off the court as they seek to avoid another winless season.

We Cause Scenes
Director: Matt Adams
Cast: Charlie Todd, Ben Folds, Ken Keech, Anthony King, Chris Kula, Cody Lindquist, Tyler Walker, Bill Wasik

Directed by Matt Adams, We Cause Scenes: The Rise of Improv Everywhere is the story of Improv Everywhere and its founder, Charlie Todd, who has turned the world into a stage, inventing an art form for the Internet age.

Since their humble beginnings in New York City in 2001, Improv Everywhere has grown from a small gang of restless comedians into a global prank collective and a viral video-making sensation.

Sound City
Director: Dave Grohl
Screenwriter: Mark Monroe
Cast: Neil Young, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Trent Reznor, Rick Rubin, Mick Fleetwood, Lars Ulrich, John Fogerty, Rick Springfield, Paul McCartney

Directed by Dave Grohl, Sound City focuses on the history of the legendary Van Nuys, CA studio for which it is named — where artists like Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, and countless others created classic records over the past 40 years — and the never-ending fight to preserve the human element of music in a digital world.

Through interviews with legendary musicians and producers, Sound City uncovers the magic within the walls of that studio and culminates with many of those legends creating a new album on the same legendary Neve console that produced so many hits.