Director
Alexandra Cassevetes

A documentary of one of the first pay cable stations in America, that gained a cult following for showing only the very best films, often in previously unseen, uncut form. This documentary features interviews with the likes of Robert Altman, Jacqueline Bisset, Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino, James Woods and Paul Verhoeven who reflect on Z Channel and its impact.

In the 1980s, L.A.'s trailblazing TV station Z Channel gave neglected indie, classic and arthouse movies, unseen directors' cuts and uniquely themed on-air festivals an unprecedented platform for an obsessive audience ravenous for cinema.

Xan Cassavetes' compelling and poignant documentary celebrates the historic influence of Z and chronicles the brilliant but troubled life of Jerry Harvey, the visionary programmer behind Z and friend and champion to now-legendary filmmakers and works. Harvey's determined, diverse and encyclopedic knowledge of film meant that Z was a channel impossible to replicate today and its tumultuous existence became indistinguishable from his tormented emotional spiral.

With clips from such classics as the uncut 1900; Das Boot; Heaven's Gate; Pat Garret & Billy The Kid; The Leopard; Stuart Cooper's masterful Overlord; Paths of Glory; The Sicilian; The Empire Strikes Back and Sam Peckinpah's immortal The Wild Bunch, this documentary is an intoxicating portrait of what it truly means to be a devoted disciple of film.