New to Virtual Cinema this week: Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read my Mind and more Friday, August 7, 2020 August is upon us and Virtual Cinema has more to offer. Premiering this week is Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read my Mind, this intimate documentary explores the life of the Canadian hit maker. Next week premiering Aug. 14 is another documentary, and it’s also music based. It’s a film called Creem, about the legendary rock magazine of the same name. And finally for the month, coming Aug. 21 is a fantastic film from Two-time Academy Award®-winning filmmaker, Barbara Kopple called Desert One that tells the incredible tale of America’s secret mission to free the hostages of the 1979 Iranian revolution. We ae so pleased to bring you these unique films to watch in the safety and privacy of your home. We hope you are enjoying them. August Virtual Cinema Available now! Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read my Mind An exploration into the career, music and influence of the iconic musician. With unprecedented access to the artist and featuring interviews with Sarah McLachlan, Alec Baldwin and more, this intimate documentary follows Lightfoot’s evolution from choirboy in rural Canada to troubled troubadour to international star with hits including “If You Could Read My Mind”, “Sundown”, “Carefree Highway”, and “Rainy Day People”. Click to view Trailer for Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read my Mind Click to rent Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read my Mind Rental fee is $9.99. After unlocking, you'll have 14 days to start watching. Once you begin, you'll have 72 hours to finish watching. Need help? Upcoming films this month Available August 14 Creem Ripping back the curtain on legendary rock rag CREEM Magazine's wild and disruptive newsroom; a dysfunctional band of unruly outsiders who weren’t all that different from the artists they covered. Synopsis: Capturing the messy upheaval of the '70s just as rock was re- inventing itself, the film explores CREEM Magazine's humble beginnings in post-riot Detroit, follows its upward trajectory from underground paper to national powerhouse, then bears witness to its imminent demise following the tragic and untimely deaths of its visionary publisher, Barry Kramer, and its most famous alum and genius clown prince, Lester Bangs, a year later. Fifty years after publishing its first issue, "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine" remains a seditious spirit in music and culture. Watch the trailer for Creem. A link to rent will be shared in the next week or two. Available August 21 Desert One From Two-time Academy Award®-winning filmmaker, Barbara Kopple, Desert One tells the incredible tale of America’s secret mission to free the hostages of the 1979 Iranian revolution, which has been called “the most audacious, difficult, complicated, rescue mission ever attempted.” Click to view the trailer for Desert One A link to rent will be shared in the next week or two. This is what the film’s Director has to say about Desert One: “What an adventure this film turned out to be! I really loved making it. Going out in search of the full story behind this secret mission was a thrill. Finding undiscovered film and photos and audio with our great archivists. Being welcomed into the lives of people who were a part of this story, listening to their reflections and feeling their passion. Watching the film take shape with the talented editors. Working with our very creative illustrator and animator, an Iranian, to bring to life moments of the mission that had previously only lived in memory. Shooting with an Iranian crew, and having them film such interesting people in Iran. The Iranian crew were all women. Many of my films have touched on wars and those who fight them. I got to know men who fought in Vietnam when I worked on my first film, as part of a collective, Winter Soldier. With Bearing Witness, we followed the stories of women journalists doing the dangerous work of reporting from combat zones during the Iraq war. My film Shelter allowed me to get to know veterans of both the Vietnam and Iraq wars, brave people struggling through PTSD and homelessness in California and filming my dear friend David Morris folksinger and at one time homeless Vietnam vet. But there was something special about these “special operations” warriors I came to know making Desert One. I was touched to be able to get to know another side of them I had never seen, and it changed me. They got real and surprisingly emotional with me. I will never forget the very personal conversations we had as they sat down to interview, telling me their own piece of a bigger story that clearly matters very much to them. I also experienced one of the most precious moments of my career on this film, sitting down to interview President Jimmy Carter. I can remember well how I felt when Carter won the election. My first film as director, Harlan County USA, had just premiered at the New York Film Festival, and it began showing in select theaters three days after Carter’s inauguration. It felt like a hopeful time for the country, and certainly for me personally. Much has happened since, but I rediscovered Jimmy Carter’s presidency through this film and found much to admire. This was a roller coaster ride of a story well worth telling, with important moments about American leadership and gumption and relations with Iran and courage in the face of adversity. I believe it’s a film that could help inspire us in our troubled times. We need a lot of inspiration right now, and I hope a lot of people see this movie”. – Barbara Kopple, Director Source: Traci Baker, Director of Community Activities and Communications .