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Playing at Pickford Film Center
120 minutes, USA, In English, Documentary
Rated NR: .


The Holy Trinity of Rock returns to the big screen, when the first “Annual Exercise in Fan Indulgence” Cinema Strangiato brings Rush fans together in movie theatres worldwide. Featuring R40+, this global fan event will give audiences a special look into some of the best performances from R40 LIVE, including songs such as “Closer to the Heart,” “Subdivisions,” “Tom Sawyer,” and more, as well as unreleased backstage moments and candid footage left on the cutting room floor.

R40+ also includes unseen soundcheck performances of the fan-favorite “Jacob’s Ladder,” exclusive new interviews with Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, Taylor Hawkins, producer Nick Raskulinecz, violinist Jonathan Dinklage and more. As a special bonus, fans will get a glimpse into the madness and passion that went in to the making of Geddy Lee’s new book, Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass – featuring a brand-new interview from the man himself.

Sponsored by 92.9 KISM!

Playing at Pickford Film Center
91 minutes, Canada, UK, USA, In English, Documentary
Rated NR: .


ZZ Top: That Lil Ol’ Band from Texas tells the story of how three oddball teenage bluesmen – Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard – became one of the biggest, most beloved bands on the planet, all while maintaining a surrealist mystique that continues to intrigue fans and entice onlookers 50 years after the band’s inception. Buoyed by candid band interviews, never-before-seen archive, animation, celebrity fan testimonials (Billy Bob Thornton, Joshua Homme and more), and an intimate performance at the legendary Gruene Hall shot exclusively for this documentary, “That Little Ol’ Band” runs the gamut, from the absurd to the poignant, from squalid Texas bars to MTV heroics, all in celebration of this notoriously private, but larger than life, power trio.

Sponsored by 92.9 KISM!

Playing at Pickford Film Center
0 minutes, USA, In English, Documentary
Rated NR: .


A century ago in 1919, Northwest cities roiled with labor unrest, strikes, and gunfights. That cauldron of radicalism and violence is chronicled in the documentary Labor Wars of the Northwest. The film examines labor conflict in the context of a decades-long struggle that began with the arrival of the railroads in the 1880s and spread throughout the region. It shines new light on tragedies like the 1916 Everett Massacre, the 1919 Seattle General Strike and the 1919 Centralia Massacre. The documentary was created in part to commemorate the centennial year of those1919 events. Bellingham and Whatcom County are no strangers to labor conflict, evidenced by the 1907 riots in which five hundred South Asian migrants were expelled from Bellingham.

Following the film, PNW historian David Jepsen, who wrote and directed the film, will lead a discussion on labor issues and answer audience questions.

Presented by Northwest Washington Central Labor Council. Happy Labor Day!

Playing at Pickford Film Center
95 minutes, USA, In English, Documentary
Rated PG-13: (for brief strong language and drug material)


Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice is a musical biography of one of the most successful and versatile female singers of the 20th century — and one of the most successful recording artists of all time. At the height of unprecedented success, Ronstadt, a restless and adventurous artist, turned away from pop music to explore an astonishing variety of musical styles, from American standards to country to classical operetta before circling back to her family roots with traditional Mexican canciones. Withstanding constant pressure from a risk-averse industry, Linda insisted on following her musical instincts. Today Ronstadt has Parkinson’s disease and her magnificent singing voice has been silenced. But rather than letting that voice be lost to history, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice tells Linda’s story through her own words and music, and by such professional colleagues as Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Aaron Neville among many others.

Playing at Pickford Film Center
85 minutes, Switzerland, In English, Documentary
Rated NR: .


One of the most important record labels in the history of jazz — and, by extension, that of American music — Blue Note Records has been home to such groundbreaking artists as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Bud Powell and Art Blakey, as well as present-day luminaries like Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire and Norah Jones. Founded in New York in 1939 by German Jewish refugees Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, the history of Blue Note Records goes beyond the landmark recordings, encompassing the pursuit of musical freedom, the conflict between art and commerce and the idea of music as a transformative and revolutionary force. Through rare archival footage, current recording sessions and conversations with jazz icons Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and today’s groundbreaking Blue Note musicians, Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes reveals a powerful mission and illuminates the vital connections between jazz and hip hop.

Playing at Pickford Film Center
90 minutes, USA, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mexico, UK, Japan, In English, Documentary
Rated NR: .


Tickets are free, available at the box office only.

Presented by the Interfaith Coalition on Climate Justice as part of the City of Bellingham’s ALL IN for Climate Action Week

Scientists predict we may lose half the species on the planet by the end of the century. They believe we have entered the sixth major extinction event in Earth’s history. Number five took out the dinosaurs. This era is called the Anthropocene, or “Age of Man,” because the evidence shows that humanity has sparked this catastrophic loss. We are also the only ones who can stop it.