KQED’s Truly CA Celebrates 10th Anniversary

The new season of the Emmy Award–winning series includes five new documentaries about life in California.

	Sunday, September 7, at 6pm on KQED 9 Bob and the Monster by Keirda Bahruth The unlikely story of indie-rock hero Bob Forrest as he transforms himself from an out-of-control addict to a drug counselor.
	Sunday, September 14, at 6pm on KQED 9 Everything Comes From the Streets by Alberto Pulido, Kelly Whalen and Rigo Reyes The inspiring portrait of the thriving lowriding culture in San Diego and its historic significance for the Chicano and Mexican communities.
	Sunday, September 21, at 6pm on KQED 9 Impossible Light by Jeremy Ambers A behind-the-scenes look at the drama and daring of Leo Villareal’s ambitious Bay Lights project, which turned the Bay Bridge into the world’s largest LED light sculpture.
	Sunday, September 28, at 6pm on KQED 9 One Good Year by Mikal Jakubal A moving look at the unique way of life of four small-farm marijuana growers in Humboldt Country.
	Sunday, October 5, at 6pm on KQED 9 Fred Lyon – Living Through the Lens by Michael House An intimate look at the photographer’s illustrious career, which includes the iconic images of 1950s San Francisco that launched him to international fame.

KQED is proud to announce the 10^th anniversary season of its Emmy Award-winning series, Truly CA: Our State, Our Stories, featuring independent documentaries about life in California. Truly CA’s signature diversity and quality of films is on display with the five award–winning documentaries of Season 10, which are as wildly eclectic in style and content as the Golden State itself. The 10th season premieres on Sunday, September 7, at 6pm on KQED 9 with the broadcast premiere of Bob and the Monster, the award-winning documentary by Keirda Bahruth, and continues the following four Sundays at 6pm. For more information, film descriptions and previews of Truly CAfilms, please visit kqed.org/trulyca.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Truly CA, the website will include “Where Are They Now?” features about past filmmakers. More than 15 films from previous seasons will be made available on the KQED Arts YouTube channel in September, including the Emmy Award–winning A Brush with the Tenderloin. You can follow Truly CA on Facebook for exclusive social content, great resources for documentary filmmakers and to watch Truly CA films online.

Over the last 10 seasons, Truly CA has featured 62 films and has won 5 Emmy Awards (Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria, Counting Sheep, Mighty Warriors of Comedy, Gumby Dharma and A Brush With the Tenderloin). Truly CA filmmakers have had their documentaries featured in such national programs as 60 Minutes, FRONTLINE, POV and Independent Lens and have made films for MSNBC, Discovery Channel and Sundance Channel. Almost all films from the series were featured at prestigious festivals including SXSW, the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Mill Valley Film Festival.

The five documentaries scheduled to premiere on KQED 9 as part of the 10th season of Truly CA: Our State, Our Stories are:

Sunday, September 7, at 6pm on KQED 9
BOB AND THE MONSTER
Filmmaker: Keirda Bahruth
This award-winning documentary follows outspoken indie-rock hero Bob Forrest as he goes from an out-of-control addict to one of the most influential and controversial drug counselors in the US today. The film includes archival performances and exclusive personal video from Forrest’s most difficult years and interviews from rock personalities as Courtney Love, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, and members of Jane’s Addiction, Fishbone and Guns n’ Roses.

Sunday, September 14, at 6pm on KQED 9
EVERYTHING COMES FROM THE STREETS
Filmmakers: Alberto Pulido Kelly Whalen and Rigo Reyes
Tracing the early roots of lowriding in San Diego, this inspiring film features the men and women who pioneered and shaped the Mexican American movement defined by self-expression and cultural ingenuity. Covering nearly 30 years of lowriding starting from the 1950s, Everything Comes From the Streets reflects a long history of struggle and affirmation rooted in the streets.

Sunday, September 21, at 6pm on KQED 9
IMPOSSIBLE LIGHT
Filmmaker: Jeremy Ambers
Artist Leo Villareal and his team of visionaries take the seemingly impossible dream of transforming the Bay Bridge into the world’s largest LED light sculpture and turn it into reality. From the drawing board to the boardroom to 500 feet above San Francisco Bay, Impossible Lights documents the struggles and ultimate triumph of The Bay Lights installation.

Sunday, September 28, at 6pm on KQED 9
ONE GOOD YEAR
Filmmaker: Mikal Jakubal
In the remote backwoods of Northern California, three generations of pot farmers have built a thriving alternative culture around the state’s most valuable cash crop. The sensationalized mainstream media is put to rest with this first-ever look at the heart and soul of the culture of small-farm marijuana growers.

Sunday, October 5, at 6pm on KQED 9
FRED LYON – LIVING THROUGH THE LENS
Filmmaker: Michael House
He might be one of America’s leading commercial and design photographers, but Fred Lyon is best known for his black and white photography from the 40s and 50s. This intimate film invites viewers into Fred Lyon’s world and showcases his immense archive of iconic San Francisco images from that time.

ABOUT KQED
KQED Public Television, the PBS affiliate that serves Northern California, is one of the country’s most popular public television stations. It brings the values of public media to homes around the Bay Area with Emmy Award–winning programming that inspires, informs and entertains, including Downton Abbey and Sherlock from MASTERPIECE, American Experience, American Masters, Great Performances, POV, Independent Lens, NOVA and Nature. KQED produces local series like Check, Please! Bay Area, KQED NEWSROOM, San Francisco Opera, Truly CA and ImageMakers, as well as popular programs for national broadcast such as Film School Shorts, Essential Pépin and QUEST. KQED also distributes programming to public media stations across the country including Roadtrip Nation and Joanne Weir’s Cooking School. For more information, please visit kqed.org/tv.