A documentary about zines in the United States

"Early in this documentary about zine culture, Moe Bowstern of the zine Xtra Tuf describes the experience of bringing zines onboard a working boat. "My skipper said 'I could do a zine!'" says Bowstern. "You just write about what you did today and what you ate and put a recipe in there and then you write about your bike and then you write about stealing something!" Bowstern goes on to say that the skipper wrote something for the publication Pacific Fisherman which paid him $100 and a t-shirt. "And I said, 'Fred, if I give you a shirt and a hundred bucks, will you write for me too?'"
The skipper argues that zines aren't real writing. He's the only nay sayer in this hour survey of zine culture in Portland, OR. As the documentary unfolded, I thought it would make perfect viewing for people like the skipper or my mom; people who don't understand the whole concept. But by the end I was questioning why it had been so long since I had made a zine myself.
The DVD is organized into chapter headings that cover topics like Who Makes Zines? and How Are Zines Distributed? But this isn't really a how-to guide; more like a celebration. The filmmakers were smart to focus on the Portland scene. The point isn't to tell the comprehensive story of zines, even the story of zines in Portland. But by selecting such a slender piece of the pie, this [talkie] hasn't made me full but rather hungry for more pie. Surely the hunger is the point; to go out and create and search on my own, not just to be content with living vicariously by watching people on a DVD.
Like a good zine, the documentary is high quality (the video and audio are top notch with smart music and graphics) without being slick. Mostly this is a film of talking heads talking about themselves, their work, and the bigger picture. It's good to see zines getting the same documentary treatment that music has long received. A few stories are illustrated by "dramatic recreations", that are surprisingly charming, not annoying. The credits note tha this production was assembled using only borrowing materials - very cool indeed." - Punk Planet

I was teaching high school and college age students and I thought a movie would make it easier. The filmmaking came after the need for the film. Been doing it full time ever since.