Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

A quiet, absorbing look at one woman's obsessive mission to preserve the truth, blending archival footage with a personal story of family and conviction.

Directed by

Matt Wolf

Genres

Documentary

Starring

Michael Metelits, Marion Stokes

Tagline

30 years of television. 24 hours a day. 70,000 tapes

Overview

Marion Stokes secretly recorded television 24 hours a day for 30 years from 1975 until her death in 2012. For Marion taping was a form of activism to seek the truth, and she believed that a comprehensive archive of the media would be invaluable for future generations. Her visionary and maddening project nearly tore her family apart, but now her 70,000 VHS tapes are being digitized and they'll be searchable online.

How it feels

Earnest, melancholic and tense. Measured and needs your attention.

About

Obsession, media, memory, isolation

Content

Mild violence and language. No gore or sexual content.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Watch the trailer on YouTube (opens in a new tab)