ITVS, a major documentary funder, has launched a new website, Futurestates, featuring an ‘online series of 11 unique short films exploring visions of what life might look like in an America of the future’. So…sort of like Demolition Man and Back to the Future 2, only shorter.

The site gives a select roster of some top emerging filmmakers the opportunity to present their own unique sci-fi (a term used very loosely here) visions of a future America. So far the stand out film features a plastic bag with a conscious narrative voice as provided by Werner Herzog. It’s like a live action art house version of a Pixar film; an anthropomorphized inanimate object (Cars, Toy Story) featuring some particularly inspired cult-celebrity voice casting (Sarah Vowell in The Incredibles) goes on a self-reflective journey into the ocean (Finding Nemo). The film is embedded below, so check it out. Once you’re done, head over to the Futurestates website and dig in to some great short films!

PLASTIC BAG By Ramin Bahrani

Erasing David is showing at next week’s SXSW and I can’t recommend it enough.

Filmmaker David Bond grew increasingly worried about how much information is held on us by organisations and the government and took the gutsy step of trying to go off the map for a month. He hired a team of private investigators to track him down and the film follows this journey. As someone living in Britain it’s a terrifying watch, especially in scenes where David manages to get hold of all the data held on him by communications companies and online stores. The film itself is thrilling, funny and although scary, highly entertaining.

Erasing David is one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year, and you should definitely check it out.

There are details below the jump of where and when you can see it.

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I missed The White Stripes Canadian tour doc ‘Under Great White Northern Lights’ at its Toronto International Film Festival premiere last year, but it looks like there’s going to be a few more chances to catch the film theatrically before it hits DVD (which will be available March 16th…more info after the jump). On March 11th the film will be receiving a special midnight screening at select AMC theatres across the US along with the limited theatrical run that began late last month. Check out the info after the jump:

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Great list from @totalfilm – 18 Cult Documentaries You Must See: http://bit.ly/cNesNm

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child is one of the films I’m most sad I didn’t get a chance to see at Sundance and now a trailer has been released I’m even more excited to see it.

This project is a labour of love by Tamra Davis, who met the artist in 1983, and interviewed him on camera in 1988 (two years before his death at age 27, from a heroin overdose). Davis kept the footage in a drawer until now, not wanting to feel she was cashing in on the tragedy. After being persuaded that the footage was of important historical significance she began to compile the film.

The trailer shows just how intimate the access Davis had due to her friendship with Basquiat and I have my fingers firmly crossed that the perfect use of the song Salt Peanuts is an indicator of what the soundtrack to film will be like (irrelevant trivia: when Dizzy Gillespie performed the song with Charlie Parker at the White House they convinced Jimmy Carter, who used to be a peanut farmer, to come on stage to sing the vocals). The music for the film is being provided by J Ralph, Adam Horowitz and Mike Diamond so no doubt it will be fantastic.

Fortissimo Films picked up the film for distribution so hopefully we’ll get a chance to see it soon and it’s also being shown at this year’s SXSW.

Best Worst Movie to Get Theatrical Release This Spring Courtesy of Area23A: http://bit.ly/cNbaRH