In 1948, Lenny Bruce was just another comic who couldn't get arrested. By 1961, all that would change.
An intimate portrait of Anton Corbijn as he travels the world as a photographer, film maker and video artist…
Iranian film director Amir Naderi talks to Zar Amir Ebrahimi about his career in this documentary directed and produced by Ebrahimi and broadcast by BBC World Service and BBC Persian. Amir Naderi is one of the most influential figures of Iranian modern cinema. He was born in 1945 in the Persian Gulf port of Abadan. Orphaned at an early age and living the life of a street urchin, Naderi had to survive by selling ice, working as a shoeshine boy and recycling empty beer bottles. He developed his knowledge of cinema by watching films in the theaters where he worked at a very young age. He began his career by taking pictures for some notable Iranian features. In the 1970’s, he started directing his own films, and made some of the most important movies of the New Iranian Cinema. After moving to New York in the early 90’s, Amir Naderi continued to make films. They have premiered at the Venice, Cannes, Tribeca, and Sundance Film Festivals.
Armed with just his talent, follow Willard Snow as he attempts to open an art gallery, while painting portraits of Rock Star Legends on canvass and instruments. This is the American Dream rising out of paint and iphones.
The life of Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally (Master Class, Ragtime): 60 years of groundbreaking plays and musicals, the struggle for gay rights, addiction and recovery, finding true love, and the relentless pursuit of inspiration.
At the height of her fame in 1954, actress Ava Gardner transplanted herself from Hollywood to the country of Spain. As she lovingly stated in her autobiography, “I don’t know if it was the climate, the men, or the music, but as soon as I set foot in Spain, I had a crush on this country.” In this documentary by Sergio Mondelo, the filmmaker explores the motivations behind this move and contrasts Gardner’s glitz and glam lifestyle with the hardships faced by the Spainish people under Franco’s rule.
The life and legacy of Richard Holbrooke, whose singular career spans fifty years of American foreign policy, is told in this documentary from Holbrooke's eldest son David.
BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.
A poetic journey into the visual world of the legendary filmmaker and actor Orson Welles (1915-85) that reveals a new portrait of a unique genius, both of his life and of his monumental work: through his own eyes, drawn by his own hand, painted with his own brush.
Film clips and interviews with biographers and colleagues chart the prolific, six-decade career of maverick actor-director Clint Eastwood.
The film tells the fairytale story of a scrawny East Frisian who, despite minimal starting opportunities, has had a unique career. Otto has always trusted his gut feeling, even when he often faced challenges that threatened to jeopardize his career. My Name is Otto shows comical moments and emotional high points, but also addresses the fears of a man who to this day firmly believes that his lucky streak could one day end.
As the debate over the state of America's public school system rages on, one thing everyone agrees on is the need for great teachers. Yet, while research proves that teachers are the most important school factor in a child's future success, America's teachers are so woefully underpaid that almost a third must divide their time between a second job in order to make a living. Chronicling the stories of four teachers in different areas of the country, American Teacher reveals the frustrating realities of today's educators, the difficulty of attracting talented new teachers, and why so many of our best teachers feel forced to leave the profession altogether. But this wake-up call to our system's failings also looks at possibilities for reform. Can we re-value teaching in the United States and turn it into a prestigious, financially attractive and competitive profession? With almost half of American teachers leaving the field in the next five years, now is the time to find out.
Revealed in independant movies such as My Own Private Idaho, blockbuster movie star in Point Break and Speed, hero of the digital era in The Matrix, virtuoso killer in John Wick, Keanu Reeves is one of the most intriguous stars of his generation. However, after 25 years in the spotlight, he stays an enigma whose chaotic career seems to go on without a guilding principle. Today, nobody could question his unique status as he reluctantly became a social network icon, and a role model for the « woke » generation.
The debate in France about the abortion laws in 1974.
A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.
An account of the life and work of the charismatic and seductive Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, from his beginnings as a soccer player in the Spain of the 1960s, in the midst of Franco's dictatorship, to his astonishing worldwide success.
Growing up, Rey Mysterio Jr. was immersed in the Mexican tradition of "Lucha Libre" and studied under his uncle, the masked luchador, Rey Mysterio Sr.
The story of the black, gay origins of rock n' roll. It explodes the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard's complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon's life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions.
In 1996, Damon Hill claimed the Formula 1 world championship—defying the odds and overcoming familial tragedy to step out of his father’s shadow and become a racing legend in his own right.
The last years of Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), rock legend and frontman of Queen, a band that conquered the world of music in the seventies and eighties: what was his lifestyle and the path that led him to a tragic death due to AIDS when he was only 46 years old.