Toronto filmmaker Charles Officer profiles the young people of Villaways Park, a housing project on brink of historic change.
Sailing a Sinking Sea is a feature-length experimental documentary exploring the culture of the Moken people of Burma and Thailand. The Moken are seafaring people and one of the smallest ethnic minority groups in Asia. Wholly reliant upon the sea, their entire belief system, education, and economic and physical development revolve around water. Sailing a Sinking Sea illuminates the Moken lifestyle through recorded traditional music, folklore and conversations with the Moken people. Through intimate and dynamic cinematography and audio recordings, Sailing a Sinking Sea weaves a visual and aural tapestry of Moken mythologies and present-day practices.
In 2012, jihadists took control of northern Mali. They imposed one of the strictest interpretations of sharia law in history. On August 12th they banned music - radio stations destroyed, instruments burned and musicians facing torture, even death. Overnight, Mali’s most revered members of society – the musicians – were forced into hiding or exile. This film follows Mali’s musicians as they fight to keep music alive in their country. We witness fierce battles between the army and the jihadists, capture life over borders at refugee camps where money and hope are scarce, follow perilous journeys home to war ravaged cities, and for one band, Songhoy Blues, their path to international stardom.
Adopted from South Korea, raised on different continents & connected through social media, Samantha & Anaïs believe that they are twin sisters separated at birth.
The Goodies finally return to television after nearly 25 years with a compilation of classic clips, interviews and new material.
An unflinching look at how women are treated in the USA today examining issues such as workplace harassment, domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. It shows how discriminatory attitudes still prevail and influence society and argues for the need to improve laws that claim to protect women.
A documentary about the groupie scene in the 1970s.
The story of the recovery of the negatives of thousands of photos taken by three photographers during the Spanish Civil War that were found seventy years later in a suitcase, inside a closet in Mexico City.
HBO Documentary Films Presents the story of the effort to save the 895th surviving oiled pelican in Louisiana, showing how conservationists, government agencies and wildlife activists joined forces to preserve this one life.
The Mayan Calendar is ending on December 21st 2012. What will happen to us between now and then? Are there other prophecies that also predict the closing of this world age and the start of a new beginning? Join author Sharron Rose on an adventure into the future. In this exciting and thought provoking feature documentary she travels across the entire United States speaking to the many experts on this fast approaching prophecy. They help her to reveal the secrets that will unfold before our eyes and will shape our future.
How does art survive in a time of oppression? During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags. Their plight inspires young Igor Savitsky. He pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artist's works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB. Though a penniless artist himself, he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it. Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian Avant-Garde art. But his greatest discovery is an unknown school of artists who settle in Uzbekistan after the Russian revolution of 1917, encountering a unique Islamic culture, as exotic to them as Tahiti was for Gauguin. They develop a startlingly original style, fusing European modernism with centuries-old Eastern traditions.
The film examines the ways that women directors have contributed to this genre and emphasizes the role that the media play in representation of sexuality and gender, underscoring the power that film has to shape our perceptions of one another. Visually, this documentary comes to life on screen through compelling and intimate original interviews, intercut with emotionally-charged archival footage, photographs, ephemera, inspired music, and film clips.
An intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world. When 'Silent Spring' was published in September 1962 it became an instant bestseller and would go on to spark dramatic changes in the way the government regulated pesticides.
Seen through the eyes of Asun Casasola, mother of Nagore Laffage, we take a look at the woman's life since her daughter was murdered. The crime, committed during Pamplona's San Fermin celebrations in 2008 by a psychiatric intern, shook society and hit the media headlines as never before. The trial took place in November 2009, with the defendant being convicted of manslaughter. Asun, her family, and all those who support them, continue their struggle to see justice done and have the culprit sentenced for murder with intent. This documentary talks about Nagore's murder, converting it into an emblematic story representing the countless similar cases taking place throughout today's society.
Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman lives in New York. Filmed images of the City accompany texts of Akerman's loving mother back home in Brussels. The City comes more and more to the front while the words of the mother, read by Akerman herself, gradually fade away.
Blossoms of Fire is a dazzling, whirling dance of a film that celebrates the extraordinary lives of the Isthmus Zapotecs of southern Oaxaca, Mexico, whose strong work ethic and fierce independent streak rooted in their culture, have resulted not only in powerful women but also in the region's progressive politics and their unusual tolerance of alternative gender roles.
A documentary on the work of sex-change specialist Dr. Leo Wollman, including interviews with Dr. Wollman and a few of his patients, with an illustrated lecture on the various aspects of transsexuality plus actual footage of a sex-change operation, which is what gives the film its notoriety
From cinema-verite; pioneers Albert Maysles and Joan Churchill to maverick movie makers like Errol Morris, Werner Herzog and Nick Broomfield, the world's best documentarians reflect upon the unique power of their genre. Capturing Reality explores the complex creative process that goes into making non-fiction films. Deftly charting the documentarian's journey, it poses the question: can film capture reality?
A character-driven heartfelt story of resilience and the impact of education. The film follows Angel, Moses and Nina from the slums of Kampala, Uganda through a world tour with the Grammy-nominated African Children's Choir; stunningly shot and told through Angel, Moses and Nina's perspectives on their one shot journey from poverty to education.
Documentary exploring the human tendency to be dishonest. Inspired by the work of social scientist, Dan Ariely, the film interweaves personal stories, expert opinions, behavioral experiments, and archival footage to reveal how and why people lie.