Texas: America Supersized

Filmmaker S.R. Bindler profiles Texas contestants trying to win a truck by keeping one hand on it longer than everyone else.

In the early 1830s Texas was about to explode. Although ruled by Mexico, the region was home to more than 20,000 U.S. settlers agitated by what they saw as restrictive Mexican policies. Mexican officials, concerned with illegal trading and immigration, were prepared to fight hard to keep the province under their control. Caught in the middle were the area's 4,000 Mexican Texans or Tejanos. With war on the horizon, the Tejanos had to pick a side. Many chose to fight with their Anglo neighbors against an army sent by Mexico City. The conflict pitted brother against brother and devastated the community. The Tejano gamble for a more prosperous future in an independent Texas proved tragic. Following the revolution, the Tejanos were overwhelmed by a surge of Anglo immigration -- leaving them foreigners in a land they had fought to defend.

This U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) video uses expert testimony and computer-animated reenactments to describe and discuss its detailed investigation into the March 23 2005 explosion of the ISOM (isomerization) unit at the BP (British Petroleum) refinery at Texas City, Texas. The explosion killed 15 workers, injured 180 others, and cost BP billions of dollars.

Sandra Bland was a bright, energetic activist whose life was cut short when a traffic stop resulted in a mysterious jail cell death just three days later.

Students of the high school show choir Voices of Central take a look back on the emotional journey they endured during the 2021-2022 school year.

The extraordinary story of a world-renowned patent attorney in Sugar Land, Texas who, at 57, came out as a trans woman and is now navigating LGBTQ+ issues and fighting for trans rights in the vortex of Texas conservatism, as she and her family challenge the idea of what modern love looks like.

Set amid arrests and subsequent trials surrounding the 2008 Republican National Convention, this portrait of two young activists caught in the web of an opportunistic mentor and a desperate justice system poignantly describes both the problems of power and the power of forgiveness and love.

In Texas’ state-designated BBQ capital, two legendary Lockhart families run the town’s most iconic barbecue joints. Decades of interfamily feuds split them apart, with tensions still smoldering, and one conflict burning hotter than ever. Now, these famed establishments face a new challenge: reclaiming their spots on the coveted Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ list, all while contending with a rising star shaking up the scene. This feature-length documentary explores the town’s well-seasoned culture, sizzling BBQ ecosystem, and the family rivalries that have marinated in Lockhart lore for generations. Watch Family Beef starting June 5 on the free KXAN+ app and online at KXAN.com.

We do not know when and how we will die. Death Row inmates do. Werner Herzog embarks on a dialogue with Death Row inmates, asks questions about life and death and looks deep into these individuals, their stories, their crimes.

"The Atheist Experience," produced in Austin, Texas, is the only atheist TV show in the United States. Every Sunday afternoon, two atheists debate callers for one hour, on camera. "Mission Control Texas" portrays the show, its protagonists, and the discussions between the hosts and callers. The debates between believers and skeptics are funny, touching, and shocking in turn, and they're interspersed with footage of the very public religious displays common in the state of Texas. The film is an intimate, concentrated, and entertaining insight into the culture wars, and is sure to provoke inspiration as well as frustration, no matter which side of the divide you fall on.

OILMEN: Tales from the South Texas Oil Patch tells the story of the oil and gas industry and how an accidental discovery in 1854 transformed a once untamed frontier into what is now one of the richest oil producing areas in the nation. This one hour documentary depicts the risky adventures of early day wildcatters and adventurous businessmen who gambled everything in a quest for black gold.

Rae Ripple, a welder from the outskirts of West Texas transforms neglected metal into works of art and in the process finds healing from her traumatic past.

Barbecue is a religion in Texas, and this droll documentary takes a look at some of the colorful characters who live and die for this culinary art. Narrated by former Gov. Ann Richards, the film covers everything from the Church of the Holy BBQ and the Great Texas Mosquito Festival to a zealous group of University of Texas students who lead "barbecue missions." Interviews with Dan Rather, Kinky Friedman and other famous Texans are included.

Third Ward TX is the story of how Project Row Houses used the tools of design, art and architecture to transform two blocks of "shotgun" houses reminiscent of New Orleans and other Black communities across the South into exhibition space, classrooms, gardens, and residential space. But their success in reducing crime, and making their "campus" a magnet for art enthusiasts, families, and local residents, also attracts deep-pocket real estate developers. Their bold response is to include community planning and new housing as a part of their art practice. If they can shape an area in Third Ward for the residents, there's a chance they can keep the neighborhood intact.

The Roughnecks tells the story of the Fort Worth Ridglea Roughnecks, one of the oldest and most intense Pee-Wee football teams in Texas, as they set out to win the Youth football 'Super Bowl', their last chance at a title they narrowly lost last year.

A film about the Maroons—freed or escaped slaves that created their own communities during slavery. Both stories are examples of Gerima’s driving motivation—sankofa, reclaiming the past in order to move forward.

"Stolen Education" documents the untold story of Mexican-American school children who challenged discrimination in Texas schools in the 1950s and changed the face of education in the Southwest.

Kapwa, a Filipino term that means "togetherness" or "neighbor", is a recognition of a shared identity; an inner self that is shared with others. WHO WE BECOME is a story of kapwa and follows three Filipino women each coming into their political consciousness and discovering themselves during a pivotal moment in their lives.

Rosa is a Mexican woman who, at the age of 17, migrated illegally to Austin, Texas. Some years later, she was jailed under suspicion of murder and then taken to trial. This film demonstrates how the judicial process, the verdict, the separation from her family, and the helplessness of being imprisoned in a foreign country make Rosa’s story an example of the hard life of Mexican migrants in the United States.

Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.