The senior year of a girls’ high school step team in inner-city Baltimore is documented, as they try to become the first in their families to attend college. The girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in their troubled city.
A look at the world of US writer Paul Auster, on the occasion of the publication of his new novel, an exploration of human identity and the soul of New York, the city that Auster has portrayed as no one else has ever done.
Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.
"The Jersey Sound" is a love letter to New Jersey's diverse music scene. It captures its rich history through untold stories and intimate interviews while paying homage to legendary icons who have called Jersey home. It's an attitude.
SEX AND BROADCASTING is a feature length documentary about New Jersey's WFMU, the world's strangest and most unique radio station, and one man's attempt to keep it alive in the face of recession, the persistent threat of commercial media, and the challenges that come with keeping a rebellious group of outsiders together.
Follows the plight of real-life dancers as they struggle through auditions for the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line and also investigates the history of the show and the creative minds behind the original and current incarnations.
Their job is stealing, their lives a cruel dead end. Director Jon Alpert takes his cameras undercover for this hard-hitting look at men who live by theft and suffer addiction. Focusing on a year in the lives of three professional criminals, this gritty profile—which includes hidden-camera footage of actual thefts—exposes the "petty" crimes that are paralyzing America.
'Day of the Fight' shows Irish-American middleweight boxer Walter Cartier during the height of his career, on the day of a fight with black middleweight Bobby James, which took place on April 17, 1950.
This anthology film, whose Chinese title begins with a romantic name for human excrement, premiered internationally at Rotterdam and won Best Screenplay from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. A variety of Hong Kong people wrestle with nostalgia when facing an uncertain future. Their stories give way to a documentary featuring a young barista turned political candidate.
A moving, inspirational story that gives viewers a rare glimpse into the world of high school wrestling at one of Los Angeles' most elite and highly touted prep schools. Filled with drama, laughter, and heart, "Junkyard Dogs" is an underdog story that captures the essence of what it takes to be a champion and sheds light on the power and importance of one of the world's oldest sports.
Janet Sharrock has two children and Brent “Buddha” Barnes has three; the pair has a meet-cute at the local RSL, marry and unite their families, Brady Bunch style. Now grown up, Becky (famous for being one of only 80 people in the world with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory), Jessica (a comedian living with depression), Brendan (who aspires to take over Buddha’s repair shop), and young Kylie and Dylan laugh, cry, contemplate existence and dream big with their parents, finding joy and stability in one another as they face immense change.
Part film, part baptism, in BLACK MOTHER director Khalik Allah brings us on a spiritual journey through Jamaica. Soaking up its bustling metropolises and tranquil countryside, Allah introduces us to a succession of vividly rendered souls who call this island home. Their candid testimonies create a polyphonic symphony, set against a visual prayer of indelible portraiture. Thoroughly immersed between the sacred and profane, BLACK MOTHER channels rebellion and reverence into a deeply personal ode informed by Jamaica’s turbulent history but existing in the urgent present.
Come Back, Africa chronicles the life of Zachariah, a black South African living under the rule of the harsh apartheid government in 1959.
In 1979, Louis Malle films the thriving lives of a Minnesota farming community, but returns six years later to document its drastic economic decline, offering a poignant look at the impact of political changes.
This authorized documentary chronicles the short-lived career of the band Deadguy and their seminal hardcore album "Fixation on a Coworker". Featuring never before seen pictures and videos, unearthed live audio recordings and more. Featuring interviews with every member of the band and industry peers.
A year in the life of a dying shopping mall.
Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community, this film is constructed in a form that allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South - trumpeting the beauty of life and consequences of the social construction of race, while simultaneously a testament to dreaming.
An intimate documentary that looks at the vicious cycles of drug addiction and street crime in one of the roughest parts of New Jersey.
Within the heart of New Jersey, a scorched wilderness stands in defiance of the encroaching megalopolis that surrounds it. Once deemed inhospitable; north and south, rural and suburban, harmony and disruption, truth and folklore, all merge and contradict around the stories that unite individuals living among the land. Spanning six years, the film paints a portrait of nature and identity that aims to capture the surreal wonder of the Pinelands during a time when corruption threatens to undermine its few protections.
With humor, insight, and compassion, this documentary shares the journey of two Italian brothers who have run a successful restaurant for over 40 years, the sacrifices they’ve made for their children, and what it means to immigrants when they fulfill the American Dream.