In the vast expanse of desert East of Atlas Mountains in Morocco, seasonal rain and snow once supported livestock, but now the drought seems to never end. Hardly a blade of grass can be seen, and families travel miles on foot to get water from a muddy hole in the ground. Yet the children willingly ride donkeys and bicycles or walk for miles across rocks to a "school of hope" built of clay. Following both the students and the teachers in the Oulad Boukais Tribe's community school for over three years, SCHOOL OF HOPE shows students Mohamed, Miloud, Fatima, and their classmates, responding with childish glee to the school's altruistic young teacher, Mohamed. Each child faces individual obstacles - supporting their aging parents; avoiding restrictions from relatives based on traditional gender roles - while their young teacher makes do in a house with no electricity or water.
Time Is Illmatic is a feature length documentary film that delves deep into the making of Nas' 1994 debut album, Illmatic, and the social conditions that influenced its creation.
A progressive graduate student finds success and sparks outrage when his interest in battle rap as a thesis subject becomes a competitive obsession.
In a dark, ambiguous environment, minuscule particles drift slowly before the lens. The image focuses to reveal spruce trees and tall pines, while Innu voices tell us the story of this territory, this flooded forest. Muffled percussive sounds gradually become louder, suggesting the presence of a hydroelectric dam. The submerged trees gradually transform into firebrands as whispers bring back the stories of this forest.
Freewheeling, motorcycle-riding musician Johnny rolls into a small town with his band, and meets Kathy, an honor student who catches his eye. Meanwhile, Kathy's father, after being in the Witness Protection Program, is finally tracked down by two corrupt cops he escaped from years ago, who want the money he owes them.
All Screwed Up | Visual Tribute is a passion project directed by Isaac "Chill" Yowman and produced by IYO Visuals in association with DJ Screw’s family to celebrate the life & legacy of a legend.
Countess Franziska "is kidnapped" by a band of robbers. However, her father is not willing to pay the ransom so Franziska changes sides.
With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful hip-hop emcee.
Nothing Like Before delves into the creation of the Clube da Esquina Album (Brazil, 1972). Considered by many music critics one of the best albums of all time, it presented to the world musicians like Milton Nascimento, Lô Borges, Toninho Horta, Beto Guedes and Wagner Tiso.
This short movie takes us through beautiful landscapes and oppressive spaces. A dream sequence that leads to liberation, on the border between imagination and reality. We travel with a boy who matures. He dreams, he dances, he is the conductor. The only.
In 1940s France, a new teacher at a school for disruptive boys gives hope and inspiration.
A magician with an orphaned granddaughter lives in a theater where a group of Spanish child singers come to perform. The presence of "Los Parchís" helps the great magician Gundin regain his confidence in his performances and provide a better life for his granddaughter.
Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater. After discovering his talent, the Wizard gives Evan the name "August Rush" and devises a plan to profit from his talent. Little does Evan know that his parents, Lyla and Louis, are searching for him too.
A group of hip '90s teens educate new drivers about how to conduct themselves around semi-trucks on the freeway.
Between 1944 and 1953, 170,000 Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians put up fierce resistance to the Soviet invasion, hiding deep in the vast Baltic forests. Driven by a dream of freedom, they defied a ruthless empire with few resources but unwavering determination. Through previously unseen archives and the poignant accounts of the last survivors, this documentary reveals their clandestine struggle, their heroic sacrifices, and their legacy, timeless symbols of a desperate fight to escape the Soviet stranglehold and preserve the flame of independence.
For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.
Life and career story of MC Bob Rum, author and singer of "rap do Silva", one of the greatest funk classics during the 1990s.
A Place of Our Own
Reclaiming what was once stolen from him, a man journeys back to the place of his childhood nearly 80 years after his world came crashing down.
Utilizing the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, the epic Indian tale of exiled prince Ramayana and his bride Sita is mirrored by a spurned woman's contemporary personal life, and light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets.