The Bystander Moment

Repping best view to date into the world of the Indian eunuch, “Between the Lines: India’s Third Gender” may not answer all the questions it poses, but helmer Thomas Wartmann provides an intimate glimpse at a community whose members are considered pariahs and conduits of supernatural force. Following shutterbug Anita Khemka in her quest to discover why these castrated men fascinate and repel, docu concentrates on three personalities and uses them as guides to their highly stratified world. Under its nautch skirts, film has strong enough legs to step out into international arthouses.

Arguing that advertising not only sells things, but also ideas about the world, media scholar Sut Jhally offers a blistering analysis of commercial culture's inability to let go of reactionary gender representations. Jhally's starting point is the breakthrough work of the late sociologist Erving Goffman, whose 1959 book The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life prefigured the growing field of performance studies. Jhally applies Goffman's analysis of the body in print advertising to hundreds of print ads today, uncovering an astonishing pattern of regressive and destructive gender codes. By looking beyond advertising as a medium that simply sells products, and beyond analyses of gender that tend to focus on either biology or objectification, The Codes of Gender offers important insights into the social construction of masculinity and femininity, the relationship between gender and power, and the everyday performance of cultural norms.

An exploration of the Samoan faafafine, boys who are raised as girls, who fulfill a traditional role in Samoan culture. In the past they have shared women's traditional work but today are becoming more westernized and look more like drag queens. Several anthropologists comment on the phenomenon examining issues of culture and gender and the complexities of sexual identity.

Kyle Dean was a misfit in her North Carolina school. She was called "Creature" because she was a boy who knew she was a girl in part of the country where such things were not understood or tolerated. As soon as she could she left North Carolina for Hollywood where she felt that she'd stand more of a chance of becoming who she wanted to be. Now as Stacey she's going back to visit with with Mom and Pop.

Fred Martinez was a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16 by a man who bragged to his friends that he 'bug-smashed a fag'. But Fred was part of an honored Navajo tradition - the 'nadleeh', or 'two-spirit', who possesses a balance of masculine and feminine traits.

The Swedish Academy is in its worst crisis ever. This year's Nobel Prize in Literature has been canceled. Accusations of sexual abuse, corruption and financial irregularities. The academy's first female permanent secretary ever has been fired. Four female members have resigned. A documentary about the Swedish Academy, the men and the abuse.

A documentary exploring sexism and patriarchy in Kosova.

The inside story of the rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein reveals how, over decades, he acquired and protected his power even when scandal threatened to engulf him. Former colleagues and accusers detail the method and consequences of his alleged abuse, hoping for justice and also to inspire change.

In Swole I continue to document my commitment to an intensive and transformative gym and diet regimen, as well as the communities that form around such activities, sustaining themselves through texting and sharing videos and photos on social media. I learn the vocabulary of my new community.

For Your Consideration

Short documentary about the lives of three girls and the women who rescued them from retrogressive cultural practices in their own Maasai community at the AIC Girls School and Rescue Center in Kajiado, Kenya. It is an intimate portrait of these women as they sacrifice everything to make a stand against female genital mutilation and early forced marriage happening within their own culture.

For decades, performance artist and writer Kate Bornstein has been exploding binaries and deconstructing gender. And, her own identity. Trans-dyke. Reluctant polyamorist. Sadomasochist. Recovering Scientologist. Pioneering Gender Outlaw. Kate Bornstein Is a Queer and Pleasant Danger, joins her on her latest tour capturing rollicking public performances and painful personal revelations as it bears witness to Kate as a trailblazing artist theorist activist who inhabits a space between male and female with wit, style, and astonishing candor. By turns meditative and playful, the film invites us on a thought provoking journey through Kate's world to seek answers to some of life's biggest questions.

In Pakistan, veils hide one of the country's most terrible secrets. Driven by revenge, jealousy or sexual non-co-operation some men subject their wives to horrific attacks with acid that is freely available in the street. Completely disfigured, the victims are often ostracized by their families and become prisoners in their own home. This chilling documentary is a terrifying insight into the shattered lives of these women.

Social media superstar Qandeel Baloch pushed boundaries in conservative Pakistan like no other. In 2016, high on her newfound celebrity, Qandeel exposes a well-known Muslim cleric – with tragic results.

In Man Made, Sunny tries to find out what society's ideas regarding masculinity entails. Does testosteron define your masculinity? Can men be victims? And do men suffer under these ideas? In the twentieth century, feminists have fought for the freedom of women and subsequently their emancipation. Is now the time for the emancipation of men, are they next to be set free?

An overview of 21st-century feminism through the lens of pop culture.

Katie Couric travels across the U.S. to talk with scientists, psychologists, activists, authors and families about the complex issue of gender.

Two actresses take us through a series of 'raps' and sketches about what it means to be beautiful and black.

Amie & Fannas Striptrip

Five transgender women share their prison experiences. Interviews with attorneys, doctors, and other experts are also included.