Quest of the Muscle Nerd

A dive into the passion, determination, and adrenaline fueled world of competitive waterskiing, and the people who give their lives to it.

After an absence of five years, six times Mr Olympia winner Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a comeback and attempts to take the World Body Building Championship for the 7th time.

China's top drama academy stages the American musical "Fame," China's first official collaboration with Broadway, as the graduation showcase for its senior class. During the eight-month rehearsal, five students compete for roles, struggle with pressure from family and authority, and prepare to graduate into China's corrupt entertainment industry.

This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C.

The fascinating complexity of high school debate gives way to a portrait of the equally complex racial and class bias of American education in Greg Whiteley's riveting documentary.

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.

The classic board game, Scrabble, has been popular for decades. In addition, there are fanatics who devote heart and soul to this game to the expense of everything else. This film profiles a group of these enthusiasts as they converge for a Scrabble convention where the word game is almost a bloodsport.

In the 1990s, Lee Priest was once a young, extremely talented, and promising professional bodybuilder heading straight for champion status and success. He was also an outspoken and blunt personality that broke many of the rules set by the professional bodybuilding league. After many fines and suspensions, Priest received a lifetime ban from professional bodybuilding. He has since made it his mission to speak his truth regarding the sport of bodybuilding and the professional league - earning him a label as the dark horse of bodybuilding. For the first time ever, discover the life story and details of how Lee Priest went from bodybuilding's future to bodybuilding's rebel.

If your bedroom has become too small a stage for your air guitar antics, take inspiration from the competitors featured here as they battle their way from the inaugural U.S. Air Guitar Championship to the world championship in Oulu, Finland. Along the way, filmmaker Alexandra Lipsitz documents the fierce rivalries that develop as would-be rock legends vie for top honors in technical accuracy, stage presence and "airness."

"Stitched" is a fun-filled documentary following three quilters racing to complete their entries for the International Quilt Festival, the largest and most competitive quilt show in the nation. Judged on a combination of craftsmanship and flair, traditionalists compete with newcomers as the competition features heated battles between hand and machine quilters, and a controversial painted nude piece that sparks debate.

IFFB professional Jay Cutler invites you to join him on his journey to the 2008 Mr. Olympia. After dethroning the legendary Ronnie Coleman in 2006, he won the title again in a controversial battle against Victor Martinez the following year. Now, reigning champion Jay Cutler works harder than ever before to create the best physique to defend his title! With time running out, he must eat, sleep and train around the clock, monitoring his progress along the way. But will his goals and destiny cross paths once more? Follow the Massachusetts native into his Las Vegas home and discover how to live like a champion. Join him in the original Gold's Gym in Venice, "Muscle Beach," California and experience a mind-blowing workout regime alongside the sport's greatest ambassador

Driven by dedication, sacrifice and raw talent, 30 elite cheerleading teams compete to become the sport's ultimate champion.

Behind the iconic Eiffel Tower lies the story of an incredible challenge to erect a thousand-foot tower that went far beyond a design competition, and marked a major turning point in engineering history. It was the beginning of radical transformation where iron was pitted against stone, engineering against architecture, and modern design against ancients. Press campaigns, lobbying, public conferences, denigration of opposing projects, bragging about big names - all participants engaged in a fierce battle without concession. Using 3D recreations, official sources (reports, letters, drawings...) and intimate archives obtained from their descendants, this film will bring to life this vertical race through a fresh and visual way to mark the centenary of Eiffel death.

Strength Wars: The Movie follows the lives of eight athletes preparing for the ultimate strength competition. The prize? To be labeled the strongest man in the world. Putting two different types of athletes against each other, Strength Wars is the ultimate proving ground to test any given athlete's true strength. Eight athletes. Eight athletic disciplines. One winner. The film highlights eight men from across the globe including Larry Wheels, Terron Beckham, Blaine Sumner, NDO Champ, Big Neechi, Jerry Pritchett, Anabolic Horse, and Leonidas Arkona. Welcome to Strength Wars. May the best man win.

Hear it straight from the Legends themselves about their stories of success and heartbreak. EVOLUTION OF BODYBUILDING offers a close look at what it takes to compete in the "Mr. Olympia" and how the industry has changes over the past 50 years.

From executive producer Zach Braff and director Jeremy Snead, "Video Games: The Movie" is an epic feature length documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of video games from nerd niche to multi-billion dollar industry. Narrated by Sean Astin and featuring in-depth interviews with the godfathers who started it all, the icons of game design, and the geek gurus who are leading us into the future, "Video Games: The Movie" is a celebration of gaming from Atari to Xbox and an eye-opening look at what lies ahead.

At Evergreen Primary School in Wuhan, China, a Grade 3 class learns what democracy is when an election for class monitor is being held. Three children are chosen by the teacher as candidates and they have a few days to campaign and convince their classmates to vote for them. The little candidates are seen at school and at home, where their parents do their best to make sure their child will win the election.

Across Africa, people are using soccer to lift themselves up, to create change in their communities and to pave the way for progress. "The Beautiful Game" follows several unforgettable Africans who are beating the odds on and off the pitch.

A 2008 documentary and debut feature film of Bafta-Award nominated director Jamie Jay Johnson. It follows the lives of the participants of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007, specifically the entrants from Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Georgia. The film sees them proceed from the national finals that saw them crowned the representatives of their country through to the international song festival itself held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands where they each compete against 16 other acts.

Art-loving comedian Joe Lycett joins artists hoping to make it onto the walls of the RA Summer Exhibition 2022, the world’s largest open-submission art contest.