For over a hundred years, Mărculești was a vibrant Jewish agricultural and mercantile community in Bessarabia (now present-day Moldova). In July 1941, the village was the site of an unimaginable atrocity. Seventy-three years later, few speak honestly or completely about what happened. ABSENT is a cinematic portrait of the ghost village of Mărculești, its current inhabitants, and their very complex relationship to their own history. Filmed entirely on location, the film documents one of Europe's poorest, most remote, and least-visited places.
In 2013, United Methodist minister Frank Schaefer was defrocked for officiating at his son's same-sex wedding. Suddenly, the Reverend found himself an accidental LGBTQ activist. Considering all sides of the debate, this powerful documentary shows how the groundwork for a 2016 showdown that may transform American Christianity is being laid.
What happens after the death of an immortal? Following the longest reign in world history, King Louis XIV - the Sun King - passed at 76 in the Chateau of Versailles. Long rumored to be blessed with eternal life, Louis' death caused controversy that would change Europe forever. This is the story of the Sun King's death, and its aftermath.
The economists behind the implementation of the most extreme capitalist system in the world observe with surprise the discontent of its countrymen. For the first time, they tell the story of how they became Milton Friedman's students in Chicago in the 1950s and what were they willing to do to pursue their extreme economic ideas, aided by Pinochet's dictatorship in the 70s. Unseen images and testimonies that allow us to understand the historic process that transformed the Chilean people and Chile in the country that it is today, an image of success and discontent.
Jerry Ross Barrish sees the beauty in—and creates the unexpected out of—discarded materials. The son of hard-working Jewish immigrants with crime-family connections, Barrish worked for 50 years as a bail bondsman, much of it for radical protesters. He stumbled into acclaim as a filmmaker, earning the Museum of Modern Art’s prestigious New Director distinction and winning major European awards along the way. Then one day, inspiration struck as he picked up plastic trash on a beach, leading him to launch a whole new career as a sculptor. Though acclaimed by curators, he long went virtually unnoticed in the commercial-art realm. But at age 75, the unassuming Barrish may finally be on the verge of success, as William Farley’s engaging documentary goes to show. Seeing the playfulness of his pieces, you’ll understand why: with artificial materials, he has managed to capture real life. -Denver Film Society
Surviving Skokie, an intensely personal documentary, explores the effects of a late 1970s threatened neo-Nazi march in Skokie, IL on its large Holocaust survivor population. Thousands of survivors comprised 10 percent of this Chicago suburb, including Jack, the father of co-producer, Eli Adler. The relationship between father and son deepens as they return to Poland, where Eli learns more about the extended family that perished during the Shoah. Together they retrace the painful and debilitating journey through two ghettos and two concentration camps. Included are poignant commentaries and archival footage of the historical events spanning 70 years and two continents.
Jessica Cox was born without arms as a result of a birth defect, but managed to overcome many physical and emotional challenges to become fully independent. She learned to type with her toes, drive a car with her feet, and amazingly – fly an airplane with her feet. Right Footed follows Jessica as she transforms from a motivational speaker to a mentor, and eventually into a leading advocate for people with disability.
Kinshasa is a city of 10 million people without a single cinema. La Belle at the Movies examines the decline of the movie business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital city by putting us in touch with audiences cut adrift from their beloved theaters. Through passionate, insightful, and deeply nostalgic interviews with filmmakers, cinema owners, government officials, and film lovers, Cecilia Zoppelletto’s lyrical documentary reveals complex politics and past events inexorably linked to the fate of “the movies” -- an industry feeling orphaned but living in hope for a brighter future.
Filmed over a 17 year period, director Alvin Tsang reflects on his family’s migration from Hong Kong to Los Angeles in the early 1980s—fraught with betrayal from his parents’ divorce, economic strife and a communication meltdown.
The man who invented James Bond: The story of Ian Fleming, real-life spy, ladies' man and sportsman, who was there at the birth of MI-5 and the CIA, and gave the world one of its most enduring and iconic heroes: Bond. James Bond.
In 2009, Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee Mike “The Bike” Rust went missing from his off-the-grid property in Colorado's San Luis Valley. His disappearance—which received almost no press—remains unsolved. An innovator in his sport, Rust custom-built bikes for Colorado’s mountain passes, starting a fat-tire revolution and designing gear that transformed the industry. Salida native Nathan Ward, himself an intrepid mountain biker, set out to tell Rust’s story, tracking the pioneer’s subject through the infancy of the sport to his role in the thriving community that surrounds it today. Ward brings the riveting documentary to life with a unique local perspective and access. By combining interviews, re-enactments, home movies, and archival footage—and even consulting a psychic to communicate with Rust’s sprit—the director/cinematographer attempts to find answers to this mystery full of loose ends and cold trails. -Denver Film Society
In the mountains of 1960s America, thrill-seeking skiers quit toeing the line and began carving out new ways of making it down the mountain in style. They established a community of athletes, living for the creative freedom of hot dog skiing.This look back on the origins of the now Olympic discipline reveals its carefree beginnings, and the showmen who took this dangerous sport to the big time.
Dolly Parton is the most honoured female country performer of all time. She has had 25 songs reach No1 on the Billboard Country chats, a record for a female artists. She has 41 career top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career charted singles over the past 40 years. Her career began at an early age. She started as a child performer on the radio, then went on to record a few singles at the age of just 13. She had a stream of hit singles in the 80's, the most success being her 1981 hit '9 to 5', and her duet with Kenny Rogers 'Island in the Stream', both of which topped the U.S pop and country charts. She has won an incredible amount of awards, including 8 Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association awards, 7 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 3 American Music Awards. She is quite simply the reigning queen of Country Music...this is her story.
Everyone has had a two dollar bill before, right? Most people believe they're out of print, good or bad luck, or are a rare commodity. But in this comprehensive documentary, all aspects of the "deuce" are explored - from its history to the many superstitions surrounding it; from its use by special interest groups to the way it's perceived by consumers and vendors. The film even looks at the bill's popularity at adult establishments, its visits to outer space and the subculture of users that cherish the bill. Take a fun and entertaining journey that will open your eyes about a truly unique piece of currency.
For years, the Hoyt Library has made headlines as one of the most haunted locations in the entire Midwest. Finally, a documentary film crew was allowed complete access to investigate the numerous claims of paranormal activity. What they captured on audio and video will leave no room for doubt. Rooted in the heart of downtown Saginaw, the historic Hoyt Library has guarded its citizens' history and lineage for over 125 years. A literal gateway to the past, this stately and opulent landmark houses one of Michigan's largest collections of literature, artifacts, and documents... but according to patrons and staff, it also houses a collection of lost and restless souls.
The Ritchie Blackmore Story traces the long and winding road of the guitar legend — from his early days as a session player (with legendary producer Joe Meek) and his early ’60s combo the Outlaws up through his years guiding one of hard rock’s finest bands, Deep Purple, and into his recent work with Blackmore’s Night.
All odds were stacked against the pit-bulls rescued from quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting ring. Forced to fight for their lives, they were considered so dangerous many wanted them euthanized. But no one could have predicted how the dogs would change the lives of those who risked everything to save them.
Five top baristas find themselves pushing the limits of coffee perfection to win the National Barista Championship - a surreal competition where even one mistake is far too many.
Bouncing between Europe and the United States as often as she would between lovers, Peggy Guggenheim’s life was as swirling as the design of her uncle’s museum, and reads more like fiction than any reality imaginable. Peggy Guggenheim – Art Addict offers a rare look into Guggenheim’s world: blending the abstract, the colorful, the surreal and the salacious, to portray a life that was as complex and unpredictable as the artwork Peggy revered and the artists she pushed forward.
In Nazi concentration camps, The Gulag and Japanese war camps, deportees wrote cooking recipes. Hundreds of those recipes were copied in small notebooks by starving human beings of all origins who took huge risks to write and keep them. Telling about these objects of survival, the film explores a phenomenon of incredible Resistance. Until now, no study or publication had ever been made on them.