Alegría is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth - it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.
By 2045, twenty localities in Germany will be resettled because of brown coal open pit mining. The film Waste Land follows the inhabitants of three villages in the Rhenish coal-mining district during their last years in their old home and documents how an entire region prepares for its collective relocation.
George Carlin performs a hilarious set of never-before released material in "Complaints and Grievances." His 12th HBO special was recorded live at the Beacon Theater in New York City on November 17, 2001. In "Complaints and Grievances," Carlin shamelessly exposes the people and subjects that irritate him the most.
The majority of the footage in The Real Andy Kaufman consists of a 1979 performance the actor/comedian/performance artist performed in the Catskills. In addition to some of his classic routines, the film offers interviews with friends and colleagues.
An unprecedented examination of the impact the Star Trek experience has had on the franchise's most celebrated participants: William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. These two stars have arguably embodied the brightest icons in the sci-fi universe; Shatner as passionate Captain James T. Kirk, and Nimoy as logical-minded, half Vulcan Mr. Spock.
Star Wars vs. Star Trek. George Lucas, Liam Neeson, Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford share insights and the special effects creator compares the worlds of Star Trek and Star Wars.
Throughout the documented history of those early pioneering man missions into space, one can find numerous references, made by both astronauts and cosmonauts, to witnessing and sometimes describing curious anomalous objects seen while in orbit around the Earth. John Glenn likened these to fireflies and for a time, NASA actually believed they had stumbled across living creatures, according to one of its’ retired astronauts Scott Carpenter.” EBE Award Winner! Best Film International UFO Congress Film Festival. On March 11, 2000, in front of an assembled audience of UFO enthusiasts and the media, evidence was presented that would appear to indicate the existence of, not one, but two types of unknown extraterrestrial lifeforms. Labeled Phenomena One and Phenomena Two by a man who spent several years recording and logging thousands of hours of NASA space shuttle transmissions, this historic footage and the story that lay behind its discovery can now be revealed.
Episode Seven of the New York: A Documentary. In the aftermath of World War II, southern African-Americans moved north and Puerto Rican immigrants poured into the city, a trend which would continue for the next thirty years. Robert Moses waged a campaign of urban renewal, including adding highways to the city, hastening white flight to the suburbs. The destruction of the old Penn Station in 1963 and the protests against Moses's plans for the Lower Manhattan Expressway led to the creation of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, ensuring the survival of New York's most architecturally important buildings and neighborhoods. Social and financial crises in the 1960s and 1970s took a toll on the city, but New York's revival since the 1970s has been enduring.
The epic movement of poor Americans organizing to end poverty as documented in a decade-long journey by the filmmakers. Living Broke in Boom Times has condensed three groundbreaking documentary films spanning a decade into segments of ideal length for classroom use, with new wrap-around commentary from key activists who led the movement. Cheri Honkala, Willie Baptist and Liz Theoharis discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the organizing, and the lessons learned from hard-won experience.
A Calling to Care is the inspiring story of 55 year-old Grace Stanley, a Canadian nurse who left her home and prestigious career behind to answer a calling halfway around the world in Karachi, Pakistan. Teaching nursing to local women in a strict Muslim culture that forbids them to even to touch men is a formidable task. However, Grace challenges her own values and belief systems to find common ground with her students, helping them to excel and feel respect for themselves in a culture that doesn't respect them. Whether it is getting her hands painted with henna, swimming fully-clothed in the ocean, or marching bravely with them on International Women's Day, Grace bonds with her students in a very special way, and ultimately discovers how the West can learn a lot more from the Third World than she ever thought.
The record label Death Row Records has, since its creation in 1993, been synonymous with the American hip-hop climate. Formed by ex-bodyguard Suge Knight, the label has released seminal rap albums from luminaries including Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and the famous hip-hop martyr Tupac Shakur. WELCOME TO DEATH ROW is a fascinating, well-researched documentary which explores the history of this intriguing and incredibly significant company.
Ayurveda is a science of life and a healing art, where body, mind and spirit are given equal importance. This voyage of thousands of miles across India and abroad takes you on a unique poetic journey, where we encounter remarkable men of medicine or simply a villager who lives in harmony with nature. "Hope is nature's way of enabling us to survive so that we can discover nature itself."
2001 French documentary about the murder trial of a 15 year old black teen accused of murder in Jacksonville, Florida. Winner of 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Marc Aurel-Straße in Vienna: The last surviving Jewish textile merchant in the former textile district, the Iranian hotel proprietor and the Café Salzgries and its regulars. Between the summer of 1999 and spring 2000, Ruth Beckermann undertook a series of small journeys on and around her own doorstep and investigated her local area with the help of a film crew. This documentary film also gives an insight into the political changes when a far right Party joined the Government coalition in Austria.
This fascinating documentary chronicles the emotional turmoil of five Los Angeles schoolteachers charged with educating inner-city youth, making it clear that the teachers helping these disadvantaged children are real heroes.
The arrival of the European button accordion to Texas and its merging with traditional Mexican songs gave birth to an explosive new sound called conjunto. From the early pioneers to the new generation of accordionists experimenting with rock, blues, and metal, ACCORDION DREAMS captures yesterday's and today's squeezebox trailblazers. Produced and directed by critically-acclaimed filmmaker Hector Galan and narrated by singer/songwriter Tish Hinojosa, ACCORDION DREAMS features performance footage of conjunto greats like Valerio Longoria, Mingo Saldivar, Ruben Vela, Eva Ybarra, and Flaco Jimenez and the newer generation of accordionists like Joel Guzman, Jaime De Anda, Albert Zamora, and Jesse Turner.