The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein is a 1992 short animated documentary directed by Joyce Borenstein about her father, the Canadian painter Sam Borenstein. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. In Canada, it was named best short documentary at the 12th Genie Awards.
A young boy with down syndrome attends his first year in a "regular" classroom. This documentary traces that year and the changes that take place for Peter, his teacher, and the other students. Oscar-winning documentary short from 1992.
BRUCE LEE AND KUNG FU MANIA With action highlights from more than thirty of the greatest martial arts movies, this kung fu-fighting, karate-kicking compilation features the real Bruce Lee and his many clones plus Chuck Norris, Jim Kelly, and more. Here’s Bruce backing up The Green Hornet as Kato, battling Norris in Return of the Dragon, and making his last complete film, Enter the Dragon, plus the secrets of his mysterious death in Bruce Lee...His Last Days. You’ll also see Lo Lieh challenge Lee Van Cleef in The Stranger and the Gunfighter, Bruce Li carrying on the tradition with The Three Avengers, and Tae Kwon Do Grand Master Jhoon Ree in The Tattooed Dragon.
The life and work of the woman described as "The Rosa Parks of Gay Rights". During the repressive 1950's, Dr. Evelyn Hooker undertook ground breaking research that led to a radical discovery: homosexuals were not, by definition, "sick." Dr. Hooker's finding sent shock waves through the psychiatric community and culminated in a major victory for gay rights: in 1974 the weight of her studies, along with gay activism, forced the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its official manual of mental disorders. Startling archival footage of the medical procedure used to "cure" homosexuality, images from the underground gay world of the McCarthy era, and home movies of literary icon Christopher Isherwood bring to life history which we must never forget.
This documentary of repressive political realities in Cameroon begins with the 1990 publication of an open letter to President Biya calling for a national conference - and the immediate arrest of the letter's author and publisher. The narration then examines the nation's colonial history, beginning with the first German missionary in 1901, the establishment of schools, French occupation following World War I, the paucity of books written by and published by Cameroonians, and the repression of the CPU, a leftist organization of the 1950s and 1960s. Cameroon and its people are the lark, its feathers plucked first by colonialism and then by native strongmen: 'Alouette, je te plumerai.'
Discover the remarkable life of John Moses Browning with host Fess Parker as he spans three generations of the Browning family to tell this fascinating story. With over 100 firearms patents to his credit, Browning’s inventive genius spanned six decades and included many legendary pistol, rifle and shotgun designs for Winchester, Remington, Colt, Fabrique Nationle and others. The Browning name is still synonymous with the automatic pistols, rifles, machine guns and cannons used by the United States and her allies through al of the major world conflicts of the last century, and several Browning designs continue to defend freedom around the globe today.
During World War I, African-Americans worked on the railroad near Corbin, Kentucky. When whites returned from the war, there was conflict. Whites sought their former jobs and positions in the community. In 1919, a race riot occurred. Whites put the African-Americans on railroad cars and ran them out of town. In Trouble Behind, members of the Corbin community speak out on the issue. The filmmakers also interview former members of the Corbin, which at the time of filming had only one black family. Some Corbin residents express confusion as to why African-Americans don't move back. Others openly use racial epithets. Some young adults seem troubled by the racism, past and present. Others don't.
In the last four years of his life, Lionel Murphy was at the centre of an historic battle to retain his position on the High Court in Australia. While the film concentrates on this period and the events leading up to it, in a wider sense, it uses the dramatic story of Murphy as a vehicle to consider some more fundamental issues about law. The film tackles the problem of police and security surveillance of the individual in Australian society and in particular, of prominent political and legal figures.
Tom of Finland is one of the gay world's few authentic icons. His drawings have had an enormous influence on gay identity. Tom's ultimate leather men are known and seen everywhere. They are symbols of gay pride and friendship. The documentary includes some titillating 'enactments' inspired by Tom's art work.
This 1991 Academy Award®-winning documentary uncovers the disastrous health and environmental side effects caused by the production of nuclear materials by the General Electric Corporation.
Featuring enlightening interviews with Angela Davis, June Jordan, and Alice Walker, this essential documentary is an exuberant celebration of Black American women and their achievements. Within the context of the civil rights, Black power, feminist, and LGBT movements, the trio reassess how women such as Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hamer revolutionized American society and the world.
A first-hand account of the tumultuous events of 1989 when a student-led revolution succeeded in overthrowing Czechoslovakia's repressive Communist regime. The film, which includes rare government and underground footage, follows the lives of three Czechoslovak students whose leadership helped ignite the 'Velvet Revoution' and eventually establish a democratic government. Directed by Oscar-winner Allan Miller, it features interviews with students, activists and the country's new president, Vaclav Havel.
For 50 years radio dominated the airwaves and the American consciousness as the first “mass medium.” In Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, Ken Burns examines the lives of three extraordinary men who shared the primary responsibility for this invention and its early success, and whose genius, friendship, rivalry and enmity interacted in tragic ways. This is the story of Lee de Forest, a clergyman’s flamboyant son, who invented the audion tube; Edwin Howard Armstrong, a brilliant, withdrawn inventor who pioneered FM technology; and David Sarnoff, a hard-driving Russian immigrant who created the most powerful communications company on earth.
Profiles on the creative processes of Dale Messick, Cathy Guisewite, Nicole Hollander, and Lynda Barry, preceded by a brief overview of early female comic strip artists.
Director Bernd Sahling documents almost four years in the life of a young man who experienced two political systems, East and West Germany, and cannot fulfill his dreams in either of them.