An up-close and very personal journey into the transgender world through the memorable stories and the unusual lives of a remarkable cast of characters.
Ashrita Furman holds the official record for the most Guinness World Records by one individual, including marks for "Largest Hula Hoop," "Most Apples Sliced in Mid-Air with a Samurai Sword," and "Longest Distance Bicycling Underwater." A health food store owner and devotee of meditation, Furman travels the world creating new categories for record achievement. In The Record Breaker we meet Furman, a singularly driven character, and his merry band of compatriots (including Champ the dog) as he's about to attempt to climb Machu Picchu on stilts.
A captivating history of the nation's oldest performing arts center - which largely mirrors the evolution of experimental and progressive performing arts in 20th century America - BAM150 chronicles the vibrant past, present and future of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Through footage of recent performances, intimate interviews, and an astonishing treasure trove of 150 years' worth of archival materials, BAM150 is a testament to the power and stamina of the institution that established Brooklyn as a cultural mecca-serving as a home to such greats as Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, Edwin Booth, Merce Cunningham, Robert Wilson, Mark Morris, Laurie Anderson, and Pina Bausch.
The Joffrey Ballet: Mavericks of American Dance, narrated by Mandy Patinkin, tells the full story of this groundbreaking company, from their founding in 1956 to the present.
Inventing Our Life examines the 100 year history of Israel's kibbutz movement, one of the world's longest running and most successful experiments in pure communism. Recreating its glorious past and chronicling its recent decline, Inventing Our Life focuses on the heartbreak and hope of the modern kibbutz, as a new generation struggles to insure its survival. Can a radically socialist institution survive a new market-driven reality with its ideological integrity intact? How will this affect the lives of the tens of thousands of people who still believe in the kibbutz experiment and continue to call it home? As the film progresses, the drama shifts from Can it survive? to Yes, but at what price?
While filming a documentary in Mississippi in 1965, Frank De Felitta forever changed the life of an African-American waiter and his family. In 2011, Frank's son returns to the Delta to examine the repercussions of that fateful encounter.
Icons of the Brazilian modernist movement in architecture, with vast production such as the award-winning ABI building and Santos Dumont Airport, the Roberto Brothers receive their well-deserved retrospective in this work.
"...in 1968, under a haze of publicity, 'The Beatles' opened their collective door to musicians, writers, artists, film-makers, inventors, designers, freaks and opportunist sharks. But despite a hefty investment, little of substance was forthcoming, except for "Apple Records". "This is the story of a record label which came to exist under extraordinary circumstances, produced extraordinary records and was operated under extraordinary guidelines..." "Strange Fruit" offers new interviews with Tony Bramwell, members of 'Badfinger', 'The Iveys', 'Elephant's Memory', Jackie Lomax, 'Brute Force' and David Peel, plus commentator Chris Ingham, author, journalist Mark Paytress and Apple biographer Stefan Granados. The film also includes Apple music, archive footage of Apple artists, interviews from the vaults, rare images and location films.
Enjoy the ultimate in British Superbike action! This is the high octane, all action, nail-biting wheel to wheel story of the 2011 British Superbike season with explosive action sequences and exclusive behind-the-scenes material!
For the last 53 years, Baltazar Ushca has harvested glacial ice from the tallest mountain in Ecuador. His brothers, Gregorio and Juan, have long since retired from the mountain. This is a tale of cultural change in a small indigenous community and how three brothers have adapted to it.
The documentary BERLINIZED describes this very Berlin-specific attitude in a reflection on and a journey to mid-1990s' Berlin. Filmmaker Lucian Busse, an active protagonist of the period, documents the transformation of Berlin after the Wall. But Berlinized represents more than just the 1990s - it is a metaphor for this virally catching creative feeling, the slightly rough directness, spiced up with a big dash of typical Berlin humor. Berlinized lets the former protagonists reflect how that temporary feeling of freedom shaped their individual lives, and to what degree that freedom can still be found among the neat order of today's Berlin. These reflections are as diverse as the interviewees and as multifaceted as the changes in those times.
As a Cholera epidemic rages in Haiti, the United Nations denies it is responsible for introducing the disease despite glaring evidence suggesting Nepalese peacekeepers are to blame. Baseball in the Time of Cholera is the story of a young Haitian boy who plays in Haiti's first little league baseball team and the Haitian Lawyer seeking justice against the UN. As the epidemic spreads, the two stories intersect in the struggle for survival and justice.
Everyone dreams of fame. From the nail-biting freshman auditions to the spectacular year-end performances, Fame High captures the in-class and at-home drama, competition, heartbreak, and triumph during one school year at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, also known as Fame High.
The theory of evolution and a re-write of American history are caught in the crosshairs when an unabashed Creationist seeks re-election as chairman of America's most influential Board of Education.
Through first hand accounts and dramatic recreations, director Jay Cheel examines the mental breakdown of a man who loses his cool during a friendly night of board games, proving that even the most trivial things sometimes have the highest stakes.
The concept behind this freeride phenomenon was to capture the true essence of dirt- bike riding in the hills on natural terrain. This cinematic masterpiece showcases the top riders in the world. Enter the mindset of Jeremy Stenberg and his friends in their search for the ultimate freeride destination. Their journey takes them all across California and Arizona to locations: Cameron, Reche Canyon, Beaumont, Ocotillo Wells, Temecula Hills and our new found freeride paradise Morro Bay and Cambria. With over 7 hours of helicopter time, 5 days of tractor operating and hundreds of hours shoveling in the hills this film unloads an arsenal of new jumps never seen before. Please join us on this amazing adventure as Twitch and his crew take FMX to an unprecedented level and prove what is possible between a man and his machine on natural terrain
"The Magic Life" chronicles the journey of three magician hopefuls: a 17-year-old from Beijing who travels to the U.S. to attend magic school, a 25-year-old trying to make rent by performing on Hollywood Blvd for tips, and a 32-year-old New York University MBA graduate who moves to Los Angeles to perform at the world famous Magic Castle. The film depicts the challenges of following an unconventional career path. Forget about parents, family, or friends who may not understand or support your choices - there's almost an invisible societal pressure in terms of what types of jobs are acceptable. "The Magic Life" is about those who are willing to risk everything to take the road not normally taken. Sometimes the risk pays off, sometimes it doesn't.