Los Angeles' Skid Row is home to one of the largest homeless populations in the United States. And we found, inside that community, the remarkable and enormously moving stories of Olympic athletes, Harvard attorneys, accomplished musicians, scholars. We found poverty, drugs and mental illness, of course - but more importantly we found life, hope and incredibly powerful human journeys.
Now as an international sensation, Lady Gaga’s music reflects what she’s been through. She wants everyone to embrace their inner freak, and she lovingly calls her fans her “little monsters.” Lady Gaga is the hardest working pop star out there, and it shows. Other pop stars are taking note and stepping up their own game, but Lady Gaga has set a high standard and she has no plans to slow down.
A raw and candid dialogue about the life and craft of acting between longtime colleagues and friends Dabney Coleman, Peter Falk, Charles Grodin, Mark Rydell, Harry Dean Stanton and Sydney Pollack. Drago Sumonja's document takes us into the hearts, minds, and living rooms of some of America's greatest storytellers.
'Electoral Dysfunction' uses irreverent humor to illuminate how voting works - and doesn't work - in America. Hosted by Mo Rocca (a Correspondent for CBS News, a panelist on NPR's 'Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!' and a former Correspondent for 'The Daily Show'), the film is structured as a road trip that begins when Mo makes an eye-opening discovery: The Constitution does not guarantee the right to vote, putting America in the company of Libya, Iran and Indonesia. Mo explores the battle over voter fraud and voter I.D.; searches for the Electoral College; critiques ballot design with Todd Oldham; and encounters experts and activists across the political spectrum who offer commentary on why our voting system is broken and how it can be fixed.
Based on the acclaimed memoir by renowned guitarist Andy Summers, Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police follows Summers’ journey from his early days in the psychedelic ‘60s music scene, when he played with The Animals, to chance encounters with drummer Stewart Copeland and bassist Sting, which led to the formation of a new wave trio, The Police. The band’s phenomenal rise and its highly publicized dissolution at the height of their fame in the early ’80s captured by Summers’ camera. Utilizing rare archival footage, Summers’ photos, and insights from the guitarist’s side of the stage, Can’t Stand Losing You brings together past and present as the band members prepare to reunite for the first time in two decades later for a global reunion tour in 2007.
What is it like to witness a virtuosic riding performance by rising stars Eli Tomac or Ken Roczen? When Ricky Carmichael or Andrew Short rip apart their private tracks, what are the rest of us missing? What continues to feed the competitive fires inside multi-time champions like Chad Reed or Ryan Dungey? How is it that Kurt Caselli is comfortable going over 100mph on two wheels through the unchartered desert? Is it competitive drive or pure natural talent that allows Taddy Blazusiak to decimate his competition? How does Taylor Robert navigate his way through a dream-like, Jurrasic-sized motocross track built within a vineyard? This year we dug deep to find what pushes the top riders to keep elevating this amazing sport we love. Welcome to the next level of evolution of the most progressive motocross film series of all time, Moto 4: The Movie.
Pablo needs to stop smoking. Why? Because his wife, family and doctor say he should. But Pablo is a stubborn man. He has worked in the mercury mines of Almadén, Spain, risking his life daily. He has had five severe heart attacks and smoked 20 Winston's a day since he was 12. Now in his seventies, Pablo spends most of his day in front of the TV, surrounded by a cloud of smoke, with his back turned firmly towards a village that has lived through better times. Pablo represents the last generation of Almadén mercury miners, an age-old profession with over 2,000 years of history. Through a straightforward depiction of life's everyday moments, Pablo's Winter explores the decay of the local mining culture, but above all, pays homage to its real protagonists: the miners and their families.
Brooklyn Castle is a documentary about I.S. 318 – an inner-city school where more than 65 percent of students are from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level – that also happens to have the best, most winning junior high school chess team in the country. (If Albert Einstein, who was rated 1800, were to join the team, he’d only rank fifth best.) Chess has transformed the school from one cited in 2003 as a “school in need of improvement” to one of New York City’s best. But a series of recession-driven public school budget cuts now threaten to undermine those hard-won successes.
The rugged coast of our biggest state harbors the most incredible wildlife in America. When winter breaks, animals make the most of the endless sunshine before this world closes again in darkness. This is the story of the creatures that endure this harsh reality along the shoreline—Alaska's life on the edge.
James Grashow is an artist who has built—among many other things-- giant 15 foot tall fighting men, a city, and an ocean-- using paper mache, fabric, chicken wire and cardboard. More recently, he has begun making sculptures entirely out of corrugated cardboard and twist ties.
Venus and Serena takes an honest and unfiltered look into the remarkable lives of sisters and tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams. Through the prism of one year in their lives, the film tells the untold story of how these two great stars came to be and how they struggle to stay on top.
A portrait of the Russian filmmaker Alexei Guerman via an exploration of the making of his latest film, an adaptation of It Is Difficult to Be a God, a science-fiction novel by the Strougaski brothers, on which he has been working for several years, Hard to Be God explores the director's complex relationships with his crew, who he rules with a rod of iron. The film exposes the power relations of authority and the submission of a film crew to a director who is trying to change history, fight servitude and advocate freedom.
In April 2009, Bryce Lemon and his sister Alyssa departed on what they hoped would be a spiritual journey around the world. But what they found was more human and real. From the Maleku Indians and Ancient Egyptians to the modern world, they discovered that the search for happiness is what unites us. Beautifully shot in 28 countries over a ten month shoot, from Machu Picchu to Siam, Take it with You shows that the most important thing for us all, is finding the beauty within.
Based on the best-selling religious studies book by Joseph Atwill, this documentary shows that Jesus is not a historical figure, the events of Jesus' life were based on a Roman military campaign, his supposed second coming refers to an event that already occurred, and the Gospels were written by a family of Caesars who left us documents to prove it. Besides Atwill, six other controversial Bible scholars weigh in, showing that the teachings of Christ came from the ancient pagan mystery schools, and that Christianity was used as a political tool to control the masses of the day and is still being used this way today.
'Children of the Stars' is the strange but true story of a UFO contactee group who relive their past lives on other planets by making their own science fiction films. In 1973, Ruth Norman, a 73-year-old widow and self described cosmic visionary, purchased 67 acres of land in the mountains east of San Diego, California as a landing site for the Space Brothers (emissaries from the Intergalactic Confederation). Nearly 40 years later, a group of dedicated followers still await their arrival.
Former football player and wrestler Chris Nowinski's quest to publicize recent findings about the often dire consequences of head concussions sustained by athletes in contact sports — injuries that have previously been considered momentary setbacks and ignored in the name of toughness and dedication to the team.
Follows the Boston Red Sox' Tim Wakefield and the New York Mets' R.A. Dickey - the only two major league pitchers who use the unpredictable knuckleball - during the 2011 season.
Step into the extraordinary life of a Chinese immigrant who overcame the challenges to achieve the American dream. This biography follows the path of a young boy who learns the value of hard work and perseverance through kung fu training. He escapes the harshness of political oppression, bravely ventures out on his own, and embraces opportunity in a new land. The now highly recognized Grandmaster Pui Chan is one of the pioneers responsible for bringing traditional kung fu to America. He built his first kung fu temple in America, and leads and internationally renowned martial arts system across the world. Pui's eldest daughter and successor Mimi Chan confronts a new set of challenges, trying to keep the traditional values alive in an increasingly modernized era.