New Documentary Movies on Hoopla - Page 165

Orchestra of Exiles

2012

Orchestra of Exiles

2012
The suspenseful chronicle of how the prodigious Polish violinist Bronislaw Huberman helped save Europe’s premiere Jewish musicians from obliteration by the Nazis during World War II. In three years, he transformed from a world renowned violinist to a humanitarian racing against time.
Becoming Traviata

2012

Becoming Traviata

2012
6.5
How can emotion come to light on the opera set? Does it come from singing, acting or music? How can someone become the incarnation of Verdi's masterpiece? Following world famous French soprano Natalie Dessay from the first repetitions until the premiere under the direction of Jean-François Sivadier, we meet a very special woman, a piece of art, a myth: LA TRAVIATA.
When the Iron Bird Flies

2012

When the Iron Bird Flies

2012
6.5
WHEN THE IRON BIRD FLIES takes us on an up-close and personal journey, exploring the complex interactions between contemporary Tibetan Buddhism and western culture. The film goes in-depth to portray the experiences and insights of both teachers and practitioners in the US and around the world. Along the way, it illuminates the wide ranging dialogs taking place between Buddhist teachings and science, psychology, gender theory and the arts. The film creates a vivid and entertaining portrait of the world of Tibetan Buddhism, as it is manifesting in the West and asks the vital question - 'In these increasingly chaotic modern times, can these age old teachings help us to find genuine happiness and create a saner, more compassionate 21st century world?'
A.K.A. Doc Pomus

2012

A.K.A. Doc Pomus

2012
5.1
Doc Pomus’ dramatic life is one of American music’s great untold stories. Paralyzed with polio as a child, Brooklyn-born Jerome Felder reinvented himself as a blues singer, renaming himself Doc Pomus, then emerged as one of the most brilliant songwriters of the early rock and roll era, writing “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “A Teenager in Love,” “Viva Las Vegas,” and dozens of other hits. Spearheaded and co-produced by his daughter, Sharyn Felder, and packed with incomparable music and rare archival imagery, this documentary features interviews with collaborators and friends including Dr. John, Ben E. King, Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin, Dion, Leiber and Stoller, and B.B. King, as well as passages from Doc’s private journals read by his close friend Lou Reed.
Question One

2012

Question One

2012
5
A documentary portrait of Maine's 2009 Question One referendum, addressing the rights of same-sex couples to marry.
Brooklyn Castle

2012

Brooklyn Castle

2012
6.8
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.
Bestiary

2012

Bestiary

2012
6.9
A popular sensation in medieval Europe, bestiaries were catalogs of beasts featuring exotic animal illustrations, zoological wisdom, and ancient legends. The documentary unfolds like a filmic picture book where both humans and animals are on display. As we observe them, they also observe us and one another, invoking the Hindu idea of “darshan”: a mutual beholding that initiates a shift in consciousness.
Dick Winters: Hang Tough

2012

Dick Winters: Hang Tough

2012
Narrator Damian Lewis tells the story of the building and dedication of the Richard D. Winters Leadership monument in Normandy, France in June of 2012. The film focuses on the leader of World War II's "Band of Brothers" and the leadership skills he possessed. A never before seen interview with the late Major Winters is utilized, as well as interviews with the "Band of Brothers" who are still alive.
The People of the Kattawapiskak River

2012

The People of the Kattawapiskak River

2012
Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary The People of the Kattawapiskak River exposes the housing crisis faced by 1,700 Cree in Northern Ontario, a situation that led Attawapiskat’s band chief, Theresa Spence, to ask the Canadian Red Cross for help. With the Idle No More movement making front page headlines, this film provides background and context for one aspect of the growing crisis.
Voices of Transition

2012

Voices of Transition

2012
Voices of the Transition is an enthusiastic documentary on farmers- and community-led responses to food insecurity in a scenario of climate change and peak oil.
The Believers

2012

The Believers

2012
March 1989: two respected chemists from the University of Utah stand in front of a wall of reporters. Flashbulbs pop as they announce they have solved the world's energy problems using seawater, batteries and a mysterious glass contraption. 'Cold Fusion' is born. Within days, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann are on the cover of Time Magazine. But three short months later, their careers in tatters and their reputations ruined, they flee the US as Cold Fusion becomes synonymous with 'bad science.' Twenty-two years later, despite continued disdain from mainstream science, a group of scientists, entrepreneurs and one high school student are confident that Cold Fusion will save the world, and that we're closer than ever to the Holy Grail of civilization. They're The Believers.
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

2012

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

2012
7.4
A further investigation into the arrest of three teenagers convicted of killing three young boys in Arkansas who spent nearly 20 years in prison before being released after new DNA evidence indicated they may be innocent.
The Cardboard Bernini

2012

The Cardboard Bernini

2012
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.
Stories We Tell

2012

Stories We Tell

2012
7.1
Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, interviewing a group of family members and friends whose reliability varies depending of their implication in the events, which are remembered in different ways; so a trail of questions remains to be answered, because memory is always changing and the discovery of truth often depends on who is telling the tale.
Sunday in Brazzaville

2012

Sunday in Brazzaville

2012
6.7
Forget about war and suffering and discover a different side of Congo. The sapeurs adhere to a subculture of high fashion. They may be surrounded by poverty but as Yves Saint Laurent, President of the Sapeur Association, explains, they're always dressed impeccably in Versace or Prada. Rapper Cheriff Bakala is working on recording his first album in a country with almost no producers. Meanwhile wrestler Palmas Ya Ya, is relying on voodoo and faith to help him defeat younger, stronger opponents...
Coast Modern

2012

Coast Modern

2012
8
A core group of architects embraced the West Coast from Vancouver to LA with its particular geography and values and left behind a legacy of inspired dwellings. Today, architects celebrate the influence established by their predecessors.
A Whisper to a Roar

2012

A Whisper to a Roar

2012
6.3
Courageous democracy activists in five countries (Egypt, Malaysia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe) risk it all to bring freedom to their people.
World Natural Heritage USA: Grand Canyon National Park

2012

World Natural Heritage USA: Grand Canyon National Park

2012
10
The Grand Canyon is a unique area, painstakingly carved into stone by one single river over a period of millions of years. Inch by inch. The result is a canyon of indescribable and unique beauty. A canyon that overcomes some 4000 metres from the summit of its highest elevation, to the banks of the Colorado, thereby embracing five climate zones.This is also why the Grand Canyon can boast an unrivalled density of flora and fauna. Desert and mountain dwellers live here in the immediate vicinity, sharing a unique biosphere.Nowhere else can the geological era be so perfectly determined by means of the rock formations adjacent to the ancient paths, that lead from the edge of the canyon to the riverbanks of the Colorado.2 billion years of Earth’s history made comprehensible. For this reason alone, the Grand Canyon is rightfully a World Natural Heritage Site worthy of protection and an ideal symbiosis of economy and ecology.
Venus and Serena

2012

Venus and Serena

2012
6.1
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.
The New Juarez

2012

The New Juarez

2012
As Ciudad Juarez slowly recovers from a six year period of hyperviolence, a militant police chief stirs controversy, and wary citizens cast their hopes on a new national president. All the while, the tragic facts of the "drug war" begin to form a far more sinister picture.