50 % of the world’s population lives in urban areas. By 2050 this will increase to 80%. Life in a mega city is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, loneliness and severe health issues due to our way of life. But why? The Danish architect and professor Jan Gehl has studied human behavior in cities through 40 years. He has documented how modern cities repel human interaction, and argues that we can build cities in a way, which takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account.
The project began as a way to explore, educate about, and advocate change around the overcrowding in the Philadelphia jail system. It has come to focus on mass incarceration across the nation and the intersection of race, poverty, and the criminal justice and penal systems. The documentary centers around Michelle Alexander's theory in her book, The New Jim Crow: since the rise of the drug war and explosion of prison populations, because discretion within the system allows for prosecution of people of color at disproportionately high rates, mass incarceration is a new version of Jim Crow. The movie also dissects the War on Drugs and 'tough on crime' movement, and offers possible reforms and solutions to ending mass incarceration and this new racial caste system.
What’s “organic” really? Are people better off eating organic foods? Are organic farms better for the environment? This film looks into the organic food industry and explore its shortcomings. We will explore cost, access, and health. Most importantly, it will examine paths towards a truly organic, self-sustaining agriculture system with local farmer’s markets, urban farmers, and school gardens inspiring new solutions.
Happy is a 2011 feature documentary film directed, written, and co-produced by Roko Belic. It explores human happiness through interviews with people from all walks of life in 14 different countries, weaving in the newest findings of positive psychology. Director Roko Belic was originally inspired to create the film after producer/director Tom Shadyac (Liar, Liar, Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty) showed him an article in the New York Times entitled "A New Measure of Well Being From a Happy Little Kingdom". The article ranks the United States as the 23rd happiest country in the world. Shadyac then suggested that Belic make a documentary about happiness. Belic spent several years interviewing over 20 people, ranging from leading happiness researchers to a rickshaw driver in Kolkatta, a family living in a "co-housing community" in Denmark, a woman who was run over by a truck, a Cajun fisherman, and more.
Part road trip, part adventure story, FOLLOWING THE NINTH is an inspirational film about Beethoven's Choral Symphony, its majestic power to liberate us, to shield us against suffering, to provide hope and resilience during dark times. Filmed on five continents and in 12 countries, FOLLOWING THE NINTH is the story of four lives that have been transformed and repaired by the music, expressed most vividly in the prophecy of the Ode to Joy: “Alle Menschen werden Brüder”(All Men Will Be Brothers).
Each year, tents in Bryant Park herald New York Fashion Week, whose back story is as fascinating as the couture on the catwalk. Fashion's biggest names share the sometimes shocking, often funny rags-to-riches evolution of the iconic event.
An investigative and powerfully emotional documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military, the institutions that perpetuate and cover up its existence, and its profound personal and social consequences.
The Unbookables is a narrative documentary about stand-up comics who have spent their careers pushing limits--on stage and off. Relegated to small venues and touring in a crappy van through the Midwest they careen between the desire to succeed and the reality that there may be nothing left to lose. Road life is far from glamorous: comics come and go and cruel pranks and hard drinking punctuate their obsidian dark comedy on stage. They succeed and fail-spectacularly. When they face being fired for going too far on stage, the conflict culminates in a showdown: compromise or double down?
Most people know the lasting legacy of Harry Belafonte, the entertainer. This film unearths his significant contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and to social justice globally.
For more than 80 years, Solenopsis Invicta has been on a ceaseless march across the United States, racking up six billion dollars every year in crop damage, equipment repair, and pest control. They have conquered more than 320 million acres in 13 states and killed at least 80 people. And the invader is still on the move. Globally. Now, scientists are cracking the ant's ancient secrets to success and breeding winged assassins to hunt them down. Stunning 3D macro photography explores the secret world of the fire ant and the cutting-edge research into stopping it.
A Journey to the Origins of Modern Yoga. Yoga is known to go back to God Shiva, who perfected 8,4 million postures, according to Indian tradition. Far less known is the fact that yoga is at the same time an early 20th century-creation of Indian savant T. Krishnamacharya, which is what this film is about. Krishnamacharya's life and teachings are seen through the eyes of the director on his search for authentic yoga. His journey leads him from students and relatives of Krishnamacharya's such as the legendary teachers Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois to the source of modern yoga: the palace of the Maharaja of Mysore, where Krishnamacharya founded the first ever yoga school. A feature-length documentary including rare historical footage as well as lavish reenactments.
Six months following the events of her documentary The People of the Kattawapiskak River, Alanis Obomsawin returns to the Cree community of Attawapiskat in northern Ontario, whose severe housing crisis in 2011 made international headlines. While the public outcry resulted in some short-term relief for the most in need, Obomsawin reveals that the crisis persists in the isolated First Nation. Relief homes sent to the community are not equipped to deal with the harsh winter, as overcrowding and homelessness remain daily realities. Despite their ordeals, the residents of Attawapiskat remain strong, united in love and a belief that a better future must be achieved.
Peter Proctor is New Zealand's father of biodynamic agriculture. Peter has been gardening and making compost for over 65 years. "Biodymanics makes organics work." Compost is the fundamental element in all gardening & farming. This master class takes you through the biodynamic compost making process from gathering and assembling your materials to creating the perfect compost heap. Rudolf Steiner believed biodynamic compoast was the foundation of humanity and the vital link between the cosmos and the earth. In Perfect Compost, Peter Proctor walks you through every step to building perfect compost.