An intimate and unflinching look at life in Iran, seen through the lens of those living at its fringes, 'Be Like Others' is a provocative look at a generation of young Iranians choosing to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Dominic Howes and Joel Weber's intellectual trek through 14 countries attempts to uncover answers to the question, "What does the world think of the United States of America?" Individuals from all walks of life and myriad cultures freely express their stark opinions -- both complimentary and condemning -- of a nation that may not be loved by all, but leaves few lives untouched.
Get rare views of some of America's most beloved landmarks, from the Statue of Liberty to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. See the Twin Towers in all their glory before Sept. 11. Over America lets you experience the country like never before. Take a tour of some of the most exciting cities in the nation, from San Francisco to New York and Washington, D.C.
On February 1, 1913, more than 150,000 people eagerly rushed to Grand Central Terminal to gaze at New York City's newest landmark. A marvel of engineering, architecture, and vision, the new Beaux Arts structure on 42nd street housed an underground electric train station that would revolutionize the way people traveled and transform midtown Manhattan.
The early films of Wim Wenders are now regarded as landmarks of European film. Alice in the Cities, Wrong Move and Kings of the Road became foundations of the German New Wave and cemented the reputation of their director. In One Who Set Forth: Wim Wenders' Early Years Marcel Wehn explores the background to these films. Through personal recollection and rare home movie footage, it documents the director's early life, from experiments with his first camera, via his deviation from a career in medicine in favour of art and film, through to international recognition for the Road Trilogy. Central to these were themes that became cornerstones of all his work: national identity, the importance of personal relationships and the allure of the road. With contributions from the director and the many collaborators who helped define his vision, One Who Set Forth is a compelling account of Wim Wenders' life and work.
Four years in the making, Spirit of the Marathon is the collaborative effort of three-time Academy Award winner Mark Jonathan Harris, Telly Award winner and director/marathoner Jon Dunham and producer/marathoner Gwendolen Twist. It is the first film to capture the story, drama and ultimate essence of the legendary 26.2 mile running event. Filmed globally in North America, Europe, Africa and A
"Trouble the Water" takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall--just blocks away from the French Quarter but far from the New Orleans that most tourists knew. Kimberly Rivers Roberts, an aspiring rap artist, is turning her new video camera on herself and her Ninth Ward neighbors trapped in the city. Weaving an insider's view of Katrina with a mix of verité and in-your-face filmmaking, it is a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes--two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.
An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.
At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal" influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams.
Big machinery meets old school brawn as Industrious goes deep inside a major deepwater port to explore its 28 terminals, 600 kilometers of shoreline and nearly 35,000 workers as they struggle with broken equipment, a punishing schedule and busloads of passengers to keep the economy humming.
In the flooded forests of the Peruvian Amazon lives one of the world's rarest and most mysterious primates, the red-faced uakari monkey. Local people call them English monkeys because of their resemblance to sunburnt visitors. Now there is a new Englishman on the scene, Mark Bowler, a young biologist who battles through the forest in his quest to understand the monkeys' secret lives. The film shows the first footage of these extraordinary animals in the wild and reveals why ice cream could be the greatest threat to their survival.
This documentary follows the story of elderly Native American sisters Mary Dann and Carrie Dann as they fight the U.S. government's attempts to seize their horses, which graze on land granted to the Western Shoshone Nation in an 1863 treaty. Filmmakers Beth Gage and George Gage chronicle the spirit and fire of these grandmothers, who confront bureaucrats, gold mining companies and others as they push their case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Rarely has an architect caused as much sensation outside of the architecture community as Rem Koolhaas. His outstanding creations such as the Dutch Embassy in Berlin, the Seattle Library, the Casa da Musica concert hall in Porto, and the Guggenheim Heritage Museum in Las Vegas are working examples of the Dutchman's visionary theories about architecture and urban society. "Rem Koolhaas: A Kind of Architect" is an engaging portrait of a visionary man, which takes us to the heart of his ideas. The filmmakers have made a visually inventive thought provoking portrait of the architect, prompting Rem Koolhaas to state "it's the only film about me that I have liked."
Writer/director Leslie Carde finds her villain in the US Army Corps of Engineers, an agency whose primary aim is supposed to be that of protecting the nation's citizenry from potential disasters caused by the structural failure of dams, bridges, levees, buildings etc. Instead, the Corps, in cahoots with the many politicians and congressmen who work right along with it, has been found, over and over again, to be derelict in its duties - guilty of negligence, of employing harmful cost-cutting measures, of having misplaced priorities, of engaging in outright deception, and of brokering sweetheart deals with pet contractors. The movie is unsparing in its treatment of the Corps, and Carde clearly views it as her own personal mission to hold that organization accountable for the many acts of criminal malfeasance it has engaged in over the years.
A young working class Baltimore man spends 10 years on a single portrait, believing it is his means to fame and fortune. But he also believes that only one man can lead him there---the famous artist David Hockney. What happens when you finally meet the god of your own making?
"I'm not black, I'm not white, not foreign, just different in the mind. Different brains, that's all," explains 15-year-old Billy in Jennifer Venditti's provocative coming of age film. Following Billy as he bicycles through the quiet streets of small town Maine, we watch him traverse the frustrating gap between imagination and reality, grappling with isolation and first-time young love. By turns exhilarating and disturbing, we see the world from the intimate view of an expressive and seemingly fearless outsider.
Renowned author Philip Pullman discusses his popular His Dark Materials trilogy -- which consists of the novels The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass -- along with his other literary works in this absorbing program. Pullman's trilogy has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Interviews with critic and author Nick Tucker and the Bishop of Oxford shed additional light on Pullman's creative accomplishments.