Two lawyers and labor rights' activists, Daniel Kovalik of the United Steel Workers of America and Terry Collingsworth of the International Rights Advocates, and their partner Ray Rogers of Corporate Campaign firmly believe that US multinational corporations should be held accountable for the shabby practices of their business associates throughout the world. To lead their battle, they resort to a law dating back to the origin of the American Constitution - The Alien Tort Claims Act - which allows foreigners to file suit in the U.S. against Americans who violate international laws. The film tells the story of their fight against one of America's stellar icons: the Coca-Cola company.
Children In No-Man's Land is an award-winning documentary that uncovers the current plight of the 100,000 unaccompanied minors entering the United States. The film will give this timely political debate about the U.S.-Mexico border a human face by exploring the stories of Maria de Jesus (13) and her cousin Rene (12) as they attempt to cross the US/Mexico border alone to reunite with their mothers in the Midwest. Focusing on minors crossing through the Sonora Desert area in Nogales, Arizona, this film will explore every detail of these children's journey as well as the journeys of other children we meet on the way as we uncover in an intimate and personal way where they are coming from, what their journeys have been like and how they've gone about it, through to the arrival at their destination their new home, The United States of America.
Meet Ariana, Isha, Rosie and Esme as they let go of childhood and fumble, or sprint, toward an uncertain future. Without flinching, Going On 13 chronicles four girls' coming of age and the precarious moments between being a little girl and becoming a young woman. As they grapple with issues of school, family, friends, and identity, Going On 13 allows us to see what real girls face during this pivotal time of puberty, while providing a vehicle for discussing important developmental milestones.
Set against the contrasting backdrops of Manhattan and Los Angeles, this film examines the life of one of the world’s greatest celebrities of print journalism - Dominick Dunne. Drawing on the memories of big names in Dunne’s field, including Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, Tina Brown, Joan Didion and octogenarian New York Post gossip columnist Liz Smith as well as legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans (The Godfather, Chinatown), the film uncovers what lies beneath a life. The film examines Dunne’s life from childhood, and his early days of being “an outsider on the inside”: a theme that has informed his whole life. From his World War II service that made Dunne return an unlikely hero – awarded the Bronze Star for bravery – to his rise and ultimate fall in Hollywood and then total reincarnation as a writer in his fifties, this film explores the nature of reinvention, belief in oneself, and the all-pervasive cult of celebrity.
Filmmaking icon Agnès Varda, the award-winning director regarded by many as the grandmother of the French new wave, turns the camera on herself with this unique autobiographical documentary. Composed of film excerpts and elaborate dramatic re-creations, Varda's self-portrait recounts the highs and lows of her professional career, the many friendships that affected her life and her longtime marriage to cinematic giant Jacques Demy.
This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government.
Pregnant In America is the true story of Steve and Mandy Buonaugurio, a young, adventurous, expectant couple, who decide to take a daring and potentially dangerous approach to having their first child--outside the modern American medical system. What they learn about hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, midwives, and home birth as they travel across the United States and Europe interviewing experts and confronting birthing situations, exposes them to some shocking and disturbing realities about America¹s maternity care system and what is happening to women and babies. Ultimately, what they learn impacts on and alters the outcome of their own pregnancy.
Both in 2006 and 2007, the Gay Pride Parade attempts in Moscow are violently beaten down. For many observers, the attitude towards the sexual minorities seems to be the litmus test of the state of democracy in Russia. In January 2007, for the first time in Russian history, a Russian leader, president Vladimir Putin mentions the situation of the LGBT community: He won't criticize the politics of Moscow mayor Yuri Lushkov, who forbid the event, but he is concerned about the demographic future of the country. And Putins opinion seems to be repeated by the right wing contra demonstrators on the streets. The film shows both the organizers of the Pride events and also the survival strategies of the majority Russian lesbians and gays, to whom the fight for democracy on the streets doesn't seem to be an attractive alternative.
Fearless, feisty and resolute, the "Rough Aunties" are a remarkable group of women unwavering in their stand to protect and care for the abused, neglected and forgotten children of Durban, South Africa. This newest documentary by internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto (SISTERS IN LAW, DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE) follows the outspoken, multiracial cadre of Thuli, Mildred, Sdudla, Eureka and Jackie, as they wage a daily battle against systemic apathy, corruption and greed to help the most vulnerable and disenfranchised of their communities.
A man suffers a minor car accident, and a week later constructs a new identity, claiming he can't "remember" being a father. Nearly twenty years later, his amnesia persists, yet no brain damage or physical cause are ever found. Enthralling and thought-provoking, "Forgetting Dad" offers an award-winning case study of dissociation, parental abandonment, and family enmenshment in mental illness.
In 2002, a woman from the Pakistani countryside named Mukhtar Mai made world headlines. After the rumour that her 12-year-old brother was having a relationship with a woman from another clan, Mukhtar was gang-raped by order of the village council. Instead of committing suicide, she spoke out and the six men were sentenced to death, although five of them were eventually acquitted. Against all the codes of her society, Mukhtar took her case to the Supreme Court. After the Rape doesn't comment on the outcome of her case. What the film does show is the environment that the assertive Muhktar managed to create in the wake of the incident.
Filmmaker and author Kevin Rafferty takes viewers back to 1968 to witness a legendary college football game and meet the people involved, interweaving game footage with players' reflections. The names may be familiar, but their views on the game's place in the turbulent history of the 1960s college scene add an unexpected dimension.
The film presents the latest archaeological scholarship from the Holy Land to explore the beginnings of modern religion and the origins of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. This archaeological detective story tackles some of the biggest questions in biblical studies: Where did the ancient Israelites come from? Who wrote the Bible, when, and why? How did the worship of one God—the foundation of modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—emerge?
The producers surveyed the evidence and take positions that are mainstream among archaeologists and historians, although they continue to raise objections among both Christians who believe in the bible as either literal or historical truth and minimalists who assert that the Bible has no historical validation.
The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.
The story of how Australia's 'ANZAC myth' was born and the role of General John Monash in this process as soldier and statesman both during and after WW1.
For the first time ever, our children are growing up less healthy than we are. As the rate of cancer, infertility and other illnesses linked to environmental factors climbs upward each year, we must ask ourselves: why is this happening?
From cinema-verite; pioneers Albert Maysles and Joan Churchill to maverick movie makers like Errol Morris, Werner Herzog and Nick Broomfield, the world's best documentarians reflect upon the unique power of their genre. Capturing Reality explores the complex creative process that goes into making non-fiction films. Deftly charting the documentarian's journey, it poses the question: can film capture reality?
Chronicles the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal, a musical subculture infamous as much for a series of murders and church arsons as it is for its unique musical and visual aesthetics. This is the first film to truly shed light on a movement that has heretofore been shrouded by rumor and obscured by inaccurate and shallow depictions. Featuring exclusive interviews with the musicians themselves, Until the Light Takes Us explores every aspect of the controversial movement that has captured the attention of the world.