Sometimes it can feel like the environmental, economic and social issues the world is currently facing are too big, too overwhelming, to be dealt with by individuals. Climate change, resource limits, economic downturn, social disconnection. Surely these issues can only be properly managed by our governments? Living the Change explores solutions to the global crises we face today – solutions any one of us can be part of – through the inspiring stories of people pioneering change in their own lives and in their communities in order to live in a sustainable and regenerative way.
Thomas Riedelsheimer’s landmark Rivers and Tides inventively documented artist Andy Goldsworthy as he created his wondrously ephemeral site-specific sculptures, spun from nature. Fifteen years later, Goldsworthy is still appealingly engaged in his philosophical and tactical exploration of the natural world. Leaning Into the Wind is a collaborative sequel—a visual and aural sensation that takes viewers into the hillsides, terrains, and other outdoor spaces where Goldsworthy feels most at home and inspired.
By taking an interest in sign languages, Nurith Aviv invites us to expand our perception of the human langage. Three generations of deaf and hearing persons, as well as researchers from a specialised laboratory from the university of Haifa make us discover the languages, complex and diverse, that exist today in Israel.
In the middle of nowhere lived an unexpected piece of skateboarding and punk music history. "The Crest"..a skateboarding mecca of the 80's, a veritable metal monolith, tucked away on a country club in the suburbs of the nation's Capital. It was a place of pure unadulterated expressionist freedom where cutting edge skateboarding and punk rock music collided and made history. Professional skaters and legendary bands, 11 gauge steel and, of course, blood. "Blood and Steel: Cedar Crest Country Club" is the story of a one of a kind skateboarding playground that attracted skaters and bands from all over to come experience what became known simply as, "The Crest".
What is it to be crazy? What does it mean to be normal? Was madness a disease or a form of expression for the human soul? A disturbing and exciting dive in one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in operation in Latin America!
In 1918, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France as telephone operators to help win the Great War. They swore Army oaths, wore uniforms, held rank, and were subject to military justice. By war's end, they had connected over 26 million calls and were recognized by General John J. Pershing for their service. When they returned home, the U.S. government told them they were never soldiers. For 60 years, they fought their own government for recognition. In 1977, with the help of Sen. Barry Goldwater and Congresswoman Lindy Boggs, they won. Unfortunately, only a handful were still alive.
Go Big Or Go Home chronicles the training and aspirations of a group of young women in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania pro wrestling school, and the often harsh realities of the lifestyle that awaits them, if their squared circle dreams come true. From tedious day jobs and mixed family reactions to grueling, late night, in-ring sessions that occasionally impart more bumps and bruises than skill, the women who opt to pursue a life in wrestling willingly leave all convention behind. Following a muse that's outside the norm, and willing to sacrifice anything for entry into a world that's more carny than commonplace, these new ladies of wrestling prove that, in a world of ever-increasing predictable mundanity, the human spirit is alive and well.
The greatest skater of all time, John Curry transformed a dated sport into an art form. Coming out on the night of his Olympic win in 1976, he became the first openly gay Olympian in a time when homosexuality was not even fully legal.
In January 2011 Paul Crane discovered a tent city in downtown St. Louis, along the Mississippi River. He was curious as to who these people were, how they ended up there, and what life was like for them each day. He initially thought he would simply go down during the day and capture footage when possible, but he quickly realized that if he wanted to truly capture how these people lived and the full reality of their collective and individual existence, he would have to be there full time and become a part of the place, so he moved in with them.
Neat is a documentary that dives into the rich and storied world of bourbon. Exploring it's colorful history, charismatic characters, and uniquely American process, the film is a celebration of the time, artistry, and relationships that make for America's only native spirit.
Filmmaker Emily Railsback and award-winning sommelier Jeremy Quinn provide intimate access to rural family life in the Republic of Georgia as they explore the rebirth of 8,000-year-old wine-making traditions almost lost during the period of Soviet rule.
Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color line in 1947, but it took another generation of Black and Latino players to make the sport truly open to all. Playing in remote minor-league towns, these were the men who, before they could live their big-league dreams, first had to beat Jim Crow.
Director Sam Hampton brings heart to this transgender-transition film with a story of celebration, health, and unconditional love. A much-needed portrayal of biracial trans and gender-nonconforming lives in America, this documentary chronicles the transition of Zo Thorpe and the sympathetic response of his family. But CHANGE IN THE FAMILY is about so much more than the transition experience; it speaks to the complexity of young adulthood, being a person of color, having a biracial identity, and coming out as trans and gender-nonconforming. Zo’s story provides hope for a time when portraying this type of experience is no longer so unusual.
Story of legendary Theatre Producer, Woodie King Jr. of New Federal Theatre, where Denzel Washington, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen were members.
A feminist legend, a May 68 activist, a famous playwright and poet, Hélène Cixous is the vehicle of this road movie. With friends like the philosopher Jacques Derrida, the artist Adel Abdessemed, with Ariane Mnouchkine and her cosmopolitan theatre company, Cixous explores the wounds our time and allows us to ear the cry of literature. The history of dozens of members of her German-Jewish family who were assassinated in the Death Camps, and the trauma of the wars of decolonization are never far, for this major figure who was born in Algeria shortly before the start of the Second World War.