What happens after the death of an immortal? Following the longest reign in world history, King Louis XIV - the Sun King - passed at 76 in the Chateau of Versailles. Long rumored to be blessed with eternal life, Louis' death caused controversy that would change Europe forever. This is the story of the Sun King's death, and its aftermath.
A descendant of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh attempts to recover the fabled Koh-I-Noor diamond from Britain's crown jewels when they make a tour stop at a Toronto museum.
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
The first fiction feature by Spanish director Manuel Menchón reconstructs the banishment of writer and philosopher Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) from Bilbao to Fuerteventura by Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, as punishment for his openly dissident statements against the military regime, the King and the monarchic system.
Princess of Rome, Mellika, granddaughter of Great Caesar. The story talks about her move from Byzantium in the 9th century, to avoid her marriage with Krytos, and brings her to Baghdad to become the mother of Imam Mahdi, the Savior.
England, 1940, during World War II. An MI5 officer, codenamed Jack King, infiltrates a network of conspirators, a British fifth column sympathetic to Nazi Germany, in order to control the organization and destroy it in the event of a German invasion. But who was he? A single person or several?
A project of the UVA Center for Politics and Community Idea Stations, "Ball of Confusion" is a one-hour documentary that examines the 1968 presidential contest in the context of a difficult and contentious year in American history. The assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, racial unrest, nationwide riots, and a continuing war in Vietnam put the nation on edge and produced a historic three-way presidential election. Through archival footage and compelling interviews, the film shows how the election was influenced by the fractures in the United States' social and political foundations, leaving deep scars that would affect generations to come.
History of US labor movements and their suppression. It includes sections on the American Constitution; the Civil War draft riots; Reconstruction; Industrialization; the evolution of the police; the robber barons; early American labor unions; and major mid-to-late 19th Century labor events including the uprising of 1877, the Haymarket Affair, the Homestead strike and the New Orleans General Strike. The introduction examines the West Virginian coal wars of the early 20th Century, culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain.
On June 24, 1973, a gay bar in New Orleans called the Up Stairs Lounge was deliberately set on fire — an event that, for over 40 years, was considered the "Largest Gay Mass Murder in U.S. History."
A drama about a young woman's visit to the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The film tells the story of the exposition, as imagined through the eyes of a visitor.
Artistic portrayal of the difficult personality of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and his dramatic life against the backdrop of National-liberation war in the mid-17th century and the Cossack state building. The main storyline shows Khmelnytsky not only as hetman and commander, but reveals his private life and his complicated relations with his beloved woman.
As Man Booker Prize-winning writer Howard Jacobson retells The Merchant of Venice, 400 years after Shakespeare’s death, he travels with Alan Yentob to the ghetto in Venice to explore Shakespeare's most performed play - and in particular the character of the most divisive fictional Jew in history, Shylock. On their journey, Howard and Alan examine the evidence behind the charge of antisemitism against Shakespeare. How did his old Jew from Venice become such a useful propaganda tool during the Third Reich, and what was behind the absurd and infamous proposal to cut off a 'pound of flesh'?
Mountain Fire Personnel is an experimental documentary that explores a wild fire near an evacuated mountain tramway in Southern California. Using amateur footage, internet media and professional camerawork, the film surveys an area occupied by firemen and California State prisoners.
Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-1986) is widely regarded as one of the worlds' top directors- throughout history. TWT explores Tarkovsky through his diary and his articulate assessments on love, art, and the struggles working within the Soviet political system. Of his 7 ambitious films, 5 were made under the heavy hand of censors in the Soviet Union. In 1984 he defected to Italy with help from screenwriter Tonino Guerra, and Director Michelangelo Antonioni. He directed 2 films in the West until his untimely death in Paris at age 54. Narrated by Oleg Vidov, combined with a collection of rare film excerpts and photos, and interviews from people who knew him best, we take you on a passionate journey into the life, love, and work of Andrei Tarkovsky.
The U.S. scholarships Austrian student Inge and young mining student from Burma Sao Kya Seng fall in love. But it's only at the lavish wedding ceremony that Inge discovers her husband is the ruling prince of the Shan state of Burma. After a coup staged by the Burmese military, Sao is imprisoned. Inge does everything she can to free him. Base on the true story of Inge Sargent.
Sex reassignment surgery is now almost a commonplace procedure, but back in the early 20th century, it was seen as 'science fiction surgery'. When the news broke of a successful first attempt, it was a sensation. This is the gripping story of three extraordinary people: the world's first person to undergo a female to male transition; the former Spitfire pilot who became Britain's first to transition from male to female; and the daring advanced plastic surgeon who carried out these surgeries in the 1940s. Michael Dillon - previously named Laura - had persuaded the brilliant Sir Harold Gillies, the founding father of plastic surgery, to carry out the female-to-male operation that no surgeon in the world had ever attempted. Both then helped former race car driver and wartime pilot Robert Cowell undertake their own transition.
An in-depth look at the work and views of the man described as 'one of the greatest minds in human history'. He first emerged through his pioneering work in linguistics in the 1950s but later became a political activist and a critic of US foreign policy in Vietnam, its neo-liberal capitalism, and mainstream media. Consisting primarily of interviews with Chomsky and other writers, academics, philosophers, social commentators and broadcasters, this film explores the breadth, originality and importance of his work; and the alternative narratives he has advanced at some of the most critical periods in recent history.