Jazz and decolonization are intertwined in a powerful narrative that recounts one of the tensest episodes of the Cold War. In 1960, the UN became the stage for a political earthquake as the struggle for independence in the Congo put the world on high alert. The newly independent nation faced its first coup d'état, orchestrated by Western forces and Belgium, which were reluctant to relinquish control over their resource-rich former colony. The US tried to divert attention by sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the African continent. In 1961, Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba was brutally assassinated, silencing a key voice in the fight against colonialism; his death was facilitated by Belgian and CIA operatives. Musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach took action, denouncing imperialism and structural racism. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev intensified his criticism of the US, highlighting the racial barriers that characterized American society.
Thousands of royal artifacts of Dahomey, a West African kingdom, were taken by French colonists in the 19th century for collection and display in Paris. Centuries later, a fraction returned to their home in modern-day Benin. This dramatized documentary follows the journey of 26 of the treasures as told by cultural art historians, embattled university students, and one of the repatriated statues himself.
Jordan Goudreau finds himself in over his head and on the run after mounting the failed Venezuela coup and being chased by the American government who he spent his life fighting for.
An examination of the intimate life of America's most consequential president, Abraham Lincoln. As told by preeminent Lincoln scholars and never before seen photographs and letters, Lincoln's romantic relationships with men is detailed. The lens is widened into the history of human sexual fluidity and focuses on the profound differences between sexual mores of the 19th century and those we hold today.
A cinematic concert film immortalizing blur’s biggest shows to date. Highlights include The Narcissist and St Charles Square from the recent acclaimed #1 album, ‘The Ballad of Darren’, as well as There’s No Other Way, Popscene, Beetlebum, Trimm Trabb, Villa Rosie, Coffee & TV, Under the Westway, Out of Time, To the End, Parklife, Song 2, This is a Low, Girls & Boys, Tender, and The Universal.
In this rags to riches origin story, Lady Camden struggles to manage the demands of her freshly minted international fame, while Rex is forced to come to terms with the troubling childhood he left behind in Camden which drove him to so desperately seek joy, fantasy and escape through the performing arts.
The rapturous, sweaty live experience of Philly rock band Low Cut Connie — fronted by charismatic leader Adam Weiner — is celebrated in all its beer-soaked, piano slamming glory in this rousing documentary.
The authorized documentary of Kellie Maloney, the famous transgender British boxing manager. This unique film will explore Kellie's story of truth and denial, as she confronted uncertainty and ultimately accepted herself for who she was.
After her miraculous birth in Korea, giant panda Fu Bao gained tremendous popularity and love from her fans worldwide. While her upcoming return to China is leaving fans in sorrow, her zookeepers continue their duty to make Fu Bao happy and solemnly start preparing her trip to China. As the expected day of farewell approaches, the zookeepers have to confront another unexpected farewell, and cannot but give in to the emotions they have been holding back. Knowing they must say goodbye soon, they cherish and treasure each day leading up to the farewell.
From the filmmakers of the critically-acclaimed blockbuster #UNFIT: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DONALD TRUMP, which grossed over $2.5 million, has been viewed by millions, and was nominated for the IDA Documentary Awards Video Source Award Director, producer, and writer Dan Partland and producer Art Horan are back with #UNTRUTH: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TRUMPISM examines the psychology of “Trumpism” and the authoritarian strain that it seeded in the American political landscape.
From the peaks of Cape Cod's surfing waves to the murky depths below, trouble runs deep on this beloved New England seashore after the first fatal shark attack in eighty years upends the community. With the predator population on the rise, and increasing encounters placing lives and livelihoods in peril, Great White Summer chronicles a season of struggle as people demand action, priorities are questioned, personal allegiances shift, and growing suspicion clouds the waters. Nature, culture, commerce and human life collide, with sheer survival at stake as sharks, surfers, scientists and society fight for everything they value.
In modern day China, two women strive to preserve Nushu, an ancient secret language which bonded generations of Chinese women together through centuries of oppression in a clandestine support system of sisterhood and survival.
The first definitive feature documentary to lend new and compelling perspectives on the partnership, both professional and personal, of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant, and their primary associates, writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and composer Richard Robbins. Footage from more than fifty interviews, clips, and archival material gives voice to the family of actors and technicians who helped define Merchant Ivory’s Academy Award-winning work of consummate quality and intelligence. With six Oscar winners among the notable artists participating, these close and often long-term collaborators intimately detail the transformational cinematic creativity and personal and professional drama of the wandering company that left an indelible impact on film culture.
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing taught millions globally, but the software's Haitian-born cover model vanished decades ago. Two DIY detectives search for the model while posing questions about identity and artificial intelligence.
Explores Leni Riefenstahl's artistic legacy and her complex ties to the Nazi regime, juxtaposing her self-portrayal with evidence suggesting awareness of the regime's atrocities.
Meet former gravedigger and doorman Ike Reilly. At 40 years old he landed a major label recording contract and in true rock and roll fashion he bought his family a dream home. He took his band out on the road where they became what The New York Times called "one of the best live bands in America." Despite 9 albums, a cult following and immense critical acclaim Reilly has failed to achieve commercial success. Academy Award winning director James Marsh says, "Ike's stuff sounds like it should be enormously successful and it just isn't and I have no idea why." Exploring Ike's career, the film culls over 40 years of footage masterfully weaving in songs that reveal a complicated and formidable artist with an incredibly charismatic family. Struggling with booze and in the face of foreclosure, Ike finds redemption in music, art and family as his 3 sons begin performing with his band.
Tyler Sash was drafted by the New York Giants and became a part of the 2012 Super Bowl winning team. Concussions would cut Sash's career short and the film is paralleled by NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre's CTE experience.
The untold story of the man and the musician who made an immense cultural impact across just a few short years. Having gained exclusive rights to a never-before-seen personal archive shot by his wife alongside access to his closest friends and family, the doc is described by the filmmakers as a culture-defining special that humanizes ODB as a man, a father and a husband like never before. It explores how Russell Tyrone Jones created Ol' Dirty Bastard, a Hip Hop alter ego superhero that would ultimately consume him.