The documentary follows four unlikely teams on their epic journey to conquer the world's largest relay race. A 67-year-old heart attack survivor returns to conquer the race that nearly killed her, a family in mourning runs to honor the memory of their beloved, a group of film animators test the limits of their athleticism (or lack thereof), and a group of aging jocks show they still know how to have a good time. A celebration of personal determination and the power of family and friends, the film proves that you're never too old or too young to attempt the extraordinary.
An average magician can entertain but a world-class artist can reawaken your faith in the impossible. In this utterly charming showbiz chronicle, four stellar magicians will amaze even the staunchest of skeptics. But for each of these virtuosos, true success seems illusory. Among them: Brian Gillis was Johnny Carson’s favourite close-up magician and a regular on The Tonight Show; David Minkin can levitate almost anything with his mind; and Jon Armstrong might be the best card trickster in the world—but none of them are satisfied. Each can captivate a crowd, but how long can they chase their dreams and at what cost? Following the artists on and off the stage, Magicians: Life in the Impossible captures the sacrifices, the obsessive drive, and the very real possibility of losing everything for the one true love of their lives.
Danish soldiers are sent to Afghanistan in 2009 for 6 months, to help stabilize the country against the Taliban. They're stationed on Armadillo military base in Helman province. Unlike other war movies, this is the real deal – no actors.
On the eve of 1987's Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, surviving families and friends of people who have died of AIDS prepare panels to be added to a large-scale memorial quilt project. Drawing from the sea of names memorialized, director Robert Epstein focuses on the lives of six people. Alongside the intimate profiles offered, through news footage and interviews, Epstein puts the AIDS crisis in the larger context of social and government response to the disease.
Against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-1960s, a young San Francisco Chinatown resident armed with a 16mm camera and leftover film scraps from a local TV station, turned his lens onto his community. Totaling more than 20,000 feet of film (10 hours), Harry Chuck's exquisite unreleased footage has captured a divided community's struggles for self-determination. Chinatown Rising is a documentary film about the Asian-American Movement from the perspective of the young residents on the front lines of their historic neighborhood in transition. Through publicly challenging the conservative views of their elders, their demonstrations and protests of the 1960s-1980s rattled the once quiet streets during the community’s shift in power. Forty-five years later, in intimate interviews these activists recall their roles and experiences in response to the need for social change.
In the desert of Crestone, Colorado, a group of SoundCloud rappers live in solitude, growing weed and making music for the internet. When an old friend arrives to make a movie, reality and fiction begin to blur.
Give Me Shelter is a documentary to raise awareness for important animal issues around the world. This film uncovers the most prevalent issues in the animal world through the eyes of individuals dedicating their lives to them daily.
"Kon-Tiki" was the name of a wooden raft used by six Scandinavian scientists, led by Thor Heyerdahl, to make a 101-day journey from South America to the Polynesian Islands. The purpose of the expedition was to prove Heyerdal's theory that the Polynesian Islands were populated from the east- specifically Peru- rather than from the west (Asia) as had been the theory for hundreds of years. Heyerdahl made a study of the winds and tides in the Pacific, and by simulating conditions as closely as possible to those he theorized the Peruvians encountered, set out on the voyage.
An Iranian girl unfolds her school memories through the wrinkles and fabrics of her old uniform. She admits that she's nothing but a "female" and explores the roots of this idea in her school years.
A Jewish wedding cameraman falls in love with a klezmer clarinetist and pretends to be making a documentary in order to spend time with her. His fake project leads to a real journey through Eastern Europe in search of lost klezmer melodies and the remnants of Yiddish culture. A documentary-fiction hybrid. Winner of the Best First Feature Award at the Berlin Film Festival.
What happens when you take a Young Gun, a veteran, some chick and this other guy and drop them off in the middle of the snow-coated Canadian wilderness with a few boards and enough lenses to make even Marilyn Monroe blush? We wanted to find out. And so we did all that. Then we made Depth Perception. The film invites you to join Austen Sweetin, Travis Rice, Robin Van Gyn and Bryan Fox on an expedition. It'n to learn about nature. An expedition to ride some of the best backcountry on the planet. And, occasionally, an expedition to violently fall down a mountain to the peaceful hum of a violin. Mmm. Yeah. Depth Perception is somehow as earnest as it is tongue-in-cheek.
A documentary about army cooks and how the everyday needs of thousands of armed stomachs affect the victories and defeats of statesmen. The film is based on eleven meals based on recipes from the Second World War till the war in Chechnya; from France through the Balkans to Russia.
A Syrian radio DJ documents the experiences of herself and her friends as their dreams of overthrowing their elected government give way to the grim realities of sectarian death squads and extremism.
In the increasing public discourse on mental health, Leanne Pooley’s inspiring and fearless documentary tracks an extraordinary young woman’s journey from suicide survivor to advocate for those struggling. The fact it leaves you hopeful and with tangible advice makes it vital viewing.
During the Second World War in the United States, cinema was extensively used as a propaganda vehicle. All the great filmmakers were involved: Capra, Ford, Huston, and Hollywood's new master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. After making several films advocating American entry into the war alongside the British, in direct violation of the Neutrality Act, Hitchcock took advantage of Zanuck's departure from 20th Century Fox to launch a major new propaganda project: Lifeboat. He asked John Steinbeck to write the basic story. This great American literary figure, author of The Grapes of Wrath, whose adaptation was one of Fox's biggest successes, was himself very committed to the war effort. When Lifeboat was released, success quickly turned to controversy. What if Hitchcock's film had completely missed the mark? What if, instead of providing anti-Nazi propaganda, the film actually defended the thesis that the German people were superior to the Allies and the union of democracies?
Born in a tree house, killed in a friend’s living room, and 86’d from his own funeral Blaze Foley is now a bona fide Texas legend. His songs are covered by Merle Haggard, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Willie Nelson and Joe Nichols. This new documentary movie brings his story to life on the screen for you.
Chris Wilcha helped adapt This American Life to television. His new documentary embodies the spirit of that show as he tries to save a New Jersey record store, in this comic yet deeply moving reflection on opportunities lost and gained.