Since its inception in Venezuela in 1976, the El Sistema youth orchestra program has transformed the lives of disadvantaged children worldwide by putting musical instruments in their hands and encouraging them through the mysterious power of music. Following the lives of three participants in the Philadelphia and New York programs, Jamie Berstein’s impassioned film introduces Raven, a young violinist with natural talent, yet an overshadowing ego; Zebadiah, who needs the confidence to defeat his social awkwardness; and Mohammed, a trombonist whose falling grades threaten his ability to stay in the program.
This is a documentary about Marshall Bruce Mathers III. It explains his life and who he is behind the music. An inspirational man who had a hard life growing up and earned himself a spotlight into fame and fortune and inspired millions of people.
Kai Greene is one of the biggest modern day legends in bodybuilding both on and off the stage. He's an athlete, an artist, an actor, and an entrepreneur. But his journey to greatness first started in childhood - when he chose bodybuilding as a form of survival. Now witness Kai Greene’s story of survival and climb to success in the first ever all-access documentary chronicling his life and career into the sport of bodybuilding and beyond.
As a centuries-old black community, contaminated and uprooted by petrochemical plants, comes to terms with the loss of its ancestral home, one man standing in the way of a plant's expansion refuses to give up.
Africa's history is stained with suffering; but after generations of slavery, oppression, and diaspora, many ancestral Africans are now returning to reclaim their heritage. In the heart of Ethiopia, Shashamane was dedicated by King Haile Selassie as a homeland for those of African descent. This thoughtful and beautifully shot documentary follows those who have heeded this call to return to their ancestral home and recover their African identity.
World War II was not just the most destructive conflict in humanity, it was also the greatest theft in history: lives, families, communities, property, culture and heritage were all stolen. The story of Nazi Germany's plundering of Europe's great works of art during World War II and Allied efforts to minimize the damage.
The boundless joy and unabashed passion of master gelato-maker Sergio Dondoli take center stage in this exuberant tribute to the delights of food, creativity, and a life well-lived. 'Sergio Dondoli's Happy Life' chronicles the rise of Dondoli and his world-famed Tuscan gelateria. What emerges is a portrait of a man who started from the humblest beginnings yet found a way to cultivate sweetness in all its forms through his life's work.
Steve Wraith had a fascination with the Krays, and after writing them letters Reg took an instant liking to him, even requesting Steve visit with his brother Ron, in Broadmoor. They would go on to ask Steve to take over their business interests in the outside world. As it turned out, this was an exercise in trust, grooming him, as what came next was a stark lesson in just how terrifying the Krays could be, even behind bars.
Costs and benefits; every decision has both. As the nation grows increasingly polarized with every passing day, we examine a series of wide reaching public policies and their consequences...for better or worse.
The Ways of Seeing writer is celebrated by Tilda Swinton and her fellow admirers in an unorthodox four-part documentary that visits him at his Alpine home
The city that Oprah and President Obama call home has become marred by murder. In response to its staggering homicide rate, locals have coined it "Chiraq" (a hybrid of Chicago and Iraq). In 2012, Chicago averaged 42 homicides per month with nearly 70% of deaths caused by guns. Through revealing interviews with gang members, activists, investigators and families of gun violence victims, "Gunland" looks to restore hope and examine solutions.
Ten American couples--captured in the comfort of their own beds--openly discuss romance, sex, trust and love in candid interviews. From young New Yorkers who have split up 26 times to spouses in their 90s who have been married 71 years, this touching, funny and often surprising film offers intimate insights into what makes or breaks a relationship.
Personhood tells a different reproductive rights story - one that ripples far beyond the right to choose and into the lives of every pregnant person in America. Tammy Loertscher’s fetus was given an attorney, while the courts denied Tammy her constitutional rights. In this timely documentary, we see her sent to jail, and then forced to challenge a Wisconsin law that eroded her privacy, her right to due process, and her body sovereignty. Through her story, Personhood reframes the abortion debate to encompass the growing system of laws that criminalize and police pregnant women. These little known laws, which now exist in 38 states, disproportionately target lower income women and women of color. At the intersection of the erosion of women’s rights, the war on drugs, and mass incarceration, Tammy’s experience reveals the dangerous consequences that these laws have on America’s mothers and families.
Tired of the negative stereotyping of prosthesis-wearing characters in cinema, Ross Turnbull set out to overturn the idea that prosthetics are indicative of a twisted and evil soul. Through interviews and footage, from some of Hollywood's best-loved classics, Ross challenges our preconceptions of what it means to live as an amputee. Clever, funny, and masterfully crafted, Terminal Device will ensure you'll never look at a hook the same again.
Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and The NRA tells the stories of how guns, and the billions made off of them, affect the lives of everyday Americans. It features personal stories from people across the country who have been affected by gun violence, including survivors and victims' families. The film exposes how the powerful gun companies and the NRA are resisting responsible legislation for the sake of profit - and thereby putting people in danger.
Before there were home video formats and the internet, the “Bahnhofskinos” (“Train station cinemas”) in West Germany regularly showed trash and erotica movies. Various filmmakers and especially contemporary witnesses recount in the documentary “Cinema Perverso – the wonderful and broken world of Bahnhofskino” their experiences and impressions.
Celebrities and creatives -- including musician David Byrne, performance artist Spalding Gray, comedian Sandra Bernhard, radical activist Abbie Hoffman, and poet Allen Ginsberg-- recall their earliest sexual experiences.