They are perhaps the oldest lifeforms on the planet, and they are without a doubt the tallest. They are home to many species of plants and animals that rely on them for protection and shelter. They survived the ice age by migrating into protective enclaves, to flourish once again throughout specific regions of North and South America, and remote regions of China. They are the redwoods. Their bark can be up to a foot thick and contains tannins that protect them from fire. Redwoods are symbols of the forest environment; sentinels that reach for the sky for the sunlight and moisture they need to survive, a survival that is critical to the forest system.
Activists around the world fight injustice and drive social change in this documentary that follows their participation in the music video "Solidarité."
An exploration of potential extraterrestrial encounters centered on a series of events in Varginha, Brazil during 1996. Residents reported seeing one or more strange creatures and a UFO crash.
Going far beyond the standard imagery of Rasta—ganja, reggae, and dreadlocks—this cultural history offers an uncensored vision of a movement with complex roots and the exceptional journey of a man who taught an enslaved people how to be proud and impose their culture on the world. In the 1920s Leonard Percival Howell and the First Rastas had a revelation concerning the divinity of Haile Selassie, king of Ethiopia, that established the vision for the most popular mystical movement of the 20th century, Rastafarianism. Although jailed, ridiculed, and treated as insane, Howell, also known as the Gong, established a Rasta community of 4,500 members, the first agro-industrial enterprise devoted to producing marijuana. In the late 1950s the community was dispersed, disseminating Rasta teachings throughout the ghettos of the island. A young singer named Bob Marley adopted Howell's message, and through Marley's visions, reggae made its explosion in the music world.
An immersive film essay on tennis legend John McEnroe at the height of his career as the world champion, documenting his strive for perfection, frustrations, and the hardest loss of his career at the 1984 Roland-Garros French Open.
Over several decades, at least 20,000 Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their homes in Canada and adopted out to non-Indigenous families. Now, four siblings come together for the first time to build the family ties they were once denied.
Anne Boyd, one of Australia's leading contemporary composers, teaches music at the publicly funded University of Sydney. This documentary chronicles a year in the life of an academic department that's under the financial gun.
From John Muir in the 1860s to today's super-athletes, Vertical Frontier tells the rich and captivating saga of these free-spirited climbers whose contributions to the techniques, equipment, and ethics of mountaineering enabled them to be the first to conquer Yosemite's legendary big walls. Illustrated with spectacular footage, both old and new, shot on these granite walls, the story is told by the climbers whose artistry and relentless determination helped launch a sport now enjoyed by millions around the world, including David Brower, Warren Harding, Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard, Tom Frost, Jim Bridwell, Lynn Hill, Hans Florine, Dean Potter, and many others. Their epic feats range from the first ascent of El Capitan, which took 45 days over a year and a half, to today's speed climbers who complete the same route in under three hours.
Follows the story of charismatic 22-year-old Arabian filmmaking student Hamzah Jamjoom as he returns home from Chicago's De Paul University to make a film about his native culture.
Coach Joe Newton has used the sport of Cross Country Running to teach simple but important lessons to high school boys for the last 50 years. "Always do your best", "be on time" and "it's nice to be great but far greater to be nice" are mantras, which have turned the Boys Cross Country team at the public York High School in Elmhurst Illinois into the most winning high school team in any sport in America. Along with mastery of their sport, Newton turns boys into men, who carry his teaching and his love for each of them throughout their lives. The Long Green Line documents the York Duke's 2005 Cross Country season as the runners seek their record 25th state title in 50 years.
This is an animated documentary about FOOD! I interviewed vegetarian, vegan, pescetarian and meat eater about their opinions about food and life choices. Then I animate real food with stop-motion technique based on the interviews. By putting the conversations in different context, the food speak for themselves.
Freelance female war reporter Alex Quade covers U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) on highly classified combat missions. Since 2001, she has embedded with elite SOF, including the U.S. Army Special Forces or Green Berets, Army Rangers, Navy Seals, and CIA clandestine operatives to tell their stories from the front lines. "Danger Close" follows Alex as she lives alongside these highly trained forces on some of the most daring missions ever documented in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the world of competitive oyster shucking, Honor Allen is among the planet’s best. Following this four-time US Champion over several years, we explore this unique subculture, meeting competitors from around the globe.
An ultra-Orthodox Jew, a couch surfing custodian, and a personal injury lawyer - risk everything to find their voices on the cutthroat New York comedy scene.
Five fishermen from Manresa, a poor neighborhood to the West of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, learn from marine biologist Omar Shamir Reynoso's one-of-a-kind plan to protect nesting sea turtles.
Historian Steve Humphries examines failures in policies and legislation put in place to protect youngsters from sexual abuse, and discovers radical new solutions proposed by an increasing number of child-protection experts, which challenge deep-rooted attitudes and emotional reactions to paedophiles. Senior lecturer Sarah Goode believes the most promising way to reduce the number of child-abuse cases is to encourage people to seek treatment before they target victims. Her theory is supported by an interview in this programme in which Humphries meets a man who makes an extraordinary confession on camera.
Joining Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas on his annual pilgrimage to the Cannes Film Festival, filmmaker Mark Cousins gives an intimate glimpse into the life of the legendary icon behind some of the most controversial and acclaimed films of all time.