For four and a half years, between 2015 – 2019, acclaimed filmmaker Yorgos Avgeropoulos observed Greek society on multiple levels. As well as having exclusive access to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, he followed others, including a refugee couple from Syria and a mother whose child was murdered by Golden Dawn. The result is a unique and multiple story-lined film: a tale which evolves and unfolds with the characters over time as they face difficult decisions, even to partially achieve their goals.
Comedy Dynamics sits down with Bill Hicks' brother, Steve, who tells old stories, squashes old rumors and reveals the brother and son behind the late comedian. Told amidst old and rare footage, it’s a must watch for any fan.
BIPOLARIZED is about one man's personal journey to heal. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Ross' psychiatrist told him he would live with the disorder for the rest of his life and that he would have to take lithium to control symptoms. To Ross, taking the drug daily felt like a chemical lobotomy, leaving him in a foggy, drug-induced haze. Ross ultimately decided to resolve his symptoms outside of conventional medicine. He progressively reduced his use of the psychotropic drug lithium, at an experimental clinic in Costa Rica. What ensued was a self-exploration into alternative treatments to treat his condition and a journey delving into the root cause of his mental breakdown. The film uses Ross' personal experiences to tell a larger story about medication. It will reveal how we are labelling more and more people with mental illnesses and how, in tandem, we are prescribing more and more toxic psychotropic drugs to treat these illnesses.
Approximately, because so-called "ethnic" statistics are prohibited, there are an estimated 3.3 million black French citizens. Distant descendants of slaves from the Caribbean or "indigenous" peoples from the French colonial empire in Africa, they constitute a minority that is often discriminated against. Isabelle Boni-Claverie, a mixed-race woman raised in the affluent neighborhoods of Paris, daughter of an Ivorian politician and granddaughter of Alphonse Boni, a Black man who became a magistrate of the French Republic in the 1930s, examines what is blocking the social advancement of Black French people and the full recognition of their citizenship.
Users of alternative community mental health resources express their relationship to art and life. The intimate experience of art, of the studio, of associating with artists and of seeing oneself as an artist changes their lives as they contemplate the relationship between art and madness.
On a bicycle trip across the country, a young Neill Kirby McMillan Jr. experiences The Mojo Revelation and becomes Mojo Nixon. After teaming up with the enigmatic Skid Roper, he unexpectedly finds mainstream success during the Golden Age of MTV.
They are the heirs to a thousand years of Royal history; inheritors of all the privileges and responsibilities of the modern monarchy – a monarchy they must take into the new Millennium. Yet William and Harry are also ordinary young men from a broken home who have come to terms with the devastating loss of their mother. Knowing they were destined always to be in the public eye, Diana was determined that her children would have the happiest possible childhood both at home and in the exercise of their royal duties. Even throughout her dark years she somehow managed to be both the nation's idol and the ideal carer for her sons. From their earliest years, William and Harry have lived unusually enriched lives, experiencing a world unseen by earlier royal children and meeting people from every level of society – from the most privileged to the most deprived.
4TH & GOAL is the epic tale of six young men in their quest to join the most elite club in professional athletics: the NFL.
Shot over six years, we first meet Deqawn, Albert, Gibril, Tim, Randy, and Bret at the famed junior college football program at City College in San Francisco. We follow them through the 2003 championship season to the top D1 collegiate teams in the nation and into their encounter with world of professional football.
What their individual fates reveal is as much a prophetic tale of brotherhood, family and the harsh realities of growing up as it is about excelling on 100 yards of turf.
Photographer Rudy Burckhardt shows us the ebb and flow of people rushing about Manhattan. Equally exhilarating in his novel approach to snap images quickly on the run, a method he inaugurated and that continues to the present day. In film, he added slow and fast motion, split-screens and superimpositions to his repertory.
The Roma, commonly referred to as Gypsies, have been both romanticized and vilified in popular culture. Dozens of Roma from 11 countries—including Holocaust survivors, historians, activists, and musicians--bring Romani history to life through poetry, music, and compelling first-hand accounts.
In this eye-opening film, director Antony Thomas goes deep into the heart of the Muslim world to explore the history and current state of Islam. He attempts to ascertain what Islam's Holy Book actually says about such subjects as equality, punishment, peace, other faiths and suicide bombing. As with most holy books, the paradoxes contained within lead to an extremely wide range of interpretations, and as such can be "used for ultimate grace or as an alibi for appalling acts and beliefs." Thomas investigates how Islam's teachings in the Koran are very tactfully being employed by nations and powerful leaders alike to further their own political, cultural, and social norms.
Filmmaker Bill Howard follows up on a letter from a deceased government insider that brings him to some startling information regarding aliens and the United States government.
Artist and political activist San Zaw Htway experienced the full force of military repression in Myanmar back in 1999, when he was sentenced to 36 years in prison for involvement in the re-establishment of the banned student union. Twelve years later, under a more lenient regime, he was released.
"LINE 41" documents a Holocaust and Lodz Ghetto survivor's return back to today's Lodz (Poland). Until now, Grossmann had repressed his desire to learn about the fate of his brother he lost contact with in 1942. 70 years later, Grossmann starts a search for his missing brother. His search crosses paths with Jens-Jürgen Ventzki, son of the former Nazi Head Mayor of Lodz. Ventzki is pursuing his family's dark secret. In tracing their family histories, they inevitably confront each other.
The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song will honor either a songwriter, interpreter, or singer/songwriter whose career reflects lifetime achievement in promoting the genre of song as a vehicle of artistic expression and cultural understanding. Paul Simon, one of America's most respected songwriters and musicians, was the recipient of the first annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Named in honor of the legendary George and Ira Gershwin, the award recognizes the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world's culture.
Failed by a system that unfairly tears apart low income, marginalized families, four parents - Anna, Trish, Ernst and Rosa - fight to reunify with their children. But what does it take to get your children back after they’ve been taken by the Child Protective Services? Failure to Protect is an in-depth look at the child welfare system through the forgotten lens of parents, further contextualized by experts in the field to unpack a pressing socioeconomic issue that affects hundreds of thousands of families everyday.
Free Jazz Vein is an experimental surf film shot on super 16mm film. In his latest work, Argentinian-born and US-based artist, Tin Ojeda, pursues his ongoing fascination with a vintage, 1970s filmmaking style inspired by period jazz album covers and movie posters. Shot in the USA, Central America, Australia, and Indonesia, the film celebrates surfing exploits while keeping an eye on the darker side of things. Ojeda, who shot and edited the film himself, revels in spectacular scenes of sunsets on the beach, sunlight glinting on foam, and heart-stopping shots of the chiseled bodies of pro surfers gliding through the waves. At the same time, he provides glimpses into the poverty that exists next to the glorious beaches, and hints at political violence simmering just under the surface. Super 16mm film, with its grainy texture, lens flares, and painterly depth of field, lends the film a nostalgic feel, while off-screen dialog and statements keep it in the 'here and now'.