Like many Palestinian families, the Amers live surrounded by the infamous West Bank Wall where their daily lives are dominated by electrified fences, locks and a constant swarm of armed soldiers. Through director Carolina Rivas' sensitive lens, we discover the private world of all eight members of the family. As their dramas unfold, we catch a glimpse of their constant struggles and the small, endearing details that sustain them, including olive trees, two small donkeys and their many friendships. Constructed with a combination of verité scenes and re-enactments, this poignant and richly crafted film offers its audience a much needed opportunity to reflect on the effects of racial segregation, the meaning of borders and the absurdity of war
The new documentary from Apprehensive Films follows eight Home Haunters in their pursuit to transform their nice suburban homes into visions of the macabre. Their obsession with Halloween has lead them to spend thousands, dedicate countless hours and resources to acheive their horrific attractions and to scare the daylights out of unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. We'll meet all sorts of different haunters from basic yard haunts to one's so extreme they go beyond their property lines. Special features include: Trailers, Spotlight on Hauntcast, Larry Scholl's Tiki Room, Alternate Opening and Behind the Scenes at Night Frights.
After Barack Obama swept to power promising a new era of hope and change, the emergence of a citizens protest movement called the Tea Party threatened to derail his agenda. Was this uprising the epitome of grassroots democracy? Or was it an example of "astroturfing" - the creation of fake grassroots groups, designed to put corporate messages in the mouths of seemingly independent citizens?
After an encounter with Walter Breuning, the World's Oldest Man, Hunter Weeks and his fiance Sarah Hall take an adventure to meet the oldest people in the world, including some of the last people born in the 1800s. Capturing the extraordinary lives of people 110 years or older, the couple's journey sheds light on what is truly important in life. Traveling across the United States, Cuba, and Italy, Hunter and Sarah explore life's lessons through the stories of several living supercentenarians and the families that support them. WALTER connects us to the inspiring lives of our elders and their lessons for living life right.
The Yellow Brick Road and Beyond tells the complete history of “The Wizard of Oz”, highlighting some of the earliest stage and screen adaptations, such as the 1925 silent version and the even earlier, “His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz”.
'Survival Prayer' explores the power of food, nature and culture. On a remote archipelago in Western Canada, an uncommon abundance of wildlife has sustained the Haida people for countless generations. Here, a last speaker frames a moving portrait of these sacred food systems at risk. Rich with spectacular scenery of the North Pacific coastline and detailed views of wild food gathering and preservation, 'Survival Prayer' is a story of possibility amid deep loss.
A forbidden love story played out in a decade that would soon spawn the sexual revolution. Part historical documentary and part experimental narrative the film reconstructs a mesmerizing and erotic narrative from 60 hours of reel-to-reel audiotape discovered in a suitcase. Recorded in the 1960's by a Mid-western woman and her lover they chronicle the details of their adulterous love affair. Reliant on recording devises to document and memorialize their affair the tape recorder evolves as a confidant, witness and participant, always omnipresent creating a welcomed threesome. Mirroring the compulsion to confess ones indiscretions in today's Internet world these captivating recordings speak to an audience that can remember Bert Parks as well as one who has never set finger to a rotary phone.
Four college Christians look at their faith in Jesus and realize that it's based on routine rather than a genuine relationship. They decide that to fully understand their faith, they need to test it against others' beliefs. Michael B Allen, Will Bakke, Lawson Hopkins, and Austin Meek set out on a journey around the United States beginning in Dallas. They travel west to the Los Angeles, north to Seattle, east to Boston, and finally, South to New Orleans before heading home. Along the way, they meet several different characters including a policeman, a hippie clown, a Scientology ex, a congresswoman, a homeless man, and many more. As they guys near home and the journey's completion, they come to realize the importance of always questioning beliefs, no matter how sure you are of them. They see that questions are vital, because the answers to those questions allow us to really live for something.
Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein reveal the lives of post Iraq from a Congressional candidate in Buffalo to a cage fighter in Louisiana, set against the backdrop of the 2008 election. From Jon Powers's political fight for a congressional seat to Wilf Stuart's family struggling with his brother's combat deployment, this poignant piece offers a picture of both the hope and loss that remain after the fighting ends.
For the first time ever, Tasha Tudor has permitted a film crew unprecedented access to document her daily life. An intimate and charming portrait of one of America's best-loved artists.
Year after year Europe’s Isenseven crew comes out with shred flicks that are both progressive and extremely entertaining to watch. Consistently pushing the levels of production quality, Isenseven has also come to signify a high attention to detail not often found in the snowboard world. “Fools Gold” looks like another hit from the crew and once again it looks like they just might be having more fun than any other film company.
What would a world look like that had a culture and an economic system that places human need above corporate greed, and how do we bring that world into being? Who cares what it is called. Call it Socialism, Call it Real Democracy Now, and Call it Chunky-Monkey-Cherry Garcia. The world needs to change radically, it needs to change dramatically, and it needs to change fast. This documentary is an invitation for you to participate in that positive change. Frankly, because, we need you. Yes, you.
Long before New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani launched his campaign to clean up the city, Times Square was the stage for a slew of religious zealots and fanatics, all preaching their brand of fire and brimstone to anyone who would listen. Filmed between 1993 and 1998, Richard Sandler's documentary gives viewers a glimpse into the not-so-distant past, when 42nd Street was the shared pulpit of the most colorful assortment of ministry imaginable.
In the gig poster community, artists such as Daniel Danger and Jay Ryan prove that creating this artwork is a way of life, more than just a career. These artists are at the forefront of an expansion of the gig poster genre. MONDO's reinvigoration of "the film poster as an art form," and Gallery 1988’s theme based exhibits are only two ways in which this artwork is reaching a greater public. In a community with strong roots, dating back to the 1960s, this expansion is controversial- refreshing to some, sacrilegious to others.
New York is the city where a forever revitalized musical expression is played in jazz clubs every night. Jazzmix New York, is a look at jazz in NY and the incredible inventiveness of this musical scene in 2010.
In his first feature film, director Bob Bowdon takes aim at America's public school system, revealing a self-serving network of wasteful cartels that squander funding and fail to deliver when it comes to academic testing and basic skills. Both parents and teachers want change, but reform is an uphill battle in the face of heel-digging bureaucrats and so-called "dropout factories." It's a bona fide crisis that's burgeoning out of control.
Brother Number One is a New Zealand documentary on the torture and murder of New Zealand yachtie Kerry Hamill by the Khmer Rouge in 1978. It follows the journey of Kerry's younger brother, Rob Hamill, an Olympic and Trans-Atlantic champion rower, who travels to Cambodia to retrace the steps taken by his brother and John Dewhirst, speaking to eyewitnesses, perpetrators and survivors.
By turns hopeful and heartbreaking, Louder Than a Bomb follows the fortunes of four Chicago-area high school poetry teams as they prepare for and compete in the world’s largest youth slam.