Until the late 1970s, the Pakistani city of Lahore was world-renowned for its music. Following the Islamization of Pakistan, many artists struggled to continue their life's work. Song of Lahore turns the spotlight on a group of stalwart musicians that kept playing and ultimately attracted listeners from around the world.
Year after year hundreds of thousands of fans line the route of the Tour de France, cheering on their heroes and willing them to victory, while millions of viewers worldwide tune in on their televisions. Academy Award-winning director Pepe Danquart, fascinated by the spectacle of the three week race, chose to focus on the courage, the pain and the fear of the riders of the Tour. Training his lens on German superstar sprinter Eric Zabel and his loyal domestique Rolf Aldag, Danquart captures the thrill of the race and the teamwork behind the stars of the peleton. He also shines light on the Tour's supporting cast - the director sportifs, masseurs, and, of course, the wildly enthusiastic fans. Reveling in the stunning landscape - from the Alps to the Pyrenees to the Massif Central to Paris - and with a nice dollop of Le Tour's history, HELL ON WHEELS transcends the sport it celebrates to reveal an astonishing human endeavor.
The story of three lifelong friends who overcame domestic violence, substance abuse and depression to form Life of Agony, one of the most influential bands in its genre, led by the very first openly transgender singer. Through the success of their groundbreaking 1993 debut "River Runs Red", hailed by Rolling Stone as "One of the Greatest Metal Albums of All Time", they channeled their cumulative life stories into a soundtrack for a broken generation. This new found fame allowed them to suppress the tragedies of their past, but in its wake new obstacles arose.
The film brings us under the skin and into the mind of La Chana, a talented Gypsy flamenco dancer as she returns to the stage to give a final seated performance after a 30-year break. Along the way, La Chana reveals the secret behind her disappearance when she was at the peak of her career.
One woman’s journey through a century of love, war and discovery. Curiosity, Adventure & Love is a the story of a woman raised by fate to go boldly where few young women of her time and upbringing would go, into the arms of chance and life. A young American woman leaves her country and all security behind, to begin an adventure in the Philippines that would witness the birth of a nation, a cruel war and Occupation and reconstruction. Jessie is a striking personality, somewhere between Scarlett O’Hara and Amelia Earhart, who knew no boundaries and flew far ahead of her times, without regard to sex or society. Her story of a century well-lived is both rich and one that should restore our faith in our own humanity.
As one art scene insider proclaims, the contemporary art world can be summed up as “rich people trying to prove how rich they are,” but is that all there is to this billion dollar industry? Well-researched and expertly constructed, Barry Avrich’s eye-opening documentary peels back the layers of the art world economy- from production to circulation, and delineates every integral player in the game of art-making, including curators, gallerists, collectors, donors, auction houses, and … artists. In the process, he unpacks the complex and surprising ecosystem that supports the art world superstars and million-dollar deals that make front-page news. Featuring extraordinary access to industry players and candid statements from prominent artists like Damien Hirst, Julian Schnabel, Taryn Simon, and Marina Abramovic, Blurred Lines collides the two narratives of the art world as both above and beholden to market forces.
Veteran radio, theatre, television and film actor Christopher Plummer has played a thousand parts, but beneath that elegant stage presence lies the restless heart of a risk-taker. Don't miss this engaging biography.
In 2015, the Taliban put a price on the head of Hassan, a filmmaker, who was forced to flee Afghanistan with his wife and two young daughters. Using their camera phones, the fugitives show first-hand the many dangers refugees face when seeking asylum in a safe place.
The Reagan Era was marked with names, triumphs and tragedy that made history that became the fabric of American life and memory: Iran-Contra the Cold War the Solidarity Movement and the candle in the White House window Pan Am 103 the Challenger disaster Beirut Libya. Ronald Reagan's speeches were inspired lectures that informed the nation - sometimes angry, sometimes confused, and sometimes frightened of the next steps their government would take. Ronald Reagan: An American Journey is a collection of these dialogues, creating a portrait of the man Time magazine named as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century.
When illness forces her away from her beloved trauma cleaning business, Sandra Pankhurst faces up to her traumatic past and begins a search for her birth mother.
Almost four decades as the Princess of Pop, superstar Britney Spears, continues to be in the public eye on the brink of winning a legal battle with her father that would end a conservatorship and at long last give her control of her life.
A documentary about the impacts of climate change on the Republic of the Marshall Islands and its people. Most parts of the Marshall Islands are less than 5.9 feet above sea level. Forecasts predict the uninhabitability of the country by 2050.
Church & State is the improbable story of a brash, inexperienced gay activist and a tiny Salt Lake City law firm that joined forces to topple Utah’s gay marriage ban. The film’s ride on the bumpy road to equality in Utah offers a glimpse at the Mormon church’s influence in state politics and the squabbles inside the gay community that nearly derailed a chance to make history. Church & State is a story of triumph, setback and a little-known lawsuit that should have failed, but instead paved the way for a U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gay unions nationwide.
Follow the Manhattan-based Beavan family as they abandon their high consumption 5th Avenue lifestyle and try to live a year while making no net environmental impact.
At the crossroads of Armenia and Iran, a father and daughter must overcome war, religion, and geopolitics to establish their wines on the global stage and reclaim a 6,000-year-old tradition of winemaking.
Four precocious preteens perfect their lip-synching and runway walks in anticipation of the biggest drag performance of their lives at Montreal Pride, in this fierce and joyous celebration of acceptance and self-discovery.
How much should you negotiate with the enemy? In Israel, the debate over that question evoked fury to the point of assassination. Such was the case of Kasztner. Dr Israel (Rezso) Kasztner, a Hungarian Jew who tried to rescue the last million Jews of Europe by negotiating face to face with Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann, was gunned down by another Jew who never set foot in Nazi Europe. After 50 years, his assassin Ze'ev Eckstein breaks his silence on the fateful night he shot and killed Kasztner. (Storyville)
Gerhard Richter has spent over half a century experimenting with a tremendous range of techniques and ideas, addressing historical crises and mass media representation alongside explorations of chance procedures. This first glimpse inside his studio in decades is exactly that: a thrilling document of the 79-year-old's creative process, juxtaposed with rare archival footage and intimate conversations with his critics and collaborators.
A heartwarming story about a precautious, 8-year-old girl exploring the world with her globetrotting father and growing up in an unconventional family.