It's been seven years since the Wyoming Indian High School Chiefs have won a state championship in basketball. For most schools, this is a rather unremarkable statistic. But for the inhabitants of the Wind River Indian Reservation, who have experienced a century and a half of injustice, basketball is a form of empowerment, self-expression, and access to the world outside "the Rez." By using basketball as a vehicle, CHIEFS explores what it means to grow up Native American at the turn of the 21st century.
An intimate portrait of Paul Kelly, Australia's foremost singer-songwriter. In a career spanning more than thirty years he has documented the history of our country, described its landscapes and cities, and captured the lives and loves of its citizens. Kelly has written over 350 songs, penned lyrics for many other singers, co-authored songs and written for film. But like all great artists Paul Kelly is both candid and reserved. He has lived in the public eye but has remained an enigma.
Cosplay Universe explores the rise of the global Comic Con sub-culture and evolution of Cosplay; the art form of becoming a character that you love. The film follows the journey of several international cosplay teams as they compete in what is known as the 'Olympics of Cosplay' at the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya, Japan. Cosplay Universe also chronicles America's top cosplayers' challenges to turn their geeky hobby into a thriving business. The film taps into the psychology behind this art of self expression and demonstrates how Cosplayers can transform and expand their perceptions of themselves while finding community. Cosplay Universe features appearances by comic book legend Stan Lee, cosplay superstars Yaya Han and Jessica Nigri and many more.
Overcoming Kallman’s Syndrome, prejudice, self-destruction and powerful enemies in the music industry, rediscovered jazz legend Jimmy Scott recounts his rise and fall and rise again as one of the most distinctive vocalists of his time.
"Take my love" is a documentary film about "Las Patronas", a group of women who daily cook, pack and throw food to the migrants riding the "Beast" train.
An American athlete is fed up with silver medals, a pro baseball career foiled by injury, and narrowly missing out on the Olympic rowing team. Restless and looking for a win, he discovers a 3,000- mile rowing race. Jason aims to win the race and smash the record for the fastest crossing. Ten days in, two of the four men jump ship mid-Atlantic. Jason limps to the finish line, battered and humbled. One year later, he’s back with a new team. When seasickness and weather threaten his dream again, Jason faces an impossible task: 400 miles in just 5 days to beat the record.
Alfred Greven was the head a French movie studio founded with Nazi money producing propaganda and the most subversive masterpieces of French Cinema. Greven's intentional disappearance after the war and his silence until his death in 1973 maintain a certain mystery. To date, no photos or other record of him are available. Yet the 40 films produced by Continental Films remain. Who was he?
How is it we know so little about something so widespread? None of us are more than a family member or neighbor away from autism. The disorder has been growing so fast it has been described as a tsunami - one of which our state and federal government and social agencies are woefully unprepared. The challenges don’t happen in a vacuum, and children with adults grow into adults with autism. Sounding the Alarm follows autism families as they negotiate tangled rules and regulations, and steadfastly fight to find and afford the right care and treatment for their loved ones throughout their lives. As the film reveals, even a rock star, a wounded warrior and the president of one of the world’s most powerful media and entertainment companies can struggle to get the help they need.
A documentary on the fine dining subculture of foodies. The interest in haute cuisine has grown exponentially. Now, we enter the world of one of the most influential people on the food scene - the foodie. A subculture of blogging food critics with a mission to eat at the best restaurants on earth. Through our close study, we get access to the world's most exclusive restaurants and get to know a group of slightly bizarre but charming food maniacs.
The conflict between forestry and nature conservation in Finland has been constant during last 20 years. The traditional, freely grazing reindeer herding, dependent of the old forest growth , has been losing its resources but complaint and protests haven't been able to stop this process. In 2005 Saami reindeer herders made an alliance with Greenpeace and established a Forest Rescue Station in the wilderness of Inari. The international pressure from Greenpeace made Finnish forest company Stora Enso stop buying the wood from conflict areas. Kalevi Paadar, a Saami reindeer herder, lodged a complaint to the UN Human Rights Commission.
Driven by a desire to understand why her best friend killed herself at 16, Jacqueline Monetta, 18 gets teens suffering to share their struggles with mental illness and suicide attempts. Through her intimate one-to-one interviews, Jacqueline, and the audience learn about depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicide attempts, getting help and treating mental illness. As their stories unfold, they assure the audience that mental illnesses, like physical illnesses, can and should be treated.
Indianapolis has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country. Night School follows three adult students living in the city’s more impoverished neighborhoods as they attempt to earn their diplomas while juggling other difficult responsibilities and realities. Through their stories, the filmmakers explore many issues that low-income Americans deal with, including unjust minimum wage and working conditions, arbitrary legal hindrances, and race and gender inequality.
In search of a 15 days lock-in, a director finds himself captive of a trawler on the high seas, where his distress intertwines with the fate of what he films. A sensory experience between expectation and panic, this first short film has become the expiatory film of a traumatized filmmaker.
Bill Black Creator of AC Comics the longest running independent comic publisher around tells his story. From how he got into art and film making to his time in the Army during Vietnam.
For eons, a one-of-a-kind population of killer whales has hunted chinook salmon along the Pacific Coast of the United States. For the last 40 years, renowned whale scientist Ken Balcomb has closely observed them. He’s familiar with a deadly pattern, as salmon numbers plummet orcas starve. The orcas need roughly a million salmon a year, where to find a million fish? The solution, says Balcomb, is getting rid of four fish-killing dams 500 miles away on the largest tributary to what once was the largest chinook producing river on earth.
Sparked by a public display of sexual harassment in 2012, GTFO pries open the video game world to explore a 20 billion dollar industry riddled with discrimination and misogyny. Every year, the gaming community grows increasingly diverse. This has led to a clash of values and women are receiving the brunt of the consequences every day, with acts of harassment ranging from name calling to death threats. Through interviews with video game creators, journalists, and academics, GTFO paints a complex picture of the video game industry, while revealing the systemic and human motivations behind acts of harassment. GTFO begins the conversation that will shape the future of the video game world.
Star Wars vs. Star Trek. George Lucas, Liam Neeson, Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford share insights and the special effects creator compares the worlds of Star Trek and Star Wars.