Australia’s slave trade is an untold story. Few people know that the Australian sugar industry was founded on the sweat of men and women enticed or kidnapped from the islands of the South Pacific. Sugar Slaves is the story of that human traffic, euphemistically known as "blackbirding".
Carlos Ghosn – the former CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, charged with financial crimes – stunned the world with his escape from Japan to Lebanon. What triggered Ghosn’s spectacular downfall from industry leader to international fugitive? Is there any truth to Ghosn’s claims of a corporate conspiracy? Nick Green’s documentary sheds light on this multilayered story, drawing out a portrait of a fascinating character.
Like many young people around the world, best friends Fawzi and Mahmoud are obsessed with soccer. But for the past several years, the teenagers have been stuck in Zaatari, the world’s largest camp for Syrian refugees, located in Jordan. With uncertain legal status and an interrupted education, their prospects are limited. On the local soccer pitch, however, they can imagine a brighter future as professional athletes, a path to escaping the camp and providing for their families. When scouts from a world-renowned Qatari sports academy visit Zaatari, Fawzi and Mahmoud believe they might be able to realize their dreams—if given the opportunity.
The story of professional musician Mark Barden, whose story of his life changed dramatically when his son Daniel was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The Abayudaya are Ugandan Jews, who once numbered 5000; but due to casualties from Idi Amin’s regime of terror, only a small group remains. Living with lingering intolerance as well as collapsed coffee prices, struggling Jewish, Christian and Muslim coffee farmers put aside their differences and form the Delicious Peace Coffee Cooperative. What follows is an uplifting and inspiring story.
The lower level of Lichtenberg Station in Belin in early October 1989: the beginning of the end for the GDR. In the snack bar, the staff are catering for travellers of every kind while in the background the authorities maintain a flow of triumphal statements, but those months between August and October come to feel like sitting out the death throes. Careful observation of people and their work as the current of history suddenly becomes perceptible.
An intimate investigation of World War II soviet veteran, 92-year-old Newsak Weis or as he prefers, just Uncle Nusya. The mission is to discover a real person under the armor of medals and the role model of a hero.
Blending drama with the explanations of passionate historians and specialists, this enriched historical reconstruction traces 60 years in the life a man who transformed the Middle Ages and laid the foundation of modern Europe, William The Conqueror.
An exclusive interview with The Sopranos creator David Chase, where he talks about his childhood memories of Newark, the vision behind the series and The Sopranos on the big screen.
Unborn in the USA: Inside the War on Abortion is a 2007 documentary film featuring interviews with pro-life activists across the United states. Its tagline is, "How the pro-lifers are winning". The film was started as a thesis project by students Stephen Fell and Will Thompson of Rice University. The film chronicles major events such as the annual March for Life and the 2004 March for Women's Lives, and features interviews with members of the Army of God and other pro-life activists.
Filmed over eight years, Rothman follows a group of adolescents who discover that they were conceived from the same sperm donor, forming an unlikely family of familiar strangers. There are presently 37 half-siblings, and counting. This documentary explores the complexities of alternative conception while defining a new realm of modern family.
You’re in the middle of Death Valley. It’s 120°F (48°C), the sun is blazing hot and there’s not a single tree to hide under. You are covered from head to toe in white apparel in an attempt to conceal yourself from the scorching sun. The only sounds you can hear are those of your own footsteps along the burning asphalt. When the wind picks up, sand whips any exposed part of your body like needles. Welcome to the Badwater 135. A grueling 135 mile race that starts at Badwater Basin - the lowest point in the U.S (-282 feet below sea level) and ends at the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney. That’s three mountain ranges the runners have to cross before reaching the finish line. All under 48 hours.
Hard Problems is about the extraordinary gifted students who represented the United States in 2006 at the world's toughest math competition: The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). It is the story of six American high school students who competed with 500 others from 90 countries in Ljublijana, Slovenia. The film shows the dedication and perseverance of these remarkably talented students, the rigorous preparation they undertake, and the joy they get out of solving challenging math problems. It captures the spirit that infuses the mathematical quest at the highest level.
Jin scowls into the camera when her sister – the filmmaker – asks about her earliest memories. No wonder: these memories are anything but pleasant. Jin was born in the 1990s, during China’s one-child policy. It was normal then for unborn girls to be aborted – right up to the last month of a pregnancy, because boys were preferred. Living babies were also ruthlessly dumped in the garbage, or in the woods. Jin survived for a week in a box on the streets.
Death By Audio, an underground art and music venue, is forced to close in 2014. The film focuses on the struggles of maintaining a community in the face of Brooklyn property development, hostile construction workers, and a one billion-dollar company.