EL CACAO exposes the dark side of chocolate production in Latin America by examining the economics of Fair Trade from the point of view of the indigenous farmers as they attempt to sustain their community through the growth, harvest, and trade of cacao beans in the global market. This 20-minute documentary film highlights the life of an indigenous Ngabe farmer in Panama and his unconditional devotion to this so-called "superfood." The film threads together the themes of neoliberal ideology, human rights, and the economics of the chocolate industry. While the demand for chocolate in developed nations continues to raise, the farmers in developing countries, like Panama, are rarely awarded the economic incentive promised to them. The film utilizes cinema verite techniques with candid interviews. Most of the film hinges on intimate shots in personal working and living space within a small Ngabe community in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama.
Follow a young Mormon as he gives up 2 years of his life and goes off to convert the people. For 20-year-old Josh Field, it's an emotional journey full of sacrifice.
This documentary by Dan Glynn follows the personal story of Jairo, a hard-working Mexican who immigrates to the US in order to find work to support his family back in Mexico. The film looks at current immigration issues in the United States. The story takes a dramatic turn, when Jairo's cousin is arrested by local police putting the entire family in danger of deportation. In the movie we meet numerous people who want to stem the tide of immigration from Mexico as well as people who help those who make the long, arduous journey to new employment in the United States.
Discovering Cary Grant will not only momentarily bring back the actor's glory days in Hollywood, but it will also thoughtfully examine his life away from the rolling cameras. Get to know Cary on a more personal level through a well-assembled montage of classic film clips punctuated by perceptive commentaries and amusing anecdotes from a panel of highly regarded showbiz resource persons.
An extended Black family living in View Park-Windsor Hills, California experience changes due to gentrification and reflect on their shifting community.
Find Me is a heartwarming drama that follows three families as they adopt children from China. This feature-length documentary film journeys with them as they seek to discover the back story of those who loved them first.
Undiscovered Haiti follows José Andrés into the heart of this mysterious country; through its unique cuisine we discover the history and culture - and see into the future - of a proud and rarely understood people.
Les Blank's first documentary cinematography job shooting Drag Racers in Long Beach, CA, driving everything from hopped up "Mercs" to Supercharged "Rail Dragsters". These cars could accelerate to over 220 miles/hour in a mile. The film follows the life of Rick "The Iceman" Stewart as he attempts to grab the world's record. Original score by Canned Heat Blues Band.
The city of Guangzhou is home to China's largest community of African immigrants. Despite facing prejudice and the risk of deportation, three African hip-hop artists strive to change perceptions and achieve a better life in their new land of opportunity. This short documentary explores China's burgeoning African entertainment industry through the lives of three African hip-hop artists who are trying to find success in the face of challenging labor and immigration laws in China's southeastern city of Guangzhou. The film follows the entertainers as they prepare for their shows, perform, and live their daily lives with their Chinese and African family members and friends.
In early summer 1989, Helke Misselwitz portrays young musicians in a band who produce their music on other people’s waste items. The four boys call themselves "Bulk Rubbish" and they drum out their resentment, having grown up on the new housing estates of East Berlin. A straight-up picture of the GDR youth is presented here, which in no way conforms to the official image. The film crew concentrates on the observation of the boy Enrico and his mother Erika: when the mother marries in the West, her son decides to stay in East Berlin, bidding her farewell at the border-crossing. Only shortly after, the tables are turned again: as the events in Berlin leading up to the fall of the Wall are practically captured live from the film crew, Enrico insists on maintaining his cultural identity, even after the fall of the Wall. The "Bulk Rubbish" musicians want to remain citizens of their own state and perceive the looming reunification with scepticism.
What happened in Rwanda in 1994 was not simply the spontaneous eruption of inter-ethnic hatred. It was planned genocide, on an industrial scale. Something that was prepared for at least a year in advance. Lists were made. Weapons were collected. RTLM radio spent months conditioning their audience to believe that one sector of their population represented a threat.
Coal, Corruption and community resistance of one of Australias most controversial mining projects Whitehavens Maules Creek Coal Mine in the Leard State Forest. The stage has been set for one of the most intriguing David and Goliath battles in this countrys history. Black Hole is the story of the fight to save the Leard State Forest from one of the most controversial coal mining projects in Australia Whitehavens Maules Creek Coal Mine. Set against the backdrop of the mining industrys ever-increasing thirst for fossil fuels, Black Hole is an intense and riveting exposé of the tensions between large corporations, the Australian government and the community. In this revealing world premiere, Director João Dujon Pereira asks us to examine the future of coal, corporate responsibility and the rights governments afford to people vs polluters.
MOMA & Tate Modern's landmark show explores the final chapter of Matisse's career when he began 'carving into colour,' creating his signature cut-outs. Audiences are invited to enjoy an intimate, behind-the-scenes documentary about this blockbuster exhibition with contributions from curators, historians and those who knew Matisse personally. Beautifully filmed footage of the exhibition featuring works including The Snail, Memory of Oceania, Large Composition with Masks and Blue Nudes is interwoven with Matisse's biography and behind-the-scenes material. Featuring special guests including Tate director Nicholas Serota; MoMA director Glenn Lowry; jazz musician Courtney Pine and Royal Ballet principal dancer Zenaida Yanowsky.
1.5 Stay Alive is part music video and part factual. In it, popular Caribbean musicians express their experiences with hurricanes, tropical storms and rising seas by composing and performing songs about climate change. Intertwined are insights by experts about effects of a 1.5 degree temperature increase . The film visits Belize, Costa Rica, Trinidad Tobago, Haiti, Honduras, Miami and Louisiana
"No Room in Paradise" is an intimate and raw look at the struggles Hawaii's homeless face -- and the solutions needed to address the crisis. Hawaii has the highest per capita homeless population in the nation, and more than half of Hawaii's homeless are unsheltered. Filmmakers Anthony Aalto and Mike Hinchey of Green Island Films say it's no secret what's driving Hawaii's growing homeless population: A lack of affordable housing and services. The question they set out to answer is why more affordable housing isn't being made available.
Gold, the enduring safe investment and symbol of wealth, comes at a high price. Mined in slave-like conditions, it has been linked to everything from funding civil wars in Africa to causing environmental disasters in Latin America. The market for gold is enormous with 70% of global production handled by just one country: Switzerland. The industry has been protected by the Swiss state for more than a century, and turning a blind eye here is standard practice. Despite attempts at reforms, a lack of transparency still remains. We travel to Peru, Congo, Dubai and Switzerland to investigate.