The film begins with the exhumation of four American women tortured, raped, and murdered by the right-wing government of El Salvador on December 2, 1980. The women — Dorothy Kazel, an Ursuline; Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, Maryknoll mission sisters; and Jean Donovan, a young laywoman from Cleveland — were providing food, shelter, medical care and burial to the poor. They were targeted for assassination by a death squad within the U.S.-supported Salvadoran military as part of a policy of suppressing the poor and “liberation theology.” The award-winning documentary focuses primarily on the life of Jean Donovan through archival news footage, interviews, home movies, and diary readings.
The first and only documentary telling the story of the inspiring women at the forefront of the global AIDS movement. Combining archival footage and interviews with female activists, scientists and scholars in the US and Africa, this documentary reveals how women not only shaped grassroots groups like ACT-UP in the U.S., but have also played essential roles in HIV prevention and the treatment access movement throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
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.
A powerful and emotional documentary about Korean women forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, Silence Broken dramatically combines the testimony of former comfort women who demand justice for the "crimes against humanity" committed against them, along with contravening interviews of Japanese soldiers, recruiters and contemporary scholars who deny the existence of comfort women or claim that these victims "did this for money." In the film, these women demand an official apology, admission of moral as well as legal guilt, and compenstion from the Japanese government. They want human dignity and justice restored to them. The individual testimonies in Silence Broken, combined with unusual archival footage and dramatized images, shatter the half-century of silence and create a collective story filled with soulful sorrow and amazing resilience of the human spirit.
This documentary delivers gripping courtroom drama and investigation into the culture of a community who to this day harbour dark secrets about Belinda Peisley's mysterious disappearance in 1998.
A legal and political drama with two extraordinary women at its center: one, a Chinese immigrant charged with first degree murder and the other, a successful white collar lawyer who unwittingly finds herself defending a woman against legally unprecedented charges.
This documentary focuses on the Civil Rights Movement in the heavily segregated steel industry and its equally segregated union, The United Steelworkers of America (USWA), at the time when this industry—devastated by mismanagement and global competition—began to crumble. It is a powerful picture of black working-class life in the latter part of the 20th century, told in a combination of interviews and documentary footage. Through live testimonials and revelatory archival materials, Struggles shows the contributions of African Americans to the steel industry and to the labor movement more generally. (via cinema.indiana.edu)
Kamp Katrina, a cinéma vérité documentary, follows the in-depth lives of a small group of people who have taken refuge in a garden transformed into a tent city by an extraordinary New Orleans couple, Ms. Pearl and her husband, David. Carnivalesque Films latest documentary uses tragedy as a tool to clarify and illuminate the chaos and madness of life. This film has no political targets; instead, it focuses on the struggle of these individuals to pick up their lives and face responsibilities in the face of loss, grief, and hope.
In July 2002, 22 Palestinian and Israeli teenage girls came to the U.S. to participate in a women's leadership program called Building Bridges for Peace. "My So Called Enemy" is a coming of age story about 6 of the program participants and how they reconcile their transformative experience in the program with the realities of life back home in the Middle East over the next 7 years. What unfolds is an emotionally-charged film about the human consequences of all conflicts--as seen through the eyes of 6 young women who are thoughtful, intelligent and articulate beyond their years.
A story about democracy, human rights, and what it means to stand up for your values in America today. On January 21, 2017, hundreds of thousands of women marched on Washington, DC. That same day, hundreds of sister marches took place across the country and around the world.
Set against the backdrop of the Gold Coast of West Africa in 1876, "Abina and the Important Men" follows the harrowing true story of Abina Mansah, a young girl who is enslaved and struggles against the British colonial system that seeks to control trade and manipulate local customs for its own benefit. Despite the abolition of slavery, Abina finds herself trapped in a society where the trade in slaves, particularly children, persists under the guise of protectorate laws. After being sold and forced to marry against her will, Abina flees to seek her freedom and confronts the British legal system. Her battle for justice is a poignant narrative that exposes the hypocrisy of the colonial powers and the resilience of those who fought against their oppression. Told through stunning animation, the film is a compelling historical drama that delves into the complexity of freedom, colonialism, and the human spirit's unyielding desire for autonomy and dignity.
VIF is a one-of-a-kind cinematic documentary, taking us through the introspective life journey of fashion designer Christian Audigier. He created the brand 'Ed Hardy', based on the designs of famous American tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy. After being diagnosed with MDS, an aggressive type of blood cancer, Christian is forced to accept what lies ahead of him.
The brilliant writing and troubled life of Californian Larry Levis came to an abrupt halt when he died at age 49. Is self-destruction required for a serious life of art? Featuring an original score by Iron and Wine and film excerpts by award-winning Spanish filmmaker Lois Patiño, this innovative documentary explores his childhood working alongside Mexican-American field hands, three marriages, friendships with America’s greatest poets, and his own words for answers.
This documentary features interviews from royal experts, exclusive insider stories from former palace staff, and exciting archival footage and photos that reveal the secrets and traditions behind a royal wedding.
In the heart of Kamouraska in Quebec, Patrice Fortier lives at “La société des plantes” (The Society of Plants). There, like a transcriber of the middle ages, he diligently cares for the rare and forgotten plant seeds to create a variety of so-called “old futures.” Patrice dreams up his garden and turns his crops into art projects. Over time, and with patience, he passes on his passion and his knowledge to us through his seed bank. These seeds of life will appear in thousands of gardens throughout the world. An ode to plant biodiversity and to our heritage, brought forth by a true and genetically motivated sower.
Visible Silence explores the lives of Thai lesbians striving for recognition, authenticity, and acceptance in a traditional Buddhist society. It is an intimate story of self and family, love and sexuality, and self-determination where conformity is prized.
BIPOLARIZED is about one man's personal journey to heal. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Ross' psychiatrist told him he would live with the disorder for the rest of his life and that he would have to take lithium to control symptoms. To Ross, taking the drug daily felt like a chemical lobotomy, leaving him in a foggy, drug-induced haze. Ross ultimately decided to resolve his symptoms outside of conventional medicine. He progressively reduced his use of the psychotropic drug lithium, at an experimental clinic in Costa Rica. What ensued was a self-exploration into alternative treatments to treat his condition and a journey delving into the root cause of his mental breakdown. The film uses Ross' personal experiences to tell a larger story about medication. It will reveal how we are labelling more and more people with mental illnesses and how, in tandem, we are prescribing more and more toxic psychotropic drugs to treat these illnesses.
In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy cut a path of devastation across the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States, killing hundreds and causing tens of billions of dollars in damage.
Tells in parallel, the story of two Mexican brothers that want to go back to the United States after being deported for life, and the story of an American woman who lost her house and today believes she can get it back through Trump’s promises. Their journeys take them on road trips to meet with their past and with relatives who they believe can help them achieve their dreams. Immigration has been shown in many ways, but it has never been presented through the lives of Mexicans and Americans who live similar situations due to poverty and lack of family structure. To achieve a dream you first need to know the name of the dream.