'Pleasures' profiles legendary jazz critic and civil libertarian Nat Hentoff, whose pioneering career tracks the greatest cultural and political movements of the last 65 years. The film is about an idea as well as a man - the idea of free expression as the defining characteristic of the individual. Hentoff is a pioneering journalist who raised jazz as an art form and was present at the creation of 'alternative' journalism. 'Pleasures' wraps the themes of liberty and identity around a historical narrative that stretches from the Great Depression to the Patriot Act. With a mix of interviews, archival footage and music, it employs a complex non-linear structure to engage the audience in a life of independent ideas and the creation of an enduring voice.
'Survival Prayer' explores the power of food, nature and culture. On a remote archipelago in Western Canada, an uncommon abundance of wildlife has sustained the Haida people for countless generations. Here, a last speaker frames a moving portrait of these sacred food systems at risk. Rich with spectacular scenery of the North Pacific coastline and detailed views of wild food gathering and preservation, 'Survival Prayer' is a story of possibility amid deep loss.
When a Republican Governor's bill threatens to wipe away worker rights and lock out public debate, six (extra)ordinary citizens force their way into the Wisconsin State Capitol, joining thousands of protesters who spend the next twenty-six days launching a popular uprising that not only challenges the bill, but the soul of a nation.
This new documentary focuses on the moving, unforgettable stories of Nagasaki and Fukushima survivors. Their stories are interlaced with expert commentary illuminating the largely unknown connection between nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants.
In 'What's the Matter with Kansas?' a politically active Kansas megachurch splinters, moves to an amusement park, and when that fails, a Best Western motel. Meanwhile, an idealistic farmer revives Kansas' progressive tradition, taking his message all the way to Washington, D.C.
What if your most controversial act turned out to be the most traditional thing in the world? Daddy & Papa explores the growing phenomenon of gay fatherhood and its impact on American culture. Through the stories of four different families, Daddy & Papa delves into some of the particular challenges facing gay men who decide to become dads. From surrogacy and interracial adoption, to the complexities of gay divorce, to the battle for full legal status as parents, Daddy & Papa presents a revealing look at some of the gay fathers who are breaking new ground in the ever-changing landscape of the American family.
An impressionist feature-length documentary film, Googoosh: Iran's Daughter, aims to locate the "silenced" legendary Iranian pop singer/actress in the midst of Iran's social, political, and cultural transformation.
Ladakh, or Little Tibet, is a wildly beautiful desert land high in the western Himalayas. It is a place of few resources and an extreme climate. Yet, for more than a thousand years, it has been home to a thriving culture. Traditions of frugality and co-operation, coupled with an intimate and location-specific knowledge of the environment, enabled the Ladakhis not only to survive, but to prosper. Then came development. Now in Leh, the capital, one finds pollution and divisiveness, inflation and unemployment, intolerance and greed. Centuries of ecological balance and social harmony are under threat from modernisation. The breakdown of Ladakh's culture and environment forces us to re-examine what we really mean by progress - not only in the developing parts of the world, but in the industrialized world as well. The story of Ladakh teaches us about the root causes of environmental, social and psychological problems, and provides valuable guidelines for our own future.
A curated program featuring some of the best surf films from around the world, showcasing a variety of surfing. Includes: TO BE FRANK, a short exploring the authentic and positive spirit of 73-year-old Frank Paine, a legend in the Hermosa Beach surf scene… CHASING THE UNICORN, a 34-minute film tracing surfing history in post-war Mozambique, centered on the search for a mythical wave known as the African Kirra.
In the municipality of Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, there is a secondary school that is the target of stray bullets due to frequent clashes between organized crime groups in the vicinity of the campus. A meeting of teachers reveals a decline in student enrollment due to this situation, which could lead to the school's closure. Based on observations of daily life at the school and various interviews, a complex reality emerges involving art, education, and insecurity in Mexico.
This portrait of Vladimir Kagan-noted furniture designer, sculptor, and writer-documents his creative process, from initial drawings and design ideas through the creation of the Gigi and Gabriella chairs. His long career and continued inventiveness had a seminal influence on Twentieth Century design.
Archival photographs help reconstruct the life of white buffalo hunters, and the Aboriginal labour that supported them, in the remote wetlands of the NT in the 1930s. Former hunter Tom Cole visits hunting camps and discusses the trade.
Scientists and Leading Industrial Experts explore the benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence—a rapidly evolving form of technology that seems poised to change the world.
Retail is a 2500-year-old tradition in India with 95% of the trade being run by small entrepreneurs. But the retail scene in India is undergoing a rapid change. Malls are sprouting like mushrooms between huts and tenements. Everyone wants a piece of the pie. Mallamall is a visual and sensory portrayal of the burgeoning industry through the stories of people whose lives depend on retail.
The inhuman brutality and bloodshed that was endemic at Dachau - Nazi Germany's first concentration camp - did not come to an end with its 1945 liberation, for this dread place proved capable of triggering a spate of vengeful retaliation not only by its half-crazed prisoners, but their rescuers. Chapels of various faiths, memorials and sculptures now mark the camp's sites of execution and torture.
Bums' Paradise depicts the lives of the men and women who lived in the ten-year-old Albany Landfill community prior to their eviction. It follows them through the eviction and documents them one month after the eviction. The film emphasizes their concepts of community as well as the amazing art that they created. Instead of being a documentary about homelessness, Bums' Paradise considers the question: What if the homeless -- the indigent, the bums -- told their own stories?
Based on the popular book of the same name, the film begins with author Brian Zahnd some 350 miles into his 500-mile pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. He walks “the Camino” in spiritual pilgrimage as preparation for the mental mayhem of the polarized political climate in America. It’s against the backdrop of the elections that Zahnd exposes how the church in America has succumbed to the seduction of empire and has entangled Christianity with the Red, White, and Blue.