In America, everyone has a family story of immigration. Every family, at some point, has had somebody leave their native country behind to search for a better life. How did they hold onto their identity? How did they adapt to their new life? Every family has a special story. In my case, it's my Chinese-American story. My father would always tell us his story about walking for 7 days and 6 nights, before swimming for 4 hours to Macau to escape communism in 1966. His story would fall on my deaf ears until I returned to China with him.
Bahman Mohassess was a celebrated artist at the time of the Shah. Trained in Italy, he created sculptures and paintings in his homeland. But audiences often took offence at the pronounced phalli on his mostly naked bronze figures and his work was regularly censored. All traces of him were lost after the revolution. It was said he destroyed his remaining paintings and disappeared.
In January 2011 Paul Crane discovered a tent city in downtown St. Louis, along the Mississippi River. He was curious as to who these people were, how they ended up there, and what life was like for them each day. He initially thought he would simply go down during the day and capture footage when possible, but he quickly realized that if he wanted to truly capture how these people lived and the full reality of their collective and individual existence, he would have to be there full time and become a part of the place, so he moved in with them.
In January 2016, armed protestors in Oregon occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to call attention to what they felt was an intrusion by the federal government into their right to make a living. In a larger sense, the “patriot community” introduced itself as disgruntled American citizens with grounds for airing their grievances against a federal government that didn’t have their best interests at heart. The federal government begged to differ.
If you want to impress your dining companions in Cyprus, it's not caviar that you order, but ambelopoulia: a tiny songbird. But as this gripping doc reveals, the cost to bring such delicacies to the table is enormous. Bestselling novelist Jonathan Franzen takes a break from the world of fiction to guide us through an all too horrifying reality: tens of millions of protected migratory songbirds are illegally killed every year. Franzen, a longtime bird lover, accompanies young staffers of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter on their expeditions. With police enforcement in Southern Europe practically non-existent, they risk their lives to rescue trapped birds, and confront hostile poachers. It's a topic that proves a cultural flashpoint -- the Cypriot landowners cannot understand why a bunch of Italians can tell them what to do on their land.
On the 30th of June, 1966, in a small country-side town in Japan, four members of the Hashimoto family are stabbed and burnt to death in their family home. The savagery of the crime shakes the country and shortly after, 30-year-old retired boxer Iwao Hakamada is arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Despite a lack of evidence, Hakamada would remain on death row for almost half a century before being granted a retrial in 2014.
Stock car racing is one of America's most popular sports with more than 75 million fans nationwide, and growing. For many racers, the winning values of team, family and faith inspire them on and off the track. Featuring never-before-seen interviews with some of the sport's most popular personalities - including Danica Patrick, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray and Chip Ganassi - Race for Glory is an in-depth look at the sport's road to victory!
Elvis is without a doubt the most beloved, idolized legendary star in history. Through his music, live performances, and his films he brought joy to millions of people around the world. But for all his accomplishments as an entertainer perhaps his greatest legacy was his enormous generosity. Elvis.... A Generous Heart; examines his wonderful legacy of generosity. The list of his generous acts go on and on and on. Through the use of new interviews, new on-location filming, classic footage and photos, Elvis.... A Generous Heart; will be one of the most definitive films ever made about the great generosity and kindness of the King, Elvis Presley.
Relive the dramatic story of one of the greatest songwriters to have ever lived. Experience his transformation from performing in the small clubs of Liverpool to packed stadiums across the globe. Witness the growth of the cheeky mop-topped Liverpudlian as he revolutionizes the peacenik movement, standing as an icon for hope against the war in Vietnam. John Lennon spread his message of Peace and Love through his lyrics, dreaming of a more inclusive society. Look back on the remarkable life of Rock and Roll's greatest visionary, John Lennon, The Dreamer.
This one-of-a-kind documentary narrated by Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley is a profoundly cinematic portrait of the renowned Mongolian Buddhist leader, Khamba Lama Natsagdorj. Faith and science are elegantly reconciled as we're immersed in the Lama's eclectic, relentless humanitarian efforts.
In decades past, Native American artists who wanted to sell to mainstream collectors had little choice but to create predictable, Hollywood-style western scenes. Then came a generation of painters and sculptors led by Allan Houser (or Haozous), a Chiricahua Apache artist with no interest in stereotyped imagery and a belief that his own rich heritage was compatible with modernist ideas and techniques. Narrated by actor Val Kilmer and originally commissioned as part of an exhibit of Houser’s work at the Oklahoma History Center, this program depicts the artist’s tribal ancestry, his rise to regional and national acclaim, and the continuing success of his sons as they expand upon and depart from their father’s achievements. Key works are documented, as is Houser’s tenure at the Santa Fe–based Institute of American Indian Arts.
The months-long battle of Monte Cassino, one of the bloodiest of the second World War, is related by the Germans and Allied troops who fought it. Men of the 1st/4th Essex Battalion and the German paratroop regiment are to the fore here, as they were 60 years ago.
These are true stories told by men who were shot down behind enemy lines and taken prisoner during WWII, their attempts to escape, and their harrowing experiences, perseverance, and determination to survive in the POW camps during the deadliest conflict in human history.
100,000 people have been poisoned by lead, a lifelong affliction, yet somehow this shocking event has been normalized in the US. "Flint: The Poisoning of an American City" gives voice to the current struggle of city residents and follows the environmental history of the river and how the continued abuse and neglect of city infrastructure and environmental regulations have led to the poisoning of a city. Flint explores the critical question of how this could happen in America, and how this event should serve as a warning for the rest of the country. A recent report found that 5,300 American cities were found to be in violation of federal lead rules, and research published in USA Today detected excessive lead in nearly 2,000 public water systems across all 50 states. This documentary educates but also enrages and seeks to radically change how we view and value water.
A professional surf photographer chases down the largest surf ever seen in hopes of capturing a once in a lifetime image. What he receives is much more than that.
A closer look at those who tried to rid the world of Hitler, including many within his organization. The story of the German Resistance is one that is rarely heard, but the bravery of the conspirators, despite their lack of success in stopping Hitler in his tracks, is nothing short of heroic. In 1944, Operation Valkyrie and Colonel Count Claus von Stauffenberg got within striking distance of assassinating the Fuhrer..
The Last Bumblebee is a solution-based documentary featuring interviews with scientists, and environmentalists discussing the importance of bumblebees as pollinators and the various threats they face.