On September 11, 2001, Cantor Fitzgerald became famous for the worst of all possible reasons. 658 of their employees were missing, presumed dead, in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Though Cantor suffered almost twice the casualties of the FDNY, their story was soon pushed aside as the media ambushed Cantor CEO Howard Lutnick, who went from face-of-the-tragedy to pariah within weeks. A true stranger-than-fiction account, unfolding over months and years, the film captures being caught in the crosshairs of history.
100 Days. 100 gritty souls. 100 wild mustangs. That's the premise of the annual Extreme Mustang Makeover, a competition that challenges horse trainers - both pros and amateurs - to each tame a totally wild horse in order to get it adopted into a better life beyond U.S. Government corrals. Intimately following a handful of participants in the 2009 event from their first uneasy meeting with their horses and up through the competition and adoption, the film documents the deep and profound bonds that can develop between man and beast.
Route One is the first major U.S. highway. 5000 km along the Atlantic coast, from the Canadian border to the tip of Florida. Doc, a physician who spent many years in Africa, returns to the U.S. and decides to reconnect with his home country by walking the legendary Route One.
In May of 2011, Neil Young drove a 1956 Crown Victoria from his idyllic hometown of Omemee, Ontario to downtown Toronto's iconic Massey Hall where he intimately performed the last two nights of his solo world tour. Along the drive, Young recounted insightful and introspective stories from his youth to filmmaker Jonathan Demme. Through the tunes and the tales, Demme portrays a personal, retrospective look into the heart and soul of the artist.
After a lifetime of hiding, Chely Wright becomes the first commercial country music singer to come out as gay, shattering cultural stereotypes within Nashville, per conservative heartland family and, most importantly, within herself. With unprecedented access over a two-year period, including her private video diaries, the film layers Chely's rise to fame while hiding in the late 90's with the execution of her coming out plan, culminating in the exciting moment when she steps into the media glare to reveal she is gay. The film shows both the devastation of internalized homophobia and the transformational power of living an authentic life. The film also documents the conflicting responses from Nashville, the heartland and the LGBT community as Chely Wright prepares for an unknown future.
Every spring, Hollywood hosts a very species-specific migration: kids. Thousands of aspiring child actors flock to Tinseltown for pilot season, the traditional casting period for new network and cable television shows. But unlike adult actors who pound the same star-lined pavement, kids come with their families. Many set up camp at the Oakwood, a temporary housing complex that caters to the showbiz flock.
I AIN'T SCARED OF YOU is a documentary tribute to Bernie Mac (1957-2008). From his stand-up in underground Chicago comedy clubs to the Big Screen in Hollywood, Bernie Mac's sharp tongue and heart of gold resonated with millions of fans throughout his career.This film revisits much of his work through exclusive recordings of early stand-up, featured scenes from his film and TV appearances, and interviews with his co-stars, including Samuel L. Jackson, Cameron Diaz, Chris Rock, and many more. Testimonials from friends and family offer colorful anecdotes about Bernie Mac, from his practical jokes to his strong appreciation for manicures, and paint a vivid picture of who he was as an actor-comedian, husband, father, and friend.
Follows the globe-trotting journey of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, the lowest-lying country in the world, who, after bringing democracy to his country, takes up the fight to keep it from disappearing under the sea.
The Rolling Stones' record-breaking 1981 North American arena tour documented by director Hal Ashby. Featuring the biggest Rolling Stones songs from the first 20 years - in the words of Mick Jagger, "a feel of what it's like to be there", as 20 cameras take you onstage with the band in this groundbreaking, dynamic tour.
On a quest for emotional healing and spiritual awakening, a naturopathic doctor and an accountant join others in the Peruvian Amazon to drink a psychedelic brew called ayahuasca.
Filmmaker Christopher Browne documents the mission of a group of middle-aged bowlers as they attempt to revitalize the sport and get the television-watching public interested in it again.
From Lord Have Mercy to A Pimp Named Slickback, original comedy freak Katt Williams has made his mark inhabiting a hustler's gallery of fast-and-loose personae. This real-deal documentary tracks the actor's rise from young stand-up to BET staple. Along with never-seen footage from early stand-up performances and backstage glimpses of Williams at work, the film includes interviews with Jeremy Piven, Damon Wayans, Snoop Dogg and Kathy Griffin.
From neighborhood ciphers to the most notorious MC battles, "Freestyle: the Art of Rhyme" captures the electrifying energy of improvisational hip-hop--the rarely recorded art form of rhyming spontaneously. Like preachers and jazz solos, freestyles exist only in the moment, a modern-day incarnation of the African-American storytelling tradition. Shot over a period of more than seven years, it is already an underground cult film in the hip-hop world. The film systematically debunks the false image put out by record companies that hip-hop culture is violent or money-obsessed. Instead, it lets real hip-hop artists, known and unknown, weave their story out of a passionate mix of language, politics, and spirituality.
As always, Carvey never crosses the line into mean-spiritedness, but easily glides in and out of every impression & expression, reminding us of the huge talent we came to know and love before he left the scene due to his heart condition. It's a bittersweet irony that Dana Carvey is one comic who is ALL heart...
The Guinness World of Records contains the most bizarre human achievements imaginable. But who are the crazy people behind the feats? From the grape catchers, to the hula hoopers and the ‘jogglers’, this humorous, but strikingly insightful documentary introduces us to the colourful characters who devote their lives to the oddest frontiers of human excellence. A delightfully eccentric human odyssey that is not to be missed.
The story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the burning questions: Who am I? Who is Man? Why do we search for meaning? Their journey brings them into the middle of the lives of the homeless on the streets of New York City, the orphans and disabled children of Peru, and the abandoned lepers in the forests of Ghana, Africa. What the young men discover changes them forever. Through one on one interviews and real life encounters, the brothers are awakened to the beauty of the human person and the resilience of the human spirit.