Take Me to the River is a film about the soul of American music. The film follows the recording of a new album featuring legends from Stax records and Memphis mentoring and passing on their musical magic to stars and artists of today.
25 years ago, Louis Sarno, an American, heard a song on the radio and followed its melody into the Central Africa Jungle and stayed. He than recorded over 1000 hours of original BaAka music. Now he is part of the BaAka community and raises his pygmy son, Samedi. Fulfilling an old promise, Louis takes Samedi to America. On this journey Louis realizes he is not part of this globalized world anymore but globalization has also arrived in the rainforest. The BaAka depend on Louis for their survival. Father and son return to the melodies of the jungle but the question remains: How much longer will the songs of the forest be heard?
Two eccentric scientists struggle to create eternal youth in a world they call “blind to the tragedy of old age.” As they battle their own aging and suffer the losses of loved ones, their scientific journeys ultimately become personal.
Riveting look at the politics, big business and the medical industry that has made America the most prescription-addicted society in the world. America is less than 5% of the World's population but consumes 80% of the World's prescription narcotics. We have gone from being the land of the free to the land of the addicted.
Grazing the Sky is a compelling look at the lives of trapeze artists and other circus performers. The film was shot for over two years covering 11 countries, including the Americas, Europe and the Near East. It follows the nomadic lives of circus performers. The audience follows 10 protagonists as they try to reach perfection and meet their lofty goals. The documentary sheds light on the contemporary circus world, and focuses on performers who devote themselves to the greatest show on earth.
The New Black is a documentary that tells the story of how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight over civil rights. The film documents activists, families and clergy on both sides of the campaign to legalize gay marriage and examines homophobia in the black community's institutional pillar-the black church and reveals the Christian right wing's strategy of exploiting this phenomenon in order to pursue an anti-gay political agenda. The New Black takes viewers into the pews and onto the streets and provides a seat at the kitchen table as it tells the story of the historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland and charts the evolution of this divisive issue within the black community.
How does a poor, single, African-American mother from segregated 1950s America wind up as one of the worlds most notorious jewel thieves? A glamorous 81-year-old, Doris Payne is as unapologetic today about the nearly $2 million in jewels shes stolen over a 60-year career as she was the day she stole her first carat. With Payne now on trial for the theft of a department store diamond ring, filmmakers Kirk Marcolina and Matthew Pond probe beneath her consummate smile to uncover the secrets of her trade and what drove her to a life of crime. Stylish recreations, an extensive archive and candid interviews reveal how Payne managed to jet-set her way into any Cartier or Tiffanys from Monte Carlo to Japan and walk out with small fortunes. This sensational portrait exposes a rebel who defies societys prejudices and pinches her own version of the American Dream while she steals your heart.
Saul Leiter could have been lauded as the great the pioneer of color photography, but was never driven by the lure of success. Instead he preferred to drink coffee and photograph in his own way, amassing an archive of beautiful work that is now piled high in his New York apartment. An intimate and personal film, In No Great Hurry follows Saul as he deals with the triple burden of clearing an apartment full of memories, becoming world famous in his 80s and fending off a pesky filmmaker.
In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition headed for the South Pole and disaster. Shackleton's Captain reveals the truth behind the spectacular survival of all the crew and shows how one man's extraordinary skill and unsung heroism made it possible: Frank Worsley, Captain of the expedition ship, Endurance.
The death of John Kennedy is viewed through another angle in this conspiracy-themed film defending the theory that George Herbert Walker Bush was a key player in all aspects of the assassination of American president John F. Kennedy.
An up-close and very personal journey into the transgender world through the memorable stories and the unusual lives of a remarkable cast of characters.
Following a group of climbers attempting to climb K2 in 2009, on the 100-year anniversary of its landmark 1909 expedition. Experience the adventure, peril and serenity of a group's attempt to climb the most challenging peak on earth.
At age 73, writer and melancholy master of the bon mot, Quentin Crisp (1908-1999), became an Englishman in New York. Nossiter's camera follows Crisp about the streets of Manhattan, where Crisp seems very much at home, wearing eye shadow, appearing on a makeshift stage, making and repeating wry observations, talking to John Hurt (who played Crisp in the autobiographical TV movie, "The Naked Civil Servant"), and dining with friends. Others who know Crisp comment on him, on his life as an openly gay man with an effeminate manner, and on his place in the history of gays' social struggle. The portrait that emerges is of one wit and of suffering.
"¡Cuatro!" is a unique, raw and unprecedented look inside the world of the multi platinum rock band Green Day. From the band’s home studio in Oakland CA, to various intimate live performances in New York City, Austin TX, Newport Beach and Los Angeles, the film chronicles the band's year and a half long journey writing and recording their recent musical trilogy.
Bayou Maharajah explores the life and music of New Orleans piano legend James Booker, the man Dr. John described as "the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced." A brilliant pianist, his eccentricities and showmanship belied a life of struggle, prejudice, and isolation. Illustrated with never-before-seen concert footage, rare personal photos and exclusive interviews, the film paints a portrait of this overlooked genius.
Higher traces Jones’ snowboarding journey from hiking Cape Cod’s Jailhouse Hill as a child to accumulating several generations’ worth of wisdom and expertise about thriving and surviving in the winter wilderness.
Stations of the Elevated exposes viewers to an underground art scene- that is, one found exclusively on the sides of subways and train cars. A moving portrait of late-70's NYC, the film boasts a soundtrack by jazz legends Charles Mingus & Aretha Franklin.
Modern British dairy farms must get bigger and bigger or go under but Farmer Stephen Hook decides to buck the trend. Instead he chooses to have a great relationship with his small herd of cows and ignore the big supermarkets and dairies. The result is a laugh-out-loud emotional roller-coaster of a film, a heart warming tearjerker about the incredible bonds between man, animal and countryside in a fast disappearing England.
Explores the music scene in Greenwich Village, New York in the '60s and early '70s. The film highlights some of the finest singer/songwriters of the day.