Kerby Brown made headlines in 2008 when he surfed a 40-foot wave: The ride of a lifetime. He's been chasing that thrill ever since. Facing Monsters follows Kerby and his brother Cortney into the furious power of the ocean
Tara Emory is a pioneering erotic photographer who has been active online since the early 2000s. This documentary paints a portray of her at a time when, absorbed by her epic sci-fic trans pornography project, she has to juggle being evicted from her studio, Le Wonderland, her personal and family struggles with compulsive hoarding and her hectic lifestyle. Between the gargantuan sets in her studio, the complicated dilemmas she must face, and the robots spurting a mixture of Mentos and Sprite, this first feature by Laurence Turcotte-Fraser deftly interweaves elements of her inner and outer life to introduce us to an unconventional artist with a wide variety of different interests. The End of Wonderland gives a voice to one those oft-forgotten exhilarating personalities by sensitively exploring Tara Emory’s day-to-day life. (Programming Collective)
Declining participation leads two Milwaukee area high schools—one black and urban, the other white and suburban—to combine their football programs. Tensions rise as the disparities between the two schools become increasingly apparent over the course of the season. At the center of the drama, the teenage athletes attempt to make sense of their adolescence in the face of the racial fissures in their community.
Tourists flock to the west coast of Ireland to take in the breathtaking cliffs of Moher, but the real treasure lies in the soulful, acoustic sounds wafting out of pubs and living rooms of Doolin, County Clare. The denizens of this unspoiled coastal village of tight-knit neighbors and unlocked doors revel in the passion and history of their traditional folk songs, using music as a thread through generations to create community, connection and joy.
Don’t let the 8- to 12- year- old age range fool you: Color Killer, a head-banging punk group, can bring the noise! But can they overcome in-fighting and jealousies to ace their biggest live performance ever? SNL’s Chris Parnell “counsels” their supportive, roadie/manager parents as the film follows the band during the weeks leading up to The Warped Tour concert in this upbeat, hard-rocking doc that will delight families and music lovers alike.
The Art of Making It explores the art-world ecosystem through the prism of young artists at pivotal moments in their careers, revealing the secret sauce that thrusts some into the stratosphere and leaves others struggling to survive. Why does it matter who we anoint to tell the stories of our time? Including the voices of luminaries and disruptors, the film leaves one to question whether the new world order will make art more accessible for all.
Why are healthcare costs so high in the United States? Part of the problem lies with the business of hospitals, even those running as nonprofits. InHospitable follows patients and activists as they band together to fight a multi-billion dollar nonprofit hospital system in Pittsburgh that limits vital care for vulnerable patients. Filmmaker Sandra Alvarez explores the perspectives of patients, hospital workers, advocates, and politicians to shed light on an overlooked fight for justice.
This coming-of-age story focuses on Kyle Westphal, an isolated autistic boy who’s fascinated by fabric and emerges from an experimental autism treatment program to become a fashion designer. Westphal’s family looks back on twenty years of his development with candor and humor. The film combines observational footage, archival material, and animation to chronicle how a passion for fashion transformed Kyle and his family.
Explores the role of the MTA in New York City and the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on the vital service it provides: transporting New York’s essential workers. The film acknowledges the decline of the subway infrastructure as a political issue and captures a tumultuous time that impacted every city in America. This film poses the question: what happens when the lifeline of a city goes flat?
When a young woman turns to the camera for refuge, she ends up with a firsthand account of what will become the deadliest man-made epidemic in United States history.
In Clarkston, a small town in Georgia, a successful Kurdish doctor and a Muslim-hating white supremacist form an unlikely friendship. Against the backdrop of an exceptionally racially- diverse community, themes of xenophobia, Islamophobia, and forgiveness play out in an intimate and accessible way. Directors Din Blankenship and Erin Bernhard put the focus on understanding, resulting in a moving film with a lot of heart that moves the conversation on racial divisions towards healing.
Born in Dallas to undocumented Mexican immigrants, Trinidad Lopez III fought his way out of the ghetto with a guitar to become one of the first Latino rock stars.
30 female soccer players from 24 different countries summit Mount Kilimanjaro and descend to the Dead Sea, to play the highest and lowest soccer games ever played.
In the Bones is a lyrical documentary that explores the personal and political by interweaving the lives of 12 characters living in Mississippi during a legislative session in which equal pay for equal work and abortion rights are being decided. Although set in three distinct regions of Mississippi, In the Bones is a much broader exploration of our culture, an unsettling portrait of America that shines a light on the weight women live under in this country and also the resilience expressed in everyday acts of survival.
The Path: Evolution is the third film of The Path Series trilogy and explores the theory that human beings are living in a virtual reality system similar to the rules of an assimilated video game. The filmmakers follow former NASA nuclear physicist, Thomas Campbell, as he shares his knowledge and the results of his research of consciousness, physics, metaphysics and morality to explain mind and matter, normal and paranormal, life, death, and purpose, with all of this logically flowing from the concept of reality as information. The Path: Evolution will undoubtedly challenge the viewer's current belief systems and leave a lasting impression on human beings to re-evaluate how they are behaving, treating others, and existing in the world.
With many Covid-19 patients battling for their lives, a hospital faces its toughest challenge ever. Exclusive frontline access reveals the staff and patients' resilience in the face of this new enemy.
Shelley is a timid elderly lady who is competing in the Miss Senior USA pageant. Immersion in an extravagant world that also touches on the universal need for visibility, beauty and being included.
This Is Not About Me tells the story of Jordyn Zimmerman. Jordyn dreamt of becoming a teacher. She started out eager to learn at school, but she was soon separated from the other children. Unable to communicate, teachers thought she was also unable to understand or learn. Year after year, her behavior worsened. She was restrained and placed in seclusion. Jordyn found herself caught in a system that unintentionally turned her life into a living nightmare. Finally, at the age of 18, with the help of educators who see her differently, she manages to turn her fate and flourish.