Can one be happy despite being gravely ill? Nick Difino, a food performer, posed this question to himself. After being diagnosed with a Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, his disease became a challenge to find his own "recipe for happiness". His story - mainly narrated using his video diaries - is alternated with the voices of seven acclaimed Chefs and artists - among which Simone Salvini, Roy Paci, Diego Rossi and others - who portray Nick's struggle, since cooking for him during the treatment has got them closely involved. While preparing the meals they ponder over subjects as disease, happiness, love for life, death and - of course - the role of Food.
A married couple cling to prayers for answers during a series of hardships: the news of the husband's 4th degree stomach cancer on the day the wife gives birth to a daughter; the sudden death of her mother; and the news of the wife's 4th cancer a week after the end of the husband's chemo treatment.
A year in the life of abstract artist Sean Scully, one of the world’s richest painters. Little known at home but a superstar abroad, Sean flies around the world to open 15 major museum exhibitions - a journey that also reveals his extraordinary life story. Now, at the age of 73, Scully opens up about his unique experiences spanning 55 years in an often hostile art world - how he built a reputation from nothing, having grown up penniless on the streets of Dublin and London, often homeless as a child and running with street gangs as a teenager, to turn his striped paintings into the huge success they are today.
Cobby's Hobbies was a 1960's children's TV program featuring a chimpanzee getting hmself into all sorts of mischief. For filmmaker Donna McRae, the show was a crucial part of getting through a lonely childhood. McRae seeks people that made the show, Cobby's zoo friends, zoo keepers and the animal rights activists that help her piece together the story of an animal stolen from his natural habitat to work on TV before, being retired into the San Francisco Zoo at age 7. Most primates chimps in entertainment suffered horrifically, becoming research animals or caged in roadside zoos. This documentary examines how we perceive animals in entertainment and how we address their plight now.
An entrepreneur sets out to reinvent school food — to challenge the way Boston's public school students eat lunch. Over a yearlong journey, she wrangles with bureaucracy, unwieldy regulations and a team of stalwart lunch ladies, to navigate a path to replace plastic-wrapped vended meals with fresh, healthy food cooked from scratch that changes the way kids both eat and learn.
It seems that Canada don't want to hear about their heroes of the two World Wars, especially in Quebec. In English, La Guerre oubliée means The Forgotten War. Here, we talk about the 1914-18 big thing. This documentary doesn't use old footage, but actors to show us some parts of that war in Quebec. Joe Bocan sings some songs of that period and makes the narrations. There's also some rare veterans of the war who talk.
En route to an international competition, Closing The Gap follows the North Korean men's hockey team as they strive to bring home gold for Marshal Kim Jong Un. While their commitment and dedication to their training is unmatched, they're hard pressed to catch a break. Whether it be the UN sanctions on North Korea, or the flurry of injuries and rumours that plague the DPRK team, this film is a window into the lives of a group of underdog athletes.
Reinhold Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer remains one of the most quoted writings in American literature. Yet Niebuhr's impact was far greater, as presidents and civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. often turned to Niebuhr's writings for guidance and inspiration on the most volatile political and social issues of the 20th century. Niebuhr rose from a small Midwest church pulpit to become the nation's moral voice - an American conscience -during some of the most defining moments in American history.
Karen Marshall’s body, mind, and heart do not belong to her alone. She shares them with Rosalee, a smart and perky teenager; Timee, a flamboyant, puerile youth, who wears women’s clothing; an old lady, a habitué of museums; and a dozen of others. Karen’s official diagnosis is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Through personal stories, “Busy Inside” delves deeply into DID — a condition that fascinates and puzzles modern psychiatry.
Through verité documentary footage, humorous storytelling, interviews and archival film material, Leonard Soloway's Broadway captures a Broadway few ever see as told through the eyes of a legendary Broadway producer you've probably never heard of. He lived an unconventional life on his own terms who, over a 70-year span, staged over 100 shows (and counting) which generated history making headlines, over 40 Tony Awards, 62 Tony Nominations, 21 Drama Desk Awards, 29 Drama Desk nominations and 3 Pulitzer Prizes in addition to launching the careers of famous stars known the world over.
Iceland has been ranked first in gender equality by the U.N. nine years in a row and was the first country in the world to democratically elect a female president. Tag along with world champion snowboarders Anne-Flore Marxer and Aline Bock as they explore the unique surf, snow, and sky of Iceland, and enjoy inspiring conversations with the women they meet along the way.
Sister filmmakers Julie Simone and Vicki Vlasic return to their Appalachian roots to film at the world's oldest Fiddler's Convention. With multiple generations jamming together, Fiddlin' is a love-letter to American roots and the uplifting power of music.
Few bands have been able to dominate the industry in the same way as ABBA. Bursting onto the scene at the 1974 Eurovision song contest, ABBA took the world by storm, going on to sell over 300 million albums and singles and gave birth to the billion-dollar franchise, Mamma Mia.But their fame didn’t come without pain.Behind their lyrics were honest signs of true heartbreak. Since announcing their break in 1982, ABBA have continued to welcome new fans, generation after generation. Follow their journey to celebrity stardom, through archival interviews and performances from ABBA, with added inside knowledge from leading industry professionals.
The largest black community in the country started as a safe haven for escaped slaves but has more recently been labelled as one of the biggest hubs of pimping and human trafficking in the nation. "This Is North Preston" illustrates how the town of 4,000 has dealt with generations of pimp culture, economic struggle, limited government resources, violence, and constant systemic racism. Artist "Just Chase" paints a picture of his life in crime and the events that made him get out out of the street life to chase his musical dreams. "This is North Preston" gains insight from respected community members, pimps, politicians, police and trafficking victims, all while pushing hope and a brighter future.
"The Atheist Experience," produced in Austin, Texas, is the only atheist TV show in the United States. Every Sunday afternoon, two atheists debate callers for one hour, on camera. ATHEIST AMERICA portrays the show, its protagonists, and the discussions between the hosts and callers. The debates between believers and skeptics are funny, touching and shocking in turn, and they're interspersed with footage of the very public religious displays common in the state of Texas. The film is an intimate, concentrated, and entertaining insight into the culture wars, and is sure to provoke inspiration as well as frustration, no matter which side of the divide you fall on.
Follows seven individuals over one year, documenting their daily challenges with Trichotillomania, as they each determine how their hair pulling defines them.