Battle of the Queen is a film from and about rural Europe, capturing a timeless cultural event: a series of head-to-head fights of cows set in the valley in sunny Southern Switzerland, nestled amongst the Alps. The fights are sudden snorting seesaws, explosions of mass and muscle, archaic and wild spectacles. We follow three concurrent story lines: an anxious farmer with his beloved contender, a neurotic unemployed reporter from Zurich coming to find a story, and a gang of adolescent boys on mopeds trying to catch a pretty girl's eye. The festival is a balancing act between fascinating tradition and modernity. This black and white film serves as both an exciting visual treat and a long overdue documentation of a fascinating Swiss tradition.
From PBS - Italy's Mystery Mountains explores the fascinating geologic story of Italy, the land known for its fabulous art, fantastic food, opera, the dolce vita, and so much more. What's less known about Italy is the diversity and turbulence of the geology behind all of this abundance: the continuously erupting volcanoes, the violent earthquakes, the clash of mighty tectonic plates, and the rising of the mountains from which Michelangelo sourced his famous marbles.
Jarrett Martin had more jumps before his 18th than most skydivers do in a lifetime. Then he got really serious - BASE jumping & speed flying. One day, the summer after high school, his parachute failed to open. What happened next will blow you away...
From the Civil Rights era to Watergate, the most striking moments in 20th-century American history were accompanied by music that reflected those turbulent times. Revisit the sounds of Pete Seeger and others in this musical history lesson.
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen, more fondly know as "The Boss" by his millions of fans, is widely regarded as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century and one of the greatest artists of all time. This is his remarkable story.
The story of Wings of Steel is part legend and part myth. The first ascent team spent 39 days climbing the controversial route. The result - death threats, physical assaults and a slander campaign that polarized the climbing community for over 30 years.
Touted as a symbol of modernity and democracy, Benazir Bhutto became synonymous with corruption and bad governance. In this unique film, Bhutto speaks frankly about the paradoxes of her life. Mixing private archive with insights from friends and family, this is the definitive documentary on the Bhutto dynasty.
Uprising is all action film with intense sequences of airs, carves and new maneuvers on the made for ripping walls of Lower Trestles. An epic battle from the best surfers in the world in a one hundred percent free surfing bananza. This is the hottest freshest action to date. Bonus features include huge Wedge from hurricane Marie and State of The Art surfing by the best woman surfers in the world. All set to epic music by Cruzmatik.
Through interviews, archival footage, photos and classic tunes, learn about the remarkable career and troubled life of legendary jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, who influenced countless musicians before alcoholism lead to his premature death. Close friends and associates such as Hoagy Carmichael, Charlie David and Louis Armstrong share their memories of Bix's abilities, playing style and personality.
With the scorching heat of summer still beating down upon us we’d like to help you rise above it with our latest cold blast of digital winter. We are more than proud to reveal our latest backcountry ski film. Behold ELEVATION! The allure of heading off into the unknown is a major part of what we love about the backcountry. Garrett Grove snapped this shot while on expedition in the Ruth Amphitheater, AK. Right then and there we knew it would be the perfect image to represent our human powered exploration into the cold crisp winter mountains.
Derek and Giorgia, a young couple of biologists, settles in the hostile Tierra del Fuego to study and combat the devastating beaver plague that destructs the area. This violent mission is a unique scenario for their love story.
It's college basketball's ultimate rivalry: The Louisville Cardinals vs. the Kentucky Wildcats. This documentary weaves current events, including the schools trading national championships in 2012 and 2013, with the intriguing history of the matchup.
Renowned author Philip Pullman discusses his popular His Dark Materials trilogy -- which consists of the novels The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass -- along with his other literary works in this absorbing program. Pullman's trilogy has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Interviews with critic and author Nick Tucker and the Bishop of Oxford shed additional light on Pullman's creative accomplishments.
Dive into the life of the father of the nuclear Navy: Hyman Rickover. Combative, provocative, and blunt, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover was a flamboyant maverick and a unique American hero. When few thought it possible, then-Captain Rickover harnessed the power of the atom to drive the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, whose trip under the polar ice pack was one of the great adventure stories of the 1950s. Later, Rickover built the world's first nuclear aircraft carrier and the first commercial nuclear power plant at Shippingport, PA. Rickover's achievements made him into a national celebrity, and he appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Many wonder whether America can maintain its technological pre-eminence and whether we can still build and manage large-scale projects. To understand these issues, Rickover considers the story of the man who created the nuclear Navy as well as the civilian nuclear power industry: Hyman G. Rickover.
Miss Hill: Making Dance Matter tells the inspiring and largely unknown story of a woman whose life was defined by her love for dance. Martha Hill emerges as dance's secret weapon, someone who fought against great odds to establish dance as a legitimate art form in America. Through archival footage, lively interviews with friends and intimates, and rare footage of the spirited subject, the film explores Hills's arduous path from a Bible Belt childhood in Ohio to the halls of academe at NYU and Bennington College to a position of power and influence as Juilliard's founding director of dance (1952-1985). Peppered with anecdotal material delivered by dance notables who knew her, this revelatory story depicts her struggles and successes, including the battle royal that accompanied her move to the Lincoln Center campus.
On March 6, 1836 the 13-day siege of the Alamo ended. Among the dead were three men destined to become martyrs and heroes: David Crockett, James Bowie and William B. Travis. Though considered a "small affair" at the time by victorious Mexican commander, General Santa Anna, the Alamo would take its place in history as a key battle of the Texas Revolution. Cries of Remember the Alamo! would eventually fuel an American victory over Mexico.
The Outer Edges is a unique feature length film collaboration between Karl Hyde (Underworld, Tomato) and director Kieran Evans (Finisterre, Kelly + Victor). Keeping London at arms length at all times, the film charts a course along the capital's invisible edges from North Essex to the river Thames. En route, the film celebrates a vibrant untold history as well as the dramatic locations and endearing attitudes of the people living and working along the same unmapped boundaries that Hyde crossed each day to record 'Edgeland', his first solo album.
For centuries the telling of ghost stories has been a much-loved English tradition, and it's not only phantom specters that delight a susceptible audience. Witches, both good and evil have also been included in such terrifying tales for as long as anyone can remember. "Ghosts and Witches of Olde England" is a remarkable journey, touring around the country to explore some of the best examples of fright inducing folklore ever related.
In The Fortune Wild, a new Sitka Films production directed by Ben Gulliver with support from Pacific Wild, a small group of surfers set out to seek their own kind of riches on some of the most remote beaches of the Canadian coast.