Southeast Asia Cinema - When the rooster crows is a voice of diversity reaching for change. Brillante Mendoza, Eric Khoo, Garin Nugroho, Pen Ek Ratanaruang give voice to a region rich with traditions, ethnic groups, languages, politics, and religions. It is cinema, at its purest form, fighting for freedom of expression, documenting real lives of ordinary people, giving voice to the underdogs and the outcasts. The amalgamation of these aspects gives birth to an ultra-neo-realistic cinema language currently unique to films from this region.
Blonde, beautiful and talented, Marion Davies was the first and funniest screwball comedienne. As star of two of the best comedies ever made, Show People and The Patsy, she combined zany slapstick and exuberant mimicry. Glamorous, witty and kind, both on screen and off, Davies was also famous for her 35-year-long love affair with William Randolph Hearst.
Twenty-five years after Roseanne Barr’s groundbreaking number-one sitcom, Roseanne for President tells the tale of her 2012 grassroots campaign for President of the United States. While Roseanne may have revolutionized the way Americans talked about family, class, race, gender, and gay rights, this campaign trail adventure is a personal account of Roseanne’s thoughts on these subjects—and others, as we have never heard them before. What seems at first like a political profile quickly becomes a humorous and sentimental picture of an icon. This surprising journey uncovers raw and revealing moments from Roseanne’s private world, while juxtaposing her current influence as a politician with her role as a comedy leader in the '90s.
Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant looms just 35 miles from Times Square. With over 50 million people living in close proximity to the aging facility, its continued operation has generated controversy for the surrounding community. In the brewing fight for clean energy and the catastrophic possibilities of complacency, director Ivy Meeropol weaves a startling portrait of our uncertain nuclear future.
Skydancers explores the developing world of women in Aerobatics. It presents some of the world's best female pilots during The 27th World Aerobatics Championships (WAC), Texas.
The Family Farm explores the farm to table process through the lens of Canadian small farmers and identifies the systematic barriers they face in running a profitable farm. In its journey across the country, the film blends extraordinary shots of the Canadian farm landscape with discussions of the challenges and setbacks small farmers endure, as well as the turning points and breakthroughs that have allowed them to achieve success. As these intimate accounts are shared, traditional images of family farmers are redefined as we grow to see these individuals not only as farmers, but as teachers, botanists, and mechanics who open our eyes to the issues that continue to threaten small farmers as well as the importance of buying local and organic foods.
In conversation, in her Paris apartment, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, mime, dancer, novelist, wonders whether she should give the green light to a proposed film about the houses in which she lived. “I’m no longer photogenic,” she insists; nearly 80, marriages, affair with a stepson and intermittent lesbianism behind her, refusing now even to mention the arthritis that confines and assaults her, Colette is vivacious. Yannick Bellon’s captivating postmodernist film, as much a study of evanescence as any poem by Dickinson, segues into the film that Colette, a few years before her end, has just said she doesn’t want to do. Giving voice(over) to her own commentary, she goes back, first, to the home in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, Yonne, where she was born.
From the Pacific Northwest to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, this is the inspiring true story of four tenacious men who risk everything to conquer the world records of motorcycle land speed racing. Their extraordinary journey will remind you how perseverance against all odds can send the most unlikely men roaring into glory.
The Bridgewater Triangle sits within Southeastern Massachusetts, and includes a number of locations known for unexplained occurrences; the most prominent of which include the legendary Hockomock Swamp and the infamous Freetown-Fall River State Forest. The triangle's traditional boarders are revealed by connecting the dots between Abington to the North, Freetown to the Southeast, and Rehoboth to the Southwest. The region hosts an unusually high volume of reports involving strange occurrences, unexplained mysteries and sinister activities. From ghostly hauntings and cryptic animal sightings to UFO encounters and evidence of satanic ritual sacrifice, the Bridgewater Triangle serves as one of the world's most diverse hotspots for paranormal activity. The first-ever feature-length documentary on the subject, The Bridgewater Triangle explores the history of this fascinating region.
Real life married couple build a narrative surrounding the year they were married, asking "Does your relationship need to change for marriage and can marriage change for your relationship?" Features candid conversation on love, sex and wedding planning.
The true story of the Wayana people, French Indians of Amazonia who are cursed by living in a region rich in gold. Consequently, the uncontrolled exploitation of this wealth has brought about a severe deterioration of the forest's ecosystem, the irreversible pollution of streams, as well as countless violations of fundamental human rights. This film not only shows the despair of the Amerindians but also their awareness of the problem and how they are trying to cope with their survival. A documentary which gives a human face to a contemporary tragedy which concerns all of us.
This short documentary follows 81 year old Joe Leisner, owner of Comic Book Heaven in Sunnyside, Queens, NY as he cantankerously assesses the status of his business, the comic book industry, and his future.
Made in Japan is the remarkable story of Tomi Fujiyama, the first female Japanese country music star. From playing the USO circuit throughout Asia to headlining in Las Vegas and recording 7 albums for Columbia records, Tomi’s career culminates in a 1964 performance at The Grand Ole Opry where she followed Johnny Cash and received the only standing ovation of the night. Forty years later, Tomi and her husband set out on a journey through Japan and across the United States to fulfill a dream of performing at The Opry one more time. Made in Japan is a funny yet poignant multi-cultural journey through music, marriage, and the impact of the corporate world on the dreams of one woman.
This documentary explores a vivid and unmatched perspective to the existence of coffee in our daily lives. Expanding production to United States, Italy, India, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, the film takes coffee enthusiasts on a trip that will transcend their knowledge of the beverage and get them close to a human reality they haven't experienced before.
Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front is a coming of age story that highlights five young Israeli high school graduates, who are drafted into the army to defend their country. At the age of 18, away from their houses, family, and friends these young individuals undergo a demanding journey, revealing the core of who they are and who they want to be. From the creators of the PBS-featured documentary film Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference, the film Beneath the Helmet illustrates how these young men and women are protecting not only their homes, but the shared values of peace, equality, opportunity, democracy, religious tolerance and women's rights. The lessons they learn along the way, are lessons that can be adapted, understood and appreciated by everyone.