Zigzag. 1. a pattern created using alternating course. 2. another word for skiing. Following nearly two decades of ski movie pedigree, Level 1 documents a lifestyle of contradiction. Timeless ephemera. Love and money. Natural and synthetic. Powder and slush. Stagnant and innovative. Untracked and well-travelled. Consistent but not predictable. Swerving left, right and diagonal, yet never asleep at the wheel. Featured Athletes: Parker White, Laurent De Martin, Sämi Ortlieb, Chris Logan, Will Berman, Keegan Kilbride, Will Wesson, Thayne Rich, Peyben Hägglund, KC Deane, LJ Strenio, Khai Krepela, Kim Boberg, Oliver Karlberg, Tanner Rainville, Duncan Adams, Ahmet Dadali, McRae Williams, Wiley Miller, and Friends. Featured Locations: Eagle Pass Heli, BC. Sunshine Village, Banff. Mt Baker, Washington. Sweden. Gran Masta Park, Switzerland. Hokkaido, Japan. Moscow, Russia. Helsinki, Finland. Whistler, BC. Colorado. Montana. Michigan. Minnesota.
Six dancers from the acclaimed Battery Dance company travel the world, working with young people who've experienced war, poverty, prejudice, sexual exploitation, and severe trauma as refugees.
Apa Sherpa has climbed Mount Everest 21 times, more than any other human. But he wouldn’t wish this upon anybody. Having grown up in the remote Khumbu region of Nepal, Apa was forced to leave school and work as a porter at the age of 12. His dreams of being a doctor forever lost. It is a story all too common for the Sherpa people of Nepal, a story Apa aims to change with his work at the Apa Sherpa Foundation. In this visually stunning short documentary, we follow young Pemba Sherpa, a young child who must walk six hours a day to attend school. Pemba’s story is a present day reflection of Apa’s past, one where the draw of being a high altitude porter conflicts with the dreams of Nepal’s rural people, dreams made possible only through education and knowledge.
Todd “Speech” Thomas, a member of the iconic hip-hop group Arrested Development, spends 10 days working as part of a unique rehabilitation program in Richmond, VA, working to allow prisoners to write and record their own songs.
A dangerous idea has threatened the American Dream from the beginning - the belief that some groups and individuals are inherently superior to others and more deserving of fundamental rights. Such biological determinism provided an excuse for some of America's most shameful history. And now it's back. This documentary reveals how biologically determined politics has disenfranchised women and people of color, provided a rationale for state sanctioned crimes committed against America's most vulnerable citizens, and now gains new traction under the Trump administration.
After losing his mother and four siblings in a bombing that left him injured, Syrian teenager Ibraheem Sarhan makes a new life for himself in Winnipeg, Canada despite the heartbreak of leaving his home behind. Narrated through Ibraheem's diary entries, we follow Ibraheem through his first week of high school in Winnipeg. It's a story about loss, resilience, and one young man's identity as he adapts to a new country while his home is at war.
They are the heirs to a thousand years of Royal history; inheritors of all the privileges and responsibilities of the modern monarchy – a monarchy they must take into the new Millennium. Yet William and Harry are also ordinary young men from a broken home who have come to terms with the devastating loss of their mother. Knowing they were destined always to be in the public eye, Diana was determined that her children would have the happiest possible childhood both at home and in the exercise of their royal duties. Even throughout her dark years she somehow managed to be both the nation's idol and the ideal carer for her sons. From their earliest years, William and Harry have lived unusually enriched lives, experiencing a world unseen by earlier royal children and meeting people from every level of society – from the most privileged to the most deprived.
On the edge of Compton, California- a place notorious for gang violence-a hidden band of inner-city cowboys has persevered since the 1800's. Fire on the Hill is the story of the Black Cowboys of Compton and South Central LA, and their fight to preserve their culture by resurrecting an inner city horse stable that was mysteriously burnt to the ground.
OBSCENE BEAUTY dives into the NYC Neo-Burlesque scene — its history, impact, and players. As an exploration of sexuality, culture, comedy and art, the documentary follows performers within the community and examines how they utilize their three minutes on stage as a platform for their own socio-political commentary. Through a night of performance, OBSCENE BEAUTY explores the raw artistry and self-expression of a genre that has been able to withstand the test of time.
It won't take long to fall in love with the subject of Painted Nails, Van Hoang, a Vietnamese nail salon owner who serves an ethnically diverse group of working class women with acrylic nails and intricate airbrush designs. Through the course of the film, Van unintentionally becomes a contemporary Norma Rae or Erin Brockovich. Painted Nails brings us unprecedented insight into the personal nature of the political movement to regulate one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. Major loopholes in the federal law dating back to 1938 allow the 50-billion-dollar cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of chemicals into personal care products with no required testing, monitoring of health effects, or labeling requirements. (via Kanopy)
This documentary focuses on the Civil Rights Movement in the heavily segregated steel industry and its equally segregated union, The United Steelworkers of America (USWA), at the time when this industry—devastated by mismanagement and global competition—began to crumble. It is a powerful picture of black working-class life in the latter part of the 20th century, told in a combination of interviews and documentary footage. Through live testimonials and revelatory archival materials, Struggles shows the contributions of African Americans to the steel industry and to the labor movement more generally. (via cinema.indiana.edu)
From a graffiti artist speaking out against domestic violence in the favelas of Brazil to a dancer rehabilitating sex-trafficking survivors in India, Little Stones profiles four women, each of whom are contributing a stone to the mosaic of the women’s movement through their art. The film and accompanying education initiative have been designed to raise awareness about global women’s rights issues, and to celebrate creative, entrepreneurial, and arts-therapy based solutions to the most pressing challenges facing women globally.
Anne Braden: Southern Patriot is a first person documentary about the extraordinary life of this American civil rights leader. Braden was hailed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail as a white southerner whose rejection of her segregationist upbringing was eloquent and prophetic. Ostracized as a red in the 1950s, she fought for an inclusive movement community and mentored three generations of social justice advocates. Braden’s story explores not only the dangers of racism and political repression but also the power of a woman’s life spent in commitment to social justice.
The Laughter Life follows a week in the life of the young comedians who write and star in Studio C, a popular sketch comedy television show that has garnered over 1 billion views on YouTube.
Andrew Wyeth was one of America's most popular, but lease understood artists. Through unprecedented access to family members, archival materials, and his work, "Wyeth" presents the most complete portrait of the artist.
Each week over 100 wives learn that their husbands aren't all they seem, as police charge ever more men for having child sex images. This TV docudrama provides an insight into affected families' lives with actors lip-syncing real-life accounts.
Fly-on-the-wall documentary about professional boxer Amir Khan. Filmed over two years, it follows Amir and his team in their quest to fight the best boxer on the planet, the unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Despite their personal short comings, many of the Roman Empires great engineering accomplishments were introduced during the reign of the Caesars. The tradition continued under Vespasian, builder of the Coliseum, Trajan, builder of the Forum, and Hadrian, builder and possibly the designer of the Pantheon. Finally, a decade later Caracalla built a bath complex/recreation center in an effort to secure his own reputation in history.