'Forced Perspective' is an intimate portrait of iconic Cleveland artist Derek Hess by filmmaker Nick Cavalier. The film is a journey through Derek's struggle with alcoholism and bipolar and how these demons effect the artwork, presenting a voyeur into Derek's personal life, revealing his process and philosophy. This film showcases the evolution of a celebrated artist, his effect on music and culture while highlighting the link between creativity and mental illness.
Tashi Bista dreams to install a makeshift wind turbine in Namdok, a remote village nestled high amongst the Himalayas of Nepal. Namdok, battered by wind and cold has been in darkness for centuries. Wearing Ray Bans to shield his eyes from the dust and just a leather jacket to insulate him from the bitter cold he surveys the village. He grew up in this region without electrical power. He is determined to bring lights to Namdok in an effort to prove himself to the skeptical village community. Tashi's Turbine is a character driven film that shows the impact of one man's dream for light, in a village waiting for development.
Told from the Native American perspective, this documentary will uncover the dark history of the U.S. government and will give a voice to the countless Indian children forced through the system.
Carpe Diem: A Fish Tale looks at an ecologic bombshell, just waiting to explode. Asian Carp are on the door step of the Great Lakes. The only thing holding them back is an electric barrier just south of Chicago. Scientists are working hard to develop new technologies to keep them out. Down south, where all hope is lost, they are going medieval on this slimy foe. Can they be stopped?
When the eccentric cast of a mid-90s Public Access show in Detroit reunite after 20 years to make a new episode, they are forced to take a hard look at their lives and reconcile their teenage dreams with the realities of adulthood.
On New York's rapidly gentrifying Lower East Side sits the Streit's Matzo factory. When its doors opened in 1925, it sat at the heart of the nation's largest Jewish immigrant community.
Six filmmakers. Six countries. One journey. Innersection Films continues its pioneering adventures in collaborative filmmaking with the release of SE7EN SIGNS. For this project, an online audience picked their favorite six filmmakers from the Innersection series and we sent them each in a different direction to film their part of this surf/travel movie. But instead of making six short films, director Nathan Myers (Here & Now, Castles in the Sky) creatively curated each of the filmmakers’ edits into a single, rollicking, surprise-filled adventure. This is a film about traveling in search of waves…and everything that happens along the way.
Did God give each person free will? Who is Satan? Can good truly overcome evil? Consider these questions and more as we journey inside the mind of C.S. Lewis in this introductory review of one of the great Christian literary works of the 20th century. The Screwtape Letters, a thin volume of imaginative letters between two devils, has given millions of readers insight into conquering everyday spiritual struggles. Join us as we explore the Biblical, historical and cultural depictions of Satan and hell and gain a deeper understanding of the nature of temptation and redemption. Whether you're a devoted C.S. Lewis fan or just reading his work for the first time, you're sure to develop a new appreciation for The Screwtape Letters through this modern look at his timeless classic.
With only a small stack of his grandfather's photos for guidance, filmmaker Matthew Nash tries to understand a family secret that began on April 4, 1945. His search reveals the horror of the first concentration camp found by the Allies and the amazing story of the soldiers who uncovered the Holocaust.
The first comprehensive treatment of the subject of librarians. A vivid blend of factual documentary, feature film and storytelling, it reveals the history and realities of librarianship in the entertaining and appealing context of American movies. Interviews with actual librarians, intercut with film clips of cinematic librarians, examine such issues as literature, books, and reading, censorship, library funding, citizenship and democracy. For the first time, we see and understand the real lives and real work of American librarians who for decades have been a cultural for hiding in plain sight.
A Second Chance is the story of Janelle Morrison, a professional long distance triathlete who suffered a near-fatal car crash, and her battle to race again. Nearly every major bone in Janelle's body was broken and her organs pushed into her chest, forcing doctors to place her in a medically induced coma. As Morrison slept, doctors worked hard to reassemble her broken body, questioning whether she would ever walk again. Janelle's recovery was nothing short of miraculous, astonishing doctors every step of the way.
An examination of India’s family planning program from the point of view of the women who are its primary targets. It traces the history of the family planning program and exposes the cynicism, corruption and brutality which characterizes its implementation. As the women themselves discuss their status, sexuality, fertility control and health, it is clear that their perceptions are in conflict with those of the program.
Jimmy Santiago Baca was a petty thief and a drug dealer when he was sentenced to five years in Arizona State Prison, one of the deadliest prisons in America. Baca began his incarceration violent, angry and illiterate, yet taught himself how to read and write, discovering a passion for poetry that ultimately saved his life.
British Columbia's marine ecosystem has collapsed. Wild fish populations from California to Alaska have been declining since the late 1970's. Coincidentally, the open net fish farm industry began to grow fish in marine waters at the same time. Fish farms were seen as a way to offset growing pressure on wild stocks. But one woman, Alexandra Morton, noticed diseases coming from fish farms were killing wild salmon. Film maker Scott Renyard links the crash of many fish species on Canada's coast to diseases spread from fish farms and the loss in marine fish biomass has global implications.
Walrus as well as whales are hunted by the Eskimos of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island. As the film opens, an old man tells of the dangers of moving ice, how people used to drift on such ice and never return. A cluster of men stand on a snowy rooftop, scanning the sea ice for walrus, when one spots a skin boat in distress far out on the ice. The crew had not come home the night before, and now were drifting toward Siberia. Long ago, there was nothing that could have been done to save them. Today, the men call the Coast Guard. The next day, preparations for another walrus hunt are made. The hunters load the boat and travel fifty miles out to sea, where they spot two walrus sunning themselves on an ice floe. "Don't move," one hunter tells the camera. The walrus are shot, admired, butchered on the ice, and loaded onto the boat. Back in the village, the meat is cut again and hung to dry.
They're Jewish, they're grandmothers, and they're lesbians. But they're also so much more, as you'll find out in Deborah Dickson's powerful and intimate documentary. Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz first met in Brooklyn in 1959, both young married women raising their young children. Becoming fast friends, they soon both moved with their families near Coney Island, where they became active community leaders. Then, in 1974, something incredible happened - they fell in love.
Who is the new Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, or Gogol waiting to be discovered by the English-speaking world? Hosted by actor, author, and activist Stephen Fry, focuses on six authors whose vibrant, idiosyncratic work continues to gain traction with a global audience: Dmitry Bykov, Mariam Petrosyan, Zakhar Prilepin, Anna Starobinets, Vladimir Sorokin, and Lyudmila Ultiskaya. With contributions from their literary critics, publishers, and peers, the film features extensive interviews with each author.