Three years in the making, this documentary takes an intimate and emotional look into the lives of three Latinas who work as nannies and housekeepers in Los Angeles, three of the nearly 100,000 domestic workers living in that city today.
Filmed during a rehearsal and performance of Beethoven's Quartet in B Flat Major, Opus 130, "The Juilliard String Quartet: Keeping Beethoven Contemporary" is an exciting portrait that explores the creation and history of the famed Quartet, offering a glimpse inside the world of its four current members. Founded in 1946 by Juilliard School president William Schuman and violinist Robert Mann, with the intent of pursuing the brilliant musicianship of the classical genre, the Quartet continued well beyond its original membership, bringing the music along into a new era. Opening up their dialogue to us, the members of the Quartet, Joseph Lin, Joel Krosnick, Ronald Copes and Samuel Rhodes, speak in detail about the string quartet as a musical genre, its vibrant history, and the significant contributions of Beethoven
Tracking the country’s oldest beauty contest—from its inception in 1921 as a local seaside pageant to its heyday as one of the country’s most popular events—Miss America paints a vivid picture of an institution that has come to reveal much about a changing nation. The pageant is about commercialism and sexual politics, about big business and small towns. But beyond the symbolism lies a human story—at once moving, inspiring, infuriating, funny, and poignant. Combining rare archival footage, with a host of intimate interviews with distinguished commentators including Gloria Steinem, Margaret Cho, Isaac Mizrahi, former contestants and behind–the–scenes footage and photographs, the film reveals why some women took part in the fledgling event and why others briefly rejected it - how the pageant became a battle ground and a barometer for the changing position of women in society.
The Jamaica flower and tamarind are iconic ingredients in Mexico, but their history comes from a place much further away. In Jamaica & Tamarindo: Afro Tradition in the Heart of Mexico, we meet five people who explore African heritage in Mexico City, an identity that goes beyond the color of one's skin.
"Marking Infinity", Lee Ufan's recent retrospective exhibition at the Guggenheim charts the artist's creation of a visual, conceptual, and theoretical language that has radically expanded the possibilities for sculpture and painting over the past forty years. Deeply versed in modern philosophy, Lee is also an influential writer and is recognized as the key theorist of Mono-ha, an anti-formalist, materials-based art movement that developed in Tokyo in the late 1960s. Active internationally over the last four decades, Lee is acclaimed for an innovative body of Post-Minimalist work that promotes process and the experiential engagement of viewer and site.
With unique access inside the battle for Hong Kong, FRONTLINE follows five protesters through the most intense clashes over several months of pro-democracy protests. The film examines their struggle against what they say is growing influence from the communist government of mainland China.
"Sol LeWitt: 4 Decades" presents an opportunity to accompany one of the great artists of our time on a tour of his work, from his formative years to the present. Joined by curator Gary Garrels, LeWitt offers context and motive behind his 2000 retrospective exhibition at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. A heavy emphasis is placed on LeWitt's spectacularly large scale wall drawings, for which he is best known. Garrels, who with LeWitt, spent three years on the creation of the exhibition, leads the artist through his breakthroughs of four decades, from the 1960s to the present.
Critic Kenneth Frampton is a masterful commentator on the architecture of our time. At the start of his long-spanning career Frampton worked as an architect in London before settling into his writing and teaching, which mainly took place at Columbia University. Over the past fifty years Frampton has certified himself as a prolific and influential contributor towards a progressive interpretation of the role of architecture in modern society. In "Kenneth Frampton: A Critical Voice", architect Stan Allen interviews the renowned critic and questions him about his architectural contemporaries, notable past projects, and published writings.
"The New Clark: Bringing the Ando Experience to the Berkshires" is a revealing insight into a long-term radical expansion of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The film follows the close collaboration between the museum and its internationally-acclaimed Japanese architect, Tadao Ando. Both Ando and the director of the Clark Art Institute, Michael Conforti, ponder the complexities of the project and the challenges involving aesthetic, setting, and community impact during the difficult twelve-year period. Determined to honor the institute's original buildings while introducing the modern elements associated with his unique style, Ando's design evokes a classic tranquility that seamlessly blends the Clark Art Institute with its stunning surroundings.
In an effort to work without the distractions of the city, artist Carroll Dunham moved his studio from Manhattan to a small village in Connecticut, not far from where he grew up. Finding himself to be more at peace in the calm, rural setting, Dunham feels the freedom to create wildly bold and visually stimulating work, painting his way through expression and sexuality. Continuously holding a mirror up to society, Dunham aims to examine the ways in which we interpret images and ideas surrounding the physical human form and our contrived notions of appropriate depictions of it through art and media. Dunham's large canvas works are flooded with vivid color and striking imagery that grabs the attention of its audience and encourages a reconsideration of form and gaze. "The Artist's Studio: Carroll Dunham" documents a visit with critic Roberta Smith as she observes his new captivating work: a series entitled "In the Flowers" and a large canvas "The Beach".
Greg Lynn, one of the leading figures in computer-aided architectural design, visits the first in a series of exhibitions initiated by the Canadian Centre for Architecture for which he is the curator. The exhibitions, which will travel to the Yale School of Architecture Gallery, are meant to explore the role of digital technologies in the design process since its beginnings. The first exhibition, entitled "Archaeology of the Digital", features four individuals who are pioneers in applying new technologies to architectural design: Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Chuck Hoberman, and Shoei Yoh. At the exhibition Lynn is joined by three of the four practitioners: Eisenman, Gehry and Hoberman, who each explain their path to the digital at the time.
Three women at high risk for Alzheimer's disease offer their brains and bodies to a medical study. After the deaths of their mothers, these daughters are determined to contribute to the search for a cure. This is the latest fight against Alzheimer's - by those with a very personal stake in the battle.
"She Did That” is the first full-length documentary focusing the lens on Black women building brands and legacies. The film explores the passionate pursuits of Black women and their entrepreneurship journeys.
100,000 people have been poisoned by lead, a lifelong affliction, yet somehow this shocking event has been normalized in the US. "Flint: The Poisoning of an American City" gives voice to the current struggle of city residents and follows the environmental history of the river and how the continued abuse and neglect of city infrastructure and environmental regulations have led to the poisoning of a city. Flint explores the critical question of how this could happen in America, and how this event should serve as a warning for the rest of the country. A recent report found that 5,300 American cities were found to be in violation of federal lead rules, and research published in USA Today detected excessive lead in nearly 2,000 public water systems across all 50 states. This documentary educates but also enrages and seeks to radically change how we view and value water.
Follow a classically trained composer as he adapts a dime novel masterpiece into a grand opera. In 1912, Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage flew off bookshelves around the world and today is considered iconic. A century later, Craig Bohmler and a team of musicians, singers, and painters translate cowboy culture and the beauty of the west into the realm of Puccini and Verdi.
Walking 5,800 miles around the United States, Veteran Jonathan Hancock uses the solitude of the road and the company of his fellow Marine brothers and the families of their fallen to successfully manage his wounds from war.
I'm Moshanty. Do You Love Me? is a musical profile of the late South Pacific recording artist and transgender activist Moses "Moshanty" Tau and members of the LGBTQI community of Papua/New Guinea.
Paul Cézanne counts as the father of modern painting. Far from Paris, in the South of France, his obstinacy as man and artist made him a pioneer of a new way of seeing. Returning always to the same sujets – the Mont Sainte-Victoire, bathing figures, or still lifes – he abandoned central perspective, distorted body-shapes and broke all the traditional rules of landscape painting. Aided by experts, and descendants of the artist, Matthew Collings gives a thorough introduction to Cézanne’s life and work, exploring the lifelong artistic quest of the man whom Picasso called “my only master”.
A report on the National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, a historic event that gathered Black voices from across the political spectrum, among them Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Coretta Scott King, Richard Hatcher, Amiri Baraka, Charles Diggs, and H. Carl McCall.
A documentary about the concrete sections of the Berlin Wall that have been acquired by institutions or individuals since 1989 and are now scattered across the USA. Cherished or abandoned, they have become silent witnesses to recent history.