Cosplay Universe explores the rise of the global Comic Con sub-culture and evolution of Cosplay; the art form of becoming a character that you love. The film follows the journey of several international cosplay teams as they compete in what is known as the 'Olympics of Cosplay' at the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya, Japan. Cosplay Universe also chronicles America's top cosplayers' challenges to turn their geeky hobby into a thriving business. The film taps into the psychology behind this art of self expression and demonstrates how Cosplayers can transform and expand their perceptions of themselves while finding community. Cosplay Universe features appearances by comic book legend Stan Lee, cosplay superstars Yaya Han and Jessica Nigri and many more.
“The Zulus are coming,” Dark Sevier, a local DJ for public radio in Butte, Montana, announces to listeners one evening in May, 2017. By this point, everyone in the small town had been eagerly following the strange and curious series of events that would eventually bring a Zulu prince from Nongoma, South Africa, to their town of 30,000-some-odd people.
Exploring the interweaving lives and narrative of female tennis royalty as told through the words of the players themselves, Unraveling Athena provides an extraordinary insight into the mind of the professional athlete and the ultimate exploration of what it takes to make a champion.
Director Tony Palmer tells the incredible life story of Athol Fugard, the prolific playwright, novelist, and director who exposed the horrors of South Africa's apartheid system for the entire world to see. Interviews with Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Yvonne Bryceland and others help to illuminate Fugard's remarkable legacy.
"Voices in the Clouds" is an intimate exploration of one man's quest to understand his heritage. At the heart of the film lies the celebration of family and cultural preservation. Through his journey, the film hopes to encourage viewers to carve their own path toward self-discovery.World Journal - "An ordinary Taiwanese American's root-searching journey..an extraordinary message to the world."
Ukrainian communities of the Canadian prairies still follow the Julian calendar and celebrate Christmas on the seventh of January. Traditional foods are prepared for the holy Christmas Eve supper, eaten when the first star of the evening appears. Then traditional carols and light-hearted dances in gay costume continue the festivities. In striking contrast, on Christmas Day the Ukrainians gather at the Greek Orthodox church to worship in a solemn service with ancient ritual.
Before the Plate follows each ingredient from a single plate of food backwards to the farms they came from, revealing modern farming practices and the challenges the industry faces as it does so.
How do you define classic rock? Is it a genre, a radio format, or music from a specific period of time? Filmmaker & lifelong rocker Daniel Sarkissian travels the world, interviewing iconic artists in search of an answer.
Trout streams are fountains of youth for 86-year-old fly fishing legend, Joe Humphreys: a man who was born to fly fish, lives to teach, and strives to pass on a respect for our local waters.
The documentary tells the story of the Berlin luxury hotel, which was built by the director's great-grandfather and fell victim to a fire shortly after the end of the Second World War.
A portrait of Japanese master chef Hiroji Obayashi and his wife Yasuyo over a sixteen-year year span as they managed the day to day operation of their LA restaurant Hirozen Gourmet.
Jesus' world is flipped upside down when his mother, Adelaida, undergoes emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor. Although most aspiring comedians build their careers on the road, Jesus juggles his responsibilities at home in Long Beach with open mics and auditions in the Los Angeles area, often driving more than two hours each way every day. As the pressure of his budding career mounts, the family receives more devastating news: Jesus’ father, Antonio, is diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer. An only child, Jesus becomes his parents’ sole caregiver. Transforming adversity into comedy, he uses his life experience as material for his routine. He continues to reach for his dream while taking over his father’s landscaping business to keep the family afloat. When his set catches the eye of producers at The Late Late Show with James Corden, Jesus may have scored the big break he’s been banking on.
ART PAUL OF PLAYBOY: The Man Behind the Bunny, a documentary film on the innovation and impact of Art Paul, the creator of the iconic bunny logo, founding art director of Playboy, and the magazine's visual guru for its first 30 years. Paul is also an extraordinary artist, creating thousands of drawings and paintings of his own. The film combines interviews with historical footage and artworks--works that were art directed by Paul and/or created by him, to bring to life a legendary figure of our time. The film is a production of MoraQuest Media, a company based in Chicago.
The foundation of today's multi-billion dollar art market still reverberates with the beautiful lies of one of the most prolific art forgers of the last century.
The 1960s environmental movement inspired young scientists like E.O. Wilson, Cal DeWitt, and Theo Colborn, some of whom were raised within America’s largest religious group: evangelicals. Today, a new generation of scientist/evangelicals includes Katharine Hayhoe, Ben Lowe, and Corina Newsome. Can this new generation revive the reach and relevance of America's evangelical and environmental movements?
It's been suggested that Americans would be better off if the United States was more like Sweden. Do the Swedes know something that we don't? Sweden: Lessons for America? A Personal Exploration by Johan Norberg delves into the economic and social landscape of the Swedish scholar's homeland. Join him to see that the lessons to be learned from Sweden may not be the ones you expect. The one-hour documentary follows Norberg on a journey through the history of Sweden's economic rise, from one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the most prosperous. The program illuminates key ideas and enterprises that sparked the reform and continue to help Sweden maintain its lofty economic position, including freedom of the press, free trade, new technology companies, crazy jobs and even an old Swedish superhero.
Filmmaker Beatrice Perego admits that until recently she, unlike her good friend Martina, rarely thought much about death. Martina updates her will every year and now she’s even planning to stage her own funeral. Then, unexpectedly, it gets personal for Perego too, and Martina’s ritual helps her get over a major loss.