A study on a small Pentecostal congregation in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia. Explores the individual experiences of Pentecostal Christians at the Scrabble Creek Holiness Church, in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia. The documentary includes faith healing, snake handling, speaking in tongues, preaching, gospels and singing. Pentecostal Christians may also be described as "Charismatic." Pentecostals include Protestant Christians who believe that the "manifestations of the Holy Spirit" are alive, available, and experienced by modern day Christians.
Rio de Janeiro. September, 2008. Three men stalk the gloomy back-alleys of the city's notorious slums. Spiderman, a 28-year-old drug lord, embarks on a routine patrol through the shadowy streets of Coréia, the sprawling slum he controls. Inspector Leonardo Torres, a muscle-bound operative from Rio's drug squad, inches through the alleys of another shantytown, shots ringing out around him. And Pastor Dione, an evangelical preacher intent on ending Rio's drug conflict, trawls the slums for lost souls. With unprecedented access to some of Rio's most wanted men, Dancing with the Devil in the City of God tells the story of Rio's drug war through the eyes of three men locked into one of the bloodiest urban conflicts on earth. Written by Jon Blair and Tom Phillips
Along the roads of Australia travels a small film crew headed by filmmaker Phoebe Hart, who is determined to turn this on-the-road trip into a journey of self-discovery. Her hermaphroditism played a painful and significant role in her past: she has had to deal with it from her adolescence on, but now this conflict has happily been solved. Even her relationship with her parents was damaged by her condition: in her opinion they were to blame for having forced her to undergo a traumatic operation to remove her internal testicles. Along the road, she will connect with other intersex people, ready to open up to her about their common condition. Will Phoebe succeed in openly confronting her mother, who is reluctant to be interviewed, and to talk about an issue that is so important for her? Will she find the answers she is looking for? A journey of self-discovery that is difficult, but at the same time light, ironic and detached.
Nicky's Family is a gripping documentary from the International Emmy Award winning producers Patrik Pass and Matej Minac about a rescue operation of the “British Schindler” - Sir Nicholas Winton who will celebrate this year 103rd birthday. His story has no parallel in modern history. Dramatic reenactments, some of the archive footage never seen before, rescued "children" together with Mr. Winton himself recount this unique story which even after 70 years continues to inspire people, especially children, to make this world a better place. World personalities His Holiness Dalai Lama and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel also took part. ( - from the film's press kit)
A loving look at one of the most cherished and controversial figures in children's literature, Maurice Sendak. In this deeply moving tribute, spend time with the man who spoke to children through his stories and illustrations in a way no one else could.
Tiffany Shlain's documentary, Connected, explores the visible and invisible connections linking major issues of our time-the environment, consumption, population growth, technology, human rights, the global economy-while searching for her place in the world during a transformative time in her life. Employing a combination of animation and archival footage, Shlain constructs a chronological tour of Western modernization through the work of her late father, Leonard Shlain, a surgeon and best-selling author. Connected illuminates the beauty and tragedy of human endeavor while championing the importance of personal connectedness for understanding and coping with today's global conditions.
What happens when western anthropologists descend on the Amazon and make one of the last unacculturated tribes in existence, the Yanomami, the most exhaustively filmed and studied tribe on the planet? Despite their "do no harm" creed and scientific aims, the small army of anthropologists that has studied the Yanomami since the 1960s has wreaked havoc among the tribe – and sparked a war within the anthropology community itself.
From Japan to America, the LV sign dominates the fashion scene. And, one man alone designs the Louis Vuitton creations the exceptional Marc Jacobs. With unprecedented access to one of the world's hottest and busiest designers, Loïc Prigent offers an intimate and revealing portrait of the reclusive Marc Jacobs and the world of haute couture. Whether in the offices and workrooms of Paris and New York, the back of his car, or backstage at a fashion show, we see a genius at work. Jacobs endures unimaginable pressure to chart new paths in fashion as he straddles the demands of the Louis Vuitton conglomerate and his own Marc Jacobs label.
As the debate over the state of America's public school system rages on, one thing everyone agrees on is the need for great teachers. Yet, while research proves that teachers are the most important school factor in a child's future success, America's teachers are so woefully underpaid that almost a third must divide their time between a second job in order to make a living. Chronicling the stories of four teachers in different areas of the country, American Teacher reveals the frustrating realities of today's educators, the difficulty of attracting talented new teachers, and why so many of our best teachers feel forced to leave the profession altogether. But this wake-up call to our system's failings also looks at possibilities for reform. Can we re-value teaching in the United States and turn it into a prestigious, financially attractive and competitive profession? With almost half of American teachers leaving the field in the next five years, now is the time to find out.
Where were you at the start of 1994? This was going to be the year it would all change, it was parkas, shades, a sense of celebration. Oasis were the backing for all those lost nights in and mad nights out. Definitely Maybe was as Noel says "what was missing in a lot of people's lives". Oasis' Definitely Maybe is a way to experience the album in a way never before possible. This is the real story behind one of the fastest-selling debut albums of all time.
Intended to be about the passing of the torch from Stewart to Cevert; One By One is a documentary chronicling the lives of Formula 1 racers in the seventies.
Jamie Foxx presents the inspiring true story of high school band leader Conrad O. Johnson, who transformed his ragtag jazz band students into a legendary funk powerhouse that took the nation by storm.
"Dreams on Spec" takes an intimate look at how far people will go - and how much they will sacrifice - for the chance to pursue their dreams. This feature-length documentary delves into the lives of three aspiring Hollywood screenwriters as they pour their hearts into their spec scripts, pitch their ideas to anyone who will listen, go to meetings, hold table reads, and work at low-level day-jobs - all in the hopes of one day seeing one of their beloved creations made into a movie. These poignant portraits are intercut with wisdom from a "Greek Chorus" of superstar Hollywood creative-types like James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Gary Ross, and Carrie Fisher to forge a funny and compelling look at inspiration, creativity, and solitude in the movie industry.
On an overcast morning in 1999, William Gibson, father of cyberpunk and author of the cult-classic novel Neuromancer, stepped into a limousine and set off on a road trip around North America. The limo was rigged with digital cameras, a computer, a television, a stereo, and a cell phone. Generated entirely by this four-wheeled media machine, No Maps for These Territories is both an account of Gibson’s life and work and a commentary on the world outside the car windows. Here, the man who coined the word "cyberspace" offers a unique perspective on Western culture at the edge of the new millennium, and in the throes of convulsive, tech-driven change.
Derren Brown once again creates edge-of-the-seat television as he takes 'average Joes' on an extraordinary psychological journey. In a powerful transformation, which will include an amazing, must-watch finale, Derren releases his subjects from the restraints that they have placed on themselves and allows them the opportunity to fulfil their true potential, opening the door to a new and exciting future.
Documentary covering what came to be known as "The Boston Gold Rush" of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Boston stand-up comedians like Dennis Leary, Steven Wright and Colin Quinn burst upon the national scene, giving audiences a taste of the hard-edged social and political commentary that came out of that city.
A young woman wanders around New York City and stumbles across a number of strange characters and settings that represent the "underground" areas of the city. She sees stand up comedy in Central Park, a prostitution auction, a voodoo ceremony, an S&M club, and a number of very interesting performance artists. These are just a few of the sights and sounds of New York that she encounters.
Celebrities and creatives -- including musician David Byrne, performance artist Spalding Gray, comedian Sandra Bernhard, radical activist Abbie Hoffman, and poet Allen Ginsberg-- recall their earliest sexual experiences.
When actress Annabelle Gurwitch was fired from a play by Woody Allen, she wondered how she would cope with being downsized by a cultural icon. Turning to friends in show business, she was assured she was not alone. Everyone she knew, from her rabbi to her gynaecologist, had their own account of getting the boot. Featuring interviews with comedians, economists and regular working folks, and drawing on her hugely popular book, Fired! is a humorous look at downsizing in America.