For four years, Asgeir Helgestad, a Norwegian wildlife filmmaker, has followed a beautiful polar bear mother named Frost in her home on Svalbard, a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean. Rising temperatures are causing dramatic changes in her ecosystem, leading to desperate struggles to find food for herself and her young cubs. Follow this tale of man and beast, hope and despair, and life and death in a land disappearing before their eyes.
Peter Rice...An Engineer imagines is a cinematic homage to the life and ideas of Peter Rice widely regarded as the most distinguished structural engineer of the late twentieth century. Without Rices’s innovations and collaborations with the leading architects of his time, some of the most recognizable buildings in the world would not have been possible. The film traces Rice’s extraordinary work, from his native Ireland through, London, Sydney and Paris, to his untimely and tragic death in 1992. Through a series of interviews with former colleagues, family and friends, interwoven with stunning time-lapse photography, we unfold the remarkable story of one of the great minds of the twentieth century; how man who pushed the boundaries of art and science to achieve the unimaginable. A genius who stood in the shadow of architectural icons. Until now.
In the 1800s, southern newspapers ran ads seeking runaway slaves suspected of taking refuge in a vast wetland called the Great Dismal Swamp. For decades, scholars have sought proof that the reports were true, and now they finally have it. See how a team of archaeologists is using new discoveries and modern dating methods to piece together this lost part of American history. Then discover what life was like for these brave men and women, who chose to suffer in the swamp and keep their freedom rather than live under the conditions of slavery.
Two amateur filmmakers attempt to make a documentary about the legendary underground "phone-work artist" Longmont Potion Castle, who, since 1988, has released sixteen albums of hilariously surreal phone pranks. Despite a semi-successful crowdfunding campaign and the involvement of celebrity fans, the filmmakers succumb to their own infighting and bad luck, abandoning the project. A year later, the unpaid camera operator liberates the raw footage and finishes the film.
This documentary explores Scientology as a young religion through the eyes of its believers. By showcasing interviews with active and inactive members of the church, the film presents broader questions about the role of religion and spirituality.
Filmmaker Christophe Espenan's tribute to The Great Escape, The Coolest Guy Movie Ever is a fascinating documentary that returns to the iconic locations where that classic film was shot, complete with rare footage and interviews.
The Pullars are the last family using traditional methods to fish for wild Atlantic salmon off the coast of Scotland. When these include killing seals, the salmon’s natural predators, conflict erupts. Animal activist groups Sea Shepherd and Hunt Saboteurs oppose the Pullars at every turn, despite the legality of the fishermen’s actions and the consequences to their livelihood. Challenging preconceptions, this ambiguous doc puts modern environmentalism under the microscope.
A documentary on the six-decades long career of a muckraking journalist, who was involved with the radical 196os magazine Ramparts, with the Los Angeles Times newspaper, and later with the Internet website Truthdig.
About five never completed films made between 1978 and 1992 before the backdrop of the various communist regimes that came to power in Afghanistan. Scenes from these films, some of which later reused in other works, are edited together with current footage of their locations and commentaries by the filmmakers and actors involved in the productions, allowing us to dive into action films and romantic dramas that revolve around local histories and conflicts.
Naruna Kaplan de Macedo set up her camera in the editorial offices of the online newspaper Mediapart, before, during and after the 2017 French presidential election, to follow the daily lives of those who work there. Against the backdrop of some of the cases that shook French political life, the film gives us an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at a certain kind of investigative journalism.
Nothing Stays the Same celebrates the last 30 years of live music in Austin, while also examining the challenges faced by musicians and music venues in one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, all through the lens of the legendary Saxon Pub.
Akio Sakurai has dedicated his life to honoring Jimmy Page. For 30 years he recreated vintage Zeppelin concerts note-for-note in small Tokyo clubs. Moving to L.A. to pursue his tribute dream, cultures clash and Akio’s idyllic vision meets reality.
Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story chronicles the life and times of the legendary filmmaker who, through his annual ski films and national tours which began in the early 1950's, was a driving force in the development and promotion of the ski industry in America and throughout the world. Miller, who died last year at 93, sat months before his passing for his final interview. He reminisced about living off rabbit stew and sleeping in a teardrop trailer in his endless pursuit of the perfect ski run and he explained in great detail the challenges - both personal and professional - he faced over the course of his career.
Everyone knows Elvis Presley’s In the Ghetto and A Little Less Conversation. But who wrote those songs? That was Mac Davis, and almost no one has heard of him. He shares this fate with dozens of other songwriters who have been responsible for massive hits. Coincidentally, many of them live in Nashville, Tennessee – though this documentary reveals that isn’t quite as accidental as it seems.
Revolves around a mineral water pool in director Hristiana Raykova’s hometown of Varna in Bulgaria. Situated right by the sea, this thermal pool is lovingly called “the pit” by local residents. Sitting in the hot water, they lean back up against the pool’s edge and philosophise about their lives. Here personal and political convictions collide, and tell of both social change and stagnation at the periphery of Europe.
For Alyssia and Ilaria, every farewell is also a reunion. Just a while ago they were at the Italian Mediterranean coast, now here they are standing at a parking lot in front of an Esso gas station, waiting for their father’s car to appear around the corner. Affectionately, they bid their mother good-bye for now. The two sisters’ parents are separated. Just like Carleton, Sherazade and Thomas, the two girls have found their own way of dealing with the situation.
Searching for proof of a two-decade old legend, a first-time director discovers not only a gripping tale of friendship, passion and faded dreams, but one last chance to make things right.
Louisa May Alcott, author of "Little Women," leads a literary double life, writing under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard, an identity that remains until the 1940s.