The Hawke’s Bay earthquake was New Zealand’s worst civil disaster. Over 250 people died following the 7.8 quake on 3 February 1931. In this full-length documentary, director Gaylene Preston (Hope and Wire) gathers eyewitness accounts from survivors, including kuia Hana Lyola Cotter, who recounts joining the rescue effort as a teen, poet Lauris Edmond, and a student from Greenmeadows Seminary. Included is eye-opening newsreel footage of the damage. Earthquake was nominated for Best Popular Documentary at the 2006 Qantas TV Awards; it won best sound at the NZ Screen Awards.
a story about human compassion, about Hans Breuer, who cannot sleep at night knowing there are refugees who need help, two hours’ drive away from his bed.
Documentary on the exhaustive and controversial work of the musician Álvaro Peña, born in Valparaíso and settled decades ago in the city of Konstanz (Germany)
Against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-1960s, a young San Francisco Chinatown resident armed with a 16mm camera and leftover film scraps from a local TV station, turned his lens onto his community. Totaling more than 20,000 feet of film (10 hours), Harry Chuck's exquisite unreleased footage has captured a divided community's struggles for self-determination. Chinatown Rising is a documentary film about the Asian-American Movement from the perspective of the young residents on the front lines of their historic neighborhood in transition. Through publicly challenging the conservative views of their elders, their demonstrations and protests of the 1960s-1980s rattled the once quiet streets during the community’s shift in power. Forty-five years later, in intimate interviews these activists recall their roles and experiences in response to the need for social change.
Ghosts of the République follows Aurelien and Nicolas, who, when confronted by France's conservative surrogacy laws, decide to exhaust their last option by traveling to Las Vegas to start a family of their own through surrogacy. This film demonstrates the extreme lengths many gay couples go to have children, highlighting the ever-expanding and controversial surrogacy industry.
'Poet: An Intimate Discussion with Wade Radford' is a brand new, independent documentary about the life and work in Poetry of Underground Filmmaker and Actor Wade Radford. Known globally for his controversial role in 'TWINK' as well as other film credits in the LGBT market including; 'Sex Lies and Depravity', '1 Last Chance at Paradise' and 'Boys Behind Bars' - Wade behind the scenes has been releasing Poetry anthologies and read aloud recordings online for the last eight years. 'Poet' explores the themes of Wade's work and for the first time ever introduces the audience to this complex and candid individual. Up until now Radford has hidden behind the mask of his work; but those days are over. Join Wade as he embarks on a week long road trip, visiting places that inspired the poetry and remain dear to his heart
This documentary is perhaps one of the most notorious subject matters on the 1980's Male Revue. We hear from the actual 1980'S former Chippendale performers and others. We explore vintage footage from the 1980's to the present day lives of Michael Rapp, Dean Mammales, John Richardson, Scott Marlowe, David Cohen and Brian Carpenter. A must see! Behind the scenes, up close and personal.
Fathers of Football follows the triumphs and struggles of life in a small town, where football is not only the brightest stage but also the best ticket out.
After a decade of making music together, Jim and Sam, a recently married singer/songwriter duo from Los Angeles, were not the conventionally successful band they hoped they’d be. Feeling stuck and anxious about their future, the duo made a spontaneous decision to go “all in,” making a pact to play one show every day for a year. With suitcases and a guitar, the troubadours ventured out for a 365-day tour down unexplored roads, and onto unexpected stages, bringing their music to new audiences throughout 14 different countries. After So Many Days, is an intimate front row seat to the highs and lows of what it’s like for two people to pursue a dream, together.
Can one be happy despite being gravely ill? Nick Difino, a food performer, posed this question to himself. After being diagnosed with a Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, his disease became a challenge to find his own "recipe for happiness". His story - mainly narrated using his video diaries - is alternated with the voices of seven acclaimed Chefs and artists - among which Simone Salvini, Roy Paci, Diego Rossi and others - who portray Nick's struggle, since cooking for him during the treatment has got them closely involved. While preparing the meals they ponder over subjects as disease, happiness, love for life, death and - of course - the role of Food.
A year in the life of abstract artist Sean Scully, one of the world’s richest painters. Little known at home but a superstar abroad, Sean flies around the world to open 15 major museum exhibitions - a journey that also reveals his extraordinary life story. Now, at the age of 73, Scully opens up about his unique experiences spanning 55 years in an often hostile art world - how he built a reputation from nothing, having grown up penniless on the streets of Dublin and London, often homeless as a child and running with street gangs as a teenager, to turn his striped paintings into the huge success they are today.
Cobby's Hobbies was a 1960's children's TV program featuring a chimpanzee getting hmself into all sorts of mischief. For filmmaker Donna McRae, the show was a crucial part of getting through a lonely childhood. McRae seeks people that made the show, Cobby's zoo friends, zoo keepers and the animal rights activists that help her piece together the story of an animal stolen from his natural habitat to work on TV before, being retired into the San Francisco Zoo at age 7. Most primates chimps in entertainment suffered horrifically, becoming research animals or caged in roadside zoos. This documentary examines how we perceive animals in entertainment and how we address their plight now.
The Chinese global machine has been invited to revitalise the ailing Swedish town of Kalmar. The town's mayor has invited a Chinese company to build a trade centre and 300 homes, but all does not go to plan. An amusing and deeply relevant film, which shows the fault lines that emerge when the tigers of the developing world try to expand into Europe.
Through verité documentary footage, humorous storytelling, interviews and archival film material, Leonard Soloway's Broadway captures a Broadway few ever see as told through the eyes of a legendary Broadway producer you've probably never heard of. He lived an unconventional life on his own terms who, over a 70-year span, staged over 100 shows (and counting) which generated history making headlines, over 40 Tony Awards, 62 Tony Nominations, 21 Drama Desk Awards, 29 Drama Desk nominations and 3 Pulitzer Prizes in addition to launching the careers of famous stars known the world over.
Iceland has been ranked first in gender equality by the U.N. nine years in a row and was the first country in the world to democratically elect a female president. Tag along with world champion snowboarders Anne-Flore Marxer and Aline Bock as they explore the unique surf, snow, and sky of Iceland, and enjoy inspiring conversations with the women they meet along the way.
A military uniform that represents the uniting of American and South Vietnamese forces. The Olympic tracksuit worn by Tommie Smith when he raised a fist in silent protest. The original art by Roy Lichtenstein on his powerful "Gun in America" Time Magazine cover. These are just some of the objects on display at various Smithsonian museums that tell the story of one of the most influential years in American history: 1968. Through these remarkable artifacts, witness a year of courage, revolution, tragedy, and triumph.
From M16 rifles to Huey helicopters, the Vietnam War launched weapons that went on to become legendary. This is the untold story of one such weapon built not by the Pentagon, but by teenage soldiers trying to keep themselves alive: the gun truck. Through interviews and home movies, meet the U.S. Army's unsung heroes: the self-made, five-ton, moving monsters that defended convoys from enemy attack and went on to influence today's combat tactics.
A feminist legend, a May 68 activist, a famous playwright and poet, Hélène Cixous is the vehicle of this road movie. With friends like the philosopher Jacques Derrida, the artist Adel Abdessemed, with Ariane Mnouchkine and her cosmopolitan theatre company, Cixous explores the wounds our time and allows us to ear the cry of literature. The history of dozens of members of her German-Jewish family who were assassinated in the Death Camps, and the trauma of the wars of decolonization are never far, for this major figure who was born in Algeria shortly before the start of the Second World War.
Few bands have been able to dominate the industry in the same way as ABBA. Bursting onto the scene at the 1974 Eurovision song contest, ABBA took the world by storm, going on to sell over 300 million albums and singles and gave birth to the billion-dollar franchise, Mamma Mia.But their fame didn’t come without pain.Behind their lyrics were honest signs of true heartbreak. Since announcing their break in 1982, ABBA have continued to welcome new fans, generation after generation. Follow their journey to celebrity stardom, through archival interviews and performances from ABBA, with added inside knowledge from leading industry professionals.
The largest black community in the country started as a safe haven for escaped slaves but has more recently been labelled as one of the biggest hubs of pimping and human trafficking in the nation. "This Is North Preston" illustrates how the town of 4,000 has dealt with generations of pimp culture, economic struggle, limited government resources, violence, and constant systemic racism. Artist "Just Chase" paints a picture of his life in crime and the events that made him get out out of the street life to chase his musical dreams. "This is North Preston" gains insight from respected community members, pimps, politicians, police and trafficking victims, all while pushing hope and a brighter future.