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- DirectorAnne MakepeaceStarsJason BairdJessie BairdMae Alice BairdWE STILL LIVE HERE: As Nutayunean tells the amazing story of the return of the Wampanoag language, the first time a language with no Native speakers has been revived in this country. Four centuries ago, Wampanoag people helped the first English settlers in America- the Pilgrims - to survive. Although Americans celebrate 'the Indians' every year at Thanksgiving, few know that their descendants are still on their homelands in Southeastern Massachusetts. Spurred on by an indomitable linguist named Jessie Little Doe, the Wampanoag are bringing their language and their culture back.
- DirectorJeff Chiba StearnsStarsJeff FoisySophia ChaudharyRoy InouyeAnd you thought your family was mixed up.
- DirectorNancy BuirskiStarsJane AlexanderLindsay Almond Jr.Edward L. AyersA racially charged trial and a heartrending love story converge in this documentary about Mildred and Richard Loving, set during the Civil Rights era.
- DirectorShira LaneStarsT.C. CampbellJames LeQuangJennifer RicciardiExploring myths, facts and everything in between, this film provides a humorous yet shocking account that prompts reflection on our everyday foods. It challenges common beliefs about the purported health benefits of milk and milk products.
- DirectorVicki AbelesJessica CongdonA silent epidemic, cheating, has become commonplace in our schools; students have become disengaged; stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant; and young people arrive at college and workplaces unprepared and uninspired.
- DirectorC.A. GriffithH.L.T. QuanStarsAngela DavisThirteen years, two inspiring women, both radical activists-one conversation. MOUNTAINS THAT TAKE WING is a historically rich and unique documentary about two formidable women who share a profound passion for justice. Through conversations that are intimate and profound, we learn about Davis, an internationally renowned scholar, writer and activist, and 88-year-old Kochiyama, a revered grassroots community activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Their shared experience as political prisoners and their dedication to Civil Rights embody personal and political experiences as well as the diverse lives of women doing liberatory cultural work. Illustrated with rarely-seen photographs and footage of extraordinary speeches and events from the early 1900s to the '60s and through the present, the topics of this rich conversation range from critical, but often forgotten role of women in 20th century social movements to the importance of cross-cultural/cross-racial alliances; from America's WWII internment camps to Japan's "Comfort Women"; from Malcolm X to the prison industrial complex; and from war to cultural arts. Davis and Kochiyama's comments offer critical lessons for understanding our nation's most important social movements while providing tremendous hope for its youth and the future. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by EMRO. DISTRIBUTED by WOMEN MAKE MOVIES: http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c796.shtml
- DirectorVadim JeanStarsSamuel L. JacksonDaniel BeeRobert KingTells the shocking and unbelievable story of Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox and Robert King, three black men from rural Louisiana who were held in solitary confinement in the biggest prison in the U.S., an 18,000-acre former slave plantation known as Angola. Woodfox and Wallace, founding members of the first prison chapter of the Black Panther Party, worked along with King to speak out against the inhumane treatment and racial segregation in the prison. King was released in 2001 after almost thirty years of solitary confinement. Woodfox and Wallace, convicted in the highly contested stabbing death of white prison guard Brent Miller, remain in Angola where they have spent more than thirty-six years in solitary confinement. Made aware of their plight, Congressman John Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, visited Wallace and Woodfox in prison in March 2008. This documentary tells the ongoing story of the case of these three extraordinary men.
- DirectorTony HardmonRachel LibertStarsJerry EnsmingerMichael PartainMarine Corps Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger was a devoted Marine for nearly twenty-five years. As a drill instructor he lived and breathed the "Corps" and was responsible for indoctrinating thousands of new recruits with its motto Semper Fidelis or "Always Faithful". When Jerry's nine-year old daughter Janey died of a rare type of leukemia, his world collapsed. As a grief-stricken father, he struggled for years to make sense of what happened. His search for answers led to the shocking discovery of a Marine Corps cover-up of one of the largest water contamination incidents in U.S. history. Semper Fi: Always Faithful follows Jerry's mission to expose the Marine Corps and force them to live up to their motto to the thousands of soldiers and their families exposed to toxic chemicals. His fight reveals a grave injustice at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune and a looming environmental crisis at military sites across the country.
- DirectorOwen Alik ShahadahStarsMolefi Kete AsanteAmiri BarakaHarry BelafonteMotherland is the most powerful documentary on Africa. Fusing history, culture, politics, and contemporary issues, Motherland sweeps across Africa to tell a new story of a dynamic continent. From the glory and majesty of Africa's past through its complex history. Africa as you have never seen it. From multi-award winning director 'Alik Shahadah (500 Years Later.)
- DirectorMicah SchafferStarsMichelle Lynar AshleyRaz ChowdhuryAbdoul Salaam DialloAn African's death in America and an American's death in Africa highlight disparities in the way that human life is valued.
- DirectorShira PotashYoav PotashStarsHealthy EmmieShira PotashYoav PotashFood Stamped is an informative and humorous documentary film following a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food stamp budget.
- DirectorDaphne ValeriusStarsChuck DMichaela Angela DavisGwen IfillFilmmaker Daphne Valerius's award-winning documentary The Souls of Black Girls explores how media images of beauty undercut the self-esteem of African-American women.
- DirectorNirit PeledStarsAariesErykah BaduSparky DeeA story is built around the lives of entrepreneurs, mothers and artists fighting to be themselves in a society that offers few opportunities for women.
- DirectorCambria MatlowMorgan Robinson26-year-old charmer Daniel Dembele is equal parts West African and European, and looking to make his mark on the world. Seizing the moment at a crossroads in his life, Daniel decides to return to his homeland in Mali and start a local business building solar panels - the first of its kind in the sun drenched nation. Daniel's goal is to electrify the households of rural communities, 99% of which live without power. Founding a small business is something that is deeply embedded in American and European culture, a topic to which many can relate. But most have never seen this universal kind of effort take place in Africa, traditionally marked out by the media as the land of the starving, the war ravaged and the hopeless. Daniel's work shatters notions of the need for African dependence on outside aid and embraces the view that ultimately it is Africans who will develop Africa in their own way.
- DirectorJérôme LaperrousazStarsBrick and LaceCapletonStephen 'Cat' CooreA powerful portrait of the leaders of the reggae music Movement, and how Reggae has become a worldwide phenomenon. The film showcases performances by the best Reggae and Dance Hall artists ever assembled.
- DirectorTatsuya MoriStarsShoko AsaharaFollows the dissolution of the cult in the absence of their leader, Shoko Asahara.
- DirectorTatsuya MoriStarsHiroshi ArakiAum Shinrikyo, the Buddhist sect led by Shoko Asahara and responsible for the 1995 Sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway, becomes the subject of this documentary.
- DirectorDavid GrabiasNicole NewnhamStarsLoeun LunKim Ho MaMany UchRaised as Americans in inner city projects near Seattle, three young Cambodian refugees each made a rash decision as a teenager that irrevocably shaped their destiny. Years later, facing deportation back to Cambodia, they find themselves caught between a tragic past and an uncertain future by a system that doesn't offer any second chances. A PBS Indies / Global Voices selection.
- DirectorEllen KurasThavisouk PhrasavathStarsThavisouk PhrasavathThe epic story of a family forced to emigrate from Laos after the chaos of the secret air war waged by the U.S. during the Vietnam War. Kuras has spent the last 23 years chronicling the family's extraordinary journey in this deeply personal, poetic, and emotional film.
- DirectorMary Olive SmithStarsCatherine Hamlin"A Walk to Beautiful" tells the story of five women in Ethiopia suffering from devastating childbirth injuries. Rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities, these women are left to spend the rest of their lives in loneliness and shame. We follow each of these women on their journey to a special hospital in Addis Ababa where they find solace for the first time in years, and we stay with them as their lives begin to change. Through the intimate experiences all five share, we are no longer in the heart of Africa-we are in the hearts of these women. The trials they endure and their attempts to rebuild their lives tell a universal story of hope, courage, and transformation.
- DirectorChris PeckoverStarsScott MechlowiczAlona TalYancey AriasA documentary crew accompany a group of illegal immigrants crossing the Border, but their plans run afoul when they are captured by a gang of sadistic radicals in New Mexico.
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsOsama bin LadenSalim HamdanAbu JandalTells the story of two men whose fateful encounter in 1996 set them on a course of events that led them to Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Guantanamo, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
- DirectorTim GorskiSynthian SharpStarsCarol BuckleyLek ChailertTim GorskiOne girl's journey to inspire a movement. Juliette is fourteen years old and she is on a mission to save elephants. After single-handedly raising funds Juliette embarks on a life-altering journey to South East Asia to meet and work with her hero The Elephant Lady. This is the story of two women, one from the East, one from the West, coming together on common ground, saving elephants. It's the coming of age of a passionate emerging woman joining forces with the wise eastern animal advocate on an enlightening journey of compassion, action, and hope that is sure to motivate audiences young and old. The message: no matter what your age, your ethnicity, or disposition, no matter what the cause, you can make a difference.
- DirectorWerner BooteStarsWerner BooteJohn TaylorPeter LieberzeitWerner Boote presents an up-close and personal view of the controversial and fascinating material that has found its way into every facet of our daily lives: plastic. He takes us on a journey around the globe, showing that plastics have become a threat for both environment and human health.
- DirectorJoe EckardtStarsDanny TrejoDennis HopperRobert RodriguezDanny Trejo, you know the man. He has fierce tattoos, and frequently plays a thug in your favorite movies. Behind the ink and the wicked characters he plays on screen lies the story of a troubled childhood which included drug addiction, armed robbery and extensive prison time. Champion offers an intimate, one of a kind view into the life of Danny Trejo before he turned himself around and after.
- DirectorLydia NibleyFilmmaker Lydia Nibley explores the cultural context behind a tragic and senseless murder. Fred Martinez was a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16 by a man who bragged to his friends that he 'bug-smashed a fag'. But Fred was part of an honored Navajo tradition - the 'nadleeh', or 'two-spirit', who possesses a balance of masculine and feminine traits. Through telling Fred's story, Nibley reminds us of the values that America's indigenous peoples have long embraced.
- DirectorNewton Thomas SigelPamela YatesStarsRigoberta MenchúSusan SarandonA documentary on the war between the Guatemalan military and the Mayan population, with firsthand accounts by Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu.
- DirectorJoe AngioStarsMarva AllenEmanuel AzenbergShelley R. BonusFeature-length documentary on renegade filmmaker, novelist, musician and theater impresario, Melvin Van Peebles.
- DirectorJared GoodmanStarsVladimir GuerreroJesus AlouDavid OrtizBaseball in the Dominican Republic is not just a game. For many Dominicans the long, competitive road to a professional baseball career is one of the few viable alternatives to a life of poverty. ROAD TO THE BIG LEAGUES introduces you to the young men who embark on this odyssey and shows you first hand the pressure and joy that go along with it. Through the eyes of local kids playing with pebbles to the perspective of Dominican major league stars David Ortiz and Vladimir Guerrero, this documentary reveals a side of 'America's Game' that few have ever seen before.
- DirectorNeil AbramsonStarsDanny GloverSoldier Child tells the stories of the atrocities and brutality endured by children forced to serve the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
- DirectorLynn Hershman LeesonStarsThomas Jay RyanTilda SwintonPeter CoyoteA documentary in which actors interpret the legally touchy subject of artist Steve Kurtz, who is being held as a suspected terrorist because of his work.
- DirectorSusanne RostockStarsHarry BelafonteSidney PoitierMarge ChampionMost people know the lasting legacy of Harry Belafonte, the entertainer. This film unearths his significant contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and to social justice globally.
- DirectorSusan FroemkeMatthew HeinemanStarsClive AlonzoDon BerwickElizabeth BlackburnAn investigative documentary that uncovers the U.S. healthcare system's true design.
- DirectorKristi JacobsonLori SilverbushStarsJeff BridgesTom ColicchioKen CookA documentary that investigates incidents of hunger experienced by millions of Americans, and proposed solutions to the problem.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsJacques VergèsKlaus BarbieBarbet SchroederA documentary on Jacques Vergès, the controversial lawyer and former Free French Forces guerrilla who has defending unpopular figures such as Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy.
- DirectorTim HetheringtonSebastian JungerStarsThe Men of Battle Company 2nd of the 503rd Infantry Regiment 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat TeamJuan 'Doc RestrepoDan KearneyA year with one platoon in the deadliest valley in Afghanistan.
- DirectorOwen Alik ShahadahStarsHakim AdiSunara BegumIshmahil BlagroveOur story our voice engages the diverse voices of the dis-empowered in a multi-cultural world that has no multi-culture voice. Beyond the mainstream media and politics of newspapers Our Story Our Voice offers a rare unbridled look into the voices of those who more often than not get marginalized. From nuclear weapons proliferation to the hypocrisy of western foreign policy, failure of plurality and democracy to the crisis in Darfur.
- DirectorMike ChengBen WangA documentary film chronicling the life of Richard Aoki (1938-2009), a third-generation Japanese American who became one of the founding members of the Black Panther Party.
- DirectorPavol BarabasIn the era of satellites, this country of mysteries, myths and undiscovered secrets hides behind green walls of impenetrable deep forest.
- DirectorBarri Cohen
- DirectorShannon KeithStarsShane BarbiSia BarbiEd Begley Jr.Fur is sexy, beautiful, sensuous and luxurious. Nothing feels better against your skin, and beautiful, sexy, successful people wear it. Fur is also environmentally friendly and is therefore a sustainable resource. These are the campaigns the fur industry uses to get people to commit the ultimate atrocities permitted against animals. Consumers are misled by retailers who assure them that animals used for fur are humanely euthanized, intentionally hiding the reality of how the animals are hideously killed. Step inside the world of SKIN TRADE. Hundreds of hours of interviews with insiders, designers, leaders and celebrities compiled in a heart punching documentary directed and produced by award winning director Shannon Keith. This film lends a voice to the voiceless whose skin is ripped from them while often still alive. Understand what makes this savage industry tick and what it will take to change it. Whether you are a fan of fur or repulsed by the thought, you owe it to yourself to watch this moving peek inside the dark world of ugly glamour and painful beauty.
- DirectorRea TajiriStarsYuri KochiyamaBiography in political and social context of Yuri Kochiyama, a Japanese-American woman and humanitarian civil rights activist who first became aware of injustice in the United States during her time in a Japanese-American interment camp during World War II.
- DirectorJohn AkomfrahStarsDarrick HarrisDanny CarterMartin Boothe
- DirectorGurinder ChadhaStarsAnita Roddick
- DirectorTon van ZantvoortFlowers love people. Anyway, that is what the flower growing industry is trying to propagate. But whether flowers actually do love people, well, that remains the question. The largest percentage of flowers produced in third world countries, where the pay checks are low and the environment constraints are flexible, is auctioned in The Netherlands. "A Blooming Business" is a poetic documentary about people in Kenya who are imprisoned by the power of the global flower growing industry. The dilemmas of the industry grow painfully clear and a dark world of oppression, sexual abuse and terrible working conditions unfolds. There is only one conclusion possible: the smell of the imported rose is not sweet, but bitter. Pure observation goes unnoticed, hand in hand, with straightforward comments about life and living from the main characters throughout this film. The camera is present and absent at the same time. It reshapes the documentary. With great humanism, Van Zantvoort shows us literally and figuratively another world; a world in which the life of each human being is precious.
- DirectorMichael KleimanMichael PertnoyThe Last Survivor presents the stories of genocide survivors and their struggle to make sense of tragedy. They work to educate, motivate and promulgate a civic response to mass atrocity crimes, with a focus on awareness, prevention and promoting social activism and civic engagement.
- DirectorCatherine GundStarsSadie Hope-GundSafiyah Kai RiddleAna AngelWHAT'S ON YOUR PLATE is a witty and provocative documentary about kids and food politics. Filmed over the course of one year, the film follows two eleven-year-old African-American city kids as they explore their place in the food chain. Sadie and Safiyah take a close look at food systems in New York City and its surrounding areas. They formulate sophisticated and compassionate opinions about urban sustainability, and by doing so inspire hope and active engagement in others.
- DirectorVusi MagubaneErin OfferThis documentary reveals the position of South Africa's women today; their stories are mediated through the experiences of three major artists in South Africa's hip hop scene.
- DirectorIan ConnacherA Canadian documentary on modern society's 'addiction' to plastic; our prolific use of this product, its effects on the earth and on us, and where our unwanted plastic ends up.
- DirectorD. Channsin BerryBill DukeStarsSoren BakerRonald BoutelleJoni BovillDocumentary exploring the deep-seated biases and attitudes about skin color---particularly dark skinned women, outside of and within the Black American culture.
- DirectorRenee Tajima-PenaStarsRenee Tajima-PenaIntoxicating and irreverent, Renee Tajima-Peñas documentary and Sundance Film Festival award-winner, MY AMERICA...OR HONK IF YOU LOVE BUDDHA, is inspired by the Jack Kerouacs novel, On the Road, and recaptures his spirit in a fresh and different journey through a new American subculture. In MY AMERICA, the filmmaker recalls her childhood--back in the days when her vacationing family would cross five states lines without ever catching a glimpse of another Asian face. Returning to the road more than 20 years later, she finds that new immigration has suddenly put Asian Americans on the map. With Latinos, they have become the countrys fastest growing ethnic group. Tajima-Peña sets out to search for the new American identity that will arise from the multi-culti hoi-palloi that is America at the end of the 20th century. MY AMERICA is a rollicking ride across this changing terrain. Tajima-Peña first began chronicling the burgeoning Asian American population with her Academy Award-nominated film, WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN? In MY AMERICA, she searches for the meaning of that identity today in a racial landscape drastically transformed. Her metaphorical guide is the films road guru, Victor Wong. An iconoclastic actor (JOY LUCK CLUB, DIM SUM, THE LAST EMPEROR), ex-photojournalist, ex-Beat Generation painter and wanderer, Wong was immortalized by Kerouac in the novel, Big Sur. In MY AMERICA, the 70-year-old Wong emerges as a complex, Buddha-like character who has traveled the currents of post-war American life: the Beat Generation, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War era. His story frames Tajima-Peñas travels, as she discovers how deeply Asian Americans have been entangled in the politics of race. In New Orleans, 8th generation Louisianan Filipinas describe growing up as honorary whites in the Jim Crow South. In Seattle a pair of Korean rappers, known as The Seoul Brothers, express the political awakening of a new generation. Through it all, Tajima-Peña delivers comic projectiles at the stereotypes that color attitudes towards Asians, with characters like Mr. Choi, a fortune cookie-maker-entrepreneur who she dubs a veritable Horatio Alger on amphetamines. But beyond the critique of racism, Tajima-Peña also explores the challenge for Asian Americans now that they are no longer the invisible minority. Refusing to be cast as second class citizens, Asian Americans are grappling with the question, what then is their role in the public life of the nation? In Mississippi and Arkansas, the legendary activist Yuri Kochiyama - a contemporary of Malcolm X - traces the roots of her own passion for justice to her years of incarceration at a World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans. In Los Angeles, a young student named Alyssa Kang defies her mothers expectations and risks arrest to protest anti-immigrant legislation. As film critic B. Ruby Rich writes of MY AMERICA, The real road that Tajima-Peña is traversing is the delicate one separating public and private, group identity and individual personality, and she aint no tourist. If Asian Americans have too often been cast as spectators in the drama of black/white America, MY AMERICA restores their centrality.
- DirectorOlive DemetriusHanifah WalidahStarsDJ AydenNakita BermudezTara BetheaWhat do you get when over the course of 2 days in an unassuming brownstone in Brooklyn with 30 women across sexualities and transfolk of color? History.
- DirectorEric TandocStarsJack DejesusGrowing up around Los Angeles neighborhood gangs during the '90s, a young Filipino-American named Kiwi became an MC and community organizer. He uses his hip-hop to raise the consciousness of youth from San Francisco to Metro Manila. He gets them involved in organizing their communities, while advancing the movement for national liberation and genuine democracy in the Philippines. Through sharing life experiences, beats, and rhymes, they make connections across oceans that inspire the next generation to continue the ongoing struggle for freedom.
- DirectorDavid EarnhardtStarsJohn ConyersClint CurtisBob FitrakisUNCOUNTED exposes how the election fraud that altered the outcome of the 2004 election led to even greater fraud in 2006 and now looms as an unbridled threat to the outcome of the 2008 election. The controversial film examines in factual, logical, and yet startling terms how easy it is to change election outcomes and undermine election integrity across the U.S. Beyond increasing the public's awareness, UNCOUNTED inspires greater citizen involvement in fixing a broken electoral system.
- DirectorDeja BernhardtStarsMary JacksonRobin LimMichael OdentThe film follows the remarkable work of 2011 CNN Hero, Ibu Robin Lim and her efforts to protect the smallest citizens of Earth. Filmmaker Déjà Bernhardt has captured on camera tender moments of childbirth and human bonding, as they unfold in our planet's most extreme locations of environmental and political disaster. As Bernhardt takes us from beautiful Bali, where terrorist bombings have destroyed the economy, to post Tsunami Aceh, she highlights the efforts of one remarkable woman who has been recognized globally for illuminating the difference one person can make.
- DirectorAdi EzroniGuy JacobsonCharles KiselyakStarsSomaly MamReenaSokhaA powerful feature documentary about child sexploitation, an epidemic happening in every country around the world. Filmed over a four year period, REDLIGHT focuses on the personal stories of young Cambodian victims and two remarkable advocates for change: grass-roots activist Somaly Mam and politician Mu Sochua. Both have since been nominated for the Noble Peace Prize. The filmmakers Guy Jacobson and Adi Ezroni won the prestigious Global Hero Award for their work in Cambodia. Using gritty footage smuggled out of brothels and harrowing testimonials, REDLIGHT follows the plight of several current and former child sex slaves. Some are trying to regain entry into Cambodian society to find some semblance of normality after their horrific experiences. Other stories highlight the plight of victims who are attempting to bring the perpetrators to justice. Their torturous yet ultimately heroic battles to find witnesses and take brothel owners to court are dramatically brought to life in this topical and moving feature documentary.
- DirectorYoruba RichenPromised Land examines post-apartheid South Africa's efforts to bring about racial reconciliation through land redistribution. The film follows two black communities that are trying to get back land they say their ancestors were removed from during apartheid. The land is currently owned by white landowners and the film follows the mutli-year efforts of both groups to get and keep possession of the land. Through these two stories, the epic battle of over race and land is played out with very real consequences for all sides. The audience will see why many inside the country call the land issue the 'ticking time bomb' that has the potential to destroy the fragile racial compact that the new South Africa was built on.
- StarsJed CullivanClay CurlyRobert FloydIn the 1970s, the Marin Klunkers, pioneers of mountain biking, shaped the industry with innovations from retrofitting bikes to blazing trails. Twenty years later, riders blazed a new sport down the Teton Pass - Freeride Mountain Biking. But this time it was illegal. Nevertheless the sport grew, and trails were built. The Forest Service tried to close the trails, but the bikers removed the obstacles and continued on, only to have the Service again 'close' the trails. Eventually, the Teton Pass riders distinguished themselves by reaching out to the Forest Service for a mutually acceptable solution. Through town hall meetings, a trail was finally allowed, making it the first permitted downhill-specific trail in the country.
- DirectorNisha PahujaManfred BeckerStarsJennifer DaleDiamond Road is a three-part series and 96 minute feature documentary exploring the historical, cultural and socio-political facets of the world's most intriguing gem. Boring deep into the diamond world, the series seeks to understand the multiple meanings of an object that is as old as the earth itself. Diamond Road is an intimate and broad-ranging picture of a complex and historically rich world. Key to the series are the people who represent the different stages on the diamond pipeline. They are our guides, our window into a fascinating industry that spans continents and centuries and the deep shifts of history. We journey to Canada's North with a geologist seeking diamonds in a harsh land. We meet top dealers and jewelers of New York, centre of the trade in high-end goods and gateway to the US market. We travel to India, the massive engine of the cutting and polishing industry and now a burgeoning retail market. We journey to Sierra Leone where diamonds are slowly morphing into a tool for development. In South Africa, we meet black diamond entrepreneurs and others who are intent on rewriting their country's troubled history. We travel to Antwerp, heart of the rough trade where an old Jewish master cutter works his magic, and we learn how so many Jewish people were given a second chance at life through diamonds. We meet the passionate collectors willing to pay a small fortune for a stone born at the stroke of creation. And we meet the influential decision-makers who keep the diamond world turning.
- DirectorPaul BiedrzyckiStarsIlluminessence AllahKaraam AllahJoy BryantNYC rap group The A-Alikes speak with figures from music, entertainment and political worlds leading up to the 2008 presidential election. They focus on the relevance of Malcolm X's speech 1964 'The Ballot or the Bullet' to Barack Obama's election and the black community at large in 2008.
- DirectorTom JacksonStarsBen CohenKert DaviesBrenda EkwurzelThe documentary highlights the influence that major corporations, including ExxonMobil, wield over individual countries' governments, media, and citizens, and examines their connections to global warming. As the adverse effects of the unsustainable surge in fossil fuel use continue to destabilize the climate, ExxonMobil escalates production and global influence to maximize profits, disregarding climate science and long-term statistical trends.
- DirectorMonte ThompsonStarsSteven BeissingerSally BinghamIgnacio ChapelaThe first feature-length documentary film to fully investigate the growing threat to Earth's life-support systems from the loss of biodiversity. If current trends continue, scientists warn that half or more of all plant and animal species on Earth will become extinct within the next few decades. Call of Life investigates the scope, the causes, and the predicted effects of this unprecedented loss of life, but also looks deeper, at the ways in which both culture and psychology have helped to create and perpetuate the situation. The film not only tells the story of a crisis in nature, but also in human nature, a crisis more complex and threatening than anything human beings have ever faced before.
- StarsAaron PedersenErnie DingoUrsula YovichFirst Australians chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people. First Australians explores what unfolds when the oldest living culture in the world is overrun by the world's greatest empire. Over seven episodes, First Australians depicts the true stories of individuals - both black and white - caught in an epic drama of friendship, revenge, loss and victory in Australia's most transformative period of history. The story begins in 1788 in Sydney, with the friendship between an Englishmen (Governor Phillip) and a warrior (Bennelong) and ends in 1992 with Koiki Mabo's legal challenge to the foundation of Australia. First Australians chronicles the collision of two worlds and the genesis of a new nation.
- DirectorSimcha JacoboviciStarsSimcha JacoboviciTrue story of the plight & persecution of Ethiopian Jewry (Black Jews) and of Operation Moses, which was organized in response, transporting thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel by means of secret airlifts from Sudan.
- DirectorChristine AchamClifford WardStarsSam GreenleeBerlie DixonTodd BoydInfiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door is an independent documentary on the controversial and FBI repressed 1973 black film The Spook Who Sat By the Door. The Spook Who Sat by The Door is widely hailed as a cult classic and one of the most important underground black productions of the era. Based on Sam Greenlee's 1969 novel, a political satire and semi autobiography, the book imagined a world not very far from reality, in which integration would often occur due to the desire of organizations to appear politically correct, and not because of the belief in African American capability. In the narrative, political race baiting allows a black man to be begrudgingly trained as a CIA agent. This politicized but underground "Spook" would then use the white perception of black simplicity and inadequacy to turn the tables on the establishment and challenge the oppressive forces in his community. The Spook also urged African Americans to realize that the source of their repression existed both inside and outside of the black community. It encouraged blacks to shake off these mental and physical shackles and take back control of their lives. Sam Greenlee wrote a screenplay based on his novel and with actor/director Ivan Dixon sought to produce the film version of his novel. The film faced numerous obstacles including little to no budget and the denial of film permits to shoot in the city of Chicago, the primary location of the novel. On the other hand Sam, Ivan and their cast and crew also experienced the incredible support of African American Mayor Richard Hatcher and the city of Gary, Indiana who stepped in when Chicago Mayor Richard Daley rejected the production of the film within his city limits. Infiltrating Hollywood then reveals the Br'er Rabbit principle of African American existence as Greenlee and Dixon played off of the film industry's expectations of black themed films in the 1970s by cutting their dailies to look like a Blaxploitation film to obtain finishing funds from a major distributor. United Artists took the bait and was dismayed at the final production of the film, however were bound by contract to release The Spook. The Spook used the veil of the Blaxploitation film era to create an oppositional narrative. Instead of images of pimps and prostitutes perpetuated by Hollywood during the 1970s, the film portrayed black people who were willing to fight for their beliefs, to achieve freedom from oppression.
- DirectorPeter SpirerStarsIce-TBig TiggaKamau Karl FranklinIt's been whispered about for years in the Hip Hop community. Now learn the shocking truth and see the irrefutable evidence -- top Hip Hop artists are being targeted by one of the most powerful police departments in the country. Unlike performers in any other musical genre, respected Hip Hop artists such as Jay-Z, Ja Rule, 50 Cent, The Game, Cuban Link, Damon Dash, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Lil' Kim and more are constantly followed, questioned and harassed without probable cause by New York City's finest. The NYPD maintains that there's no profiling of Hip Hop artists and their crews. But in this program, retired police detective Derrick Parker reveals that he created an NYPD rap unit after the murder of Notorious B.I.G. in 1997, then saw his unit become officially sanctioned three years later. With actual law enforcement rapper surveillance footage and a rare peek at the infamous "Rap Binder" used in law enforcement training, BLACK and BLUE tells the compelling story of Detective Derrick Parker, the unit he created and the controversy it has spawned. This is one of the secret stories of Hip Hop, a culture that continues to be exploited by corporate America and condemned by mainstream society.
- DirectorJoie JacobyMaura MandtStarsNeil AmdurRalph BostonTom BrokawIn the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, USA medal winners Tommy Smith and John Carlos stood on the victory podium in silent protest during the national Anthem. Each bowed their head and raised a gloved fist in support of oppressed people around the world. This led to their ejection from the US Track and Field team and years of fighting prejudice by those who misunderstood the act to be anti-American. Forty years later to the day of that event, Smith and Carlos returned to Mexico City and the Olympic Stadium. This documentary remembers the heartache both men and their families have endured. The film culminates with both men being reunited in the Olympic stadium and facing their emotional place in history.
- DirectorMags GavanJoost van der ValkA documentary about the violent lives of the Crips, a group of Dutch gangsters.
- StarsCesar ChavezHenry CisnerosLand, labor, educational reform, and political empowerment are the four themes of this documentary regarding the Mexican American civil rights movement from 1965 to 1975.
- DirectorGeorge RoyStarsNeil AmdurBob BeamonRalph BostonDocumentary leading up to, during and after the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. Features interviews with athletes, including John Carlos, Tommie Smith and George Foreman, activist Dr. Harry Edwards, journalists and archival footage of the Games and the fallout after the raised fisted gloves by Carlos and Smith.
- DirectorKlaus SchneyderIt was in the late 70s that a youth culture evolved in the poorer parts of New York which combined several disciplines under the name of Hip Hop. Apart from the four classic elements of Graffiti writing, DJing, Breakdancing, and Rapping, the musical side of this culture was enhanced by a fifth element called Beatboxing. From the hardship of poverty and the lack of instruments, a pioneer was inspired to imitate drum rhythms with his mouth his brilliance creating the term Human Beatbox. Very soon other Hip Hop artists picked up his style and added this technique of music making to their own shows, but at that time beatboxing never left the realm of Hip Hop culture. At the end of the 80s the first big wave of beatboxing was over and beatboxing only existed in an underground scene. It took until the late 90s that the art of Human Beatboxing was explosively revived. At that time the Internet had emerged and offered new ways of communication for young artists. All of a sudden beatboxers from all over the world were given the opportunity to connect and share their knowledge on websites through videos and online tutorials. Since then Human Beatboxing has become a global phenomenon, which is organized and celebrated in the annual Beatbox Conventions and through Beatbox Competitions, that are being held in an increasing number of countries every year. The documentary aims at providing a full picture of this incredible art form starting with its genesis within Hip Hop Culture and continuing with its further developments and its use in various musical fields in several countries throughout the world. The documentary features artists from New York, California, Florida, Spain, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Belgium, Canada, Austria and Germany, who demonstrate their amazing techniques, which often seem impossible to audiences at first sight, but see for yourselves
- DirectorRegina KimbellJay BluemkeStarsCherrellKim FieldsVivica A. Fox"My Nappy Roots" explores the politics, culture and history of African American hair. Is there such a thing as "Good and Bad" hair? How has the Eurocentric ideal of beauty influenced black hair through modern history? "My Nappy Roots" will vibrantly depict some of the complex social, political and cultural influences that have dominated the dialogue surrounding African and African American hairstyles from styling patterns and cultural trends to the business of black hair care products, services and advertising. The film will use the evolution of black hairstyles as a touchstone to address the broader struggle of African American people in their search for social control, identity and economic independence.
- DirectorDean PuckettStarsNafeez Mossadeq AhmedFrancis FukuyamaSamuel HuntingtonThe Crisis Civilization is a documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system. Proving that 'another world' is not merely possible, but on its way.
- DirectorTed WoodsStarsBen HarperTariq TrotterAudwin AndersenWhite Wash, the documentary, is a film exploring the complexity of race in America through the struggle and triumph of black surfers. The story is narrated by Grammy Award® winner Ben Harper with Tariq "Blackthought" Trotter of the Roots and told through the eyes of black surfers from Hawaii, Jamaica, Florida, and California. This controversial and probing film looks deep into America's painful and pervasive legacy of slavery and exclusion. From surfing's "discovery" by Captain James Cook in Hawaii in 1778 through the explosion of surf culture during the days of segregated Jim Crow America in1960's, this film explores the myths that black surfers have overcome in their search for waves. White Wash is a story of transcendence in the face of aggression and a glimpse into the American psyche. From the shores of California, Hawaii, Mexico, and Puerto Rico to the basketball courts of New York City, through the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta up to the ivory towers of Texas and back into the swimming pools of Florida, White Wash is a historical exploration of race, identity, and the myths we live by and that ultimately unite us all.
- DirectorDavid MuellerLynn SaltStarsLarry AndersonDennis BanksTashina BanksAIM leader Dennis Banks looks back at his early life and the rise of the American Indian Movement.
- DirectorRussell MartinYou'll believe in the promise of medicine once more. And you'll never take your face for granted again.
- DirectorIara LeeStarsMouneer Al-ShaaraniShoja AzariOla BalogunDoes each gesture really make a difference? Can music and dance be weapons of peace? In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction.
- DirectorVanessa Warheit
- DirectorHubert SauperStarsElizabeth 'Eliza' Maganga NseseRaphael Tukiko WagaraDimond RemtuliaA documentary on the effect of fishing the Nile perch in Tanzania's Lake Victoria. The predatory fish, which has wiped out the native species, is sold in European supermarkets, while starving Tanzanian families have to make do with the leftovers.
- DirectorRory KennedyStarsRory KennedyIn October 2006, the United States government decided to build a 700 mile fence along its Mexican border. Three years and 3.1 billion dollars later, award-winning director Rory Kennedy investigates the impact of the project, revealing how its stated goals--containing illegal immigration, cracking down on drug trafficking, and protecting America from terrorists--have given way to unforeseen consequences.
- StarsLiz DeriasCointelpro 101 exposes illegal surveillance, disruption, and outright murder committed by the US government in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Cointelpro refers to the official FBI COunter INTELligence PROgram carried out to surveil, imprison, and eliminate leaders of social justice movements and to disrupt, divide, and destroy the movements as well. Many of the government's crimes are still unknown. Through interviews with activists who experienced these abuses first-hand, with rare historical footage, the film provides an educational introduction to a period of intense repression and draws relevant lessons for the present and future.
- DirectorYoav ShamirStarsYoav ShamirAbraham FoxmanBob WolfsonIntent on shaking up the ultimate 'sacred cow' for Jews, Israeli director Yoav Shamir embarks on a provocative - and at times irreverent - quest to answer the question, "What is anti-Semitism today?"
- DirectorSherien BarsoumStarsAnthony McLeanCOLOUR ME is a documentary film that will change the way you think about race. We follow motivational speaker Anthony McLean into the ethnically explosive city of Brampton, Ontario - where is his forced to critically examine his own identity while mentoring six youth grappling with theirs. At a time when statistics on black youth in crime, drop-outs, and pregnancy are rising, we ask 'why' while exploring the confines of race, the complexity of identity and the need to find our voice.
- DirectorJoe CrossKurt EngfehrStarsJoe CrossAmy BadbergMerv CrossFat, Sick, and Nearly Dead is an American documentary that chronicles Australian Joe Cross's 60-day journey across the United States, where he embarks on a juice-only fast in a quest to reclaim his health.
- DirectorBari PearlmanDAUGHTERS OF WISDOM is an intimate portrait of the nuns of Kala Rongo, a rare and exceptional Buddhist Monastery exclusively for women situated in Nangchen, in remote and rural northeastern Tibet. These nuns are receiving religious and educational training previously unavailable to women, and playing an unprecedented role in preserving their rich cultural heritage even as they slowly reshape it. They graciously allow the camera a never-before-seen glimpse into their vibrant spiritual community and insight into their extraordinary lives. Some shy, some outspoken, all are committed to the often difficult life they have chosen, away from the yak farms and herding families of their birth. It is the story of their spiritual community, one that couldn't have existed 20 years ago but is thriving today.
- StarsGilles KepelWilliam KristolMelvin GoodmanA series of three documentaries about the use of fear for political gain.
- DirectorAlan LoweryJohn PilgerStarsJohn PilgerStuart EwenMelvin GoodmanThought-provoking documentary on war propaganda: how governments manipulate the facts and how most media let them get away with it.
- DirectorKirby DickStarsAmy ZieringKirby DickKori CiocaAn investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military.
- DirectorJennifer Siebel NewsomStarsJennifer Siebel NewsomJean KilbourneJim SteyerExplores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media's limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman.
- DirectorBrigid MaherVeiled Voices is an hour long documentary that introduces the American audience to the world of Muslim women religious leaders, women who are reviving their leadership role in Islam across the Middle East.
- DirectorMalachi LeopoldScott M. RosenfeltWrtier Phil Jacobs of the Jewish Times, an orthodox Jew himself, must go against his own community's wishes as he uncovers and reports on a web of sexual abuse involving a well-liked orthodox rabbi, and his son, in the Baltimore Orthodox community.
- DirectorPeter JosephStarsChris SilcoxChris GrabherShiah LunaIn a quest for a new, more humane society, a counter-culture revolution takes the world by storm. In the first of the InterReflections Trilogy, we look back to the modern world and wonder how it was we managed to survive as long as we had.
- DirectorGeralyn PezanoskiStarsKaren Remy O'TooleMINE is the powerful story about the essential bond between humans and animals told against the backdrop of one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. MINE explores how tragedy intensifies that bond and is told from the perspective of original guardians, rescuers, and adoptive parents of the voiceless victims of Katrina. These individuals are all connected by two things, the tragic aftermath of Katrina and their love of animals. In response to an unprecedented crisis, thousands of pets needed to be transported around the country and adopted even when their displaced guardians still desperately wanted them. Meanwhile, many adoptive guardians have forged strong bonds with their new pets, nurturing them back to health from the traumas they suffered during and after the storm. When two families love the same pet, conflicts inevitably arise over who is the rightful "owner" and what is right for the animal. At the center of this tension are pets who are loved like family, but by law are considered property. This begs the question, who is looking out for the best interest of the animals? Set in a post-Katrina landscape of poverty, loss and moral uncertainty, MINE presents the complexity of an intensely emotional situation that has no simple answers. A tragedy of this scale reveals the worst and brings out the best in humankind and presents an opportunity for us to bring about meaningful social change. MINE is a compelling, character-driven story that challenges us see the way we treat animals in our society as a reflection of how we treat ourselves - and each other.
- DirectorChris PaineStarsMartin SheenTom HanksMel GibsonA documentary that investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future.
- 20091h 32mNot Rated7.7 (2.4K)75MetascoreDirectorJudith EhrlichRick GoldsmithStarsPeter ArnettBen BagdikianAnn BeesonAn exploration of the life and work of Dr. Daniel Ellsberg, former Marine and military strategist, who was responsible for the publication of secret government documents that revealed the truth behind America's involvement in Vietnam.
- DirectorHubert DavisA documentary on young black children living in Toronto public housing.
- DirectorAndrew NiskerStarsApril GoodeDave GoodeGavin Goode'Chemerical' explores the life cycle of everyday household cleaners and hygiene products to prove that, thanks to our clean obsession, we are drowning in a sea of toxicity. An average North American family try to turn a new leaf by creating and living in a toxic free home. Chemerical tackles the 'toxic debate' in a truly informative and entertaining way, not only by raising awareness, but more importantly, by providing simple solutions. Sparking awareness through an interesting and inspiring dialogue of an issue that affects the lives of everyone, Chemerical will seek to catalyze a change in behavior. Focusing on the lives and foibles of a family that subsists on a chemical dependent lifestyle, and bit-by-bit revealing its impact and scope on their own well-being and that of their fellow humans, the film will relate and share their story as a basis for connecting the dots between our consumer choices and community concerns.