They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us a new and unusually moving way to understand the Shakers.
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The first woman rabbi in the world, Regina Jonas, comes to light, courtesy of Rachel Weisz – who plays her – and her father George Weisz, who was the executive producer for this poetic and beautiful documentary. The daughter of an Orthodox Jewish peddler, Jonas was ordained in Berlin in 1935. During the Nazi era and the war, her sermons and her unparalleled devotion brought encouragement to the persecuted German Jews. Regina Jonas was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. The only surviving photo of Jonas serves as a leitmotif for the film, showing a determined young woman gazing at the camera with self-confidence.
The documentary follows leaders and community members from the tropical Pacific island nation who are making bold changes to move the needle on marine protection. With a population of under 2,000 people and a marine reserve covering 40% of its waters, Niue has demonstrated the ways in which traditional knowledge and contemporary science can live in harmony for the benefit of people and the planet.
They Ain’t Ready For Me is the story of Tamar Manasseh, the black rabbinical student who leads the fight against gun violence on the south side of Chicago. Tamar’s identity and personality combine to make her a force to be reckoned with.
Filmmaker Sarah Polley interviews members of her family as they look back on decades-old events.
For a guy who grew up thinking only of Australian Rules football, it’s almost an accident that Shane Warne became the greatest cricketer of a generation, and one of the greats of all time. Mastering the difficult art of spin bowling after being kicked out of football for not being a good enough player proved a pivotal choice for 19 year old Shane – declared unfit and fat, he transformed himself. When success came, so did fame and adulation, money and prestige but a betting scandal, drugs scandal, and affairs that cost him his marriage, threatened his career. From the lows of a 12 month ban he rebuilt his cricket, his career, and his reputation as one of the most ferocious competitors on the planet, admired and revered by millions.
The true story of the smallest Green Beret soldier who became a war hero-only to be killed homeless and alone, whose life and death are shrouded in mystery.
In 1978 Scotland had a team of brilliant footballers and mercurial manager Ally McLeod. Featuring rare archive footage, this is the story of when a nation dared to dream.
In this hilarious and heartwarming special, Jo Firestone teaches a comedy workshop for 16 senior citizens, leading up to their first live stand-up show.
The film tracks legendary swimmer Diana Nyad’s lifetime vision and four harrowing attempts to swim non-stop from Cuba to Florida. An abusive past collides with an obsessive present over a dangerous 60-hour feat never before accomplished.
The political murder of a Moscow lawyer and the cancellation of 259 pending American adoptions of Russian orphans are seemingly disparate events found to have a deep and insidious connection. Connecting the dots from Russia’s warehousing of abandoned and special needs children to the cross-borders dealings of a billionaire investment banker to one American family’s tragedy, the film explores how Russian political corruption is linked to a single adopted child, whose accidental death becomes the declared reason behind Putin’s Russian Adoption Ban.
Comedian Katt Williams (aka Money Mike) showcases his laugh out loud comedic talents in his first ever HBO stand-up comedy DVD taped in front of a live audience. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Williams worked his way up the comedy club ladder before landing key television and film roles that displayed his flashy, sassy, streetwise style.
In this hybrid political thriller and verité portrait documentary, Sara Nodjoumi, working with co-director and husband, Till Schauder, makes her directorial debut with this personal film, diving into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of more than 100 “treasonous” paintings by her father, seminal Iranian modern artist Nickzad Nodjoumi.