Documentary
Degrees North mixes hair-raising action footage of leading freeriders with a story of adventure and discovery. World-renowned freeriders Xavier De Le Rue, Samuel Anthamatten and Ralph Backstrom progress the sport of freeriding through the use new technology to scope remote areas in order to show ski and snowboard action in a way never seen before. The film charts the progress of an idea to use these wings to access areas from the air in a more personal and organic way, with the aim of capturing great action footage. However the realities were not so simple.
Nearly 20 years after his death and in the run-up to his centenary, Toshiro Mifune remains a true giant of Japanese cinema.
A young man and his young elephant street beg in gritty Bangkok amid the controversial elephant business that threatens their survival, until the opportunity comes to release the elephant to the wild.
The life and work of Robert Frank—as a photographer and a filmmaker—are so intertwined that they’re one in the same, and the vast amount of territory he’s covered, from The Americans in 1958 up to the present, is intimately registered in his now-formidable body of artistic gestures. From the early ’90s on, Frank has been making his films and videos with the brilliant editor Laura Israel, who has helped him to keep things homemade and preserve the illuminating spark of first contact between camera and people/places. Don’t Blink is Israel’s like-minded portrait of her friend and collaborator, a lively rummage sale of images and sounds and recollected passages and unfathomable losses and friendships that leaves us a fast and fleeting imprint of the life of the Swiss-born man who reinvented himself the American way, and is still standing on ground of his own making at the age of 90.
A retired police detective dedicates his life to preventing deaths at Japan’s suicide cliffs, providing emergency assistance and counseling even as tourists flock to the site, attracted by its notoriety as a popular suicide destination.
Documentary film exploring the lives of the people at the flashpoint of the LA riots, 25 years after the uprising made national headlines and highlighted the racial divide in America.
A portrait of the day-to-day operations of the National Gallery of London, that reveals the role of the employees and the experiences of the Gallery’s visitors. The film portrays the role of the curators and conservators; the education, scientific, and conservation departments; and the audience of all kinds of people who come to experience it.
The story of one of the most infamous books ever written, “The Anarchist Cookbook,” and the role it’s played in the life of its author, now 65, who wrote it at 19 in the midst of the counterculture upheaval of the late ’60s and early ’70s.
Anoosh and Arash are at the center of Tehran’s underground techno scene. Tired of hiding from the police and their stagnating career, they organize one last manic techno rave under dangerous circumstances in the desert. Back in Tehran they try their luck selling their illegally printed music album without permission. When Anoosh is arrested, there seems to be no hope left. But then they receive a phone call from the biggest techno festival in the world. Once landed in Switzerland, the haze of the instant euphoria evaporates quickly when the seriousness of the situation starts to dawn on them.
Dave Navarro is a trauma survivor of the highest order. When Dave was only 15 years old his mother was brutally murdered by her estranged ex-boyfriend. For 8 long years her killer avoided capture while Dave dealt with his deepest, darkest fears through drugs, art and escapism. In a heartbreaking, inspirational journey, Dave confronts the events that changed his life forever. Through revelations from friends and family, to the cold hard facts from police and FBI agents, Dave attempts to come to terms with his mother’s senseless murder and the horrific realities of domestic violence.
A history of the ill-fated 1994 production of “The Fantastic Four” that was executive produced by Roger Corman.
An unsettling and eye opening exploration into the spread of the radical Islamic school Red Mosque, which trains legions of children to devote their lives to jihad, or holy war, from a very young age. With incredible access and chilling footage, Among the Believers is a timely and relevant look into the causes that have led to the growth of radical Islam in Pakistan and around the world.
Under the sun, the heavenly beauty of grasslands will soon be covered by the raging dust of mines. Facing the ashes and noises caused by heavy mining , the herdsmen have no choice but to leave as the meadow areas dwindle. In the moonlight, iron mines are brightly lit throughout the night. Workers who operate the drilling machines must stay awake. The fight is tortuous, against the machine and against themselves. Meanwhile, coal miners are busy filling trucks with coals. Wearing a coal-dust mask, they become ghostlike creatures. An endless line of trucks will transport all the coals and iron ores to the iron works. There traps another crowd of souls, being baked in hell. In the hospital, time hangs heavy on miners’ hands. After decades of breathing coal dust, death is just around the corner. They are living the reality of purgatory, but there will be no paradise.
Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei journeyed from a World War II internment camp to the helm of the Starship Enterprise, and then to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband, Brad, on a wacky and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.
Gertrude Bell, the most powerful woman in the British Empire in her day, shaped the destiny of Iraq after WWI in ways that still reverberate today.
Since the birth of the male review in the late 1970s, the greatest male strippers in the world can all be traced back to one club… La Bare Dallas. La Bare gives you a behind the curtains look at the lives, loves, laughs, and loss of the current crop of dancers as well as the man that’s been going strong for over three decades since the club’s inception, Randy “Master Blaster” Ricks.
Seattle DJ Marco Collins stars in this unflinching documentary about media fame and addiction, which tracks his rise, fall, and resurrection as an influential promoter of grunge, alternative rock, and electronic dance music.
Five interwoven stories of remarkable courage from Nuremberg to Rwanda, from Darfur to Syria, and from apathy to action.
Experience an inside look at David Bowie’s incredible influence on music, art and culture via interviews with some of the people who knew him best.
A documentary about the history of American dependence on oil.
Professor Richard Fortey delves into the fascinating and normally-hidden kingdom of fungi. From their spectacular birth, through their secretive underground life to their final explosive death, Richard reveals a remarkable world that few of us understand or even realise exists – yet all life on Earth depends on it.
A meditative, immersive tribute to the astonishing work and achievements of naturalist, inventor and pioneering filmmaker F. Percy Smith. Smith worked in the early years of the 20th century, developing various cinematographic and micro-photographic techniques to capture nature’s secrets in action. Working in a number of public roles, including the Royal Navy and British Instructional Films, Smith was prolific and driven, often directing several films simultaneously, apparently on a mission to explore and capture nature’s hidden terrains. This film is an interpretative edit that combines Smith’s original footage with a new contemporary score by tindersticks to create a hypnotic, alien yet familiar dreamscape that connects us to the sense of wonder Smith must have felt as he peered through his own lenses and seen these micro-worlds for the first time.
After Porn Ends 3 continues to explore whether a career as an adult performer is inherently damaging to the balance of a perfomer’s life once retired.
Jack to a King is a passionate portrait of the rise of Swansea City Football Club from near oblivion to the world stage of the Premier League. It is the story of a city and the people who made the club what it is today. An independent feature from film makers, Mal Pope and Edward Thomas, YJB Films’, Jack to a King is about more than just a football club, it is about a city that survives against all odds – through the Blitz, industrial decline and recession. It tells a universal story of how football plays into the lives of ordinary people. It touches on the Welsh attitude to defeat and victory and the relationship between sport and money. The story is told through the characters involved, capturing the rhythm of their lives and presenting a portrait of where they live. Through it all, there is one dream, one ambition which unites everyone – The Premier League.
The history of legendary rock band Chicago is chronicled from their inception in 1967 all the way to the present.
David Prowse is an eighty years old actor, who has lived behind Darth Vader’s mask during three decades. A group of Star Wars fans find out why he has been apparently forgotten by Lucasfilm during thirty years, and decide to give him back the glory he never had. This is their last opportunity.
Short documentary chronicling the true story of famed musicians and the relationships they have with their roadies. Features music legends Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters) and the crew of Pearl Jam.
Long a dream, the quest for immortality has shifted from the metaphysical to the technical and the scientific. With cryonics technology improving, human cloning, mind uploading and digital brain simulation, and reversing the aging of cells feasible, immortality may seem right around the corner.
After a break of nine years, David Gilmour steps back into the spotlight with a number one album and world tour. This film is an intimate portrait of one of the greatest guitarists and singers of all time, exploring his past and present. With unprecedented access, the film crew have captured and detailed key moments in David Gilmour’s personal and professional life that have shaped him both as a person and a musician.
Northern Ireland’s legendary star remains one of the most naturally gifted footballers there has ever been.
In this tense and immersive tour de force, audiences are taken directly into the line of fire between powerful, opposing Peruvian leaders who will stop at nothing to keep their respective goals intact. On the one side is President Alan Garcia, who, eager to enter the world stage, begins aggressively extracting oil, minerals, and gas from untouched indigenous Amazonian land. He is quickly met with fierce opposition from indigenous leader Alberto Pizango, whose impassioned speeches against Garcia’s destructive actions prove a powerful rallying cry to throngs of his supporters. When Garcia continues to ignore their pleas, a tense war of words erupts into deadly violence.
What is art and how does it relate to society? Is its value determined by its popularity or originality? Is the goal profit or expressing one’s personal vision? These are some of the questions raised as we follow fiercely independent New York artist Robert Cenedella in his artistic journey through decades of struggling for creative expression. A student, protégé and friend of German artist George Grosz, Cenedella is now passing on the legacy of Grosz’s approach to art, in the very same room where Grosz taught. In portraying Cenedella’s determination to buck the system of what’s popular while critiquing that popularity in his attempt to turn the art world upside down, ART BASTARD is a funny, touching, and insightful look inside the maverick mind of a true original.
The danger is palpable as intrepid young filmmaker Nanfu Wang follows maverick activist Ye Haiyan (a.k.a Hooligan Sparrow) and her band of colleagues to Hainan Province in southern China to protest the case of six elementary school girls who were sexually abused by their principal. Marked as enemies of the state, the activists are under constant government surveillance and face interrogation, harassment, and imprisonment. Sparrow, who gained notoriety with her advocacy work for sex workers’ rights, continues to champion girls’ and women’s rights and arms herself with the power and reach of social media.
During the “Made in Germany” tour, Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund filmed two acclaimed Rammstein concerts in March 2012 – each for an audience of 17,000 at the Bercy Arena in Paris. In the resulting film (with 16 songs from the entire repertoire), Jonas Åkerlund takes a radically new approach to capturing the emotion and thrill of Rammstein’s live performance. Jonas Åkerlund: “We shot two nights in Paris, and we had 30 cameras, so that gives you 60 angles, plus we shot a dress rehearsal for close-ups. That gives you a massive amount of footage. This is a whole Rammstein-show, and I take the footage and cut it with the same precision that I would a 3-4 minute music video. Even with a big crew of editors, it took us over a year to nail down the edit. Looking at it now – that is the strength of this project. It really brings the show alive and shows what Rammstein is all about.”
An intimate journey through the formative years of [Lynch’s] life. From his idyllic upbringing in small town America to the dark streets of Philadelphia, we follow Lynch as he traces the events that have helped to shape one of cinema’s most enigmatic directors. David Lynch: The Art Life infuses Lynch’s own art, music and early films, shining a light into the dark corners of his unique world, giving audiences a better understanding of the man and the artist.
The story of Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully, the unlikely duo at the heart of 1960s American drug counter-culture.
An examination of our dietary choices and the food we put in our bodies.
Donald Trump has become a beloved cult figure for many Russians. The short film uses found footage, fake news and state-controlled political programming to reveal the variety of ways Trump’s newfound Russian supporters express their devotion.
Hear from the stars that worked for and with The Funks including Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr., Bret Hart, Jim Ross, Gerald Brisco, Steve Corino, Bill Apter, Stan Hansen, JJ Dillon, The Blue Meanie, Bob Armstrong, Dr. Tom Prichard, Harley Race, Larry Matysik, Jimmy Hart, and Ricky Steamboat!
The Future Doesn’t Need Us… Or So We’ve Been Told. With the rise of technology and the real-time pressures of an online, global economy, humans will have to be very clever – and very careful – not to be left behind by the future. From the perspective of those in charge, human labor is losing its value, and people are becoming a liability. This documentary reveals the real motivation behind the secretive effort to reduce the population and bring resource use into strict, centralized control. Could it be that the biggest threat we face isn’t just automation and robots destroying jobs, but the larger sense that humans could become obsolete altogether?