The Democratic Republic of Congo has endured 20 years of devastating violence. Rape has been used as a weapon of war to destroy community and access precious minerals. Congo is often referred to as “the worst place in the world to be a woman.” CITY OF JOY tells a different story of the region. The film focuses on Jane, a student at a center where women who have suffered unimaginable abuse join together to become leaders. We also meet the founders of the center: a devout Congolese Doctor (Dr Denis Mukwege, 2016 Nobel Peace Prize nominee) a Congolese activist (Christine Schuler-Deschryver) and a radical N.Y. playwright (Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues). The film weaves between joy and pain as these individuals band together to demand hope in a place so often deemed hopeless.
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A retrospective of designer Frank Stephenson’s work and life.
Mercenary Nick Boon is trying to atone for his life as an enforcer for a ruthless syndicate. Running from his past, Boon moves to a remote area in the pacific northwest where he meets a struggling widow and her son. When he finds the pair living in fear of a criminal kingpin, Boon realizes the only way to protect them is to do what he does best: kill.
The Hope Affair is the story of the fascinating affair between an impassioned woman in the midst of an attack on a conservative male bastion and an éminence grise from that same men’s world. An affair that pitches head against heart. An affair that completely spins out of control. And that can be quite funny.
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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.
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In his first feature film, director Bob Bowdon takes aim at America’s public school system, revealing a self-serving network of wasteful cartels that squander funding and fail to deliver when it comes to academic testing and basic skills. Both parents and teachers want change, but reform is an uphill battle in the face of heel-digging bureaucrats and so-called “dropout factories.” It’s a bona fide crisis that’s burgeoning out of control.
Barry Kaylin is living the dream. Not yet 40, he owns four Las Vegas casinos and lives the life of the bachelor to the fullest. One night, while meeting with two potential business associates, he hires five local dancers to flirt and lounge around his mansion and lagoon pool.
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