In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year-old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. Up against much older students, these youngsters have committed the 600 pages of the Koran to memory, and will put their skills to the test before the elite of the world’s Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. In the midst of this intense international competition, the three young competitors –two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and one girl from the Maldives – face uncertain futures at home, as they are caught between fundamentalist and moderate visions of Islam. The children discuss their recitation techniques – with accompanying, completely improvised melodies – and talk about their nerves and excitement as they finally compete before a panel of judges.
You May Also Like
There’s something happening in the world of video games. Thousands are flocking to arenas to watch tournaments unfold. Tens of millions are watching online. One percent of the world population is playing the most popular competitive game. In All Work All Play, go behind the scenes and follow the ascent of eSports, and watch as the best pro gamers in the world fight for the Intel Extreme Masters championship.
Hit after hit, pop-icon Harry Styles, once the centerpiece of the world’s biggest boy bands has grown into someone who isn’t afraid of self-expression, continuing to reject the traditional confines of masculinity.
For the 20th anniversary of “Titanic,” James Cameron reopens the file on the disaster.
The documentary story of Madonna’s struggling days in New York with her first band “Breakfast Club,” leading up to her first solo record deal.
Legends speak of Giants that once walked the earth. In America alone there have been over 1,500 newspaper accounts, including 3,781 skeletons of a race of blond-haired giants discovered and exhumed. Where did the evidence go? Did the Smithsonian Institution cover it up?
Daniel Tosh performs in front of a live San Francisco audience in this stand-up special for Comedy Central, and touches on topics ranging from sports and pop culture, to religion and politics.
An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.
The inspiring true story of a poor Irish immigrant who sets sail for America in 1928 with dreams of becoming a millionaire but, with the help of the most iconic celebrities of Hollywood, ends up spending his life championing the message, “The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.”
America’s Blues takes a new angle on the Blues, focusing on, not only the musical impact it has had on all forms of Popular American Music, but also the influence it has had on art, fashion, language, film and racial equality.
The vinyl record renaissance over the past decade has brought new fans to a classic format and transformed our idea of a record collector: younger, both male and female, multicultural. This same revival has made buying music more expensive, benefited established bands over independent artists and muddled the question of whether vinyl actually sounds better than other formats. Vinyl Nation digs into the crates of the record resurgence in search of truths set in deep wax: Has the return of vinyl made music fandom more inclusive or divided? What does vinyl say about our past here in the present? How has the second life of vinyl changed how we hear music and how we listen to each other?
Reflecting on Mao’s famous saying, “Let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend,” Trinh T. Minh-ha’s film — whose title refers in part to a Chinese guessing game — is a unique excursion into the maze of allegorical naming and storytelling in China.
Documentary which marks the 50th anniversary of the triple trawler tragedy during January and February of 1968, in which 58 men died. It was one of Britain’s deadliest maritime disasters, which tore through the heart of Hull’s Hessle Road fishing community. The film tells the epic story of the Hull fishermen who did the most dangerous job in Britain and their wives whose protest ensured such a disaster never happened again. The women’s campaign was one of the biggest and most successful civil action campaigns of the 20th century. Combining rare archive and emotional testimony – including that of Yvonne Blenkinsop, the last surviving leader of the women – those who lived through the tragedy and fought for change tell their incredible stories for the first time.
