73 years after WWII veteran Patrick Thomas’ ship vanishes, he meets archaeologist John Henry Phillips. Fuelled by their unexpected bond, John makes a shocking promise to find the ship and build a memorial with Patrick by his side.

‘Her Name Is Chef’ is a documentary film by Pete Ferriero that spotlights six bad-ass, inspiring, sheroes of the kitchen. Each share their triumphs in cutting through the clichés of the restaurant industry, and explore how they broke down the doors to ‘earn’ the title of Chef. Host Leia Gaccione sits down with Elizabeth Falkner, Fatima Ali, Hillary Sterling, Esther Choi, Juliet Masters, and Caroline Schiff. They open up their hearts and minds to the world, leaving no stone unturned.

“I Have Never Forgotten You” is a comprehensive look at the life and legacy of Simon Wiesenthal, the famed Nazi hunter and humanitarian. Narrated by Academy Award winning actress Nicole Kidman, it features interviews with longtime Wiesenthal associates, government leaders from around the world, friends and family members–many of whom have never discussed the legendary Nazi hunter and humanitarian on camera. Previously unseen archival film and photos also highlight the film. What was the driving force behind his work? What kept him going when for years the odds were against his efforts? What is his legacy today, more than 60 years after the end of World War Two?

Les Blank’s first feature-length documentary captures music and other events at Leon Russell’s Oklahoma recording studio during a three-year period (1972-1974).

This soul-stirring documentary chronicles the triumphant healing of ten Fearless Storytellers through their journey from trauma and tears to triumph. Revealing the physical, emotional and psychological trauma these women have experienced, the film sheds light on the shame, guilt and embarrassment that kept them silent and hidden from their own healing. Watch the powerful effect of choice.

Behind-the-scenes documentary revealing what goes on inside the colourful, privileged, and sometimes stressful Christian Dior fashion house.

Journey from the depths of the Pacific Ocean into the far reaches of space on a quest to find something that changes everything…signs of life, somewhere else in the universe. With cutting-edge imagery from the world’s most powerful telescopes, The Search for Life in Space takes audiences from the surface of Mars and the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, to the extreme lava fields of Hawaii and thermal vents deep beneath the sea. In these harsh environments, astrobiologists look for clues to how life takes hold. As this immersive adventure into the universe reveals the possibility of planets like ours, The Search for Life in Space will make you re-examine such fundamental questions as: “Where did we come from?”, “How did we get here?” and “Are we alone?”

Hundreds of refugee children in Sweden, who have fled with their families from extreme trauma, have become afflicted with ‘uppgivenhetssyndrom,’ or Resignation Syndrome. Facing deportation, they withdraw from the world into a coma-like state, as if frozen, for months, or even years.

She’s chic, slim and sexy like Brigitte Bardot. She’s French. But she’s not all French women, right?

On New York’s Governor’s Island, an unprecedented program has the ambitious goal of restoring oysters and their environmental benefits back to New York Harbor. This documentary highlights the teenagers at a public high school that teaches stewardship of the waterways alongside math and English.

Five Years North is the coming-of-age story of Luis, an undocumented Guatemalan boy who just arrived alone in New York City. He struggles to work, study, and evade Judy – the Cuban-American ICE officer patrolling his neighborhood.

A simple can of ravioli propels this spectacular 30,000-kilometre, eight-country journey through all phases of food production and the far flung sources of international ingredients. A dream-like voyage with glimpses of disconcerting realities, the story begins with a single mother toiling in one of the biggest open pit mines in Brazil and ends on the shelf of a grocery store in Finland. Along the way, the workers whose calloused hands mine, raise and harvest each ingredient reveal their dreams and hopes, like the Danish pig farmer who loves his sows but longs for a girlfriend, and the Portuguese tomato picker who wants to stay healthy long enough to pay her daughters way through university. Sumptuous photography and impressive sound design make an eloquent statement about our modern, globalized world, making us aware of the hundreds of invisible people who prepare the food we eat every day. -Gisèle Gordon (HotDocs.ca)