Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the “hearts and minds” of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson’s phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.
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A probing portrait of Chris Burden, an artist who took creative expression to the limits and risked his life in the name of art.
During the time of the Stolen Generations, thousands upon thousands of Aboriginal girls were taken from their families and pressed into domestic servitude by the Australian Government. They were supposedly employed as servants, but with total control over their movements, wages and living conditions, their lives all too frequently became an inescapable cycle of abuse, rape and enslavement, with consequences that echo powerfully to this day. Recounting the stories of five of these women – Rita, Violet and the three Wenberg sisters – Servant or Slave is a commanding piece of first-person testimony to a dark and unacknowledged corner of Australian history. Shot with admirable craft and humanity by documentarian Steven McGregor (Croker Island Exodus, MIFF 2012), Servant or Slave is a work of great sadness and urgency, bringing to forceful life the human tragedy of Australia’s Indigenous history in the unadorned words of those who lived it.
A documentary which explores the connections among sound, rhythm, time, and the body by following percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who is nearly deaf.
From Rich Froning and Annie Thorisdottir to Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey – if each new generation of champions sees further than the one before, it’s because they stand on the shoulders of giants. When Fraser declared he would retire from competition after the 2020 season, he opened the door to a new wave of challengers. In 2021, new and seasoned competitors marked the 15th year of the Games with 15 events designed to test the limits of human potential and their worthiness to be called the fittest. Amid the surprises, upsets, and staggering displays of incomparable athleticism, Toomey ticked on with consistency and calm like a clock in a thunderstorm, all while shattering records and securing her place as the most unbeatable athlete in CrossFit Games history. At the 2021 Games, we witnessed the return of some of the sport’s greats and the rise of the new initiates – those who will carry the mantle of the Fittest on Earth for the next generation.
One man with a website who forever changed the media paradigm, upending the traditional press and changing the ground rules of political journalism.
Drama set in 1942, during one of the most important battles of World War II, which stopped the progress of Nazi forces and turned the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Soviet army mounts a counter-attack on the Nazi forces that occupy half of Stalingrad on the other side of the Volga, but the operation to cross the river is unsuccessful. A few soldiers who managed to get to the other side take refuge in a house on the bank of Volga. Here they find a girl who didn’t escape when the Germans came. While the whole might of the German army descends onto them, the heroes of Stalingrad experience love, loss, joy and the sense of ultimate freedom that can only be felt by those about to die. They defend the house at all costs while the Red Army prepares for another attack.
This career spanning documentary on heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio delves deep into his incredible rise from 50’s doo-wop crooner, to his early classic rock days in Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, to replacing the iconic lead singer Ozzy Osborne in Black Sabbath, to finally cement his legend with DIO. Ronnie’s biography is completely unique to the tired sex, drugs and rock and roll cliches. The film is about perseverance, dreams and the power to believe in yourself.
Using previously unheard audiotapes recorded shortly after John Belushi’s death, director R.J. Cutler’s documentary feature examines the too-short life of the once-in-a-generation talent who captured the hearts and funny bones of devoted audiences.
The triumphant story of how a little Chicago microbrewery succeeded in flipping off the president and mobilizing a community got its start after the 5 Rabbit Cervecería received a major order with a downside. Married brewery owners Andres Araya and Mila Ramirez, Latin American immigrants, rejoiced when they were selected to brew the house brand for the new Trump Tower, a coup for such a small business. Joy turned to horror with Trump’s shocking public characterizations of Hispanic immigrants. They pulled their beer out of the tower, but what to do with all that product? The answer lay in imaginative relabeling of the golden ale as Chinga Tu Pelo, or F••• Your Hair. Thirsty Chicago beer drinkers, bar owners and restaurateurs rose to the protest challenge with glee, and set 5 Rabbit on a new path to social action.
A thought-provoking look at the subject of abortion today, told through the stories of women struggling with unplanned pregnancies, abortion providers and clinic staff and activists on both sides of this contentious debate.
A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.
From director Andrew Rossi (PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE FIRST MONDAY IN MAY) comes an electrifying portrait of writer and performer Okwui Okpokwasili and her acclaimed one-woman show, BRONX GOTHIC. Rooted in memories of her childhood, Okwui – who’s worked with conceptual artists like Ralph Lemon and Julie Taymor – fuses dance, song, drama, and comedy to create a mesmerizing space in which audiences can engage with a story about two 12-year-old black girls coming of age in the 1980s. With intimate vérité access to Okwui and her audiences off the stage, BRONX GOTHIC allows for unparalleled insight into her creative process as well as the complex social issues embodied in it.
