In Search of Balance

The history of New York’s Meatpacking District, told from the perspective of transgender sex workers who lived and worked there. Filmmaker Kristen Lovell, who walked “The Stroll” for a decade, reunites her community to recount the violence, policing, homelessness, and gentrification they overcame to build a movement for transgender rights.

In 2006, O.J. Simpson sat down for a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred interview. For over a decade, the tapes of that interview were lost – until now.

The murals of Northern Ireland are an expression of the region’s violent Troubles. ‘The Art of Conflict’ examines these murals through their painters and the people who live there, exploring this unique street art’s impact, purpose, and future.

For fixed-gear cyclists, Los Angeles is a city that has it all. From the neon glow of Hollywood to the sun-drenched boardwalk of Venice Beach, fixed-gear has evolved into a vibrant street culture that is uniquely L.A. From director David Rowe (Fast Friday) comes a new documentary feature that explores a side of L.A. few outsiders have seen. From races through rush-hour traffic to midnight loft parties, To Live & Ride in L.A. is a fast paced-trip through the busy streets and back-alleys of one of the world’s largest cities. To Live & Ride in L.A. features talented local riders tearing up the streets with first-time visitor Keo Curry (Fast Friday, Macaframa) – one of the living legends of the sport. Bike to hidden spots off the map, race a midnight alley-cat, keep pace with the riders from Wolfpack, and hang with the local crews, graffiti artists and other L.A. personalities burning up the fixed-gear scene.

In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. A decade later, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. In this quintessentially American documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only just out of reach.

Dr. Miami (a.k.a. Michael Salzhauer) is the most famous surgeon in America. Millions of loyal followers from around the world tune in daily as he live streams graphic plastic surgery procedures on social media – all with the enthusiastic consent of his self-proclaimed “beauty warrior” patients. Celebrated for his outrageous social media persona and boasting a patient waiting list that’s two years long, his private life is quite different than one may expect. After he leaves a lively day’s work of Brazilian butt lifts, breast augmentations and choreographed snapchat videos, he’s a devoted husband, father to five children and an Orthodox Jew who observes the Sabbath.

Follows Rob Lehr after a deadly plane crash as he confronts PTSD and digital escapism by transforming his backyard into a real-life video game, The Thunderdome Nerf Arena. The community of backyard warriors then discover collegiate Humans vs. Zombies and dive into surviving the Nerf Apocalypse.

Far outside what’s normally taught as “history”, this 6-hour documentary attempts to explain what’s normally glossed over – Germany’s actions prior to WWII, Hitler’s popularity, the support of the Nazis by the Germans, the basis for hardline Nazi stances against Jews, and why Nazism was such a danger to the established world powers. It chronicles the German WWI defeat, communist attempts to take over Germany; hyperinflation during the Weimar Republic, widespread unemployment and misery that served as the foundation of Nazi principles, and Hitler’s amazing rise to power. It also reveals a personal side of Hitler: his family background, his artwork and struggles, and what motivated him to pursue a career in politics. While open to criticism for being “pro-Nazi” in its perspectives, the documentary does present many factual foundations for those perspectives, highlighting an endless list of hypocrisies and double-standards imposed on Germany in the years before, during, and after WWII.

Fat Wreck Chords… The influential music label proud to say they’ve spent the past 25 years “ruining punk rock”. A Fat Wreck tells the story of founders Fat Mike (of the legendary punk band NOFX) and his ex-wife Erin Kelly-Burkett, spanning the birth, growth, struggles, and survival of the Fat Wreck Chords label.

Paris Hilton, the Fat Jew, and Brittany Furlan have all used social media to achieve massive internet fame. But, American Meme explores, is it worth it?

A revolutionary film about the cinematic genius of North Korea’s late Dear Leader Kim Jung-IL, with a groundbreaking experiment at its heart – a propaganda film, made according to the rules of his 1987 manifesto. Through the shared love of cinema, AIM HIGH IN CREATION! forges an astonishing new bond between the hidden filmmakers of North Korea and their Free World collaborators. Revealing an unexpected truth about the most isolated nation on earth: filmmakers, no matter where they live, are family.

The Banjo Project is a cross-media cultural odyssey: a major television documentary, a live stage/multi-media performance, and a website that chronicle the journey of America’s quintessential instrument—the banjo—from its African roots to the 21st century. It’s a collaboration between Emmy-winning writer-producer Marc Fields and banjo virtuoso Tony Trischka (the Project’s Music Director), one of the most acclaimed acoustic musicians of his generation.