Dec. 22, 2010
| The Men Who Stare at Goats
Journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) latches onto an unbelievable story in Iraq when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a man of mysterious origins who reveals he was a "warrior monk" trained by the U.S. Army to develop psychic powers. Jeff Bridges co-stars as Lyn's mentor, the man who dreamed up the top-secret operation. Kevin Spacey and Rebecca Mader co-star in this Grant Heslov-helmed wild spoof. more
| Dec. 15, 2010
| The American Ruling Class
Who rules America? The American Ruling Class is one of the most unusual films to be made in America in recent years, both in terms of form and subject. The form is a first, a “dramatic documentary musical” that re-invents all three genres. And the subject is our country’s most taboo topic: class, power and privilege in our nominally democratic republic.
Part Monty Python, part Michael Moore, The American Ruling Class is an entertaining clarion call for all citizens to consider who has power, how they acquired it, and most importantly, how they keep it. more
| Dec. 8, 2010
| Capitalism: A Love Story
On the 20-year anniversary of his groundbreaking masterpiece "Roger & Me," Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans. But this time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime scene is far wider than Flint, Michigan. In presenting a “fireball of a movie that might change your life” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), Moore “skewers both major political parties” (Claudia Puig, USA Today) for selling out the millions of people devastated by loss of homes and jobs to the interests of fat cat capitalists. more
| Dec. 1, 2010
| South of the Border
There’s a revolution underway in South America, but most of the world doesn’t know it. Oliver Stone sets out on a road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media’s misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents: Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), as well as her husband and ex-President Nėstor Kirchner, Fernando Lugo (Paraguay), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Raúl Castro (Cuba). more
| Nov. 24, 2010
| Money as Debt II
Bailouts, stimulus packages, debt piled upon debt…Where will it all end? How did we get into a situation where there has never been more material wealth & productivity and yet everyone is in debt to bankers? And now, all of a sudden, the bankers have no money and we the taxpayers, have to rescue them by going even further into debt! more
| Nov. 17, 2010
| A New Day in Old Sana'a
Bader Ben Hirsi directs this award-winning romance -- the first feature ever to come out of Yemen -- filmed on location in the ancient city of Sana'a. A young photographer, Tariq, must choose between his love and his duty of this aristocratic family. He can either run away with his lover, an orphan from the lower class, or go through with his arranged marriage to the daughter of a judge. more
| Nov. 3, 2010
| Burma VJ
A feature-length social documentary about the history of subliminal messaging in the United States. According to many authorities, since the late 1950's subliminal content has been tested and delivered through all forms of mass-media. Director Jeff Warrick leads this journey through the subconscious mind while examining the reported history, scientific research and potential effects of such techniques on society. more
| Oct. 27, 2010
| Programming the Nation?
A feature-length social documentary about the history of subliminal messaging in the United States. According to many authorities, since the late 1950's subliminal content has been tested and delivered through all forms of mass-media. Director Jeff Warrick leads this journey through the subconscious mind while examining the reported history, scientific research and potential effects of such techniques on society. more
| Oct. 20, 2010
| The Listening Project
The film follows four unique Americans through fourteen countries – from a Shanghai hip-hop club to a war-ravaged Kabul neighborhood to a village at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro – in each place asking “what do you think of America?” In beautifully-photographed locales, we encounter fascinating and diverse characters who reveal not only the impact of the U.S. on their lives, but also their perspectives on crumbling empires, human fellowship, and what it means to be a citizen in a globalized world. more
| Oct. 13, 2010
| The Least of These
Detention of immigrant children in a former medium-security prison in Texas leads to controversy when three activist attorneys discover troubling conditions at the facility. This compelling documentary film explores the role – and limits – of community activism, and considers how American rights and values apply to the least powerful among us. more
| Oct. 6, 2010
| The Age of Stupid
In the desolate future of 2055, an archivist (Pete Postlethwaite) combs through a vast collection of videos to learn what went wrong with the planet. His research points to the first decade of the century, when humans blithely ignored the warning signs of climate change. The footage he views is actually culled from real-life interviews conducted by the filmmaker, whose sharp -- and darkly funny -- insights populate this sobering documentary. more
| Sept. 15, 2010
| Iran (is not the problem)
A feature length film responding to the failure of the American mass media to provide the public with relevant and accurate information about the standoff between the US and Iran, as happened before with the lead up to the invasion of Iraq.
We have heard that Iran is a nuclear menace in defiance of the international community, bent on "wiping Israel off the map", supporting terrorism, and unwilling to negotiate. This documentary disputes these claims as they are presented to us and puts them in the context of present and historical US imperialism and hypocrisy with respect to Iran. more
| Sept. 8, 2010
| Amreeka
Amreeka chronicles the adventures of Muna, a single mother who leaves Palestine with Fadi, her teenage son, with dreams of an exciting future in the promised land of small town Illinois. In America, as her son navigates high school hallways the way he used to move through military checkpoints, the indomitable Muna scrambles together a new life cooking up falafel burgers as well as hamburgers at the local White Castle. more
| Sept. 1, 2010
| Collapse
Americans generally like to hear good news. They like to believe that a new president will right old wrongs, that clean energy will replace dirty oil and that fresh thinking will set the economy straight. American pundits tend to restrain their pessimism and hope for the best. But is anyone prepared for the worst?
Meet Michael Ruppert, a different kind of American. A former Los Angeles police officer turned independent reporter, he predicted the current financial crisis at a time when most Wall Street and Washington analysts were still in denial. more
| Aug. 18, 2010
| Beer Wars
In America, size matters. The bigger you are, the more power you have, especially in the business world.
Director Anat Baron takes you on a no holds barred exploration of the U.S. beer industry that ultimately reveals the truth behind the label of your favorite beer. Told from an insider’s perspective, the film goes behind the scenes of the daily battles and all out wars that dominate one of America’s favorite industries. more
| Aug. 4, 2010
| Unfinished Business
In the spring of 1942, more than 110,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry were uprooted from their homes and businesses and incarcerated in desolate relocation camps. Without hearings or trials, men, women and children were evacuated under Executive Order 9066--the Wartime Relocation Act. UNFINISHED BUSINESS is the Oscar-nominated story of three Japanese-American resistors who courageously defied the government order and refused to go, resulting in their conviction and imprisonment. more
| July 28, 2010
| The Union - The Business Behind Getting High
British Columbia's illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into a seemingly unstoppable business giant, dubbed by those involved as 'The Union'. Follow filmmaker Adam Scorgie as he dives head first into Canada's most socially acceptable illegal activity. Along the way, Adam demystifies the underground market and brings to light how such a large industry can function while remaining illegal. more
| July 21, 2010
| Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the inspiring story of a group of ordinary women who came together – Muslim and Christian, rich and poor, urban and rural – to bring peace to their war-torn but beloved Liberia. The story of their historic but unsung achievement captures the power within all of us to create change. more
| July 14, 2010
| The Insular Empire - America in the Mariana Islands
The Insular Empire takes a nuanced look at colonization in the 21st century – within the United States of America. From the invasions of World War II to the White House, from the CIA to the Peace Corps, from beauty pageants to the United Nations, this one-hour documentary follows four indigenous islanders from America’s Mariana Islands: the US Territory of Guam, and the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Six thousand miles west of California, the Marianas are strategic colonies of the US - with Guam today poised to become one of the largest US military bases in the world. more
| July 7, 2010
| The Man of Two Havanas
The feature film debut of Cuban born, Miami bred Vivien Lesnik Weisman that has more than ruffled a few feathers, befitting her pedigree as the daughter of legendary journalist, Max Lesnik, a revolutionary who fought alongside Castro for the freedom of the Cuban people. Then he had a falling out with his old friend and it was Miami, here we come. But his animosity towards Castro did not last and he soon wanted dialogue with the Cuban government. Perhaps, to live in peace. That’s when the shit the fan... more
| June 23, 2010
| Rent
Set in New York City's gritty East Village, the revolutionary rock opera RENT tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent. "Measuring their lives in love," these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic. more
| June 9, 2010
| The Power of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil in the early 1990s, the country faced an immediate crisis – feeding the population – and an ongoing challenge: how to create a new low-energy society. Cuba transitioned from large, fossil fuel intensive farming to small, less energy intensive organic farms and urban gardens, and from a highly industrial society to a more sustainable one. This film tells the story of the Cuban people's hardship, ingenuity, and triumph over sudden adversity – through cooperation, conservation, and community. As the world approaches Peak Oil, Cuba provides a valuable example of how to successfully address the challenge of reducing our energy use. more
| June 2, 2010
| Requiem for Detroit?
An odyssey of how Detroit's mode of production and transportation, once celebrated as the height of human creativity, morphed into dehumanizing consumerism at the expense of human beings and other living things. But today's Detroit is also a source of hope. Streets are being turned to art and the burgeoning urban agricultural movement is the fastest growing movement in the U.S. Detroit is attempting to lead the way again, but this time in a very different direction. more
| May 26, 2010
| Crude - The Real Price of Oil
Three years in the making, this cinéma-vérité feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlingeris the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet. The landmark case takes place in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador, pitting 30,000 indigenous and colonial rainforest dwellers against the U.S. oil giant Chevron. The inside story of the infamous “Amazon Chernobyl” case, Crude is a real-life high stakes legal drama, set against a backdrop of the environmental movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, multinational corporate power, and rapidly disappearing indigenous cultures. more
| May 19, 2010
| The Shock Doctrine
Taking shock therapy as a metaphor, this investigative documentary explores "disaster capitalism," in which unstable nations are first jolted by catastrophic events, then subjected to free-market remedies imposed by first-world heavyweights. Naomi Klein's award-winning book provides the blueprint for Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross's survey, which argues that the prescription yields short-term results but intensifies existing social divides. more
| May 12, 2010
| The Yes Men Fix the World
A wickedly fun skewering of corporate greed, THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD is the true story of two conscientious mischief-makers who pose as the representatives of companies they despise. In this wonderfully therapeutic film, Yes Men Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno impose cosmic (and comic) justice by any means necessary. more
| May 5, 2010
| Life in Occupied Palestine
A wonderfully moving introduction to the plight of the Palestinians, in simple, everyday terms, with a captivating narration by eyewitness Anna Baltzer. Anna Baltzer, a Jewish-American Columbia graduate and Fulbright scholar, presents her discoveries as a volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service in the West Bank, documenting human rights abuses and supporting Palestinian-led nonviolent resistance to the Occupation. more
| April 28, 2010
| The Cove
Daring animal activists arrive with surveillance equipment at a scenic cove in Taijii, Japan, to capture footage of a secretive and heavily guarded operation run by the world's largest supplier of dolphins. As the group sets out to expose the horrifying truths behind the capture of dolphins for the lucrative tourist industry, they also uncover an environmental catastrophe. Louie Psihoyos directs this riveting, Oscar-winning documentary. more
| April 21, 2010
| Outrage
Academy Award nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) delivers a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to. OUTRAGE boldly reveals the hidden lives of some of our nation’s most powerful policymakers, details the harm they've inflicted on millions of Americans, and examines the media's complicity in keeping their secrets. more
| April 7, 2010
| Coal Country
Increasingly, Big Coal is spelling big trouble for Appalachian communities whose members have worked the mines for generations. This documentary reveals why with its explanation of the effects of mountaintop-removal mining on the region. Miners, coal company officials and area residents weigh in on the high price of "cheap energy" -- especially when it involves blowing off mountain summits to expose seams. (more)
| Mar. 31, 2010
| America the Beautiful
In a society where "celebutantes" like Paris Hilton dominate newsstands and models who weigh less than 90 pounds die from malnutrition, female body image is one of the more dire problems facing today's society. "America the Beautiful" illuminates the issue by covering every base. Child models, plastic surgery, celebrity worship, airbrushed advertising, dangerous cosmetics - no rock is left unturned. (more)
| Mar. 24, 2010
| Blue Gold - World Water Wars
Wars of the future will be fought over water, as they are today over oil. Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling fresh water supply, prompting protests, lawsuits and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management. Will ours too? (more)
| Mar. 17, 2010
| In the Valley of Elah
Mike Deerfield returns to the U.S. after his tour of duty in Iraq and abruptly goes missing. His father, a spit-and-polish ex-MP from the Vietnam era, goes looking for him. What he finds goes to the heart of American combat experiences in the Iraqi conflict. Academy Award®-winning Crash filmmaker Paul Haggis teams with Oscar®- winning actors Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon in a probing, powerful, fact-based look at fathers and sons…and at a nation and the young soldiers it sends into battle. (more)
| Mar. 10, 2010
| Z-Day
"The Story of Stuff" and "Designing the Future" as well as a Z-Day presentation and a Q & A. (more)
| Mar. 3, 2010
| In the Loop
Its the razor-sharp smash that critics are calling brilliant (San Francisco Chronicle), blisteringly funny (USA Today) and "One of the best films of the year... a little piece of heaven" (Chicago Tribune). Peter Capaldi stars as a foul-mouthed British government spokesman who must act quickly when a mid-level minister tells an interviewer that U.S. war in the Middle East is unforeseeable. But when they are both summoned to Washington D.C., the hapless politico quickly becomes a pawn of bureaucrats, spin doctors and military advisors, including a hardnosed General (James Gandolfini). (more)
| Feb. 24, 2010
| Living Broke in Boom Times
This hidden story of poor people organizing in America spans the 1990s and includes current commentary from activists involved in the organizing, who now draw lessons from that period. “Heart-rending in its depiction of homelessness and desperation, yet inspiring in what it shows about the magnificence of people fighting back, organizing, refusing to accept their situation, trying to build a national movement…”- Howard Zinn.. (more)
| Feb. 10, 2010
| Rory O'Shea Was Here
An inspiring story of independence that follows two unlikely friends determined to face the world on their own terms. Young Michael (Steven Robertson) is a patient resigned to his quiet life within an institution's safe, predictable boundaries. Then, the rebellious Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy) bursts onto the scene. Now, with the help of the beautiful young Siobhan (Romola Garai), who signs on as the boys' live-in aide, Rory will show Michael what it takes to truly be free. (more)
| Feb. 3, 2010
| The People Speak
Inspired by Howard Zinn's bestseller A People's History of the United States, this star studded documentary takes an unguarded look at our nation's decades-long struggle with the pressing issues of war, race, class, and women's rights. Contributors include Sean Penn, Viggo Mortensen, Danny Glover, and Marisa Tomei, each of whom present live stage performances of historical testimonies. Additional actors assume the roles of labor leaders, civil rights demonstrators, and various other contributors to the original book. (more)
| Jan. 20, 2010
| Inside the Revolution - A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela
While wildly popular with many in the country, President Hugo Chavez's policies and his strongly-worded criticisms of the U.S. government have also made him powerful enemies, both at home and abroad, especially in the media. Filmed in Caracas in November 2008, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Chavez's controversial presidency, this feature-length documentary takes a journey into the heart of Venezuela's revolution to listen to the voices of the people driving the process forward. (more) | |
