2011 Films

Dec. 28, 2011

Across the Universe Across the Universe, from director Julie Taymor, is a revolutionary rock musical that re-imagines America in the turbulent late-1960s, a time when battle lines were being drawn at home and abroad. When young dockworker Jude (Jim Sturgess) leaves Liverpool to find his estranged father in America, he is swept up by the waves of change that are re-shaping the nation. Jude falls in love with Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), a rich but sheltered American girl who joins the growing anti-war movement in New York's Greenwich Village. As the body count in Vietnam rises, political tensions at home spiral out of control and the star-crossed lovers find themselves in a psychedelic world gone mad. With a cameo by Bono, Across the Universe is "the kind of movie you watch again, like listening to a favorite album." (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)  (more).

Dec. 21, 2011

A Day Without a Mexican The California Dream becomes a hilarious nightmare when the Golden State's entire Latin American population mysteriously vanishes. For most, "the disappearance" forces the cracks in their private lives wide open, including TV news reporter Lila Rodriguez (Yareli Arizmendi - "Like Water For Chocolate"), the state's last remaining Hispanic, and Senator Steven Abercrombie III (John Getz - "The Fly," "Curly Sue"), who becomes governor pro tem despite his anti-immigrant stance. In the ensuing panic,... dubious experts pose some colorful theories: It's an alien abduction; an act of bio-terrorism; "The Rapture" has begun and Latinos are God's chosen  (more).

Dec. 14, 2011

What Would Jesus Buy? Through retail interventions, corporate exorcisms, and some good old-fashioned preaching, Reverend Billy reminds us that we have lost the true meaning of Christmas. What Would Jesus Buy? is a journey into the heart of America from exorcising the demons at the Wal-Mart headquarters to taking over the center stage at the Mall of America and then ultimately heading to the Promised Land ... Disneyland  (more).

Dec. 7, 2011

Sweet Crude:  A film about the Niger Delta In a small corner of the most populous country in Africa, billions of dollars of crude oil flow under the feet of a desperate people. Immense wealth and abject poverty stand in stark contrast. The environment is decimated. The issues are complex, the answers elusive. The documentary film Sweet Crude tells the story of Nigeria’s Niger Delta. The region is seething and the global stakes are high. But in this moment, there’s an opportunity to find solutions. What if the world paid attention before it was too late?  (more). Related article: US Quietly Assumes Military Posture in Africa (read).

Nov. 30, 2011

Berkeley in the Sixties University of California, Berkeley alumni recount how their quiet school became the epicenter of 1960s campus activism, starting with the free speech movement and evolving into organized opposition to the Vietnam War. The students also championed civil rights, the women's movement and the Black Panther party. Archival footage is interwoven with present-day interviews and songs by the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez and Jefferson Airplane (more).

Nov. 23, 2011

Even the Rain A Spanish film crew helmed by idealistic director Sebastian (Gael García Bernal) and his cynical producer Costa (Luis Tosar) come to Bolivia to make a revisionist epic about the conquest of Latin America - on the cheap. Carlos Aduviri is dynamic as “Daniel,” a local cast as a 16th century native in the film within a film. When the make-up and loin cloth come off, Daniel sails into action protesting his community’s deprivation of water at the hands of multi-national corporations (more).

Nov. 16, 2011

Five Steps to Tyranny Analyzes how societies can move from freedom to tyranny in five steps.  Showing how those in positions of power cultivate the conditions of tyranny, it becomes easy for ordinary people to be manipulated into compliance with authority and even coerced into performing genuinely evil acts (more).

Nov. 9, 2011

Bhutto The epic story of Benazir Bhutto, the first woman in history elected to lead a Muslim nation. A favored daughter of the family often called the "Kennedys of Pakistan," Benazir was elected Prime Minister after her father was overthrown and executed by his own military. Her time in power saw acts of courage and controversy as she broke the Islamic glass ceiling, fought for the rights of women, and tried to quell the fires of religious extremism, while battling accusations of corruption. A fascinating array of archival footage, never-before-heard audio of Benazir and interviews with family members and leading experts brings to life this tale of Shakespearean dimensions in the country The Economist calls "the World's most dangerous place." (more).

Nov. 2, 2011

V for Vendetta Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man (Hugo Weaving) known only as "V." Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he urges his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression (more).

Oct. 26, 2011

Bahrain - Shouting in the Dark  Filmed by an undercover crew, "Shouting In The Dark" gives rare insight into the ongoing crackdown on protesters in Bahrain, where an uprising is being hidden from the world and ignored by the United States, whose geopolitical interests require supporting Bahrain's brutal dictatorship (more). The US and the new Middle East: The Gulf Fault Lines' Seb Walker travels to the Persian Gulf to look at US policy in the region, and to explore why the US has taken an interventionist policy in Libya, but not in Bahrain, where there has been a brutal crackdown on protesters. Why does the White House strongly back democracy in one Arab country, but not another?  Fault Lines travelled to Bahrain to hear from those who had been protesting, to ask them what they think about the lack of real US pressure on their country's rulers. The country is also home to the US 5th Fleet, where Fault Lines gained exclusive access to the USS Ronald Reagan, an American aircraft carrier deployed in the Persian Gulf (more).

Oct. 19, 2011

The One Percent In this eye-opening documentary, filmmaker Jamie Johnson examines the gap that exists between America's poor and the 1 percent of the population that controls half the country's wealth. Johnson, himself an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, interviews Milton Friedman, Bill Gates Sr., Steve Forbes, Nicole Buffet and other wealthy individuals, revealing the enormous social and political effect financial disparity has on America's current state (more).

Oct. 5, 2011

Made in Dagenham Sally Hawkins stars in this cheeky dramatization of the landmark 1968 labor strike initiated by hundreds of women who rebelled against discrimination and demanded the same pay as men for their work in a London automobile manufacturing plant. During one march, a banner that reads "We Want Sexual Equality" inadvertently becomes shortened to "We Want Sex." Nigel Cole directs this film that co-stars Miranda Richardson and Bob Hoskins (more).

Sept. 28, 2011

The Weather Underground This sobering documentary about a group of 1960s "committed freedom fighters" known as the Weather Underground chronicles a global trend of revolution that sprang from the belief that not acting against violence is violence. A radical offshoot of the Students for a Democratic Society, the Weathermen didn't just march or sit in: They rioted and bombed -- not to change the American political scene but rather to destroy it (more).

Sept. 21, 2011

Pax Americana - and the Weaponization of Space The prospect of Earth being ruled from space is no longer science-fiction. The dream of the original Dr. Strangelove, Wernher von Braun (from Nazi rocket-scientist to NASA director) has survived every US administration since WW2 and is coming to life. Today the technology exists to weaponize space, a massive American industry thrives, and nations are maneuvering for advantage. PAX AMERICANA tackles this pivotal moment. Are war machines already orbiting Earth? Can treaties keep space weapons-free? Must the World capitulate to one super-cop on the global beat? (more).

Sept. 14, 2011

Consuming Kids - The Commercialization of Childhood Consuming Kids throws desperately needed light on the practices of a relentless multi-billion dollar marketing machine that now sells kids and their parents everything from junk food and violent video games to bogus educational products and the family car. Drawing on the insights of health care professionals, children's advocates, and industry insiders, the film focuses on the explosive growth of child marketing in the wake of deregulation, showing how youth marketers have used the latest advances in psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience to transform American children into one of the most powerful and profitable consumer demographics in the world (more).

Aug. 24, 2011

The Czech Dream Filmmakers Filip Remunda and Vit Klusak masterminded and documented the largest consumer hoax in the history of the Czech Republic, a scam that drew thousands to a megamarket that didn't actually exist. Publicized by a renowned advertising agency via countless radio spots, fliers and more than 400 illuminated billboards, the store turned out to be nothing but a movie studio-quality facade in the center of a big green field (more).

Aug. 17, 2011

The English Sheikh and the Yemeni Gentleman British-born filmmaker Bader Ben Hirsi, whose parents fled Yemen in the 1960s in the midst of a political revolution, tours his ancestral homeland with the help of one of the country's most eccentric immigrants -- an Englishman who's been living as a Yemeni in the ancient city of Sana'a for 16 years. Their journey is captured on camera by award-winning cinematographer Koutaiba Aljanabi (Jiyan) (more).

Aug. 3, 2011

American Drug War - The Last White Hope Angered by the death of several family members from "Legal Drugs" Texas filmmaker Kevin Booth delves into a world of deceit and corruption controlled by a drug dealing government who is only beholden to its corporate masters.  Interviews with Tommy Chong, Freeway Ricky Ross, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, Ron Paul, Cynthia McKinney, Jello Biafra and more (more).

July 27, 2011

Viva la Causa The inspiring film Viva La Causa recounts the beginnings of the farmworker movement in the U.S. Meet the founders of the United Farm Workers union Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and the other courageous farmworkers and organizers who changed the country forever with the 1960s grape strike and boycott. These farmworkers risked everything to challenge the miserable exploitation that they faced in the fields and won unprecedented labor contracts with the support of people of faith, students, and millions of people of conscience across the country. Narrated by George Lopez. A discussion will follow the movie.

July 20, 2011

Bulletproof Salesman Bulletproof Salesman is the darkly humorous story of Fidelis Cloer, a self-confessed war profiteer. In a career spanning two decades of global turmoil, Fidelis has supplied kings, presidents and dictators with the finest armored vehicles that money can buy. In his world, where security is a commodity, violence (and better yet, war) presents sales opportunities just as rain sells umbrellas (more).

July 13, 2011

Casino Jack Two-time Academy Award® Winner Kevin Spacey delivers a “bravura performance” in this “uproarious, riveting and wickedly hilarious” film inspired by a true story. Spacey stars as Jack Abramoff, the real-life Washington power player who resorted to jaw-dropping levels of fraud and corruption. High-rolling excess and outrageous escapades are all in a day’s work for Abramoff, as he goes to outrageous lengths to promote the Indian gambling industry, earning him the nickname “Casino Jack.” But when Jack and his womanizing protégé Michael Scanlon (Barry Pepper) enlist a dimwitted business partner (Jon Lovitz) for an illegal scheme, they find themselves ensnared in a web of greed and murder that explodes into a worldwide scandal (more).

July 6, 2011

Budrus Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines (more).

June 29, 2011

Surplus - Terrorized Into Being Consumers An award winning Swedish documentary film on consumerism and globalization, created by director Erik Gandini and editor Johan Söderberg.  The film looks at the arguments for capitalism and technology, such as greater efficiency, more time and less work, and argues that these are not being fulfilled, and they never will be. The film leans towards anarcho-primitivist ideology and argues for 'a simple and fulfilling life' (more).

June 22, 2011

In Anita's Wake - The Irrational War on Florida's Gay Families This original documentary looks back at the hysteria surrounding the 1977 homophobic crusade of Anita Bryant, and the resulting anti-gay adoption statute passed by the Florida Legislature.  Featured in the film are parents and children who fought to save their families from a Florida government intent on tearing them apart. Until an appellate ruling in September 2010, Florida explicitly banned gay and lesbian people from adopting children, even as the state foster care system was overwhelmed with neglected kids in need of safe, forever homes and legal protections.  And even though the ban was ruled unconstitutional and having no rational basis by a lower court in 2008, the state continued to defend it at enormous cost to the state and to these families (more).

June 15, 2011

William Kunstler - Disturbing the Universe Filmmakers Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler explore the life of their father, the late radical civil rights lawyer.  In the 1960s and 70s, William Kunstler fought for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr. and represented the famed 'Chicago 8' activists who protested the Vietnam War. When the inmates took over Attica prison, or when the American Indian Movement stood up to the federal government at Wounded Knee, they asked Kunstler to be their lawyer (more).

June 8, 2011

The Tillman Story Pat Tillman's family comes forward to tell the real story about what happened on April 22, 2004, in Afghanistan when the pro football player-turned-U.S. soldier was killed by friendly fire and not the Taliban, as first reported. Amir Bar-Lev's documentary pieces together the Tillmans' search for the truth, how they exposed a military cover-up that led to top-ranking officers and called to the carpet the likes of Donald Rumsfeld (more).

June 1, 2011

Yemen Peace Project Short film, presentation and Q&A on Yemen.   "Yemen: A tale of two protests".  The Al Jazeera short program follows Yemen's protest leader, female activist Tawakkol Karman as demonstrations advance throughout Yemen in March 2011  (more).  The film was followed by a presentation and Q&A with Yemen Peace Project co-founder Will Picard.

May 25, 2011

Inside job From filmmaker Charles Ferguson comes this sobering, Oscar-winning documentary that presents in comprehensive yet cogent detail the pervasive and deep-rooted corruption that led to the global economic meltdown of 2008. Through unflinching interviews with key financial insiders, politicos, journalists and academics, Ferguson paints a galling portrait of an unfettered financial system run amok -- without accountability. Actor Matt Damon narrates  (more).

May 18, 2011

The Oath The story of Abu Jandal, Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard, and Salim Hamdan, a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay Prison and the first man to face the controversial military tribunals. Filmed in Yemen and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, THE OATH is a family drama about two men whose fateful encounter in 1996 set them on a journey that would lead to Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Guantanamo Bay Prison, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The film begins as Salim Hamdan is set to face war crime charges at Guantanamo, and Abu Jandal is a free man and drives a taxi in Yemen  (more).

May 11, 2011

Prom Night in Mississippi In 1997, Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman offered to pay for the senior prom at Charleston High School in Mississippi under one condition: the prom had to be racially integrated. His offer was ignored. In 2008, Freeman offered again. This time the school board accepted, and history was made. Charleston High School had its first-ever integrated prom - in 2008. Until then, blacks and whites had had separate proms even though their classrooms have been integrated for decades. Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman follows students, teachers and parents in the lead-up to the big day. This seemingly inconsequential rite of passage suddenly becomes profound as the weight of history falls on teenage shoulders (more).

May 4, 2011

Slingshot Hip Hop braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel as they discover Hip Hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender norms and generational differences, this is the story of young people crossing the borders that separate them (more).

April 27, 2011

Living Without Money Is it possible to feel rich without possessions? Can you live happily without money? In the documentary Living Without Money, we meet the German woman Heidemarie Schwermer who made a deliberate choice to live without money 14 years ago.  One day she canceled her flat, donated all of her belongings and started a new life based on exchanging favors – without the use of money. The experiences she made totally changed her outlook on life (more).

April 13, 2011

Gasland In this Oscar-nominated documentary, director Josh Fox journeys across America to examine the negative effects of natural-gas drilling, from poisoned water sources to kitchen sinks that burst into flame to unhealthy animals and people. Is natural gas a viable alternative to the country's dwindling energy resources, or do the potential harmful consequences outweigh the positives? Fox's film raises these and many more probing questions (more).

April 6, 2011

Freakonomics The highly anticipated film version of the phenomenally bestselling book about incentives-based thinking by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The film examines human behavior with provocative and sometimes hilarious case studies, bringing together a dream team of filmmakers responsible for some of the most acclaimed and entertaining documentaries in recent years (more).

Mar. 23, 2011

Control Room Startling and powerful, Control Room is a documentary about the Arab television network Al-Jazeera's coverage of the U.S.-led Iraqi war, and conflicts that arose in managed perceptions of truth between that news media outlet and the American military. Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim (Startup.com) catches the frantic action at Al-Jazeera headquarters as President Bush stipulates his 48-hour, get-out-of-town warning to Saddam Hussein and sons, soon followed by the network's shocking footage of Iraqi civilians terrorized and killed by invading U.S. troops. Al-Jazeera's determination to show images and report details outside the Pentagon's carefully controlled information flow draws the wrath of American officials (more).

Mar. 16, 2011

Zeitgeist - Moving Forward Focuses on the very fabric of the social order: Monetary-Market Economics. While the majority of the world today have slowly come to see some basic flaws in the economic system we share, as large scale debt defaults, inflation, industrial pollution, resource depletion, rising cancer rates and other signposts emerge to bring the concern into the realm of “public health” overall, very few however consider the economic paradigm as a whole as the source (more).

Mar. 9, 2011

Mother's Day In 1870, following the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe proclaimed Mother’s Day as a plea for women to unite and never again send their sons to war.  Mother’s Day chronicles women activists and grieving mothers gathering on Mother’s Day 2006 to voice a message not found on greeting card: “Mothers say NO to war!”  The film features the uplifting, soulful, unforgettable songs of Pat Humphries and Sandy O of emma’s revolution (more).

Feb. 23, 2011

It Felt Like a Kiss This BBC film by Adam Curtis (Century of the Self, Power of Nightmares, The Trap) aims to immerse us in the break-up of the American Dream by describing how power really works in the world. Comprised mostly of archival footage and pop music from the era, it touches on the history of the United States from the late 1950s onward using recurring characters like Rock Hudson, Lee Harvey Oswald, Saddam Hussein, Enos The Chimp, and Phil Spector. It is a haunting collage of a nation's innocence at the brink of disintegration in the murk of an impending nightmare it had helped to create for itself and the rest of the world. Curtis himself says it's "a psycho-political theme experience in which you become a central character. It's going to be frightening. A walk of enchantment and menace." (more).

Feb. 16, 2011

Home Home is the first film that has been made using aerial-only footage. Sweeping images of Earth’s landscape are shown with narration from Glenn Close. This unique perspective allows viewers to see for themselves how our earth is changing. Spanning 54 countries and 120 locations, all seen from the air, the film captures the Earth’s most amazing landscapes, showcasing its incomparable beauty and acknowledging its vulnerability (more).

Feb. 9, 2011

Off the Grid - Life on the Mesa Twenty-Five miles from town, a million miles from mainstream society, a loose-knit community of radicals live in the desert, struggling to survive with little food, less water and no electricity, as they cling to their unique vision of the American dream (more).

Feb. 2, 2011

Hawaii's Last Queen On January 16, 1893, four boatloads of United States Marines armed with Gatling guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition came ashore in Honolulu, capital of the independent Kingdom of Hawaii.  The Queen of Hawaii, Lili'uokalani, looked down from her balcony as the troops took up their positions. The following day, she surrendered at gunpoint, yielding her throne to the government of the United States. A provisional government led by wealthy white sugar growers assumed control of Hawaii and petitioned the US for annexation (more).

Jan. 26, 2011

Film, presentation & discussion about Palestine After the 30 minute film Imperial Geography, Bettejo Passalaqua will share experiences of her second trip to the West Bank with International Women's Peace Service.  Following Bettejo's presentation we will discuss ways to actively resist our nation's role in the occupation of Palestine (more).

Jan. 19, 2011

Incident at Oglala - The Leonard Peltier Story Narrated by Robert Redford, this provocative documentary chronicles the controversial events surrounding the shooting of two FBI agents on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975, resulting in the conviction of Sioux activist Leonard Peltier. Featuring reenactments and interviews with key players in the incident, the film offers evidence that the government's prosecution of Peltier was unjust and politically motivated. more

Jan. 12, 2011

The World According to Monsanto Monsanto's controversial past combines some of the most toxic products ever sold with misleading reports, pressure tactics, collusion, and attempted corruption. They now race to genetically engineer (and patent) the world's food supply, which profoundly threatens our health, environment, and economy. Combining secret documents with first-hand accounts by victims, scientists, and politicians, this widely praised film exposes why Monsanto has become the world's poster child for malignant corporate influence in government and technology. more

Jan. 5, 2011

WikiRebels In-depth documentary on WikiLeaks and the people behind it! From summer 2010 until now, Sweden's most-watched television network has been following the secretive media network WikiLeaks and its enigmatic Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange.  Reporters Jesper Huor and Bosse Lindquist have traveled to key countries where WikiLeaks operates, interviewing top members, including Assange, new Spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson, and others such as Daniel Domscheit-Berg who now is starting his own version - Openleaks.org.  Where is the secretive organization heading?  Stronger than ever, or broken by the U.S?  Who is Assange: champion of freedom, spy or rapist?  What are his objectives?  What are the consequences for the Internet? more