A candid portrait of a woman’s redemptive fight against sexual exploitation, Kim Longinotto’s masterful observational film follows Brenda, a charismatic former drug addict and prostitute who, having turned her life around, has made it her mission to give hope to women and girls in need. Through her Dreamcatcher Foundation, she reaches out to sex workers, […]
Unwilling to become a victim of Mexico’s notorious drug cartels, a small-town physician organizes a grassroots civilian defense force to combat the danger and instability they’ve wrought. On the other side of the border, a veteran fearful that the violence will cross into America sets up his own paramilitary group. Director Matthew Heineman embeds himself […]
Director Joshua Oppenheimer continues the masterful exploration of Indonesia’s legacy of violence that began with his Oscar-nominated documentary The Act of Killing. This new work stands on its own. The key figure is Adi, whose older brother was murdered five decades ago. As a village optometrist, Adi uses his profession to confront the families of […]
Seymour Bernstein is a hidden treasure of New York City. He gave up a promising career as a concert pianist to teach music, leaving an indelible influence on his students. Among his admirers is Ethan Hawke, the versatile actor/director/writer, who allows us to experience Seymour’s gift for storytelling as he circles the question of why […]
Popularly known as the “high priestess of soul,” Nina Simone was a singular talent. A classically trained pianist whose Carnegie Hall aspirations were thwarted by the prevailing prejudices of the 1950s, she instead triumphed with a singing career that blended gospel, pop and folk with classical music and songs that made her a civil rights […]
Oscar-winning director Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11) returns with his first film in six years. It won acclaim at the Toronto and New York film festivals as his “biggest crowd pleaser” (Variety) and “most far-reaching” (New York Times), and will open in theaters later this year. Moore travels abroad as a one-man army […]
Winner of the People’s Choice Documentary Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, Winter on Fire supplies a visceral, in-depth look at the bloody Ukrainian uprising in 2013-14 that led to the overthrow of President Yanukovych. Filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky makes the complicated politics approachable with vibrant characters, brisk pacing and well-deployed graphics. He uses multiple […]
Director Asif Kapadia follows his BAFTA-winning documentary Senna with this haunting portrait of singer Amy Winehouse. Featuring extensive unseen archival footage and previously unheard tracks, the film restores humanity to a figure who had become a tabloid caricature. Winehouse captured the world’s attention with her unforgettable voice and charisma, but the pressures of celebrity and […]
During the contentious 1968 presidential election, ABC News changed television by hosting a series of live, televised debates between political polar opposites: William F. Buckley, Jr., the founder of the National Review and a leader of the new conservative movement; and to his left – far, far left – Gore Vidal, a liberal Democrat and […]
Against a backdrop of civil unrest and the radical transformation of American society in the mid-1960s, the black nationalist organization known as the Black Panthers emerged as leaders of the expected revolution. Interweaving fascinating archival material with gripping first-hand accounts from members of the group’s rank and file, director Stanley Nelson’s definitive history reveals the […]