Social & External
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An inspiring creative documentary that follows the story of one of Uganda's unsung heroes - Robert Katende. Popularly known as 'Coach Robert', he was able to transform a little unknown slum in the outskirts of Kampala, into an internationally recognized army of Chess Champions.
The thrilling, inside story of the psychology of sporting winners. Filmed during the world's strongest open chess tournament ever, "King's Gambit" reveals the tension, jubilation and heartache of professional chess and top-level sports competitors.
Several days in the lives, and profiles of, the owners and players of the open air street chess tables in downtown San Francisco. An informative and insightful portrait of a freely public, yet effectively anonymous, subculture: a unique and colorful patch of eccentric americana in the urban quilt of an international city. —Anonymous
Angela Su’s fictional artist Rosie Leavers is the last remaining person to upload her consciousness to a video game. Contemplating during a pandemic year which also saw people’s resistance movements in many parts of the world, the work pinpoints the uncanny affinities between gaming and warfare strategies. They have mutually informed the infrastructure of both worlds since time immemorial when diplomatic conflicts played out on the battlefield of the 64 squares of a chess board to flight simulation technologies which were adapted to shape gaming experiences as we know it now. When the conflict is between the state and its people, she speculates that gaming strategies empower civilians in resistance movements to counter imperialism through its own operative logic. But once we upload our consciousness, are we able to return to the sensibilities and political motivation that inspired the revolution to begin with?
Magnus Carlsen, widely regarded as the greatest chess player of all time, is challenged by Hans Niemann, a rising star who capitalizes on the meteoric growth of online chess. Niemann’s ascension culminated in an epic, controversy-shrouded victory over Carlsen at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, which eventually led to allegations and revelations of cheating. Determined to clear his name, Niemann fights his way back to the top of the chess world, setting the stage for a high-stakes rematch with Carlsen in 2024.
Follows the journey of a young Latina chess enthusiast, Bianca Mitchell-Avila, as she explores life's lessons through the lens of the game.
Brooklyn Castle is a documentary about I.S. 318 – an inner-city school where more than 65 percent of students are from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level – that also happens to have the best, most winning junior high school chess team in the country. (If Albert Einstein, who was rated 1800, were to join the team, he’d only rank fifth best.) Chess has transformed the school from one cited in 2003 as a “school in need of improvement” to one of New York City’s best. But a series of recession-driven public school budget cuts now threaten to undermine those hard-won successes.
Follow the brilliant mind of 13 year old Chess Grand Master Magnus Carlsen
Can exercise sharpen the brightest minds? In this ground-breaking experiment, four world-class gamers, competing in eSports, Chess, Mahjong and Memory Games, put this to the test.
Four blind Indian boys compete to become chess masters.
In 2003, Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh became the first World Champion of Chessboxing. This brain-busting combination of alternating rounds of chess and boxing was in fact an art performance calling for more balance in a world of extremes, and the audience reaction was so electric that it inspired Rubingh to push it as a real sport. Rubingh’s methodical ability to achieve balance in the ring is put to the test outside of it when impulsive British TV Producer Tim Woolgar takes up the sport and his opposing vision for success creates a rift between them, endangering chessboxing’s future.
With capitalism and corruption becoming more entrenched in Russia, a father and his teenage son gear up for a yearlong political campaign to unseat President Putin in the 2008 elections and shift the country back toward socialism. Aliona Polunina's thoughtful documentary follows Anatoly and Andrei in their struggle to recreate a revolutionary fervor in a society that seems to be embracing the materialist values of the West.
A Hungarian girl dreams of conquering international men’s chess. After a 15-year battle against world champion Garry Kasparov and her domineering father, Judit Polgár revolutionizes the sport’s patriarchal culture to become one of the greatest chess prodigies in history and the greatest woman chess player of all time.
Interwoven portraits of Anatoli Karpov and Garry Kasparov, whose 25-year bitter rivalry accompanied the fall of the USSR. The story of a duel between two chess giants, fighting a personal war in a world gone to ruin. This battle of black and white was more than a face-off over a chessboard. Part psychological drama, part political thriller, the film brings to life their hostilities, nested like Russian dolls. Karpov vs. Kasparov represents the battle between the faltering empire and the young liberals several steps ahead of the game, checkmating the old guard. Or how two stories – the societal one and the personal one – started out separately and ended up superimposed, twining together into one tale.
Through the eyes of International Chess Master Paul Cassidy, this documentary traces a lifetime of strategy, triumph, and heartbreak, from representing Ireland on the world stage to confronting the loss that nearly ended his career, and ultimately rediscovering joy through the enduring support of the Dun Laoghaire Chess Club.
The story of the 1978 World Chess Championship between the Soviet Communist Party's protege, Anatoly Karpov and the traitor and Soviet defector, Viktor Korchnoi. One of those instances in life where truth is stranger than fiction.
In the early 1980s, CHESS was poised to be the next big thing. It was a collaboration between two of the world’s most famous pop icons, a renowned lyricist, and a legendary director. A musical about a championship chess match set against the backdrop of the Cold War, CHESS had all the right pieces for success. But things didn’t play out quite as expected. In this new feature length documentary from Wait in the Wings, go behind the scenes to explore how a dream musical descended into a political nightmare. This is a story of high stakes, high tension, and ticking clocks; of a lyricist’s battle for independence, of a director’s battle for control, and of how the two guys from ABBA decided to write a musical. But above all else, this is a story about CHESS.
The World Chess Championship is a juicy battle, rife with passion, power and money. Boris Gelfand has spent his entire life getting ready for this moment; he was raised to become a champion since the age of six. His father devoted all his life to cultivating Boris' talent while obsessively documenting the process. The photo albums tell the father's story as much as that of the son, revealing a simple truth about a man living his own dreams through his son under the Soviet regime. Can any child, given fine Soviet education, become a genius? And is becoming a genius worth the price?
In the streets of Hanoi, the fiercest battles are fought neither with weapons nor in the shadows, but in broad daylight. Here, gray-haired “street fighters” face off with the intensity of legendary duelists, only to become old friends again moments later, sharing a cup of tea. Balancing fierce competition with unshakable camaraderie, Hanoi Street Fighters reveals a way of life in which every battle is, above all, an excuse to never truly be alone.
2ⁿ is a story about the exponential growth of numbers raised to powers. Part of the Mathematica Peep Shows, one of five films made to accompany the Mathematica: A World of Numbers and Beyond exhibition at the California Museum of Science and Industry and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Serial killer Dennis Nilsen narrates his life and horrific crimes via a series of chilling audiotapes recorded from his jail cell.
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Ten of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute to the three-time world heavyweight champion.
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
In this documentary, recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it therefore to be his rightful property.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
A sexual wellness company gains fame and followers, then members come forward with shocking allegations.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.
The most comprehensive retrospective of the '80s action film genre ever made.
A heartfelt documentary focusing on the day-to-day lives of professional wrestlers, some on the rise, some on the wane, and others fighting for their lives.
From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.
With exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen with Brando himself as your guide, the film will fully explore the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely from Marlon's perspective, entirely in his own voice. No talking heads, no interviewees, just Brando on Brando and life.
This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.