What does blood have to do with identity? Kendra Mylnechuk, an adult Native adoptee, born in 1980 at the cusp of the enactment of the Indian Child Welfare Act, is on a journey to reconnect with her birth family and discover her Lummi heritage.
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Kendra Mylnechuk
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Made in collaboration with the Inuit Tungavingat Nunamini, this film focuses on those dissident members of the Inuit community who rejected the agreement signed on November 11, 1975, between the Northern Quebec Inuit Association, the Québec and federal governments, the James Bay Energy Corporation, the James Bay Development Corporation, Hydro-Québec and the Grand Council of the Crees, which took away Native rights to a territory of almost one million square kilometres. By their words and actions, the dissident Inuit of Povungnituk, Ivujivik and Sugluk express their strong desire to retain their land and their traditions. The filmmakers go into their homes, on the ice and the sea to record first-hand the lives of these northern people.
When 24-year-old Hend Nafea is arrested and tortured for demonstrating peacefully in Cairo's Tahrir Square, her pursuit of justice reflects post-revolution Egypt at an uncertain crossroads.
An analysis of director Sidney Lumet's work (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead) in his own words, based on a five-day interview recorded shortly before his death.
Explores the challenges of converting to a vegan diet. It "follows three meat-and-cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks.
Hollywood stars, historical footage and stylized reenactments tell the story of costume designer Orry-Kelly, who ruled Tinseltown fashion for decades.
At twenty-six, Noel Starblanket was one of the youngest Indigenous chiefs in North America--twice elected chief of the Starblanket Reserve, and also elected vice-president of all-Saskatchewan Indigenous organization. His great-grandfather's advice was to "learn the wit and cunning of the White man." That he did. Here he is seen in action, a chief with a briefcase, working with government officials for grants, running for public office, talking down his opposition, and solving the domestic problems of his reserve.
This film is about the filmmaker's father who suffered an accident rendering him paralyzed from the neck down. The film uses original hospital footage to describe the time he chose to disconnect his ventilator and life support and show how his family and friends rallied around him as he made this decision.
Tracing anxieties about technology back to the 1880s, DREAMS REWIRED combines clips from nearly 200 films and newsreels with an insightful commentary by Tilda Swinton on our eternal love/hate relationship with a hyper-mediated world.
What do high school girls do on a Saturday at 5 pm? This film outlines how 18 year-olds imagine future happiness.
About three women in search of a home return to South Korea after an absence of more than thirty years. In the 1970s, they left everything behind in order to go to Germany as "guest workers." Although assimilated in their new country, they long for the old one. Now they are able to realize their dream of returning with their German husbands to Dogil Maeul, the German village that has been created for people like them. Situated in a picturesque bay, the village is indeed more German than Germany--there is even whole meal bread and Frankfurter sausages. This is the new-old home to which their sixty something husbands Armin, Willi and Ludwig have come in the hope of spending their remaining years. However, there is still something missing for the three women as they discover it is not so easy to pick up where they left off.
In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, acclaimed director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, traveling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promoting change through the arts. This is their story. From IRAN, where graffiti and rap have become tools in fighting government repression, to BURMA, where monks acting in the tradition of Gandhi take on a dictatorship, to PALESTINIAN refugee camps in LEBANON, where photography, music, and film have given a voice to those rarely heard, CULTURES OF RESISTANCE explores how art and creativity can be ammunition in the battle for peace and justice.
Kids are the experts in explaining and exploring the world of dreams.
Wild Man Blues is a 1998 documentary film directed by Barbara Kopple, about the musical avocation of actor/director/comic Woody Allen. The film takes its name from a jazz composition sometimes attributed to Jelly Roll Morton and sometimes to Louis Armstrong and recorded by both (among others). Allen's love of early 20th century New Orleans music is depicted through his 1996 tour of Europe with his New Orleans Jazz Band. Allen has played clarinet with this band for over 25 years. Although Allen's European tour is the film's primary focus, it was also notable as the first major public showcase for Allen's relationship with Soon-Yi Previn.
Deep behind-the-scenes into the strip-mined world of Alberta, Canada, where the vast and toxic Tar Sands deposit supplies the U.S. with the majority of its oil. Through the eyes of scientists, 'big oil' officials, politicians, doctors, environmentalists, and aboriginal citizens directly impacted by 'the largest industrial project on the planet today,' the filmmakers journey to both sides of the border to see the emotional and irreversible toll this 'black gold rush' fueled by America's addiction to oil is taking on our planet.
Welcome To This House, a feature documentary film on the homes and loves of poet Elizabeth Bishop, is about life in the shadows, and the anxiety of art making without full lesbian disclosure. Hammer filmed in Bishop's best loved homes in the U.S., Canada, and Brazil, believing that buildings and landscapes bear cultural memories. Interviews with poets, friends,and scholars provide missing documents of numerous female lovers. Bishop's intimate poems and the creative music composition by Joan La Barbara bring the poet into our lives with new facts and unexpected details.
Filmmaker Jenny Abel explores the life and career of her father Alan Abel, known to many as "the world's greatest hoaxer."
Naziha is a 45-year-old woman of Moroccan descent and the mother of 10 children. She’s been without a partner since throwing out her violent husband. In 2007, she was in the news when her teenage sons were causing serious trouble. In perfect Dutch she tells the story of how as a young girl she was married off to a man 30 years her senior, and of how he turned her household into a “terrorist training camp.” She speaks bitterly about this dark period, which had led to her sons’ criminal behavior. She wants her story to break the taboo on getting help. “There’s still so much shame”, she says about her mostly Moroccan neighbors. When it emerges that one of Naziha’s sons was involved in the death of a soccer referee, the normal quiet life she dreams of looks further away than ever. This is the story of an articulate, modern woman who, despite the burden of her youth and continual problems with her children, is tireless in her struggle for better life.
Documents Ku Klux Klan activities in California, Georgia, Chicago, and Ohio.
When the Oglala Sioux Tribe passed an ordinance separating industrial hemp from its illegal cousin, marijuana, Alex White Plume and his family glimpsed a brighter future. Having researched hemp as a sustainable crop that would grow in the inhospitable soil of the South Dakota Badlands, the White Plumes envisioned a new economy that would shrink the 85% unemployment rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation. They never dreamed they would find themselves swept up in a struggle over tribal sovereignty, economic rights, and common sense.
The evolution of the depiction of the various Native American peoples in cinema, from the silent era to the present day: how their image on the screen has changed the way to understand their history and culture.
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
Giving fans unprecedented access to the real life of the music sensation, Katy Perry: Part of Me exposes the hard work, dedication and phenomenal talent of a girl who remained true to herself and her vision in order to achieve her dreams. Featuring rare behind-the-scenes interviews, personal moments between Katy and her friends, and all-access footage of rehearsals, choreography, Katy’s signature style and more, Katy Perry: Part of Me reveals the singer’s unwavering belief that if you can be yourself, then you can be anything.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.
Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei journeyed from a World War II internment camp to the helm of the Starship Enterprise, and then to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband, Brad, on a wacky and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.
An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.
An epic cinematic and musical collaboration between SHERPA filmmaker Jennifer Peedom and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, that explores humankind's fascination with high places.
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
Join former first lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone.
Diaries, audiotapes, videotapes and testimonials from friends and colleagues offer insight into the life and career of Gilda Radner -- the beloved comic and actress who became an icon on Saturday Night Live.
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.