The film begins with the idea that 25 percent of the people in the world who are incarcerated are incarcerated in the U.S. Although the U.S. has just 5% of the world's population. "13th" charts the explosive growth in America's prison population; in 1970, there were about 200,000 prisoners; today, the prison population is more than 2 million. The documentary touches on chattel slavery; D. W. Griffith's film "The Birth of a Nation"; Emmett Till; the civil rights movement; the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Richard M. Nixon; and Ronald Reagan's declaration of the war on drugs and much more. Written by Ulf Kjell Gür
A look at how climate change affects our environment and what society can do to prevent the demise of endangered species, ecosystems and native communities across the planet.
A close look behind the scenes, between late March and mid-October, 2008: we follow Richard Fuld's benighted attempt to save Lehman Brothers; conversations among Hank Paulson (the Secretary of the Treasury), Ben Bernanke (chair of the Federal Reserve), and Tim Geithner (president of the New York Fed) as they seek a private solution for Lehman's; and, back-channel negotiations among Paulson, Warren Buffet, investment bankers, a British regulator, and members of Congress as almost all work to save the U.S. economy. By the end, with the no-strings bailout arranged, modest confidence restored on Wall Street, and a meltdown averted, Paulson wonders if banks will lend. Written by [email protected]
Picks up where Restrepo left off. Once again we meet the men of Battle Company, 2nd Battalion, 503nd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in 2007-8. They are deployed at one of the most dangerous places on earth - certainly the most dangerous place, at the time, for US forces: the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. Journalist Sebastian Junger and photojournalist Tim Hetherington were embedded with the 2nd Platoon of B Company and captured their daily lives. Written by grantss
A documentary about the power of transformation told through the eyes of 9 trans-identifying individuals in Puerto Rico.
Dan is a 35 year old computer programmer from Pittsburgh who lives a busy life. Along with balancing work, his marriage, and raising his three boys, Dan spends much of his time actively involved in all things Bitcoin. After discovering Bitcoin in 2011, his love and obsession for the crypto-currency was born, revealing an uncharted world of new possibilities for him to explore. Join us as we take a journey through the rapidly growing world of Bitcoin. Along the way, we'll follow the stories of entrepreneurs and startups that are helping shape the new financial frontier. We'll look at the competitive mining market and the various subcultures within the Bitcoin community. You'll encounter a variety of characters and opinions as we examine the social and political impact of an open-source digital currency. Will the rise of Bitcoin bring a monetary paradigm shift that will forever change the world? Written by Nicholas Mross
Not since the invention of the Internet has there been such a disruptive technology as Bitcoin. Bitcoin's early pioneers sought to blur the lines of sovereignty and the financial status quo. After years of underground development Bitcoin grabbed the attention of a curious public, and the ire of the regulators the technology had subverted. After landmark arrests of prominent cyber criminals Bitcoin faces its most severe adversary yet, the very banks it was built to destroy. Written by Periscope
A fearless, raw approach to storytelling is the trademark of "VICE," a groundbreaking newsmagazine series that tackles global issues often overlooked by traditional media. From anti-government rebellions, to hotbeds of terrorist activity, to conflict and corruption, "VICE" uses an engrossing documentary style to bring unique perspective to events shaping the future. The series takes its name from a youth media company operating in more than 34 countries. Its founder, Shane Smith, is the host and chief on-air correspondent of "VICE," joined by a network of reporters including VICE co-founder Suroosh Alvi, documentary filmmaker and author Ben Anderson, Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist Fazeelat Aslam, and Iranian photojournalist and filmmaker Gelareh Kiazand. Written by Jwelch5742
This is a story about clothing. It's about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?
The makers of the critically acclaimed 'The Union:The Business Behind Getting High', bring you the profound exploration of one of the most prolific wars of our time. 'The Culture High' is the riveting story that tears into the very fiber of modern day marijuana prohibition to reveal the truth behind the arguments and motives governing both those who support and oppose the existing marijuana laws. Written by Anonymous
Nearly 100 years after its creation, the power of the U.S. Federal Reserve has never been greater. Markets and governments around the world hold their breath in anticipation of the Fed Chairman's every word. Yet the average person knows very little about the most powerful - and least understood - financial institution on earth. Narrated by Liev Schreiber, Money For Nothing is the first film to take viewers inside the Fed and reveal the impact of Fed policies - past, present, and future - on our lives. Join current and former Fed officials as they debate the critics, and each other, about the decisions that helped lead the global financial system to the brink of collapse in 2008. And why we might be headed there again. Written by Anonymous
In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, the disease was considered a death sentence affecting communities, like the LGBT ones, whom many in power felt deserved it. This film tells the story of how militant activists like ACT-UP and TAG pushed for a meaningful response to this serious public health problem. As the activists struggled against political indifference, religious hostility, corporate greed and apparently skewed scientific research priorities with determination and sheer audacity, they produced a political wave that would lead to not only an effective treatment regime, but would advance LGBT rights beyond anyone's expectations. Written by Kenneth Chisholm ([email protected])
In 1999, just hours before his scheduled execution, convicted killer Anthony Porter's life was saved by a journalism class from Northwestern University, led by renowned Innocence Project pioneer, Professor David Protess. The class seemingly found the real killer, Alstory Simon. Porter was released, becoming the poster boy of the anti-death penalty movement. Because of his case, Illinois eventually abolished the death penalty. The filmmakers present strong evidence that Northwestern's investigation led to the release of the real killer, and imprisoned an innocent man. In October 2013, due in part to this film's investigation, the Cook County State's Attorney's office reopened this case. Written by Anonymous
'The Square' is an intimate observational documentary that tells the real story of the ongoing struggle of the Egyptian Revolution through the eyes of six very different protesters. Starting in the tents of Tahrir in the days leading up to the fall of Mubarak, we follow our characters on a life-changing journey through the euphoria of victory into the uncertainties and dangers of the current 'transitional period' under military rule, where everything they fought for is now under threat or in balance. Written by Anonymous
The threat of fire season makes the family work harder than ever to complete their plans. Nathan and Joshua come up with a creative idea for a water truck.
From acclaimed director Michael Apted (The Up Series, Master of Sex, The World is Not Enough) comes a revealing look at the art of filmmaking and photography. A journey of glass, the documentary explores the relationship between the artisans who create camera lenses and the masters of light who use these lenses to capture their beloved art form. Written by Anonymous
From the Academy-Award nominated creators of the Broadway show STOMP and the award-winning film Wild Ocean, The Last Reef is an uplifting, inspirational large-format and 3D cinema experience capturing one of nature's more vibrant and diverse wonderlands. Exotic coral reefs, vibrant sea walls in the sub-arctic pulsating with anemones and crustaceans: these biodiversity hot spots are as vital to our lives as the rainforests. Shot on location in Palau, Vancouver Island, French Polynesia, Mexico, and The Bahamas using groundbreaking 3D cinematography, The Last Reef takes us on a global journey to explore the connection of our cities on land with the ocean's complex, parallel world of the coral reefs beneath the sea. Written by Anonymous
Follows animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his unprecedented challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans, by filing the first lawsuits that seek to transform a chimpanzee from a 'thing' with no rights to a 'person' with legal protections.
The murals of Northern Ireland are an expression of the region's violent Troubles. 'The Art of Conflict' examines these murals through their painters and the people who live there, exploring this unique street art's impact, purpose, and future. Written by Anonymous
For centuries, Bordeaux has assumed a mythical status in the world of fine wine as a leitmotif of wealth, power and influence, but its prosperity has always been linked to the capricious nature of markets and the shifting fortunes of global economies. Now change is coming to Bordeaux, with traditional customers like the US and the UK falling away, as China's new rich push prices to stratospheric levels. The demand is unprecedented, but the product is finite and this new client wants it all. Will the China market be the bubble that never bursts or the biggest threat yet to Bordeaux's centuries old reputation? Written by Anonymous
The story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz. From Swartz's help in the development of the basic internet protocol RSS to his co-founding of Reddit, his fingerprints are all over the internet. But it was Swartz's groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two year legal nightmare. It was a battle that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26. Aaron's story touched a nerve with people far beyond the online communities in which he was a celebrity. This film is a personal story about what we lose when we are tone deaf about technology and its relationship to our civil liberties. Written by Anonymous
Capitalism: A Love Story examines the impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). The film moves from Middle America, to the halls of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan. With both humor and outrage, the film explores the question: What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism? Families pay the price with their jobs, their homes and their savings. Moore goes into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down; and he goes looking for explanations in Washington, DC and elsewhere. What he finds are the all-too-familiar symptoms of a love affair gone astray: lies, abuse, betrayal...and 14,000 jobs being lost every day. Capitalism: A Love Story also presents what a more hopeful future could look like. Who are we and why do we behave the way that we do? Written by Overture Films
What would it be like if your last name was Hitler? Director Matt Ogens seeks that answer by intimately portraying a diverse group of individuals with that same unfortunate name.
WINGS OF LIFE launches into the stories of selected animal characters--a bat, a hummingbird, a butterfly, and a bee--stories that reveal the extraordinary importance of flowers and their pollinator partners. Though we primarily associate flowers with beauty, we often don't realize how essential they truly are--that without flowing plants and their winged messengers, and the foods they produce, we humans might not survive. Using special cinematic techniques, we explore the mystical intersection of the animal and plant worlds where life regenerates itself over and over again. It's this seductive dance that feeds the early, and today that dance is threatened. Written by Anonymous
The Drop Box tells the story of South Korean pastor Lee Jong-rak and his heroic efforts to embrace and protect the most vulnerable members of society. It is an exploration of the physical, emotional and financial toll associated with providing refuge to orphans that would otherwise be abandoned on the streets. The movie is also a story of hope - a reminder that every human life is sacred and worthy of love. South Korea is not the only country grappling with the issue of orphan care. Around the world, there are more than 150 million orphans waiting for forever families to call their own. Written by From Drop Box Film website
Meet Dave Bertman, a tightly wound 37 year-old father of one. Bertman's "higher" education begins when medical marijuana activists wielding "loaded" weapons interrupt a planned reunion barbecue with college debate chums. When his teenage daughter Gina Marie unexpectedly arrives with a joint found in her pocket, Bertman assumes the worst. Only after he faces his own hypocrisies, can he have the open and honest discussion needed for father and daughter to understand each other and reconnect. Meanwhile, Bertman's fellow debaters shed their inhibitions and make their own self-discoveries. Tired of seeing her grass-roots campaigns sabotaged by corporations opposing legalization, pro-pot advocate, Dr. Willa Peterson decides the kid gloves are coming off. By convincing the Fun-0nion snack food empire their sales would skyrocket if marijuana was legal, Peterson enlists their corporate might to back her cause. It will take a radical marketing campaign to change the way America thinks about ... Written by Dannielle R. Wheeler
Fresh Dressed chronicles the history of Hip-Hop Urban fashion and its rise from southern cotton plantations to the gangs of 1970s in the South Bronx, to corporate America, and everywhere in-between. Supported by rich archival materials and in depth interviews with individuals crucial to the evolution of a way of life--and the outsiders who studied and admired them--Fresh Dressed goes to the core of where style was born on the black and brown side of town.
Mitt Romney, with the support of his family, made two major campaigns for the Office of the President of the United States in the 2008 and 2012 campaigns. This film takes an intimate portrait of the Romney family during these bids through the initial decision to run, the primaries and the general election itself as the former Governor of Massachusetts experiences the highs and lows of his ultimately unsuccessful campaign. Written by Kenneth Chisholm ([email protected])
Determined to stop a gas mine being built near her inner-city Sydney home, Anna Broinowski, in a world first, goes to North Korea to meet the masters of propaganda filmmaking, who teach her how to make a revolutionary drama in which "heroic workers" overthrow the "evil gas miners" - all executed in the Dear Leader's proudly melodramatic style. Back in Sydney, Anna's brave western cast follow the North Koreans' instructions, culminating in an uplifting, anti-capitalist drama. Written by Unicorn Films
An unemployed American worker, a Tea Party activist, and a Chinese solar entrepreneur. But who wins and who loses the battle for power in the 21st century? Through interwoven character dramas spanning the U.S. and China, Catching the Sun explores the global economic race to lead the clean energy future.
As most of the world moves forward toward gay equality, Russia is seemingly heading backward. Antigay sentiment and legislation are spreading rapidly throughout the country. In 2013, the Russian parliament passed a ban on so-called 'gay propaganda' that effectively makes nearly any public discussion of gay equality a crime. It is my hope that this documentary will educate viewers to their reality. Written by Michael Lucas