9 Star Hotel - This unflinching documentary follows Ahmed and Muhammad, two of the many Palestinians who illegally cross the border into the Israeli city of Modi’in looking for work. Together they share food, belongings and stories, and live under the constant threat of imprisonment from soldiers and police. With raw, handheld images, this disconcerting yet touching film documents friendship, nostalgia and the uncompromising urge to survive.
10th District Court - Go where no cameras have gone before as renowned photographer and filmmaker Raymond Depardon (winner of 3 Cesar Awards) presents a rare, inside look at the French legal system. Behind the closed doors of one Parisian court, the subtle details of human behavior along with issues of guilt, innocence, law enforcement and racial perceptions are examined in this critically acclaimed and unprecedented film.
Absolutely Safe - This is the story of everyday women who find themselves and their breasts in the tangled and confusing intersection of beauty and business, revealing that the conversation on implant safety is far more complex than mere health issues.
The Altered Consciousness Collection - This box set of award-winning documentaries explores the frontiers of human consciousness and the iconic pioneers who opened the doors of perception. From early LSD research and hypnotic “dream machines” to the transformational powers of Eastern spirituality, The Altered Consciousness Collection reveals the sub-culture of enlightenment seekers who influenced a generation.
Antigone: Rites of Passion - This critically acclaimed modern adaptation of Sophocle’s classic tragedy combines dance and narrative to tell the story of Antigone, who risks her own life to arrange the burial of her brother Polyneices. The treachery surrounding his death and the threatening behavior of King Creon provide the drama that motivates this daring interpretation of the classic story. Bonus material includes an extensive interview with Classics scholar Dr. Marianne McDonald.
Arab Labor - Coming Soon
Art of Faith - This three-part series explores the art and architecture of the world’s three monotheistic religions. From the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem to the madrassas of Samerkand; from the earliest synagogues on the mountain fort of Masada to Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece Beth Sholom near Philadelphia; to Saint Catherine’s monastery to Chartres and Henri Matisse’s chapel in Vence, France; the architecture and art of each building is brought alive through the eyes of a religious guide. Viewers gain a deeper understanding of the three Abrahamic faith traditions as well as the history and art of these buildings and their importance as places of lived faith.
The Atheism Tapes - In this ground-breaking BBC series, Jonathan Miller interviews biologist and New York Times best-selling author Richard Dawkins, philosophers Daniel Dennett and Colin McGinn, distinguished playwright Arthur Miller, theologian Denys Turner and Nobel Prize winning physicist Steven Weinberg about their personal intellectual journeys to non-theism. The interviews explore questions from, “Can science answer all questions?” to the influence of anti Semitism in America. The Atheism Tapes is an invaluable teaching resource that presents a wide range of perspectives, from science to literature to theology, on one of today’s most controversial topics. This series will challenge students and provoke discussion.
Blame it On Fidel - Caught up in the political revolution sweeping France in the early 1970s, Fernando (Stefano Accorsi) and Marie (Julie Depardieu) reject the comforts of their bourgeois life and dedicate themselves full time to radical activism. This comes as a shock to their precocious nine year-old daughter, Anna (Nina Kervel), who struggles to understand her parents’ newfound ideals. Brilliantly told from Anna’s perspective, this critically-acclaimed film by Julie Gavras captures the coming-of-age moment when children realize the contradictions of adulthood and have to make their own choices.
Blessed By Fire - After learning of a former infantry mate’s attempted suicide, journalist Esteban returns to the Falkland Islands (or as they are known in Argentina, the Malvinas) to confront the horrors he experienced as an eighteen year-old soldier. This epic film, directed by Tristan Bauer, presents the harrowing story of a group of young men sent to fight an un-winnable war and left to bear its emotional scars.
The Bridge - Capturing the intensity of life in relation to death, director Eric Steel and his crew spent an entire year looking very carefully at the Golden Gate Bridge. Running cameras for almost every daylight minute, he documented nearly two dozen fatal moments as well as others where suicide was avoided and life preserved. The powerful imagery is accompanied by incredibly frank, deeply personal and often heart-wrenching interviews with families, friends, witnesses and several of the attempters themselves creating a brutally honest and commanding look into one of life’s gravest taboos.
Chop Shop - Alejandro, a tough and ambitious Latino street orphan on the verge of adolescence, lives and works in an auto-body repair shop in a sprawling junkyard on the outskirts of Queens, New York. In this chaotic world of adults, young Alejandro struggles to make a better life for himself and his 16-year-old sister, Isamar.
Comedy of Power - Isabelle Huppert gives a stellar performance in Claude Chabrol’s thriller inspired by the Elf Affair, a true story of high-level corporate corruption. Jeanne Charmant Killman (Huppert), a tenacious magistrate known as “the piranha,” pursues white collar criminals with their hands in public pockets. After locking up an embexxling CEO, she pushes the limits of her power even further and winds up caught in a dangerous game of threats and intimidation.
Cosmos - Cosmos is the story of our long journey of discovery and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science, including Democritus, Hypatia, Kepler, Newton, Huygens, Champollion, Lowell and Humason. Sagan looks at our planet from an extraterrestrial vantage point and sees a blue jewel-like world, inhabited by a lifeform that is just beginning to discover its own unity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. The late Dr. Sagan’s multi Emmy and Peabody Award winning series goes beyond a guided tour through billions of stars and galaxies. Cosmos remains one of the most profound statements in exploration, crossing boundaries between science and religion.
Count of Monte Cristo - Gérard Depardieu leads an all-star international cast in the epic adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale of love, intrigue and revenge. The Count of Monte Cristo tells the dramatic story of Edmond Dantès, a young French sailor who is falsely denounced as a traitor and unjustly imprisoned for eighteen years without a trial. After a daring escape, Dantès uncovers a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. Using these riches, he assumes a new identity and devises a plan to seek vengeance on all who betrayed him.
Divine Intervention - At the center of the Middle East conflict, hearts beat in tragic comedy and deadpan irony: a sexy young Palestinian woman defies Israeli soldiers and struts through a check-point as if it were the catwalk of a fashion show, Santa Claus is chased up the sun-drenched hills of Nazareth by a gang of knife-wielding school kids, Israeli police use a blindfolded prisoner to provide directions to tourists in Jerusalem and a female ninja descends from the sky, holding the map of ‘Palestine’ as her battle shield. These are but a few of the provocative images put forth in Elia Suleiman’s critically-acclaimed satire chronicling the absurdities of life and love on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli border.
Dollhouse - Mabou Mines critically acclaimed interpretation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House rejuvenates a nineteenth century classic with bold staging and conceptual originality. Ibsen’s Doll’s House has been described as a feminist clarion, Freudian drama and bourgeois soap opera. In Mabou Mines’ re-imagining, the production shocks and enlightens audiences as never before. Includes the companion documentary, Looking for a Miracle, which features extensive interviews with director Lee Breuer and the original cast.
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara: The Bolivian Diary - Over 40 years ago, on October 9, 1967, Ernesto Che Guevara was executed by the Bolivian army, aided by the CIA. Guevara’s diary, a detailed, personal account of his futile 11-month attempt to foment revolution in Bolivia, is the basis of this moving portrait. Che’s relationship with the mysterious Tania, his betrayal by local peasants, his constant battle with asthma, and his distress at the death of his comrades is recounted. Interviews with Bolivians who met Che during these final days, coupled with narrations from Che’s actual diaries, testify to a man who embraced sacrifice for his ideals. This is an enlightening insight into the real history of a revolutionary icon.
theEYE Series - theEYE is a series of interview-based profiles of contemporary visual artists. Each film provides a thought-provoking survey of an artist’s work and ideas, featuring the artist in discussion and illustrated by sequences captured of key exhibitions and installations around the world. The beautifully produced films offer a rare and personal insight into the influences and creative processes that lie behind the artist’s creations, and provide an accessible means of engaging with the pleasures and puzzles of art in the 21st century. An excellent introduction to contemporary artists and their works, theEYE is an ideal resource for a wide range of audience, including galleries, museums and colleges, as well as the individual art-lover.
Fierce Light - In these times of crisis, is change possible? Acclaimed filmmaker Velcrow Ripper sets out to discover the power that is released when spirituality and activism meet. Sparked by what Gandhi called “soul force,” and Martin Luther King called “love in action,” he discovers that, all over the world, remarkable individuals are taking action from the heart, igniting a new global movement of positive, compassionate
action.
The Five Obstructions - Lars von Trier enters the world of experimental documentary filmmaking by challenging his idol Jorgen Leth to remake his 1967 masterpiece, The Perfect Human, five times, each time with a different ‘obstruction’. Leth rises to the challenge, from filming in Cuba to the red light district of Bombay to Brussels, as von Trier hurtles one obstruction after the other at him. An innovative director, von Trier is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective. This documentary will be discussed and studied by filmmakers, fans and critics for years to come.
FLicKeR - This award-winning documentary about poet, artist, calligrapher and mystic Brion Gysin portrays the life and legacy of an artist who believed art could revolutionize human consciousness. This film chronicles Gison’s complex ideas, friendships and influence with some of the 20th century’s key counterculture figures, such as William Burroughs, Kurt Cobain and Marianne Faithful.
Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman- This six-part series takes a personal, experimental approach to female life in the 21st century. The series narratively and visually interweaves aspects of filmmaker Jennifer Fox’s own life over five years and across seventeen countries, as she struggles to understand how diverse women define their lives when there is no map. Employing an ingenious new camera technique called “Passing the Camera,” Fox creates a documentary language that mirrors the special way women communicate. Over intimate conversations around kitchen tables from South Africa to Russia, India and Pakistan, she initiates a groundbreaking dialogue among women, illuminating universal concerns across race, class and nationality.
Forgiveness: Stories for Our Time - In a world wracked by increasing violence and horror, Forgiveness: Stories for Our Time brings hope that there are other possibilities beyond blind revenge, no matter how violent the cirme - and that in forgiving others we can set ourselves free. This program is an excellent resource for grief counseling groups, psychology courses and religion.
The Gates - In 1979, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude proposed one of the largest public art installations in history: a “golden river” of 7,503 fabric-paneled gates in Central Park. Antonio Ferrera’s and Albert Maysles’ film chronicles the artists’ twenty-six year commitment to transform the winter darkness of the iconic park into a garden of light and color. Weaving together archival interviews with committees, politicians and on-site conversations with visitors, the film ultimately poses the question: what is art?
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts - Academy Award nominated director Scott Hicks (”Shine”) was allowedunprecedented access to renowned American composer Philip Glass. Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts is an intimate film study of one of today’s greatest living artists. From the creative process and family life to influential spiritual teachers and long time artistic collaborators, this documentary is a remarkable mosaic of an artist and his work. This 2008 feature documentary was shortlisted for an Academy Award.
The Godard Duo - Jean-Luc Godard was a founding member of the French New Wave and one of the most influential directors of the 20th century. Two of his most overtly political films from the 60s, La Chinoise and Le Gai Savoir, examine the relationship between art and revolution, language and power. La Chinoise focuses on a group of students and engages with the ideas coming out of the student activist groups in pre 1968 France. Le Gai Savoir was rejected by French national television and subsequently banned by the French government for its subversive content.
Hair: Let the Sun Shine In - Award-winning filmmaker Pola Rappaport’s documentary excavates the origins of this culturally transformative theatre work. Interviews with co-creator James Rado, original cast members and producers as well as director Milos Forman are fused with abundant and rare archival footage. The result is a delectable deconstruction of a musical that defined an era, a generation and its politics. The DVD includes an additional hour of bonus material featuring extended interviews with the original creators and cast. Hair: Let the Sun Shine In is the definitive resource for theater and drama students.
Harold Pinter: Art, Truth & Politics - In late 2005 Harold Pinter videotaped a lecture on the occasion of the award to him of one of the most distinguished of honours, the Nobel Prize for Literature. His speech, delivered directly to camera, is a complex reflection on his own writing and an excoriating attack on the foreign policy of a “brutal, ruthless and scornful” United States. Harold Pinter reflects on the genesis of his plays “The Homecoming” and “Old Times”; on the problems of political theatre; on the tragedy of American actions in Nicaragua; on the invasion of Iraq and on other crimes by the United States in the past half century.
Hedda Gabler - Set in an anonymous corner of suburbia, this contemporary adaptation of Ibsen’s play is a shattering exploration of ambition, domestic power and gender roles. Just married, Hedda Gabler and her husband arrive at their new home where Hedda’s romantic rival from the past appears. Hedda must confront her desire for a life lived beautifully and without compromise - whatever the cost. This bracing dramatization brings new dimensions to Hedda Gabler’s character.
Hippie Masala - This enlightening documentary is a fascinating chronicle about aging flower children who, after fleeing Western civilization, found a new way of life in India.
Hofmann’s Potion - Featuring interviews with the pioneers of LSD, Hofmann’s Potion is a comprehensive chronicle of LSD’s history, from its discovery by Alfred Hofmann to its prohibition in 1973. Featuring interviews with Albert Hofmann, Ram Dass and other groundbreaking researchers and a wealth of archival footage, this informative program provides a history of a chemical that changed a culture.
In July - Coming Soon
Intangible Asset Number 82 - Coming Soon - Intangible Asset Number 82 tells the story of a respected jazz drummer and his search for an elusive South Korean shaman and grandmaster musician. The journey becomes a rite of passage as he meets engaging and exotic characters, and overcomes cultural obstacles and the march of time to eventually meet the master only days before his death. The film takes us inside the thoughts of a dedicated musician as he explores the tools of self expression. It is a road movie, a philosophical encounter, a showcase of fascinating musicians rarely heard outside of Korea, and a tribute to the universal language of music.
The Junky’s Christmas - Narrated by William S. Burroughs and presented in claymation and live-action, The Junky’s Christmas depicts a story written by the author in 1952. Danny the car wiper, a desperate character who has just been released from jail on the upper west side of Manhattan, searches for a fix on a cold Christmas day. His story ends in a revelation that even Danny could never have thought possible.
Kiki & Herb Live at the Knitting Factory - The cabaret duo Kiki & Herb began performing in the 1980’s as a reaction to the AIDS crisis, an epidemic which at its height killed many gay intellectuals and artists. This live performance at the NYC Knitting Factory captures the scathing wit and talent of one of America’s cutting-edge theater performances.
La Dolce Vita - Frederico Fellini’s award-winning masterpiece starring Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg is restored and remastered. Considered by many to be Fellini’s masterpiece, it signals the split between his earlier neo-realist films and his later art films. This two-disc special edition includes interviews with Fellini, Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, and noted critic and film historian Richard Schickel.
Lagerfeld Confidential - For the first time Karl Lagerfeld, the innovative designer who has ruled the House of Chanel for more than two decades, agreed to trust a director to create an artwork based on his life. After three years of crisscrossing the globe filming the outspoken icon, Rodolphe Marconi unveils the inner workings of the influential and enigmatic star.
Les Paul - Chasing Sound! - Guitar wizard, inventor and architect of rock ‘n’ roll, the legendary Les Paul tells his own rags-to-riches story in this feature-length documentary. A pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which “made the sound of rock and roll possible,” his many recording innovations include overdubbing, delay effects such as “sound on sound” and tape delay, phasing effects and multi-track recording. This documentary explores the achievements of a famed artist and inventor who combined creativity with technology. An American Master’s production.
Lipstick & Dynamite - Talk about strong female role models! Lipstick & Dynamite shines a spotlight on the forgotten first ladies of the wrestling ring including Gladys ‘Kill ‘Em’ Gillem, Ida May Martinez, Penny Banner, The Fabulous Moolah and The Great Mae Young. Each woman fondly and nostalgically reflects on her own remarkable life, reconciling her wild, flamboyant youth with the reality of getting older. Lipstick & Dynamite documents early women pioneers who fought inside and outside the ring for respect, recognition and equality in a traditional male sport.
Living Goddess - Living Goddess is a journey into the small Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, rooted in religious and political tradition facing the challenges of modernization and political reform. The film juxtaposes the call for political reform on the street against intimate footage of a pre pubescent living goddess, Sajani. Venerated as a living incarnation of the divine, she is also a precocious and charming eleven year old who goes to school, plays hide and seek, and collapses in giggles in front of the camera when not presiding over religious ceremonies full of pomp and circumstance. The film is a powerful portrait of a young girl venerated as a goddess growing up in a country on the verge of civil war.
Macbeth - The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Macbeth has been lauded as the finest production of Shakespeare’s Scottish play for over a quarter of a century. In 2000, it played to packed houses in Stratford, London, and theatres abroad. All twenty actors from the original production, including Antony Sher and Harriet Walter, star in this compelling screen version of Gregory Doran’s original stage production. Cleverly reconceived for the camera, and brilliantly shot at London’s Roundhouse, Macbeth was filmed in a gritty style using the edgy techniques of fly-on-the wall documentaries.
Measure for Measure - Sex and power drive the action of William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Set in today’s British army this is a modern realization of a classic problem play where every character must justify their own private morality in a world bereft of discipline and authority. Critics rave that this contemporary dramatization is the perfect introduction to Shakespeare.
Messiah - Critically acclaimed photographer and filmmaker William Klein interprets Handel’s Messiah in a mesmerizing film brimming with visions of the sacred and the profane. Klein’s montage of horrific news images and industrial detritus contrasts with scenes of soaring beauty, all accompanying a complete performance of the oratorio. With his ironic counterpoints, Klein achieves a new revelation of Handel’s themes of faith, doubt and rapture that will challenge viewers’ traditional associations with this musical masterpiece.
Muriel - Delphine Seyrig gives an award-winning performance in this hauntingly brilliant masterpiece by Alain Resnais (Last Year at Marienbad). A widow’s life becomes all the more complicated when she is reunited with a former lover. Meanwhile, her troubled stepson struggles to come to terms with the atrocities he witnessed as a soldier during the Algerian War.
Mystical Brain - Is it possible to shed light on the states of grace experienced by mystics and meditators? Mystical Brain shows us the most recent discoveries of scientific research on this phenomenon in North America and abroad. It seems that mystical ecstasy is a profoundly transformative experience. It could contribute to people’s psychic and bodily health, treat depression and speed up the healing process in patients who combine meditation with conventional medicine. A guided tour of the depths of the human spirit, Mystical Brain is a fascinating documentary that breaks new ground on the intersection of science and spirituality.
Nathalie - Upon discovering that her husband is having an affair, Catherine (Fanny Ardant), a typical Parisian bourgeois wife, hires a prostitute named Marléne (Emmanuelle Béart) to seduce her husband under the alias “Nathalie” and report back to her. A strange bond develops between the two women and soon Catherine enters an eye-opening world completely different from her own that changes her forever. This film offers thought-provoking insight into female psychology and sexuality.
Nollywood Babylon - Coming Soon - Nollywood Babylon chronicles the wild world of “Nollywood,” a term coined in the early ‘90s to describe the world’s fastest-growing national cinema, surpassed only by its Indian counterpart. The film delves first-hand into Nigeria’s explosive homegrown movie industry, where Jesus and voodoo vie for screen time. Peppered with outrageously juicy movie clips and buoyed by a rousing score fusing Afropop and traditional sounds, Nollywood Babylon celebrates the distinctive power of Nigerian cinema as it marvels in the magic of movies.
The Official Story - Winner of an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, The Official Story is a compelling portrait of the life of a history professor and her awakening to the evils perpetrated by her country’s government. An Argentinian teacher, Alicia (Norma Aleandro) begins to suspect that her adopted daughter may have been the child of a murdered political prisoner. When she attempts to uncover the truth, she discovers levels of political corruption so abhorrent that the illusions of her life are irrevocably shattered.
Our Brand is Crisis - For decades, U.S. strategists-for-hire have been quietly molding the opinions of voters and the messages of candidates in elections around the world. They have worked for presidential candidates on every continent. Without the noise of tanks or troops, these Americans have been spreading our brand of democracy from the Middle East to the middle of the South American jungle. Our Brand Is Crisis is an astounding look at one of their campaigns and its earth-shattering aftermath. With flabbergasting access to think sessions, media training and the making of smear campaigns, we watch how the consultants’ marketing strategies shape the relationship between a leader and his people.
Pledge of Allegiance Blues - This film documents the journey of Rev. Dr. Michael Newdow, the blues-singing California physician and his battle to protect the separation between church and state, a battle that took him all the way to the United States Supreme Court where he defended the landmark “under God” lawsuit. From the controversy over the Ten Commandments monument in the Alabama State Courthouse to a historical analysis about the intertwining of religion and government in American history, Pledge of Allegiance Blues is a smart and funny examination of the often tense relationship between church and state.
Pornography: The Secret History of Civilisation - Fenton Bailey’s Pornography: The Secret History of Civilisation offers a comprehensive, detailed examination of the origins and transformations of adult media. This six-part series contains commentary from a multitude of sources, including art historians, social critics, authors, collectors, and adult stars themselves. The film tastefully tackles the taboo subject by focusing on pornography’s implications of human nature, the impact of technological advances and social evolution.
Protagonist - This riveting documentary explores the psychological transformation of the modern character. Inspired by the Greek playwright Euripides, Academy Award winning director Jessica Yu weaves together the stories of four men consumed by personal odysseys. The narrative structure mirrors a Greek drama and the film incorporates quotes from Euripides to contextualize their personal stories. Never before has an interpretation of Euripides’ work revealed how relevant he is for audiences today.
Sacred Love-Making - Best-selling author and sex expert Karinna Kittles-Karsten introduces ancient Taoist love secrets and rituals for achieving deep sexual satisfaction and emotional connectedness in the tastefully presented instructional DVD. Known as “The Love Educator,” Karinna illustrates ancient techniques to achieve greater sexual pleasure, suggests rituals that emphasize intimacy and o ffers tips on how to cultivate spontaneity and emotional openness with your partner.
Secrets of Mary Magdalene - Based on Dan Burstein and Arne de Keijzer’s nonfiction work, this documentary reveals the untold story of how her image has been continuously reimagined throughout history. A sinner and prostitute, or the secret wife of Jesus and original leader of his church? Featuring interviews with Elaine Pagels and Susan Haskins among other notable scholars, Secrets of Mary Magdalene strips away the veils of history to reveal the flesh and blood of the woman who served as Jesus’ foremost apostle and possibly the love of his life.
Secrets of the Occult - Secrets of the Occult explores the world of the occult from the ancient and modern magicians who practice it to the cutting edge scientists attempting to explain its mysterious claims. This program highlights the advances that have been achieved by innovators who challenged established reality like Newton, Galileo, Jung and Einstein.
Secrets of the Soul - This documentary film takes an all encompassing look at the universal belief in the soul. From the older tradition of the Native American Vision Quest to mediums who claim to be able to communicate with the dead, this two-hour special explores the beliefs and rituals of the faithful as well as the latest scientific research that investigates the soul’s very existence. Featuring interviews with Reza Aslan, Michael Shermer and Stuart Hameroff.
Signs Out of Time - Signs Out of Time weaves together interviews, archival footage, photographs, and narration to portray the scope of archaeologist Marija Gimbutas’s life and work. Using animation, artifacts, archival interview footage of Marija, comments from her supporters and critics, this biographical documentary explores her ground-breaking studies, excavations and publications, the depth and breadth of her scholarship, and the controversy around her theories concerning matriarchies and herstory.
The Soldier’s Tale - Penned by Stravinsky in 1918 in response to the Russian Revolution, this timeless composition is the powerful tale of a soldier who sells his soul to the devil. Rendered as an animated film from renowned illustrator R.O. Blachman, this award-winning modern adaptation will delight classical music neophytes as well as Stravinsky aficionados. Narrated by Andre Gregory, this visionary work was produced in collaboration with PBS’s Great Performances series.
Son of Man - In the state of Judea in southern Africa, violence, poverty and sectarianism are endemic. The neighbouring Alliance has invaded to restore ‘peace’ at gunpoint. Bloody street battles accompany the neighbouring dictatorship’s incursion into its weaker satellite. Promises of a transition to open democratic rule accompany summary executions and brutal massacres. As the civil war reaches a new level, a divine child is born to a lowly couple. As he grows and witnesses the inhumanity of the world he lives in, his angelic guardians offer him an escape to the heavens. He refuses. This is his world and he must try to save it from the work of evil men and from the darkness working through them. As an adult, he travels to the capital, gathering followers from the armed factions of rebels that crisscross the land. He demands that his followers give up their guns and confront their corrupt rulers with a vision of non-violent protest and solidarity. Inevitably, he attracts the attention of the Judean tribal leaders who have struck a power-sharing deal with the aloof Governor Pilate. The Son of Man must be brought down and destroyed. It should be another simple ‘disappearance’ like any other…
Syrian Bride - Mona’s wedding day may be the saddest of her life. Once she crosses the border between Israel, where she lives with her family in a Druze enclave, and Syria, where her new husband is waiting, she will never be allowed to visit her family in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Syrian Bride is a poignant portrait of family life and gender relations in a region divided by political and military borders where all relationships are defined by ethnic identity.
Theater of War - In Theater of War filmmaker John Walter artfully captures Meryl Streep groping for – and then seizing – the character in her unforgettable portrayal of Mother Courage in Tony Kushner’s adaptation of the Bertold Brecht masterpiece Mother Courage and Her Children, which was presented by The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival in Central Park in the summer of 2006. Theater of War is about theater and war, capitalism and Marxism, the postwar anti-Communist hysteria of the 1950s, and one literary genius’s ability to make art from them all.
Through the Eastern Gate - Through the Eastern Gate documents the spiritual paths of three young Westerners who have embraced Eastern traditions: Sister Yeshe Chodron’s journey led her from Australia to life as a Buddhist nun in a Himalayan convent; Ronela Vainio immerses herself in tantric yoga; Aziz Abbatiello lives as a Sufi dervish in Turkey, where he prays, sings, and spins himself into spiritual ecstasy. This intimate and compelling film delves into the personal practices and challenges of three people who have turned their backs on Western traditions. Features interviews with Venerable Tenzin Palmo, His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin, Sherif Baba, Sheikh Sherif Baba Efendi, Swami Vivekananda Saraswati.
Tibetan Book of the Dead - Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this two-part series explores ancient teachings on death and dying and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to Tibetan philosophy. A Way of Life documents the book’s acceptance and use in Europe and North America. Included is remarkable footage of the rites and liturgies surrounding and following the death of a Ladakhi elder as well as the views of the Dalai Lama on life and death. The Great Liberation observes an old Buddhist lama and a 13-year-old novice monk as they guide a deceased person into the afterlife. The passage of the soul is visualized with animation blended into actual location shooting. An additional short documentary, The Trap, explores Buddhist concepts of mutual respect, tolerance and cycles in the daily life of a North Atlantic fishing village.
The Tree of Wooden Clogs - Italian director Ermanno Olmi’s film is about a little boy who breaks the precious pair of clogs that he needs for his long trek to school. A late example of Italian neorealism, Olmi used local farmers and peasants rather than actors in this tale of social injustice. The recipient of the 1979 Palme d’Or, many consider Tree of Wooden Clogs to be Olmi’s most important film and one of the great classics of international cinema.
U Carmen - Carmen, perhaps the world’s best-loved opera, is recreated in a naturalistic world of South African pool halls, bars, courtyards and barracks. Rarely has opera been made more modern, relevant or vibrant than in this stunning interpretation featuring Dimpho Di Kopane (DDK), the internationally acclaimed South African theater company.
Violette - A true story, 18 year old Violette Nozière (brilliantly played here by Isabelle Huppert, 12-time César Award nominee for Best Actress) was condemned to death for patricide and attempted matricide in the 1930s, ostensibly to gain access to her parents’ meager assets in order to support her good-for-nothing lover. During the trial she alludes to incest committed by her father and accuses her mother of tacit consent. She also claimed that her real father, a wealthy and powerful man, refuses to acknowledge her because she was born out of wedlock. Violette offers a chilling portrait of French society and sexual morals in the early 20th century.
Water Lilies - In this provocative and perceptive portrait of teenage angst and nascent sexuality, a love triangle develops between three girls one summer in Paris. Marie, Anne and Floriane, all 15 years old, cross paths in the corridors at the local swimming pool, and love and desire make a sudden and dramatic appearance. The awkward Anne, the bad girl Floriane and the gawky Marie play an intense game of emotional chess as they wrestle with love, friendship and their desire for one another.
Who Does She Think She Is? - Coming Soon
Women and Spirituality - Donna Read’s definitive series explores the power of the sacred feminine in mythological, historical and cultural contexts. This trilogy investigates the relationship between women and spirituality from ancient times to the present and includes interviews with Starhawk, Merlin Stone, Carol Christ and other pioneering members of the goddess movement.
Workingman’s Death - After the fall of Communism, the plight of the Proletariat is rarely discussed and today’s manual laborers are no longer celebrated with hymns of praise. The critically acclaimed Workingman’s Death provides a rare glimpse into the harsh treatment faced by manual labor around the world today.
The Workshop - In a wooded glade somewhere near San Francisco, The Workshop challenges the rules of modern society by pushing all boundaries of normal convention - especially the sexual ones! A group of people agree to take part in a 10-day ‘workshop’ led by spiritual leader Paul Lowe in their search for a higher personal truth. On day one they are told to introduce themselves and meet everyone else - completely naked! Searing emotional honesty, full nudity, experiments and sexuality and the exorcising of inner demons are the hallmarks of this groundbreaking and provocative documentary.
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Sex and power drive the action of William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Set in today’s British army, this is a modern realization of a classic problem play where every character must justify their own private morality in a world bereft of discipline and authority. Critics rave that this contemporary dramatization is the perfect introduction to Shakespeare.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 
Through the Eastern Gate chronicles the spiritual paths of three young Westerners who have embraced Eastern traditions: Sister Yeshe Chodron’s journey led her from Australia to a life as a Buddhist nun in a Himalayan convent; Ronela Vainio immerses herself in tantric yoga; and Aziz Abbatiello lives as a Sufi dervish in Turkey, where he prays, sings, and spins himself into spiritual ecstasy. This intimate and compelling film delves into the personal practices and challenges of three people who have turned their backs on Western traditions. Features interviews with Venerable Tenzin Palmo, His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin, Sherif Baba, Sheikh Sherif Baba Efendi and Swami Vivekananda Saraswati.
Is it possible to shed light on the states of grace experienced by mystics and meditators? Mystical Brain shows us the most recent discoveries of scientific research on this phenomenon in North America and abroad. It seems that mystical ecstasy is a profoundly transformative experience. It could contribute to people’s psychic and bodily health, treat depression and speed up the healing process in patients who combine meditation with conventional medicine. A guided tour of the depths of the human spirit, Mystical Brain is a fascinating documentary that breaks new ground on the intersection of science and spirituality.
This award-winning documentary about poet, artist, calligrapher and mystic Brion Gysin, portrays the life and legacy of an artist who believed art could revolutionize human consciousness. FLicKeR chronicles Gison’s complex ideas, friendships and influence with some of the 20th century’s key counterculture figures, such as William Burroughs, Kurt Corbain and Marianne Faithful. Featuring greats like Burroughs (in archival footage), singer Marianne Faithfull, singer/artist Genesis P-Orridge of Psychic TV, poet John Giorno, punk rocker Iggy Pop, filmmaker Kenneth Anger and artist/turntablist DJ Spooky, FLicKeR is a hypnotic documentary. Taking the dreamachine as the basis of its explorations, FLicKeR asks crucial questions about the nature of art and consciousness, and imagines humanity liberated to explore its creativity in complete freedom.