This gorgeous, historic, and inspiring new film from director & surfer Chris Malloy and his collective at Woodshed Films, documents the adventures of surfer and climber Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard (rock climbing legend and founder of Ventura-based Patagonia) and Doug Tompkins, on which they drove, mountain climbed and surfed their way to Chilean Patagonia. Along the way, Jeff encounters big surf, snowy mountains, a dangerous ocean crossing, pulp mills, cowboys, dams and more on his way to climb Cerro Corcovado in Patagonia. Jeff's life takes a turn when he meets up in a rainy hut with Chouinard and Tompkins who, once driven purely by a love of climbing and surfing, now value above all the experience of raw nature and have come to Patagonia to help use their influence to help protect it. The film is a road trip movie, a historic document, and an environmental call to arms, but mostly a meditation on what matters most in life –staying true to one's own vision and values.

Director:
Chris Malloy

Cast:
Yvon Chouinard
Doug Tompkins
Jeff Johnson

Producers:
Tim Lynch
Rick Ridgeway
Emmett Malloy

Alive and Kicking showcases the dynamic culture and cathartic power of swing dancing from its historic origins to its impact today. Boiled down to its core, swing dancing is the pursuit of happiness. The film follows professionals and enthusiasts as they find joy through dance, giving an insider’s view into the exhilarating world of swing.

Directed by:
Susan Glatzer

Written by:
Susan Glatzer
Heidi Zimmerman

Produced by:
Susan Glatzer

The year was 1977 and New York City burned. As the metropolis hurtled into bankruptcy, the city's nightlife hit unprecedented heights. In midtown, the ultra-exclusive Studio 54 was a cocaine-fueled celebrity clubhouse. Downtown, at the spartan CBGB’s, punk rockers set out to destroy everything Pop. Meanwhile, in the basement of the prestigious Ansonia building on the conservative Upper West Side, Plato's Retreat opened its doors to ordinary couples who came to dance, to swim, and… to swap.

It was the start of a revolution. The brainchild of former wholesale meat purveyor Larry Levenson, Plato’s Retreat quickly emerged as the epicenter of public sex for the “me” generation. Previously, swinging was mostly an underground activity, engaged in primarily by the attractive and the well-to-do. But Plato's welcomed anyone and everyone. For a mere $35, couples checked their judgments and pedigrees at the door of this clothing-optional Disneyland. Debutantes got it on next to bus drivers, as movie stars gave secretaries the “starlet treatment.” For Levenson and others, Plato's was a utopia. For some, it is a time capsule that they are eager to forget.

Utilizing exclusive interviews with former patrons, employees, and family members, intercut with riveting, never-before-seen archival materials, “American Swing" brings this little-known epic of sex and excess to the big screen for the first time.

The year was 1977 and New York City burned. As the metropolis hurtled into bankruptcy, the city's nightlife hit unprecedented heights. In midtown, the ultra-exclusive Studio 54 was a cocaine-fueled celebrity clubhouse. Downtown, at the spartan CBGB’s, punk rockers set out to destroy everything Pop. Meanwhile, in the basement of the prestigious Ansonia building on the conservative Upper West Side, Plato's Retreat opened its doors to ordinary couples who came to dance, to swim, and… to swap.

It was the start of a revolution. The brainchild of former wholesale meat purveyor Larry Levenson, Plato’s Retreat quickly emerged as the epicenter of public sex for the “me” generation. Previously, swinging was mostly an underground activity, engaged in primarily by the attractive and the well-to-do. But Plato's welcomed anyone and everyone. For a mere $35, couples checked their judgments and pedigrees at the door of this clothing-optional Disneyland. Debutantes got it on next to bus drivers, as movie stars gave secretaries the “starlet treatment.” For Levenson and others, Plato's was a utopia. For some, it is a time capsule that they are eager to forget.

Utilizing exclusive interviews with former patrons, employees, and family members, intercut with riveting, never-before-seen archival materials, “American Swing" brings this little-known epic of sex and excess to the big screen for the first time.

directed & produced by
MATHEW KAUFMAN
JON HART

based on an article by
JON HART

producers
GRETCHEN McGOWAN
CHRISTIAN HOAGLAND

executive producers
JASON KLIOT
JOANA VICENTE

executive producers
TODD WAGNER
MARK CUBAN

associate producers
LEIGH DEVINE
JENNIFER KATZ
JACK B. SIEGEL
KEN WADDELL

editor
KEITH REAMER

director of photography
CHRISTIAN HOAGLAND 

After turning 40, confronted with his own back nine, Jon Fitzgerald begins his quest to play professional golf. Armed with the right team, determination, and a competitive spirit, he sets out to answer the question: Is it even possible? His journey takes him through elite swing training programs, mental and physical coaching, state of the art technology, and a pilgrimage to St. Andrews. See how this golfer reduces his handicap by 11 strokes in less than 18 months, and in doing so, how he attempts to balance the demands of career and family – ultimately changing his course in life forever. Witness the adventure of a lifetime, as Jon learns that it’s never too late to become what you wanted to be.

From first rehearsal to world premiere, BALLET 422 takes us backstage at New York City Ballet as Justin Peck, a young up-and-coming choreographer, crafts a new work. BALLET 422 illuminates the process behind the creation of a single ballet within the ongoing cycle of work at one of the world’s great ballet companies.
 

Cast:
Justin Peck (Choreographer and Soloist)
Cameron Grant (Pianist)
Tiler Peck (Principal Dancer)
Sterling Hyltin (Principal Dancer)
Amar Ramasar (Principal Dancer)
Albert Evans (Ballet Master)
Mark Stanley (Resident Lighting Designer)
Andrews Sill (Conductor)
Marc Happel (Director of Costumes)
Reid Bartelme (Costume Designer)
Harriet Jung (Costume Designer)

Director:
Jody Lee Lipes

Producers:
Ellen Bar
Anna Rose Holmer

In the summer of 1968 television news changed forever. Dead last in the ratings, ABC hired two towering public intellectuals to debate each other during the Democratic and Republican national conventions. William F. Buckley Jr. was a leading light of the new conservative movement. A Democrat and cousin to Jackie Onassis, Gore Vidal was a leftist novelist and polemicist. Armed with deep-seated distrust and enmity, Vidal and Buckley believed each other’s political ideologies were dangerous for America. Like rounds in a heavyweight battle, they pummeled out policy and personal insult—their explosive exchanges devolving into vitriolic name-calling. Live and unscripted, they kept viewers riveted. Ratings for ABC News skyrocketed, and a new era in public discourse was born.

Cast:
William Buckley
Gore Vidal

Directed by:
Morgan Neville
Robert Gordon

Executive Producers:
Julie Goldman
Clif Phillips

Produced by:
Robert Gordon
Morgan Neville

In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world. We reward speed, size and above all else: winning – at sport, at business and at war. Metaphorically we are a nation on steroids. Is it any wonder that so many of our heroes are on performance enhancing drugs?  

From the producers of Bowling For Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 comes a new film that unflinchingly explores our win-at-all-cost culture through the lens of a personal journey. Blending comedy and pathos, BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER* is a collision of pop culture and first-person narrative, with a diverse cast including US Congressmen, professional athletes, medical experts and everyday gym rats.  

At its heart, this is the story of director Christopher Bell and his two brothers, who grew up idolizing muscular giants like Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and who went on to become members of the steroid-subculture in an effort to realize their American dream. When you discover that your heroes have all broken the rules, do you follow the rules, or do you follow your heroes?

The definitive documentary about the beloved and influential 70s rock band Big Star. Together less than four years, the band flirted with mainstream success but never achieved it. Nonetheless, they produced a body of work of seminal importance to pop and alternative music, influencing major artists like REM, The Replacements, Elliot Smith, Beck, The Flaming Lips and countless others.

Director:
Drew DeNicola

Producer:
Danielle McCarthy

Killer whales are beloved majestic, friendly giants yet infamous for their capacity to kill viciously. BLACKFISH unravels the complexities of this dichotomy, employing the story of the notorious performing whale Tilikum, who - unlike any orca in the wild - has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. BLACKFISH expands on the discussion of keeping such intelligent creatures in captivity.

Director:
Gabriela Cowperthwaite

Writers:
Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Eli B. Despres

Chris Burden guaranteed his place in art history in 1971 with a period of often dangerous and at times stomach-churning performances. After having himself shot, locked up in a locker for five days, electrocuted, and crucified on the back of a VW bug, Burden reinvented himself as the creator of truly mesmerizing installations and sculptures, from a suspended gigantic flywheel that seemingly spins on its own, to an assemblage of antique streetlights rewired for solar energy and illuminated outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In BURDEN, Timothy Marrinan and Richard Dewey look at the artist’s works and private life with an innovative mix of still-potent videos of his 70s performances, personal videos and audio recordings, friends, fellows students and colleagues, critics' comments and latter day footage at his Topanga Canyon studio, all peppered with his thoughts and musings through the years.

Cast: Chris Burden
Directed by: Richard Dewey and Timothy Marrinan
Produced by: Dan Braun, Josh Braun, Richard Dewey, David Koh and Timothy Marrinan

This portrait of Washington super lobbyist Jack Abramoff—from his early years as a gung-ho member of the GOP political machine to his final reckoning as a disgraced, imprisoned pariah—confirms the adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A tale of international intrigue with Indian casinos, Russian spies, Chinese sweatshops, and a mob-style killing in Miami, this is the story of the way money corrupts our political process. Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney once again wields the tools of his trade with the skill of a master. Following the ongoing indictments of federal officials and exposing favor trading in our nation's capital, Gibney illuminates the way our politicians' desperate need to get elected—and the millions of dollars it costs—may be undermining the basic principles of American democracy. Infuriating, yet undeniably fun to watch, CASINO JACK is a saga of greed and corruption with a cynical villain audiences will love to hate.

CATCHING FIRE: THE STORY OF ANITA PALLENBERG

Alexis Bloom
Svetlana Zill

Anita Pallenberg

Client 9 takes an in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. As NY's Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer prosecuted crimes by America’s largest financial institutions and some of the most powerful executives in the country. After his election as Governor, many believed he was on his way to becoming the President. Then The New York Times revealed that Spitzer had been caught seeing prostitutes, and the “Sheriff of Wall Street” fell quickly from grace. With unique access, the film explores the hidden contours of hubris, sex and power.

Director:
Alex Gibney

Cast:
Eliot Spitzer

Producers:
Alex Gibney
Todd Wider
Jedd Wider
Maiken Baird

The cocaine trade of the 70s and 80s had an indelible impact on contemporary Miami. Smugglers and distributors forever changed a once sleepy retirement community into one of the world’s most glamorous hot spots, the epicenter of a $20 billion annual business fed by Colombia’s Medellin cartel. By the early 80s, Miami’s tripled homicide rate had made it the murder capital of the country, for which a Time cover story dubbed the city “Paradise Lost.”  

With COCAINE COWBOYS, filmmaker Billy Corben – whose first feature Raw Deal: A Question Of Consent, caused a sensation at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival – paints a dazzling portrait of a cultural explosion that still echoes as Hollywood myth, evidenced by the latest manifestation, NBC/Universal’s Miami Vice, opening July 28th. Composer of the original “Miami Vice” theme, Jan Hammer, provides the score. 

Director/Producer - Billy Corben
Producer - Alfred Spellman
Executive Producers - Bruno del Granado
Daniela Manas
Music Composer/ Performer - Jan Hammer
Director of Photography - Armando Salas
Editors - Billy Corben
David Cypkin

Hustlin' with the Godmother

“The Godmother,” Griselda Blanco, was a woman allegedly responsible for hundreds of murders in Miami, trafficking over 300 tons of cocaine, and plotting the kidnapping of John F. Kennedy, Jr. Charles Cosby tells his story about how he became the Godmother’s lover and the trusted head of her empire… until he betrayed her.

Directors Alfred Spellman
Billy Corben

In the 1980s, ruthless Colombian cocaine barons invaded Miami with a brand of violence unseen in this country since Prohibition-era Chicago. Cocaine Cowboys is the true story of how Miami became the drug, murder and cash capital of the United States. But it isn't the whole story... Pulling from hundreds of hours of additional interviews and recently uncovered archival news footage, Cocaine Cowboyshas been RELOADED: packed with footage and stories that have never been told about Griselda Blanco, the Medellín Cartel, and Miami’s Cocaine Wars, with firsthand accounts by hitman Jorge ‘Rivi’ Ayala, cocaine trafficker Jon Roberts, smuggler Mickey Munday, and others. Cocaine Cowboys: Reloaded recreates Miami’s Cocaine Wars like you’ve never experienced it.

Cast:
Jon Roberts
Mickey Munday
Jorge 'Rivi' Ayala

A documentary on Conan O'Brien's comedy tour of the U.S. and Canada after leaving his post at "The Tonight Show" and severing his relationship with NBC.

 Rodman Flender

 Conan O'Brien,  Andy Richter,  Stephen Colbert

COUNTDOWN TO ZERO traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs: nine nations possessing nuclear weapons capabilities with others racing to join them, with the world held in a delicate balance that could be shattered by an act of terrorism, failed diplomacy, or a simple accident. Written and directed by acclaimed documentarian Lucy Walker (The Devil’s Playground, Blindsight), the film features an array of important international statesmen, including President Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pervez Musharraf and Tony Blair. It makes a compelling case for worldwide nuclear disarmament, an issue more topical than ever with the Obama administration working to revive this goal today. The film was produced by Academy Award® winner and current nominee Lawrence Bender (Inglourious Basterds, An Inconvenient Truth) and developed, financed and executive produced by Participant Media, together with World Security Institute. Participant collaborated with Magnolia on last year’s Food, Inc., recently nominated for an Academy Award®, and the upcoming CASINO JACK and the United States of Money. Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Bruce Blair and Matt Brown are the film’s executive producers.

Dan Klores' CRAZY LOVE tells the astonishing story of the obsessive roller-coaster relationship of Burt and Linda Pugach, which shocked the nation during the summer of 1959. Burt, a 32 year-old married attorney and Linda, a beautiful, single 20 year-old girl living in the Bronx had a whirlwind romance, which culminated in a violent and psychologically complex set of actions that landed the pair's saga on the cover of endless newspapers and magazines.

With the cooperation of the principles, Burt, now 79, and Linda, 68, Klores examines the human psyche and the concepts of love, obsession, insanity, hope and forgiveness. CRAZY LOVE recently had its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and earned the Best Documentary award at the 2007 Santa Barbara Film Festival. 

DANNY SAYS is a documentary on the life and times of Danny Fields. Since 1966, Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in music and “culture” of the late 20th century: working for the Doors, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins and managing groundbreaking artists like the Stooges, the MC5 and the Ramones. DANNY SAYS follows Fields from Harvard Law dropout, to the Warhol Silver Factory, to Director of Publicity at Elektra Records, to “punk pioneer” and beyond. Danny’s taste and opinion, once deemed defiant and radical, has turned out to have been prescient. DANNY SAYS is a story of marginal turning mainstream, avant garde turning prophetic, as Fields looks to the next generation.

Diary Of A Tired Black Man is a simple story about the complex relationships between Black Men and Black Women. It follows the life and relationships of a successful black man as he tries to find a happy place to rest his heart.
He is constantly challenged by the anger he finds in the black women he gets involved with. From his wife, whom he divorces, to the other women he tries to date after her nothing but Drama Drama Drama!
So what's a black man to do? He tries dating outside of his race, which brings up a different set of issues for him to deal with.
It's an interesting ride into the reality of black relationships that a lot of people will relate to, and a lot of people will learn from.

From the 1970s thru the 1990s, the hippest and most outrageous comedy in print was the National Lampoon. The groundbreaking humor magazine pushed the limits of taste and acceptability parodying everything from politics, religion, entertainment and the whole of American lifestyle. The print publication even branched out into successful radio shows, record albums, live stage revues and iconic movies, including Animal House and National Lampoon’s Vacation. The National Lampoon launched the careers of legends like John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Christopher Guest, Gilda Radner and many more.

Cast:
Judd Apatow
Kevin Bacon
Richard Belzer
Chevy Chase
Beverly D'Angelo
John Goodman
Christopher Guest
Al Jean
John Landis
Tim Matheson
P.J. O'Rourke
Harold Ramis

Directed by:
Douglas Tirola

Executive Producer:
John Battsek
Molly Thompson

Produced by:
Susan Bedusa
Douglas Tirola

Co-Producer:
Danielle Rosen

Edited by:
Joseph Krings
G. Jesse Martinez

At the annual Vent Haven Convention in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, ventriloquism capital of the world, director Mark Goffman discovers five fascinating performers: Kim a former beauty queen, Dan a thriving cruise ship performer, Wilma a former security guard, Dylan an introverted 13-year-old, and Terry, who struggled for decades as a small-time performer before winning “America’s Got Talent” on his way to a $100 million contract to headline the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas. DUMBSTRUCK is the humorous and heartfelt story that follows these performers across the United States, Mexican Riviera, Bahamas and Japan, as they pursue their dreams of a career in puppetry.

Cast:
Terry Fator

Director:
Mark Goffman

Producer:
Elon Musk
David O. Sacks

Directed by Alex Gibney, this is the inside story of one of history’s greatest business scandals, in which top executives of America’s 7th largest company walked away with over one billion dollars while investors and employees lost everything. Based on the best-selling book The Smartest Guys in the Room by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind and featuring insider accounts and incendiary corporate audio and videotapes, Gibney reveals the almost unimaginable personal excesses of the Enron hierarchy and the utter moral vacuum that posed as corporate philosophy. The film comes to a harrowing dénouement as we hear Enron traders’ own voices as they wring hundreds of millions of dollars in profits out of the California energy crisis. As a result, we come to understand how the avarice of Enron’s traders and their bosses had a shocking and profound domino effect that may shape the face of our economy for years to come.

Featuring appearances by:
Kenneth Lay
Jeffrey Skilling
Andy Fastow

Written and directed by: Alex Gibney
Executive Producers: Mark Cuban, Todd Wagner, Joana Vicente
Producers: Alex Gibney, Jason Kliot, Susan Motamed
Director of Photography: Maryse Alberti
Editor/co-producer: Alison Ellwood
Original score by: Matt Hauser
Narrator: Peter Coyote
Additional Camera: John Else, Greg Andracke
Graphics: Ben Fine
Associate Producers: Jenny Amias/NY, Kate McMahon/Portland, Christine O'Malley/L.A.
Research Coordinator: Elissa Birke
Research: Christine Whelan
Executive in charge of Production: Getchen McGowan
Production Coordinators: Agnes Chu, Ali Wasserstein
Assistant Editor: Aljernon Tunsil
Additional Cinematography: Greg Andracke, Dan Blust, Jon Else, Anton Floquet, Lyle Morgan
Assistant Camera: Ben Bloodwell

In the late ‘80s, the masses fixated on a single, sociopathic star: Morton Downey Jr. He tore apart the traditional talk format by turning debate of current issues into a gladiator pit. His blow-smoke-in-your-face style drew a rabid cult following, but also the title “Father of Trash Television.”

Cast:
Morton Downey Jr.

Director:
Seth Kramer
Daniel A. Miller
Jeremy Newberger

An unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of New York’s premier cultural events, THE FIRST MONDAY IN MAY follows the creation of “China: Through The Looking Glass,” the most attended fashion exhibition in the history of The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the 2015 Met Gala, the star-studded fundraiser. Follow Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine and Met Gala chair, and Andrew Bolton, the curator who conceived the groundbreaking show, as they prepare for an unforgettable evening.

Directed by:
Andrew Rossi

Produced by:
Fabiola Beracasa Beckman
Dawn Ostroff
Sylvana Ward Durrett

Cast:
Andrew Bolton
Anna Wintour
Rihanna
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Karl Lagerfeld
Baz Luhrmann
Wong Kar-Wai

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually.
We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising -- and often shocking truths -- about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually.
We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising -- and often shocking truths -- about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Directed by Robert Kenner
Produced by Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
Executive Producers William Pohlad Robin Schorr Jeff Skoll Diane Weyermann
Co-Producers Eric Schlosser Richard Pearce Melissa Robledo
Director of Photography Richard Pearce
Edited by Kim Roberts
Music by Mark Adler

During a time of globally heightened debate, Journalist Phelim McAleer travels across the U.S. and Europe to speak with scientists and Americans living in fracking areas, in order to uncover the science behind the process and to determine its true consequences.

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” refers to the process of drilling down into rock and using pressurized fluids to extract energy sources such as natural gas and petroleum. Supporters of fracking state the economic benefit to the U.S. is great and that the process has rigorous standards by which it operates. Opponents of fracking voice concerns about contamination to ground water and land surface, as well as other environmental issues. Join McAleer on the search for the fracking truth.

Cast:
Phelim McAleer

Director:
Phelim McAleer
Ann McElhinney

FREAKONOMICS is the highly anticipated film version of the phenomenally bestselling book about incentives-based thinking by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The film examines human behavior with provocative and sometimes hilarious case studies, bringing together a dream team of filmmakers responsible for some of the most acclaimed and entertaining documentaries in recent years.

Directors:
Heidi Ewing
Alex Gibney
Seth Gordon
Rachel Grady
Eugene Jarecki
Morgan Spurlock

Producers:
Chad Troutwine
Chris Romano
Dan O'Meara

Freda Kelly was just a shy Liverpudlian teenager when she was asked to work for a local band hoping to make it big. Though she had no concept of how far they would go, Freda had faith in The Beatles from the beginning, and The Beatles had faith in her.

History notes that The Beatles were together for 10 years, but Freda worked for them for 11. Many people came in and out of the band's circle as they grew to international stardom, but Freda remained a staple because of her unfaltering loyalty and dedication. As the Beatles' devoted secretary and friend, Freda was there as history unfolded; she was witness to the evolution – advances and setbacks, breakthroughs and challenges – of the greatest band in history.

In GOOD OL’ FREDA, Freda tells her stories for the first time in 50 years. One of few films with the support of the living Beatles and featuring original Beatles music, the film offers an insider perspective on the beloved band that changed the music industry. 

Harry Benson: Shoot First charts the illustrious career of the renowned photographer who initially rose to fame alongside The Beatles, having been assigned to cover their inaugural trip to the United States in 1964. With unprecedented “behind the scenes” access, Benson captured some of the most vibrant and intimate portraits ever taken of the most popular band in history. His extensive portfolio includes iconic images of Winston Churchill, Bobby Fischer, Muhammad Ali, Greta Garbo, Michael Jackson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination, and his work has appeared in publications including Life, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Now 86, workaholic Benson has no intention of stopping.

Directed by:
Justin Bare
Matthew Miele

Written by:
Justin Bare
Matthew Miele

Produced by:
Justin Bare
Gigi Benson
Heather Silverman

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends—Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. 

At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of his manuscript.

Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.

The latest film from legendary documentarian Albert Maysles (GREY GARDENS, GIMME SHELTER), IRIS pairs the late 88-year-old filmmaker (who passed away on March 5) with Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades. More than a fashion film, the documentary is a story about creativity and how a soaring free spirit continues to inspire. IRIS portrays a singular woman whose enthusiasm for fashion, art and people are life's sustenance and reminds us that dressing, and indeed life, is nothing but an experiment. Despite the abundance of glamour in her current life, she continues to embrace the values and work ethic established during a middle-class Queens upbringing during the Great Depression. "I feel lucky to be working. If you're lucky enough to do something you love, everything else follows."

A growing number of Evangelical Christians believe there is a revival underway in America that requires Christian youth to assume leadership roles in advocating the causes of their religious movement.

JESUS CAMP, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, directors of the critically acclaimed The Boys of Baraka, follows Levi, Rachael, and Tory to Pastor Becky Fischer's "Kids on Fire" summer camp in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, where kids as young as 6 years-old are taught to become dedicated Christian soldiers in "God's army." The film follows these children at camp as they hone their "prophetic gifts" and are schooled in how to "take back America for Christ." The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future.

JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar. 

For most of his life, Jiro has been mastering the art of making sushi, but even at his age he sees himself still striving for perfection, working from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation. At the heart of this story is Jiro’s relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro’s legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father’s shadow. 

The feature film debut of director David Gelb, JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro’s life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world, and a loving yet complicated father.

Acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and executive producers Martin Scorsese (The Departed) and Steven Zaillian (Moneyball) present LIFE ITSELF, a documentary film that recounts the inspiring and entertaining life of world-renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert – a story that is by turns personal, funny, painful, and transcendent. Based on his bestselling memoir of the same name, LIFE ITSELF, explores the legacy of Roger Ebert’s life, from his Pulitzer Prize-winning film criticism at the Chicago Sun-Times to becoming one of the most influential cultural voices in America.

As the owner of legendary hotspots like Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium, and Club USA, Peter Gatien was the undisputed king of the 1980s New York City club scene. The eye-patch-sporting Ontario native built and oversaw a Manhattan empire that counted tens of thousands of patrons per night in its peak years, acting as a conduit for a culture that, for many, defined the image of an era in New York. Then years of legal battles and police pressure spearheaded by Mayor Giuliani's determined crackdown on nightlife in the mid-'90s led to Gatien's eventual deportation to Canada, and the shuttering of his glitzy kingdom. 

Featuring insider interviews with famous players in the club scene as well as key informants in Gatien's high-profile trial, Billy Corben's (Cocaine Cowboys) exuberant documentary aims to set the record straight about Gatien's life as it charts his rise and fall against the transformation of New York, offering a wild ride through a now-closed chapter in the history of the city's nightlife.

In LO AND BEHOLD: REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD, the Oscar-nominated Herzog chronicles the virtual world from its origins to its outermost reaches, exploring the digital landscape with the same curiosity and imagination he previously trained on earthly destinations as disparate as the Amazon, the Sahara, the South Pole and the Australian outback. Herzog leads viewers on a journey through a series of provocative conversations that reveal the ways in which the online world has transformed how virtually everything in the real world works - from business to education, space travel to healthcare, and the very heart of how we conduct our personal relationships.

In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” set off on a legendary, LSD-fuelled cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers, including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s “On the Road,” and the driver and painter of the psychedelic Magic Bus. Kesey and the Pranksters intended to make a documentary about their trip, shooting footage on 16MM, but the film was never finished and the footage has remained virtually unseen. With MAGIC TRIP, Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood were given unprecedented access to this raw footage by the Kesey family. They worked with the Film Foundation, HISTORY and the UCLA Film Archives to restore over 100 hours of film and audiotape, and have shaped an invaluable document of this extraordinary piece of American history.

On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. 

Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the WTC’s security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan…

James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as “the artistic crime of the century.”

“If you strike the King you better kill him or he’ll move on you and take your ass out”.

This is the true-life story of a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord. MR. UNTOUCHABLE takes you deep inside the heroin game. With the first hand testimony of the black Godfather himself, Nicky Barnes. This is an epic story of business, excess, greed and revenge.

Nicky Barnes was the most powerful black drug kingpin in New York City history. From humble beginnings he came to dominate the heroin distribution business and make himself and his comrades rich beyond their wildest dreams. Trusted and trained by the Italians he set up his own black crime family – The Council – a formidable drug collective. 

The film has secured the testimony of Nicky Barnes himself. Barnes has broken the street code and his 23-year silence to tell all in this epic American dream story. We have also interviewed former members of The Council and others in the Barnes drug Collective. This is an inside look at the heroin business from the Kingpin at the top to the dealer and user on the street. 

Barnes reveled in his nickname Mister Untouchable and was often seen strutting the sidewalks in eye-catching suits, dripping in diamonds and with a girl on each arm. But his ostentatious manner drew the attention of the authorities and a classic cops and robbers chase began. We have interviewed the federal prosecutors and undercover DEA agents and informant that worked so hard and risked their lives to win the game of cat and mouse that ensued. 

In 1977 Barnes reached national infamy when the New York Times put him on the front cover of their magazine with the headline “Mr. Untouchable”. 

“This is Nicky Barnes” the text said. “The police say he is Harlem’s biggest dug dealer, but can they prove it?”

To the embarrassment of the cops, Barnes was being billed as not only the biggest drug dealer in America but someone who was proud of it. He behaved like a superstar acting as if he was beyond the law and untouchable. With the fancy clothes, fancy cars and fancy women, he was the real deal, the Original Gangster. 

When President Jimmy Carter saw Barnes’ picture taunting him from the cover of the New York Times he ordered an all-out effort to convict him. First they went after him for tax evasion but Barnes paid his taxes, he filed over $250,000 a year for "miscellaneous income". Then they tried to turn the community against him but discovered Barnes was Harlem’s answer to Robin Hood. He gave money and food to the community and was even the deacon of his local church – where he would hand out turkeys and gifts on Thanksgiving. 

But despite his good deeds and tax payments, he was still a Kingpin who made millions from his heroin enterprise. In 1977 the authorities finally got their man, Barnes was charged with drug trafficking, found guilty and sentenced to life without parole. At the time, he was so feared that the judge in the case took the unprecedented step of ordering that the names of the jurors be kept secret for their own protection. Federal prosecutors warned that Barnes was responsible for a series of murders, that he would kill with impunity – this was America’s first anonymous jury trial. 

In 1981, five years after Barnes was convicted, he made a dramatic U-turn. Barnes had discovered that his drug partners were not only cheating him out of money on deals (which he was still directing from the inside) but also sleeping with his wife and his girlfriend and worst of all taking drugs in front of his two young daughters. Barnes decided to take revenge and offered to work with the federal authorities to set his former partners up. 

For the next fifteen months he worked deep undercover against his friends and lovers. From his prison cell he worked with the authorities and to trap those that had betrayed him. Collaborating with the feds, Barnes told them everything they needed to know and helped direct their covert NARC operations. 

His defection to the other side was so complete that once he started, Barnes sang like a canary. He spent seven straight years testifying against his former colleagues and ultimately helped to convict over 50 drug dealers and murders - making him the most successful turncoat in US history.

He gave information about terrorists involved in robberies and prison escapes and about the planned murder of public officials including President Ronald Regan. He testified before congressional and presidential commissions on narcotics, giving life saving tips to undercover NARCS and alerted officials to how prisoners deal drugs both on the street and from jailhouse phones.

But after his historic co-operation became public Barnes was sent to the Witness Protection Unit at Otisville prison in NY for his own protection. His daughters were also scooped up and given a new identity, after a $1 million dollar hit was put out on them as revenge for their fathers’ betrayal. Barnes thrived at Otisville, he graduated from college, won a national poetry contest and worked hard to turn his life around.

Despite much praise from law enforcement officials, including former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Barnes repeatedly had his request for release denied. But eventually after considerable pressure a judge decided that there was a strong public interest in rewarding Barnes' epic cooperation and reduced his sentence. In 1998 after 21 years inside Barnes was finally released from jail, given a new identity and relocated under the federal witness protection program. 

Today, Barnes at 74, is as youthful and passionate as a man half his age. Frighteningly bright and articulate he is still angry at those who he says betrayed him and there is still a trace of the once ruthless crime boss. He no longer has to check the air on his tires to make sure the cops haven’t tried to slow him down. He doesn’t have to worry about heroin sales and Mafia suppliers. He is a regular family man, concerned with his daughters and grandchildren. Where once he strutted the streets the scourge of lawful society now he just concentrates on trying to lose the “prison shuffle” - that short-strided gait that comes from years of having no particular place to go.

Located alongside the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Alabama is the unlikely breeding ground for some of America's most creative and defiant music. Under the spiritual influence of the “Singing River,” as Native Americans called it, the music of Muscle Shoals has helped create some of the most important and resonant songs of all time. At its heart is Rick Hall who founded FAME Studios. Overcoming crushing poverty and staggering tragedies, Hall brought black and white together in Alabama's cauldron of racial hostility to create music for the generations. He is responsible for creating the "Muscle Shoals sound" and The Swampers, the house band at FAME that eventually left to start their own successful studio, known as Muscle Shoals Sound. Gregg Allman, Bono, Clarence Carter, Mick Jagger, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Keith Richards, Percy Sledge and others bear witness to Muscle Shoals' magnetism, mystery and why it remains influential today.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Gregg Allman
Bono
Clarence Carter
Jimmy Cliff
Aretha Franklin
Rick Hall
Roger Hawkins
David Hood
Mick Jagger
Jaimoe
Donna Jean-Godchaux
Jimmy Johnson
Alicia Keys
Ed King
Spooner Oldham
John Paul White
Dan Penn
Keith Richards
Percy Sledge
Candi Staton
Steve Winwood

The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy, NO END IN SIGHT is a jaw-dropping, insider’s tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness and venality. Based on over 200 hours of footage, the film provides a candid retelling of the events following the fall of Baghdad in 2003 by high ranking officials such as former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Ambassador Barbara Bodine (in charge of Baghdad during the Spring of 2003), Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, and General Jay Garner (in charge of the occupation of Iraq through May 2003), as well as Iraqi civilians, American soldiers and prominent analysts. NO END IN SIGHT examines the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy – the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government and the disbanding of the Iraqi military – largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today.

NOMA: MY PERFECT STORM is a feature-length documentary film about the celebrated chef René Redzepi set against the backdrop of the Copenhagen-based restaurant, NOMA, The Best Restaurant In The World 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.

Famous for its reinvention of Danish cuisine and pioneered approach to “foraging”, sourcing nearly all ingredients from the various environments of Scandinavia, Noma is at the forefront of experimenting with new techniques in food. NOMA: MY PERFECT STORM follows chef and co-owner Redzepi on a creative culinary journey as he traverses the Danish landscape for inspiration, striving to achieve perfection and concoct bold, exciting dishes for travelers from around the world.

Inspired by two books written by Redzepi – “Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine,” and “René Redzepi: A Work in Progress,” Deschamps spent more than three years at Noma following the renowned chef, obtaining front-row seats to Noma’s machine-like system of operation: a perfect storm of highbrow culinary technology where 45 place settings are served to perfection for four hours, twice a day.

Cast:

René Redzepi
Hanne Redzepi
Ali Rami Redzepi
Claus Meyer
Ferran Adrià

In October 1942, Esther Stermer, the matriarch of a Jewish family in the Ukraine, leads her family underground to hide from the pursuing Nazis – and stays nearly a year and a half. Their harrowing story of survival living in near total darkness in two cold, damp caves is one like no other ever told. It was life...like NO PLACE ON EARTH.

Cast:

Chris Nicola
Saul Stermer
Sam Stermer
Sonia Dodyk
Sima Dodyk
Sol Wexler

NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD is the wild, wonderful, untold story of “OZPLOITATION” films. It irreverently documents an era when Australian cinema got its gear off and showed the world a full-frontal explosion of sex, violence, horror and foot-to-the-floor action.

Free-wheeling sex romps! Blood-soaked terror tales! High-octane action extravaganzas! They’re the main ingredients of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD, the first detailed examination and celebration of Australian genre cinema of the 70s and 80s.

In 1971, with the introduction of the R-certificate, Australia’s censorship regime went from repressive to progressive virtually overnight. This cultural explosion gave birth to art house classics, such as PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK and MY BRILLIANT CAREER, but also spawned a group of demon-children: maverick filmmakers who braved assault from all quarters to bring films like ALVIN PURPLE, THE MAN FROM HONG KONG, PATRICK, TURKEY SHOOT and MAD MAX to the big screen.

As explicit, violent and energetic as their northern cousins, Aussie genre movies presented a unique take on established conventions. In England, Italy and the grind houses and drive-ins of America, audiences applauded Australian homegrown marauding “rev heads” with brutish cars, spunky well-stacked heroines and stunts - unparalleled in their quality and extreme danger.

Full of outrageous anecdotes, a large cast of local and International names and a genuine, infectious love of Australian movies, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD is a fast-moving journey through an unjustly forgotten cinematic era.

Thirteen time All-Star, League MVP, Finals MVP, NBA Superstar Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest and most famous athletes of all time as the first non-American to lead his team to a NBA victory. NOWITZKI. THE PERFECT SHOT was produced by Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Leopold Hoesch and features exclusive NBA footage and interviews with NBA legends such as Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Michael Finley, Jason Kidd, Rick Carlisle, Mark Cuban, David Stern, Don Nelson and former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt covering the incredible success story of Dirk Nowitzki, from second league German basketball to one of the top athletes of the NBA. It’s the story of the fascinating relationship between Dirk Nowitzki and his personal coach and mentor Holger Geschwindner. Holger, the German basketball legend and scientist recognized Nowitzki’s talent early on and helped Nowitzki invent a perfect jump shot: German engineering meets NBA basketball. It is also a film about Dirk Nowitzki and billionaire Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks and how they became who they top team they are today. NOWITZKI: THE PERFECT SHOT is ultimately a film about friendship, what it really takes to fulfill your dreams and the indestructible desire to win. 

With:

Dirk Nowitzki
Holger Geschwindner
Kobe Bryant, Michael Finley, Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, 
Mark Cuban, Don Nelson, Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle, David Stern,
Helga Nowitzki, Jorg Nowitzki, Silke Nowitzki, Jessica Nowitzki,
and former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt

While the Liberal establishment and mainstream media portray the Occupy Wall Street movement as organic and nonviolent, Occupy Unmasked reveals the sinister, organized, and highly orchestrated nature of its leaders and their number one goal: Not just to change government, but to destroy it.

Led by hugely influential conservative visionary, the late Andrew Breitbart, Occupy Unmaskeddelves deep beneath the surface of the Occupy movement to show its dark anarchist roots. Behind the largely naïve students and legitimately concerned citizens looking for answers stand those who advocate the use of violence, black bloc operations, and intimidation as protest tactics - the same tactics they used during the anti-war protests of the 1960's, anti-nuclear weapons protests of the 80's, WTO protests of the 90's, and the IMF protests of recent years.

Former leftists turned patriotic citizen journalists Brandon Darby, David Horowitz, Pam Keys, Anita MonCrief, Mandy Nagy, Lee Stranahan, and others take viewers into the Occupy camps around the country to see first-hand the truth of what is happening and who is at the heart of the movement. Exclusive footage and eyewitness accounts tell the story of the criminal activity and raw brutality in the camps - much of which has not been reported by the mainstream media.

Directed by Stephen K. Bannon (The Undefeated, Generation Zero) and produced by David N. Bossie (Generation Zero, Perfect Valor), Occupy Unmasked is an eye-opening look at a startling movement that could have a dangerous impact on the future of America.

In the tradition of great fly-on-the-wall documentaries, PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES deftly gains unprecedented access to The New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, PAGE ONE chronicles the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest turmoil. Writers like Brian Stelter, Tim Arango and the salty but brilliant David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent. Meanwhile, their editors and publishers grapple with existential challenges from players like WikiLeaks, new platforms ranging from Twitter to tablet computers, and readers’ expectations that news online should be free. 

But rigorous journalism is thriving. PAGE ONE gives us an up-close look at the vibrant cross-cubicle debates and collaborations, tenacious jockeying for on-the-record quotes, and skillful page-one pitching that produce the “daily miracle” of a great news organization. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of journalists continuing to produce extraordinary work—under increasingly difficult circumstances.

At the heart of the film is the burning question on the minds of everyone who cares about a rigorous American press, Times lover or not: what will happen if the fast-moving future of media leaves behind the fact-based, original reporting that helps to define our society?

In the tradition of great fly-on-the-wall documentaries, PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES deftly gains unprecedented access to The New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, PAGE ONE chronicles the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest turmoil. Writers like Brian Stelter, Tim Arango and the salty but brilliant David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent. Meanwhile, their editors and publishers grapple with existential challenges from players like WikiLeaks, new platforms ranging from Twitter to tablet computers, and readers’ expectations that news online should be free. 

But rigorous journalism is thriving. PAGE ONE gives us an up-close look at the vibrant cross-cubicle debates and collaborations, tenacious jockeying for on-the-record quotes, and skillful page-one pitching that produce the “daily miracle” of a great news organization. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of journalists continuing to produce extraordinary work—under increasingly difficult circumstances.

At the heart of the film is the burning question on the minds of everyone who cares about a rigorous American press, Times lover or not: what will happen if the fast-moving future of media leaves behind the fact-based, original reporting that helps to define our society?

Featuring (in order of appearance):
Sarah Ellison
David Carr
Bruce Headlam
Richard Pérez-Peña
Clay Shirky
Brian Stelter
Alex S. Jones
Ian Fisher
Noam Cohen
Susan Chira
Bill Keller
Jeff Jarvis
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Shane Smith
Tim Arango
Gay Talese
David Remnick
James McQuivey
Michael Hirschorn
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Larry Ingrassia
Dennis Crowley
Evan Williams
Paul Steiger
Markos Moulitsas
Seth Mnookin
Nicholas Lemann
Claiborne Ray
Carla Baranauckas
Katherine Bouton
Nick Denton
Jimmy Wales
Rick Lyman
Dean Baquet
Brian Lam
Charles Strum
Joseph Kahn
Carl Bernstein
John Carr

50 million people in the U.S.—one in four children—don’t know where their next meal is coming from, despite our having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all Americans. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine this issue through the lens of three people who are struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford.

Their stories are interwoven with insights from experts including sociologist Janet Poppendieck, author Raj Patel and nutrition policy leader Marion Nestle; ordinary citizens like Pastor Bob Wilson and teachers Leslie Nichols and Odessa Cherry; and activists such as Witness to Hunger’s Mariana Chilton, Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and Oscar®-winning actor Jeff Bridges.

Ultimately, A Place at the Table shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides—as they have in the past—that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all.

The true story of the incredible Princess Shaw and the enigmatic composer Kutiman, who discovers her from the other side of the world.

By day, Samantha Montgomery cares for the elderly in one of New Orleans’s toughest neighborhoods. By night, she writes and sings her own songs as Princess Shaw on her confessional YouTube channel. Raw and vulnerable, her voice is a diamond in the rough.

Across the globe, Ophir Kutiel creates video mash ups of amateur Youtube performers. Known as Kutiman, he is a composer, a musician, and a pioneering video artist embraced by the world of fine art. Kutiman “transforms sampling into a multimedia art”, whether at his home on a kibbutz in Israel or at a live performance at the Guggenheim in New York.

Two strangers, almost 7,000 miles apart, begin to build a song. The film unfolds as Kutiman pairs Princess Shaw’s emotional performances in a beautiful expression of generosity and compassion, revealing the bonafide star underneath and her fight to never give up on her dreams.

Cast:

Princess Shaw - Samantha Montgomery

Kutiman 

Directed by lauded filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield, who won the U.S. Directing Award for Documentary Film at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for this film, The Queen of Versailles is a character-driven documentary about a billionaire family and their financial challenges in the wake of the economic crisis. 

With epic proportions of Shakespearean tragedy, the film follows two unique characters, whose rags-to-riches success stories reveal the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream. The film begins with the family triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America, a 90,000 sq. ft. palace. Over the next two years, their sprawling empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis. Major changes in lifestyle and character ensue within the cross-cultural household of family members and domestic staff.
 

REJOICE AND SHOUT traces the evolution of Gospel through its many musical styles – the spirituals and early hymns, the four-part harmony-based quartets, the integration of blues and swing into Gospel, the emergence of Soul, and the blending of Rap and Hip Hop elements. Gospel music also walked in step with the story of African-American culture - slavery, hardscrabble rural existence and plantation work, the exodus to major cities, the Depression, World War II, civil rights and empowerment. REJOICE AND SHOUT connects the history of African-American culture with Gospel as it first impacted popular culture at large. Years in the making, REJOICE AND SHOUT captures so much of what is special about this music and African-American Christianity – the sermonizing, the heartfelt testimonials, getting slain in the spirit, the hard hollering, and of course the inspiring music.

With:

Smokey Robinson
Andrae Crouch
Mavis Staples
Ira Tucker
Marie Knight
Willa Ward
Ira Tucker Jr.
Anthony Heilbut
Bill Carpenter
Jacquie Gayles Webb
The Selvy Family
Darrel Petties

Mike Epps, Richard Pryor Jr. and others recount the culture-defining influence of Richard Pryor—one of America’s most brilliant comic minds—in this new documentary. Pryor remains an inspiration to many: a man who broke taboos, provoked change and propelled himself through life as a result of sheer force of personality. Directed by Emmy® winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich, executive produced by Emmy® winning producer Roy Ackerman and Pryor’s widow, Jennifer Lee Pryor.

SHOT! THE PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL MANTRA OF ROCK is an odyssey into the colorful and bohemian world of rock 'n' roll's history. A cinematic adventure that delves deep into the mind of one of rock's greatest living photographers: Mick Rock. Through the compelling lens of rock 'n' roll mythology; icon-maker, psychedelic explorer, poet, and custodian of dreams Mick Rock navigates his story from the glam rock shimmer of London to the snarl of NYC punk, and deep into the new millennium. Mick's now infamous images of the likes of David Bowie, Queen, Syd Barrett, Blondie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop are imprinted on our collective psyche forever and generations to come.

Cast: Mick Rock
Directed by: Barnaby Clay
Produced by: Monica Hampton, Sal Scamardo, Marisa Polvino, Jim Czarnecki and Danny Gabai

Three National Security whistle blowers fight to reveal the darkest corners of Amera's was on terror, challenging a government that is increasingly determined to maintain secrecy. 

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis sued him, Marlon Brando broke his jaw and Steve McQueen gave him a look that would have killed, if looks could kill. To the celebrities he pursued, photographer Ron Galella was the beast who threatened beauty. As it turned out, he gave them a strange and lasting beauty they might never have known without him. Inherent in the story of this notorious paparazzo are the complex issues of the right to privacy, freedom of the press and the ever-growing vortex of celebrity worship. He sneaked around and invaded and bribed and held up his camera and shot till he dropped (or someone dropped him). His was the artistry of the sniper. Yet Galella found something essential in his real-life subjects, and he gave it permanence.

In 1979, the US Customs Service reported that 87% of all marijuana seizures in the US were made in the South Florida area. Due to the region's 5,000 miles of coast and coastal waterways and close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America, South Florida was a pot smuggler's paradise. In sharp contrast to the brazenly violent cocaine cowboys of the 1980's, Miami's marijuana smugglers were cooler, calmer, and for the most part, nonviolent. SQUARE GROUPER paints a vivid portrait of Miami's pot smuggling culture in the 1970s and 1980s through three of the city's most colorful stories.

Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief) pulls no punches in his portrait of Apple founder Steve Jobs and his legacy. This probing and unflinching look at the life and aftermath of the bold, brilliant and at times ruthless iconoclast explores what accounted for the grief of so many when he died. Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine is evocative and nuanced in capturing the essence of the Apple legend and his values, which continue to shape the culture of Silicon Valley to this day.

A heart-racing documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular –and dangerous– feats of foot-launched human flight. Experience his jaw-dropping journey in life and love, to the pinnacle of his achievements when he and wife Jean broke the BASE jumping Guinness World Record in 1984 on the Norwegian 'Troll Wall' mountain range. Incredibly, within days, triumph was followed by disaster. Told through a stunning mix of Carl's 16mm archive footage, well-crafted re-enactments and state-of-the-art aerial photography, Sunshine Superman will leave you breathless and inspired.

Like many American outsider-adventurers, Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz set out to realize a utopian dream. Abandoning a successful medical practice, he sought self-fulfillment by taking up the nomadic life of a surfer. But unlike other American searchers like Thoreau or Kerouac, Paskowitz took his wife and nine children along for the ride, all eleven of them living in a 24 foot camper. Together, they lived a life that would be unfathomable to most, but enviable to anyone who ever relinquished their dreams to a straight job. The Paskowitz Family proved that America may be running out of frontiers, but it hasn’t run out of frontiersman.

Cast:

JULIETTE PASKOWITZ
DAVID PASKOWITZ
JONATHAN PASKOWITZ
ABRAHAM PASKOWITZ
ISRAEL “IZZY” PASKOWITZ
MOSES ZYUS PASKOWITZ II
ADAM PASKOWITZ
SALVADOR DANIEL PASKOWITZ
NAVAH PASKOWITZ-WALTHER
JOSHUA PASKOWITZ
DORIAN “DOC” PASKOWITZ, M.D.

Communist, anti-colonialist, right-wing extremist? What convictions guide the moral mind of Jacques Vergès? Barbet Schroeder takes us down history’s darkest paths in his attempt to illuminate the mystery behind this enigmatic figure. 

As a young lawyer during the Algerian war, Vergès espoused the anti-colonialist cause and defended Djamila Bouhired, ‘la Pasionaria,’ who bore her country’s hopes for freedom on her shoulders and was sentenced to death for planting bombs in cafes. He obtained her release, married her and had two children with her. 

Then suddenly, at the height of an illustrious career, Vergès disappeared without trace for eight years. He re-emerged from his mysterious absence, taking on the defense of terrorists of all kinds, from Magdalena Kopp and Anis Naccache to Carlos the Jackal. He represented historical monsters such as Nazi lieutenant Klaus Barbie. From the lawyer’s inflammatory and provocative cases to his controversial terrorist links, Barbet Schroeder follows the winding trail left by this ‘devil’s advocate,’ as he forges his unique path in law and politics. 

Schroeder explores and questions the history of ‘blind terrorism’ through his penetrating investigation of this compelling man and leads us towards shocking revelations that expose long-hidden links in history.

After stumbling upon a bizarre “competitive endurance tickling” video online, wherein young men are paid to be tied up and tickled, reporter David Farrier reaches out to request a story from the company. But the reply he receives is shocking—the sender mocks Farrier's sexual orientation and threatens extreme legal action should he dig any deeper. So, like any good journalist confronted by a bully, he does just the opposite: he travels to the hidden tickling facilities in Los Angeles and uncovers a vast empire, known for harassing and harming the lives of those who protest their involvement in these films. The more he investigates, the stranger it gets, discovering secret identities and criminal activity.

Discovering the truth becomes Farrier’s obsession, despite increasingly sinister threats and warnings. With humor and determination, Farrier and co-director Dylan Reeve summon up every resource available to get to the bottom of this tickling worm hole.

Directed by:
David Farrier
Dylan Reeve

Produced by:
Carthew Neal

Venus and Serena takes an unfiltered look into the remarkable lives of the greatest sister-act professional tennis has ever seen. In a sport where they were not welcomed, the indomitable Williams sisters faced the opposition with grace and courage not only breaking new ground for female and African American athletes everywhere, but dominating the women’s game for over a decade. The film tells the inspiring story of how these two women, against all odds, but with the help of visionary parents, made it to the top. 

Venus and Serena also explores the struggle of these two aging superstars during the 2011 tennis season as they battle life and career-threatening health problems. In Venus and Serena we gain unprecedented access into the sisters’ lives - both in the spotlight and behind closed doors – and we watch as they draw their greatest strengths from one another to overcome countless adversities.

Silenced for 24 years under Saddam’s regime and denied attention by the international media, the people of Iraq are not well understood at this tumultuous time in their history. The producers of VOICES OF IRAQ distributed over 150 digital video cameras across the entire country to enable everyday people—mothers, children, teachers, sheiks and even insurgents—to document their lives and their hopes amidst the upheaval of a nation being born. What values do Iraqis bring to the discussion of their future? What role will women play in a new Iraq? How will Islam influence government? Meet the people of Iraq as they struggle with years of turmoil and strive to build a civil society. Hear in their own words their feelings about Saddam Hussein, the multinational invasion of their country, the presence of American troops and their hopes for what may lie ahead for Iraq. Beginning amidst the Falluja uprising in April of 2004, going through the marshlands in the South, the Kurdish communities in the North and ending in September of the same year, thousands of ordinary Iraqis became filmmakers to reveal the
richness, complexity and emotion of their lives.

From the production team behind the Oscar® winning Searching for Sugar Man comes We Are X, a transcendent Rock `n´ Roll story about the world’s biggest and most successful band you’ve never heard of...yet. Under the enigmatic direction of drummer, pianist, composer, and producer Yoshiki, X Japan has sold over 30 million singles and albums combined––captivating such a wide range of admirers as Sir George Martin, KISS, Stan Lee, and even the Japanese Emperor. An astonishingly intimate portrait of a deeply haunted––but truly unstoppable––virtuoso and the music that has enthralled legions of the world’s most devoted fans.

FEATURING
Yoshiki
Toshi
Pata
Heath
Sugizo
Taiji
Hide

ALSO FEATURING
Hiroshi Arishima
Wes Borland
Hideo Canno
Dir En Grey
Richard Fortus
Narumi Komatsu
Ladies Room
Stan Lee
Makoto Production
Marilyn Manson
Robert Markison, MD
Yuichi Masuda
MUCC
Gene Simmons
Takuro
Naoshi Tsuda

From Academy Award-nominated director Joe Berlinger, WHITEY: United States of America v. James J. Bulger is a sweeping and revelatory documentary film that follows the trial of the infamous gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, using the courtroom action as a springboard to examine accusations of multi-faceted corruption within our nation’s law enforcement and legal systems.

The six Angulo brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Nicknamed The Wolfpack, they're all exceedingly bright, are homeschooled, have no acquaintances outside their family and have practically never left their home. All they know of the outside world is gleaned from the films they watch obsessively and recreate meticulously, using elaborate homemade props and costumes. For years this has served as a productive creative outlet and a way to stave off loneliness - but after one of the brothers escapes the apartment (wearing a Michael Meyers mask for protection), the power dynamics in the house are transformed, and all the boys begin to dream of venturing out. Armed with unprecedented access into the subjects' world and vast archive of home movies, first-time director Crystal Moselle crafts a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary family, capturing the thrill of the Wolfpack's discoveries without skirting the darker questions of abuse and confinement that weigh upon all of them. THE WOLFPACK charts a fascinating coming of age story and becomes a true example of the power of movies to transform and save lives.

Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis, Missouri. Grief, long-standing racial tensions and renewed anger bring residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. Empowered parents, artists, and teachers from around the country come together as freedom fighters. As the National Guard descends on Ferguson with military grade weaponry, these young community members become the torchbearers of a new resistance.

What the Funk Brothers did for Motown…The Wrecking Crew did, only bigger, for the West Coast Sound. Six years in a row in the 1960s and early 1970s, the Grammy for “Record of the Year” went to Wrecking Crew recordings. And now, THE WRECKING CREW tells the story in pictures and that oh, so glorious sound. The favorite songs of a generation are all here, presented by the people who made them for you. THE WRECKING CREW is a documentary film produced and directed by Denny Tedesco, son of legendary late Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco. The film tells the story of the unsung musicians that provided the backbeat, the bottom and the swinging melody that drove many of the number one hits of the 1960s. It didn’t matter if it was Nat “King” Cole, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, The Monkees, The Byrds or The Beach Boys, these dedicated musicians brought the flair and musicianship that made the American “west coast sound” a dominant cultural force around the world. The film is a fun and moving tribute from Denny to his father and to the music, the times and to the secret star-making machine known only as “The Wrecking Crew”.

This is the story of a woman who thought she had it all until she lost her beloved mother to cancer. Trying to process and understand her profound grief, Suzanne embarked on a journey and turned to a deeper practice of yoga. Along the way, she discovers what yoga is. Suzanne’s journey led her to India, where she studied various disciplines of yoga and met with respected gurus. During her visit, she came face-to-face with a near death experience and discovered that something had shifted within her; the light had returned. Inspired by her experience, she returned to the U.S. to explore what yoga means to the West and how it can transform lives. What she found was something wonderful: a path that can enable anyone to transform suffering in order to experience daily peace and happiness.
 

Alex Gibney’s ZERO DAYS is a documentary thriller about the world of cyberwar. For the first time, the film tells the complete story of Stuxnet, a piece of self-replicating computer malware (known as a “worm” for its ability to burrow from computer to computer on its own) that the U.S. and Israel unleashed to destroy a key part of an Iranian nuclear facility, and which ultimately spread beyond its intended target. ZERO DAYS is the most comprehensive accounting to date of how a clandestine mission hatched by two allies with clashing agendas opened forever the Pandora’s Box of cyberwarfare. Beyond the technical aspects of the story, ZERO DAYS reveals a web of intrigue involving the CIA, the US Military's new cyber command, Israel's Mossad and Operations that include both espionage and covert assassinations but also a new generation of cyberweapons whose destructive power is matched only by Nuclear War.

Cast:

COLONEL GARY D. BROWN
ERIC CHIEN
RICHARD A. CLARKE
GENERAL MICHAEL HAYDEN
OLLI HEINONEN
CHRIS INGLIS
VITALY KAMLUK
EUGENE KASPERSKY
EMAD KIYAEI
RALPH LANGNER
ROLF MOWATT-LARSSEN
SEÁN PAUL McGURK
YOSSI MELMAN
LIAM O’MURCHU
GARY SAMORE
DAVID SANGER
YUVAL STEINITZ
SERGEY ULASEN
MAJOR GENERAL AMOS YADIN