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Phyllis and Harold
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Phyllis and Harold

2008
Most people know the story of how their parents met. But for better or worse, filmmaker Cindy Kleine digs even deeper to expose every aspect of her parents' 59-year marriage, revealing touching details and a few painful family secrets. Mixing on-camera interviews with archival photos and creative animation, Kleine's candid documentary looks at the evolution of a dissonant union -- and the harsh truth about love.

Directed by:

  • Cindy Kleine
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Enlighten Up!
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    Enlighten Up!

    2008
    Armed with the belief that yoga can positively transform anyone's life, documentarian Kate Churchill tracks journalist Nick Rosen's investigation into the ancient discipline, which launches the yoga cynic on a journey halfway around the world. Searching for the true meaning of yoga, Rosen meets a variety of yogis, devotees and gurus who espouse widely different views on the purpose and significance of the age-old practice.

    Directed by:

  • Kate Churchill
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
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    The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls

    2009
    Trace the fascinating lives of New Zealand's provocative music and comedy duo Jools and Linda Topp through this enjoyable documentary, which details the lesbian twins' rural upbringing, political activism and immense popularity at home and abroad. Featuring hilarious interviews with several of the sisters' most outrageous alter egos, this joyous celebration also includes brilliant insights into New Zealand's history.

    Directed by:

  • Leanne Pooley
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Protagonist
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    Protagonist

    2007
    A German terrorist, a thief, an "ex-gay" Christian evangelist and a martial arts student put their obsession with self-control on display in filmmaker Jessica Yu's absorbing documentary about lives lived on the fringe. With her interweaving narrative, Yu explores the lives of four men who go to extremes with violence, crime, physical dominance and religion to work through the aftermath of their harsh childhoods.

    Directed by:

  • Jessica Yu
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Pictures from a Revolution
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    Pictures from a Revolution

    1991
    In this emotional documentary, acclaimed photojournalist Susan Meiselas revisits many of the locations in Nicaragua where she captured some of the most powerful images from that country's bloody civil war of the 1970s and '80s.

    Directed by:

  • Alfred Guzzetti
  • Susan Meiselas
  • Richard P. Rogers
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    The Flute Player
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    The Flute Player

    2003
    After the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, 9-year-old Arn Chorn-Pond was thrust into the darkness of Cambodia's Killing Fields. For four years, Arn's musical talent kept him from perishing in a genocide that took the lives of 2 million Cambodians. Now, after living in the United States for 20 years, Arn faces the dark shadows of his war-torn past as he fights to save Cambodia's once-outlawed traditional music from extinction.

    Directed by:

  • Jocelyn Glatzer
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    New Muslim Cool
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    New Muslim Cool

    2009
    Jennifer Maytorena Taylor's documentary follows Puerto Rican American rapper Hamza Pérez, a former drug dealer and gang member who converted to Islam, became a grassroots activist and moved to inner-city Pittsburgh to establish a religious community. While Pérez raises his children and settles into a new marriage, the FBI raids his mosque. Now he must delve even deeper into his faith to forge connections with other communities in a post-9/11 world.

    Directed by:

  • Jennifer Maytorena Taylor
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Darfur Diaries
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    Darfur Diaries

    2006
    Leaving thousands dead and homeless, the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region raged for years before the world intervened. This documentary provides a record of the events through the voices of refugees, women and children. Chosen by Amnesty International as an educational tool for its members, the film provides a historical and cultural context through which to understand the current political and humanitarian crisis.

    Directed by:

  • Aisha Bain
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    The Oath
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    The Oath

    2010
    Oscar-nominated director Laura Poitras's documentary tells of two men whose fateful meeting in 1996 led them on a journey that would include Osama bin Laden, the horrific events of 9/11, Guantanamo Bay and a brush with the U.S. Supreme Court.

    Directed by:

  • Laura Poitras
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    One Nation Under God
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    One Nation Under God

    1993
    This documentary explores the humorous techniques -- including theory from psychiatry and religion -- proposed to "cure" homosexuals. Through interviews and footage from the annals, the argument is made that homosexuality is nothing short of an affliction that can be treated. "Former" lesbian women are featured getting beauty tips, while "former" gay men take to the football fields to prove their masculinity.

    Directed by:

  • Teodoro Maniaci
  • Francine Rzeznik
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    The Education of Shelby Knox
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    The Education of Shelby Knox

    2005
    Small-town Texas teenager Shelby Knox becomes an advocate for sex education (and the local media's so-called "Sex Ed Girl") when she tries to improve the county's sky-high teen pregnancy rate by challenging her high school's policy of teaching abstinence. In this documentary from Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt -- which uses footage shot over a three-year period -- the action unfolds almost effortlessly, revealing a stunning transformation.

    Directed by:

  • Marion Lipschutz
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox
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    Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox

    2006
    Brilliant chemist, Holocaust survivor and mental hospital escapee, Dr. Emanuel Bronner invented his famous Magic Soap and founded the environmentally concerned company that's just as popular today as it was among the counterculture in the 1970s. This documentary captures the complexity of Bronner's relationship with his son Ralph, who spent years in orphanages and foster homes as his eccentric father sought to unite all mankind.

    Directed by:

  • Sara Lamm
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Cropsey
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    Cropsey

    2009
    Directors Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio explore an urban legend that always disturbed them while growing up in Staten Island, N.Y. -- a rash of child abductions that struck the area in the 1970s and 80s -- in their gripping documentary. The legend became real when a handyman and drifter named Andre Rand abducted numerous young kids, setting off myriad motive theories, frightening residents in the community and tripping up the legal system.

    Directed by:

  • Joshua Zeman
  • Barbara Brancaccio
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    The Second City: The First Family of Comedy
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    The Second City: The First Family of Comedy

    2006
    An uproarious behind-the-scenes look at Chicago's famed Second City comedy club and troupe, this retrospective spans from the group's early days to the hit "SCTV" series and beyond as it tickles with reminiscences from Dan Aykroyd, Tina Fey, Martin Short, Alan Arkin and Mike Meyers. Footage of Jim Belushi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Eugene Levy and other alumni affirms Second City's place in comedy history.

    Directed by:

  • Sharon Bartlett
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    What the #$*! Do We Know!?
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    What the #$*! Do We Know!?

    2004
    When she's thrust from her mundane life into an unfamiliar world, Amanda must develop an all-new perception of her surroundings and the people she interacts with in this quirky film that explores neurological processes and quantum uncertainty.

    Directed by:

  • William Arntz
  • Betsy Chasse
  • Mark Vicente
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Into The Fire: American Women in the Spanish Civil War
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    Into The Fire: American Women in the Spanish Civil War

    2002
    Filmmaker Julia Newman interviews more than a dozen American women -- including nurses, notable authors and others -- who defied the U.S. government in 1936 to support the newly elected democratic government of Spain in its fight against a right-wing military faction led by Gen. Francisco Franco. The result is a thought-provoking study of the Spanish Civil War, a key battle in the European fight against fascism.

    Directed by:

  • Julia Newman
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Now and Then
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    Now and Then

    1995
    Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty in this tender coming-of-age tale, four childhood girlfriends -- Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta -- recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more. Lesli Linka Glatter directs; Gaby Hoffmann, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Cloris Leachman, Thora Birch and Christina Ricci co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Lesli Linka Glatter
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Now and Then (1995)
    A heartwarming movie about four childhood girlfriends who, in adulthood reunion, relive their experience of the life-changing summer of 1970, including a mystery death, divorce, standing up to the boys, first kiss, and the meaning of true friendship. Each explores her unique identity amidst family and friends. Beautifully directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.
    - Frances   
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