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The Order of Myths
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The Order of Myths

2008
Dating back to the 1700s, Mobile, Alabama's Mardi Gras celebration is the oldest in the country -- and it's still going strong today. With the annual event as its focus, this documentary explores the city, its mystical societies and race relations. Tens of thousands of enthusiastic revelers descend upon downtown Mobile each year to take part in a variety of colorful parades, balls and festivities. Margaret Brown's work was nominated for Best Documentary for the Independent Spirit Awards.

Directed by:

  • Margaret Brown
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    It Came from Kuchar
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    It Came from Kuchar

    2009
    Director Jennifer M. Kroot examines the works of filmmaking twins Mike Kuchar and George Kuchar and explores the undeniable influence they've had on independent directors such as Atom Egoyan, John Waters and Buck Henry. Known for creating eccentric, no-budget films like The Thief and the Stripper, Hold Me While I'm Naked and The Secret of Wendel Samson, these movie maverick siblings are true pioneers of underground cinema.

    Directed by:

  • Jennifer M. Kroot
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Daughter from Danang: American Experience
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    Daughter from Danang: American Experience

    2002
    This documentary follows an adopted American woman -- one of thousands of Vietnamese children who were separated from their families and flown to America in 1975 -- who gets more than she bargained for when she's reunited with her birth mother. The film emphasizes how much culture, rather than innate physical characteristics, can shape an individual. The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

    Directed by:

  • Gail Dolgin
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Sarah Palin: You Betcha!
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    Sarah Palin: You Betcha!

    2011
    Filmmaker Nick Broomfield tracks down friends, relatives and colleagues of polarizing Alaska politician Sarah Palin in this irreverent documentary. Among those interviewed are Palin's father and plenty of folks with axes to grind.

    Directed by:

  • Nick Broomfield
  • Joan Churchill
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Facing the Habit
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    Facing the Habit

    2007
    Junkie and former millionaire stockbroker Dave starts looking for more experimental treatments after 10 years of failing to kick his heroin habit. He journeys to Mexico to undergo treatment with Ibogaine, a controversial drug made from a mysterious West African root known as iboga. Filmmaker Magnolia Martin's searing portrait of addiction won Best Short Documentary at the 2007 San Francisco Frozen Film Festival.

    Directed by:

  • Magnolia Martin
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Shaolin Ulysses: Kung Fu Monks in America
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    Shaolin Ulysses: Kung Fu Monks in America

    2004
    If you get a kick out of kung fu, you'll love this exhilarating film that traces the journey of five kung fu monks in search of the American dream. Hailing from China's legendary Shaolin Temple, these Zen masters and kung fu stars have left their homeland to forge a new life and bring their special brand of martial arts to the west. Hear their personal stories (narrated by Beau Bridges) and watch in awe as they display some of their best moves.

    Directed by:

  • Martha Burr
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Something to Cheer About
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    Something to Cheer About

    2002
    In 1955, the Crispus Attucks Tigers of Indiana became the first all-black high school basketball team to win a state championship. A half century later, documentarian Betsy Blankenbaker catches up with the original team members, including NBA great Oscar Robertson and former Harlem Globetrotter Hallie Bryant. Between the inspiring interviews are clips from the famed event, which shows the young men at the top of their historic game.

    Directed by:

  • Betsy Blankenbaker
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    New York in the Fifties
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    New York in the Fifties

    2001
    The 1950s were a powerful time in New York City, as the bohemian movement unfolded and changed the beat of the city. The cast of characters interviewed for this fascinating documentary (based on writer Dan Wakefield's memoirs) reads like a "Who's Who" of the decade: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley, Joan Didion, John Gregory Dunne, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, Gay and Nan Talese, Calvin Trillin, Mark van Doren and more.

    Directed by:

  • Betsy Blankenbaker
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Her Name Is Sabine
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    Her Name Is Sabine

    2007
    French actress turned filmmaker Sandrine Bonnaire crafts a deeply personal portrait of her sister Sabine Bonnaire, a 38-year-old autistic woman, and examines the inadequacies of the health care system in this moving foreign-language documentary. After languishing for five years in a psychiatric hospital, Sabine was ultimately transferred to a home in the Charente region of France, where her innate talents blossomed and flourished.

    Directed by:

  • Sandrine Bonnaire
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    The Party's Over
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    The Party's Over

    2001
    This engaging documentary, hosted by a pre-Oscar Philip Seymour Hoffman, finds the actor covering the Democratic and Republican conventions in 2000, interviewing politicians, pundits and voters of all political stripes. Ample time is also given to the myriad protesters on both sides. The filmmakers score interviews with Ralph Nader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Newt Gingrich, Barney Frank, Noam Chomsky, Bill Maher and Michael Moore, among others.

    Directed by:

  • Donovan Leitch
  • Rebecca Chaiklin
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Lost Souls
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    Lost Souls

    2010
    In her first documentary film, California-born Monika Navarro explores her family history via slightly unconventional means, traveling to Mexico with camera in hand to talk to her U.S. Army veteran uncle, who was deported with his brother in 1999. A stranger in his own "homeland," he's now barely clinging to survival. But his brother's fate was far worse, ultimately succumbing to addiction and despair.

    Directed by:

  • Monika Navarro
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    Frontrunners
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    Frontrunners

    2008
    The campaign pressures, the rivalries and the emphasis on image could all be taken from a national presidential race. But the candidates profiled in this documentary are competing for student body president at New York's Stuyvesant High School. As the notoriously competitive school's election draws near, the campaign becomes a microcosm for the nation at large, with race, gender and appearance vying for attention with real issues.

    Directed by:

  • Caroline Suh
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Paris Was a Woman
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    Paris Was a Woman

    1996
    Between the World Wars, Paris was the world's artistic capital, attracting cultural titans like Gertrude Stein and others. Through home movies and intimate storytelling, this documentary re-creates the mood of this unique female artistic community.

    Directed by:

  • Greta Schiller
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Erasing David
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    Erasing David

    2009
    British citizen David Bond decides to find out, for better or for worse, just how private his identity is - by hiring detectives to locate him after he's "disappeared" for a month. His goal: to see if one can drop out of sight in this day and age.

    Directed by:

  • Melinda McDougall
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Stolen
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    Stolen

    2006
    In 1990, thieves absconded with 13 masterpieces -- including works by Rembrandt and Vermeer -- from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, pulling off the greatest art heist in U.S. history. Rebecca Dreyfus's investigative documentary delves into this modern mystery, piecing together clues gleaned from archival documents, art critics, historians, collectors and informants (both credible and dubious) to shed light on the as-yet unsolved case.

    Directed by:

  • Rebecca Dreyfus
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Sweetgrass
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    Sweetgrass

    2010
    As much a work of cultural anthropology as it is a documentary, this unique film traces the path of a family of Montana sheepherders as they drive their flock down from the treacherous and beautiful Absaroka Beartooth mountain range.

    Directed by:

  • Ilisa Barbash
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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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