Documentary
Smothered
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Smothered

2002
An incredible slice of America's media and pop culture history, Smothered tells the story of the censorship struggles of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," the Emmy Award-winning TV program broadcast on CBS from 1967 until it was prematurely struck from the airwaves in 1969. Chock full of hilarious and outrageous clips from the show, this documentary also features interviews and appearances by celebrity writers, performers and network honchos.

Directed by:

  • Maureen Muldaur
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Nature: Why We Love Cats and Dogs
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    Nature: Why We Love Cats and Dogs

    2009
    The emotional bond between 170 million American dog and cat owners and their furry, four-legged companions is explored in filmmaker-director Ellen Goosenberg Kent's heartwarming and intriguing documentary. An intimate peek into the lives of pet owners who tell poignant, surprising and compelling stories reveals what we inherently know in our hearts -- that the love we share with our animal best friends is unconditional and unbreakable.

    Directed by:

  • Ellen Goosenberg Kent
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner
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    Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner

    2006
    Filmmaker Freida Lee Mock explores the life and work of Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning playwright Tony Kushner -- who's best known for "Angels in America" -- by combining interviews with noted theater personalities with scenes from his plays. Highlights include appearances by Academy Award-winning actresses Meryl Streep and Marcia Gay Harden, whose inspired performances help bring Kushner's lines to life.

    Directed by:

  • Freida Lee Mock
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Miss Gulag
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    Miss Gulag

    2007
    Welcome to Siberian women's prison UF-91/9, where every year, inmates vie for the beauty pageant title of Miss Spring. Focusing on three entrants, this film offers a captivating look at a new generation of women coming of age in post-Soviet Russia. The contestants discuss life before and during incarceration, revealing surprising similarities between the two. At the film's heart is the pageant, which represents something different for each woman.

    Directed by:

  • Maria Yatskova
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Lipstick & Dynamite
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    Lipstick & Dynamite

    2004
    In professional wrestling, the men almost always end up in the spotlight, even though the women are just as fierce and fearsome as the best of them. In this thrilling documentary, director Ruth Leitman trains her lens on the female fighters of the World Wrestling Entertainment, including a teenaged Ida May Martinez and the league's Grande Dame, The Fabulous Moolah. It's a no-hold-barred examination of a most fascinating world.

    Directed by:

  • Ruth Leitman
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    P.O.V.: The Judge & the General
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    P.O.V.: The Judge & the General

    2008
    The odyssey of Chilean judge Juan Guzmán, who in 1998 began investigating a human rights abuse case against Chile's former dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, is chronicled in this gripping documentary. As he uncovers the disturbing truth about secret detention camps and government-sanctioned murders, Guzmán reflects on how the privileged in Chile's society closed their eyes to the brutality that marked Pinochet's rule.

    Directed by:

  • Elizabeth Farnsworth
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    My Neighbor, My Killer
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    My Neighbor, My Killer

    2009
    Victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide try to make peace with the perpetrators of the violence in this compelling documentary from filmmaker Anne Aghion, who takes viewers to a village where government trials attempt to foster reconciliation. The powerful footage follows the court proceedings, where women whose family members were killed are asked to forgive the responsible parties so they can move back into their communities.

    Directed by:

  • Anne Aghion
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    The Beaches of Agnès
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    The Beaches of Agnès

    2008
    Filmmaking icon Agnès Varda, the award-winning director regarded by many as the grandmother of the French new wave, turns the camera on herself with this unique autobiographical documentary. Composed of film excerpts and elaborate dramatic re-creations, Varda's self-portrait recounts the highs and lows of her professional career, the many friendships that affected her life and her longtime marriage to cinematic giant Jacques Demy.

    Directed by:

  • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering the Kindertransport
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    My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering the Kindertransport

    1996
    Narrated by screen legend Joanne Woodward, this affecting documentary chronicles the story behind the Kindertransport, a British refugee program that saved more than 10,000 Jewish children during World War II.

    Directed by:

  • Melissa Hacker
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    The Meaning of Food
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    The Meaning of Food

    2004
    So many cultural and religious celebrations center on food, but how did this come to be? Discover the rich and varied history of American dining in this three-episode series that has filmmakers sitting at the table with guests from across the country who bring to the discussion opinions and experiences informed by their own cultural expectations. What results is a fascinating documentary that leaves viewers with (pun intended!) much to digest.

    Directed by:

  • Maria Gargiulo
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Farmingville: POV
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    Farmingville: POV

    2004
    This Sundance Special Jury Prize-winning documentary examines the hate-based attempted murders of two Mexican workers, a crime that catapulted a Long Island town into national headlines, unmasking a new front line in the border wars: suburbia. For nearly a year, filmmakers Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini lived in Farmingville, N.Y., recording the stories of residents, day laborers and activists battling one another over the American Dream.

    Directed by:

  • Carlos Sandoval
  • Catherine Tambini
    • 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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    The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court
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    The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court

    2009
    Three years in the making, Pamela Yates's documentary follows prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and his team as they issue arrest warrants for perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. With the ICC still in its infancy, Moreno-Ocampo must gain support from the international community in order to prosecute warlords from countries such as Uganda, Sudan and Colombia.

    Directed by:

  • Pamela Yates
    • 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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    Vampire Secrets
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    Vampire Secrets

    2008
    Learn the terrifying truth about vampires in this historical study that explains the cultural impact of Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula, traces the origin of common superstitions and reveals the connection between several ancient vampire myths.

    Directed by:

  • Diana Zaslaw
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    John Brown's Holy War: American Experience
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    John Brown's Holy War: American Experience

    2000
    After leading a group of abolitionists in a violent raid of the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Va., in 1859, Connecticut-born religious zealot John Brown became a martyr -- and a reluctant revolutionary. In this fascinating installment of the "American Experience" series, Robert Kenner and Ken Chowder peel away the layers of Brown's complex and controversial personal history to explore his role as a catalyst for war.

    Directed by:

  • Mark Samels
  • Jacqueline Shearer
    • 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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