Deep behind-the-scenes into the strip-mined world of Alberta, Canada, where the vast and toxic Tar Sands deposit supplies the U.S. with the majority of its oil. Through the eyes of scientists, 'big oil' officials, politicians, doctors, environmentalists, and aboriginal citizens directly impacted by 'the largest industrial project on the planet today,' the filmmakers journey to both sides of the border to see the emotional and irreversible toll this 'black gold rush' fueled by America's addiction to oil is taking on our planet.
Living under the Himalayan sun, their eyes have slowly gone milky white. Manisara and Durga have cataracts, and their mountain home in Nepal has become a warren of darkness. Shot over three days, Open Your Eyes follows their extraordinary journey down the mountain for a chance to see again.
Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien is a 1996 American short documentary film directed by Jessica Yu. Mark O'Brien was a journalist and poet who lived in Berkeley, California. The documentary explored his spiritual struggle coping with his disability; he had to use an iron lung much of the time due to childhood polio. O'Brien died on 4 July 1999, from post-polio syndrome. It won an Oscar at the 69th Academy Awards in 1997 for Documentary Short Subject.
In January, 1997, a team of five nurses, four anesthesiologists, and three plastic surgeons arrive in Vietnam from the United States for two weeks' of volunteer work. They operate on 110 children who have various birth defects and injuries. They also talk to the film crew about why they've made this trip and what it means to them. We watch them work, and we see the children, their families, and their surroundings in the Mekong Delta. Over the closing credits, Dionne Warwick sings Bacharach and David's "What the World Needs Now Is Love".
Eighteen months in the life of 89 years old Viola Dees as she tries of persuade Los Angeles authorities that she can care for her grandson, 9-year-old Walter.
Sing! is a 2001 American short documentary film about the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, directed by Freida Lee Mock. How do squeaky-voiced 8 year olds become amazing singers? Sing! tells the story of how a community group, amid severe cutbacks in the arts, is able to develop a children's chorus that is one of the best in the country. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
The Collector of Bedford Street is a 2002 documentary film about director Alice Elliott's neighbor, Larry Selman, a community activist and fundraiser who had an intellectual disability. When Larry's primary caregiver becomes unable to care for him, his New York City neighborhood community rallies together to protect his independent lifestyle by establishing an adult trust fund in his behalf. The film was nominated for the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.
A powerful documentary about five women whose lives have been irrevocably altered by the Rwandan genocide. With the country left nearly 70% female in the wake of the massacres, "God Sleeps In Rwanda" is a lucid portrait of the much larger change affected by women in the East African country.
To Live or Let Die is a 1982 American short documentary film directed by Terry Sanders, about the neonatal I.C.U. of the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, where life and death decisions must be made while ethical dilemmas are also posed by new technologies.. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
In this Oscar Winning documentary short film, students in their final year at the National Ballet School of Canada are seen learning the flamenco from Susana and Antonio Robledo, who come to the school every winter to conduct classes which are held after the day's regular schedule has ended.
This 1991 Academy Award®-winning documentary uncovers the disastrous health and environmental side effects caused by the production of nuclear materials by the General Electric Corporation.
A young boy with down syndrome attends his first year in a "regular" classroom. This documentary traces that year and the changes that take place for Peter, his teacher, and the other students. Oscar-winning documentary short from 1992.
Documentary about the magnitude and severity of domestic violence. This film features four women imprisoned for killing their batterers and their terrifying personal testimonies. It won an Oscar at the 66th Academy Awards in 1994 for Documentary Short Subject.
These documentary sketches were made when the famed novelist was an anthropology student seeking to preserve a record of African American life in the rural South. Includes Children's games and baptism - Miami, Aug. 1929; Children's games and man with ax - April 1928; Children dancing and girl rocking on porch - Jan/Feb 1929; Baseball crowd and boy dancing capers Jan/Feb 1929.
in complete world is a feature-length documentary made up of street interviews done throughout NYC. Mixing political questions (Are we responsible for the government we get?) with more broadly existential ones (Do you feel you have control over your life?), the film centers on the tension between individual and collective responsibility. The film can be seen as a user's manual for citizenship in the 21st century, as well as a glimpse into the opinions and self-perceptions of a diverse group of Americans. It is a testament to the people of NYC in this new millennium, who freely offer up thoughtful, provocative and at times tender revelations to a complete stranger, just because she asked.
In 2002, a woman from the Pakistani countryside named Mukhtar Mai made world headlines. After the rumour that her 12-year-old brother was having a relationship with a woman from another clan, Mukhtar was gang-raped by order of the village council. Instead of committing suicide, she spoke out and the six men were sentenced to death, although five of them were eventually acquitted. Against all the codes of her society, Mukhtar took her case to the Supreme Court. After the Rape doesn't comment on the outcome of her case. What the film does show is the environment that the assertive Muhktar managed to create in the wake of the incident.
Filmmakers Sue Marx and Pamela Conn document the romance between Sue's father Louis Gothelf and Reva Shwayder, each in their mid-80s. Both artists and residents of the Detroit suburbs, they met on a group tour of England after being widowed, and quickly formed a strong connection over shared interests. The two discuss concerns over living together without being married; Louis also talks about his caring for his first wife during her ten-year struggle with Alzheimer's disease, while Reva talks about the deaths of two sons several years after her husband's death.
Language Says It All is a 1987 American short documentary film about deaf children and their caregivers, directed by Rhyena Halpern and produced by Halpern and Megan Williams. The film follows four families as they come to understand their deaf child's need for language. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Silence - the stuff of assumptions and confusion - is a legacy inherited by many grandchildren of Japanese Americans interned during WWII. Shortly after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Masuo Yasui, a respected figure of Hood River Valley, Oregon was arrested by the FBI as a "potentially dangerous enemy alien." In A FAMILY GATHERING, Lise Yasui, a granddaughter that Masuo never knew, shows that courageous journeys into the past can bring greater understanding of family and personal history to the present.
Photographer Imogen Cunningham presents her own work in this Academy Award-nominated documentary.
Documents the life and musical production of Puerto Rican music composer, Tite Curet Alonso. Includes Tite Curet's last interview before his death.