Building the American Dream

Chasing Bonnie & Clyde(en)

'Don't build prisons, they cost too much!' In this era of Great Recession, the conservative and tough-on-crime State of Texas takes an unprecedented path by becoming a social justice leader with programs that rehabilitate offenders. Looks like rape, abuse and death are no longer parts of the solution for modern-day Bonnie and Clyde...

The Beast of Brushy Creek(en)

This doc investigates the odd occurrences that have happened for decades at a creek in Texas, which was an Ancient Native American burial ground.

Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream(en)

This film discusses the effect on how major American films in Hollywood were influenced by the Eastern European Jewish culture that most of the major movie moguls who controlled the studios shared. Through clips of various films, the filmmakers illustrate the dominant themes like that of the outsider, the outspoken American patriotism, and rooting for the underdog in society.

Tarnation(en)

Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.

Print It Black(en)

After the Robb Elementary school shooting in Texas, local Uvalde Leader-News journalists are left to report on the fallout – and on one of their staff members. Reporter Kimberly Rubio rises to national prominence as an advocate for gun reform after her ten-year-old daughter, Lexi, is killed in the shooting. Through the journalists’ reporting, we witness the social fabric of this small Texas town unravel as Kimberly and other victims’ families search for accountability from law enforcement and local leaders. The documentary also shines a light on the critical role of community journalism, at a time when local newspapers are folding rapidly across the country.

Bigger Stronger Faster*(en)

In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world. Is it any wonder that so many of our heroes are on performance enhancing drugs? Director Christopher Bell explores America's win-at-all-cost culture by examining how his two brothers became members of the steroid-subculture in an effort to realize their American dream.

Only in Theaters(en)

ONLY IN THEATERS, a film by actor/director Raphael Sbarge, is an intimate and moving journey taken with the Laemmle family, spanning nearly three years of challenges, losses, and personal triumphs. Laemmle Theatres, the beloved 84-year-old arthouse cinema chain 3rd generation family business in Los Angeles, is facing seismic change and financial pressure. Yet the family behind this multigenerational business – whose sole mission has been to support the art of film – is determined to survive.

Con Esperanza(en)

When Ruben, a young Chicano musician, is caught between his mother’s expectations and his own hopes, he is forced to make a decision that will change his life forever. Based on true events, “Con Esperanza” follows Ruben on his journey of pursuing his dreams, balancing both the traditional and financial expectations of his Mother.

The Thin Blue Line(en)

Errol Morris's unique documentary dramatically re-enacts the crime scene and investigation of a police officer's murder in Dallas.

American Ocelot(en)

American Ocelot tells the story of one of the most endangered and beautiful wild cats in the United States — a species so elusive that high-quality images and video have never been captured until now. With fewer than 100 individuals remaining in the US, the ocelot is critically endangered, genetically isolated, and only exists in Texas.

The Great American Lie(en)

Examines how a US value system built on the extreme masculine ideals of money, power and control has glorified individualism, institutionalized inequality, and undermined the ability of most Americans to achieve the American Dream.

Ripple(en)

Rae Ripple, a welder from the outskirts of West Texas transforms neglected metal into works of art and in the process finds healing from her traumatic past.

Democracy Is ...(en)

The film is a controversy on democracy. Is our society really democratic? Can everyone be part of it? Or is the act of being part in democracy dependent to the access on technology, progression or any resources of information, as philosophers like Paul Virilio or Jean Baudrillard already claimed?

Les fils de la terre(fr)

Liquor Store Dreams(ko)

So Yun Um’s debut feature is a moving portrait of two Korean American children of liquor store owners reconciling their dreams with those of their immigrant parents, against the backdrop of struggles for racial equity in Los Angeles.

Narratives of Modern Genocide(en)

Narratives of Modern Genocide challenges the audience to experience first-person accounts of survivors of genocide. Sichan Siv and Gilbert Tuhabonye share how they escaped the killing fields of Cambodia, and the massacre of school children in Burundi. Mixing haunting animation, and expert context the film confronts our notion that the holocaust was the last genocide.

Nous paysans(fr)

In barely a century, French peasants have seen their world profoundly turned upside down. While they once made up the vast majority of the country, today they are only a tiny minority and are faced with an immense challenge: to continue to feed France. From the figure of the simple tenant farmer described by Emile Guillaumin at the beginning of the 20th century to the heavy toll paid by peasants during the Great War, from the beginnings of mechanization in the inter-war period to the ambivalent figure of the peasant under the Occupation, From the unbridled race to industrialization in post-war France to the realization that it is now necessary to rethink the agricultural model and invent the agriculture of tomorrow, the film looks back at the long march of French peasants.

Two Towns of Jasper(en)

Using two separate filmmaking teams (an all-white crew filming white residents and an all-black camera crew filming black residents), TWO TOWNS OF JASPER captures very different racial views by townsfolk in Jasper, Texas, the location for a racially motivated murder of an African American man in 1998.

Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa(en)

Twenty-Five miles from town, a million miles from mainstream society, a loose-knit community of eco-pioneers, teenage runaways, war veterans and drop-outs, live on the fringe and off the grid, struggling to survive with little food, less water and no electricity, as they cling to their unique vision of the American dream.

Johnny Castle: Rising Star(en)

Ever since he was a kid, Johnny Castle had a dream: to become a movie star. Driven by his obsession, Johnny moved to Los Angeles, and the corner of Hollywood and Vine Boulevards became his natural stage on which to promote himself. Johnny is absolutely convinced that some day a producer or a director will sign him for their next movie. Even though Johnny has this optimistic way of looking at life, in the three years since his move to Los Angeles he has only been able to get a small part in a science fiction B-movie. Very soon the movie will debut in the theaters, and Johnny wants to show the result of his work to his father, who lives in Chicago. He obtains a preview DVD copy of the movie from the director so that he'll be able to present it to his dad as a wonderful birthday surprise.

Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №5. Second Bride Emperor(ru)

As a result of a successful conspiracy against Menshikov, Peter II is prematurely recognized as an adult and is in a hurry to be crowned in Moscow. The Dolgoruky brothers gather for this celebration. There were eight of them - all-powerful and influential representatives of the ancient Rurikovich family - and among them the beautiful Ekaterina, the daughter of the huntsman Alexei.

12(en)

12, is a comic parody about an office's obsession with the television show 24 as the their obsessions kick into high gear with the shows season finale approaching. Part The Office part 24, the short film mash-up introduces a novel send-up of these pop culture staples.

12(xx)

An old Finnish athlete travels alone through eastern Europe with his van.

Operation Napoleon(is)

A modern-day lawyer is sucked into an international conspiracy after being accused of a murder she didn't commit. Her only chance of freedom lies in uncovering the secret of an old German WWII aeroplane, long buried deep beneath the ice, before the CIA.

Role Play(en)

Emma has a wonderful husband and two kids in the suburbs of New Jersey – she also has a secret life as an assassin for hire – a secret that her husband David discovers when the couple decide to spice up their marriage with a little role play.

Lev Yashin. The Dream Goalkeeper(ru)

An ordinary working class boy, like all his peers, he played football day and night and dreamed of being a striker. But no matter which team he played for - in the yard, at the factory, or in the army - he was inevitably put in goal.

1212. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa(es)

On 16 July 1212, a Crusader army made up of Castilians, Aragonese and Navarrese (but also French, English and Germans) confronted the army of the Almohad Caliph an-Nasir at the foot of the Sierra Morena mountain range. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, as the battle is known, is considered the most important battle of the Middle Ages on the Iberian Peninsula and is a key event in the history of Spain. More than 800 years later, a group of archaeologists and specialists have begun an archaeological study of the battlefield. Is everything that has been said about the battle true? What secrets does the terrain hide? And, above all, what can we learn today about events that took place hundreds of years ago and that pitted tens of thousands of people against each other in the south of our country?

The Monkey King(en)

A stick-wielding monkey teams with a young girl on an epic quest for immortality, battling demons, dragons, gods — and his own ego — along the way.

12(en)

After blowing his professional ballet career, John's only way to redeem himself is to concoct the demise of his former partner, Leah, who he blames for his downfall; he rehearses his salvation in his mind in the way that he rehearses a dance, but being able to break from the routine will be the key to his success.

3 Days Max(fr)

The Grandmother of Ryane was kidnapped by a Mexican cartel and he has three days max to free her.

Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №1. Testament Emperor(ru)

Russia, January 25, 1725. "Give it all...". The emperor's weakening hand was able to write in his will only these two short incomprehensible words that kept Russia in a bloody struggle for the crown for a century.

A(kn)

A film director fades away from the industry after the failed love with the heroine of his movie. After being rehabilitated, he learns that some people conspired his fall and decides to take revenge.

Girl on the Moon(ru)

Someone from another planet crashed on Earth and evil is chasing him, and then love appears, and it defeats evil through an amulet.

Test(en)

On his journey towards becoming a film director, Cole discovers an insight that flips his perspective on his way of living.

Asterix and the Vikings(fr)

Asterix and Obelix have been given a tough mission: Transform the chief's lazy nephew Justforkix into a warrior. When the Vikings abduct him and bring him back to their homeland, Asterix and Obelix must travel to Norway to rescue Justforkix.

Da grandi(it)

Marco, Tato, Serena, and Leo are nine years old, and they are inseparable friends, ready to defend each other from their schoolmates’ bullying. On the evening of Marco's birthday, all four find themselves together to blow out the candles and unknowingly make the same wish: become adults. In one night's time, they find themselves magically the same age as their parents, but with the same behaviour and thoughts they have as kids.

Sympathy for the Devil(en)

After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.

Mufasa: The Lion King(en)

Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.

Blue Beetle(en)

Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab.

Let Me Go Home(ru)

In hustle and bustle of urban life, we sometimes don't know our neighbors next door. And in the village, everyone knows each other and lives with the joys, troubles, and worries of a neighbor, like one big family. That's why a person is pulled to their small homeland, to their roots. The one who forgets their roots experiences a burdensome emptiness and dissatisfaction with their achievements in life.