In 1999, the largely conservative Wairarapa district in New Zealand elected a former cabaret performer/actress named Georgina Beyer to the country's House of Parliament -- a seemingly unremarkable event in that country's history except for the fact that Beyer is a transsexual and may very well be the first transsexual in the world to be elected to a national office. In their 2002 biographical documentary Georgie Girl, co-directors Peter Wells and Annie Goldson highlight the popular Member of Parliament's rapid rise through local government to prominence in the New Zealand national government.
16 Acres (2012)
The dramatic inside story of the monumental collision of interests at Ground Zero in the decade after 9/11.
Palme (2012)
Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was openly shot to death on a February evening 1986 on the streets of Stockholm. In one night, the country of Sweden was transfigured. “Palme” is about his life, his time, and about the Sweden he had created. About a man who altered history.
Yippie (1968)
The Youth International Party, whose members were commonly called Yippies, was a radically youth-oriented and countercultural revolutionary group opposed to war and the status quo of American culture. Known for using theatrics and humor to advocate social change, several Yippies were notably on trial as the Chicago 7. Primarily consisting of footage from the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago which sparked massive demonstrations that were met by violence and hysteria caused by the police. This film also includes found newsreel footage as well as Pigasus - the pig the Yippies advanced as a candidate for President of the United States.
Superstar in a Housedress: The Life and Legend of Jackie Curtis (2004)
Andy Warhol described Jackie Curtis as “A pioneer without a frontier.” In this biographical documentary, Curtis’s co-workers and friends speak of her work and her influence, along with clips from Curtis’s Warhol films as well as never-before-seen footage from her stage shows.
LBJ (1968)
This is a montage of different images from the JFK, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy triumphs and assassinations, all three events being observed by Lyndon Johnson as the dark figure who is plotting the anti-black rights movement.
Hard Border (2018)
Belfast-born actor Stephen Rea explores the impact of Brexit and the uncertainty of the future of the Irish border in a short film written by Clare Dwyer Hogg.
The Return of the War Room (2008)
Those who played prominent roles in Clinton's 1992 Presidential campaign return to discuss how politics and the media have changed since that time.
A Perfect Candidate (1996)
The filmmakers follow Oliver North's unsuccessful 1994 bid for a Virginia Senate seat, focusing on North's campaign strategist, Mark Goodin, and a Washington Post reporter. Mudslinging ensues.
An Injury to One (2002)
An experimental documentary exploring the turn-of-century lynching of union organizer Frank Little in Butte, Montana.
After Coal: Welsh and Appalachian Mining Communities (2016)
After Coal profiles inspiring individuals who are building a new future in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and South Wales. Meet ex-miners using theater to rebuild community infrastructure, women transforming a former coal board office into an education hub, and young people striving to stay in their home communities. The stories of coalfield residents who must abandon traditional livelihoods illustrate the front lines of the transition away from fossil fuels.
All the President's Men Revisited (2013)
The Watergate case was the original game changer of America politics. How has Watergate changed the Presidency? What effect has the scandal had on our political leaders? And has hope and optimism forever been replaced in our national dialogue by doubt and cynicism? In 1973, Watergate's most pivotal year, reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein doggedly investigated the scandal exposing the long, twisted trail of cover-ups and lies.
The Sixth (2024)
The Sixth is a visceral intersection of six extraordinary Americans whose lives will be forever changed by the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Outside the Bubble: On the Road with Alexandra Pelosi (2018)
Intent on escaping her coastal bubble, Alexandra Pelosi sets out on a cross-country trip to engage in conversations with fellow Americans in an effort to gain an unfiltered understanding of other perspectives.
This Area Is Under Quarantine (2009)
Thunska Pansittivorakol's documentary covers three disparatae topics: Gay life & sex, the 2004 Tak Bai incident, & the 2005 execution of two Iranian teenagers.
Buddy (2005)
The story of the often contradictory and always audacious public figure, Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci, the former Mayor of Providence, RI. The film tracks Cianci's entanglements with city council opposition, union skirmishes, personal scandals, and criminal indictments. The result is a fascinating study of American local politics and a surprising tale of a man who, in the words of one commentator, "has a city as his mistress."
Prison or Exile (2021)
Nursel Aydoğan, Fırat Anlı and Zülküf Karatekin are linked by political exile in Europe after threatened prison sentences in Turkey.
Fantastic Lies (2016)
One night in Durham, North Carolina, a rape accusation set fire to the reputations of three college athletes and their elite university. As the Duke lacrosse players grappled with their transition from model student to the criminally accused, several wars were launched on different fronts.
Sanctuary (2024)
Sanctuary explores queer spirituality and utopian sexualities through the figure of Purusha Androgyne Larkin (1934–1988), a monk, pioneering gay filmmaker, and self-proclaimed cosmic-erotic mystic.
Red Army/PFLP: Declaration of World War (1971)
On their way back from the Cannes Film Festival in 1971, filmmakers Wakamatsu Koji and Adachi Masao visited Lebanon to meet Japan's Red Army faction and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to shoot a newsreel film promoting the Palestinian resistance. Conceived as a ‘declaration of world war’ that implicates us all, the directors capture the everyday banality of military training and preparation exercises for imminent battle.