Upending expectations and challenging the definition of womanhood, these “first women” found themselves at the forefront of progressive movements, organizing campaigns and leading paths to cultural change. Female historians share the names and stories of five of these pioneers: Martha Hughes Cannon, Jovita Idár, Jeannette Rankin, Mary Church Terrell and Zitkála-Šá.
Along the Coast (1958)
Tongue-in-cheek look at the French Riviera, especially in summer when it overflows with tourists. Reviews its history and famous visitors; displays its faux-exotic buildings, its crowded beaches, its trees and monuments; and, pokes fun at the colors women wear and the vagaries of fashion. The film celebrates the use of "Eden" as a place name, suggesting that paradise comes to the coast after all are gone, perhaps only on a remote island beach.
The Homeland of Electricity (1967)
The Homeland of Electricity, Larisa Shepitko's adaptation of an Andrei Platonov story, was one of three short films collected in an omnibus work (Beginning of an Unknown Era) commissioned to honor the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution. Censors eventually shelved the film and it would not see the light of day until well after Shepitko's death, during Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika.
A Man, When He Is a Man (2023)
What are the social climate and cultural traditions in Costa Rica which nurture "machismo" and allow the domination of women to continue in Latin America?
Free CeCe (2016)
This film confronts the culture of violence surrounding trans women of color. It is told through the voices of Laverne Cox and Cece McDonald.
Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority (2008)
In 1965, Patsy Takemoto Mink became the first woman of color in the United States Congress. Seven years later, she ran for the US presidency and was the driving force behind Title IX, the landmark legislation that transformed women’s opportunities in higher education and athletics.
Looking Like My Mother (2016)
LOOKING LIKE MY MOTHER is a film about family relationships and personal destiny, about realizing one's own potential and one's limitations. It traces the individual experience, showing the emptiness one can feel as well as the discovery of a sense of meaning in life. It is a very personal and courageous film that doesn’t search for scientific explanations but instead uses documentary and fictional material to weave an intimate biography. This combination of perception and memory suggests a deep reconciliation and allows tender feelings of a mother’s love to emerge.
Mr. X (2014)
The image of a mysterious, solitary filmmaker - a cineaste maudit - who flees from both the media and the public, is unrelentingly bound to the figure of Leos Carax, in France. Elsewhere, the real focus is on his films and he is considered to be an icon of world cinema. Mr.X dives into the poetic and visionary world of an artist who was already a cult figure from his very first film. Punctuated by interviews and unseen footage, this documentary is most of all a fine-tuned exploration of the poetic and visionary world of Leos Carax, alias "Mr.X".
Abuelos (2010)
A personal journey in search of two grandfathers: Remo, a self taught Ecuadorian doctor who wants to discover immortality, and Juan, communist militant who was assassinated during the Chilean military dictatorship in 1973. A granddaughter who grows between exile and a magical universe. Two stories, a close one and a buried one. Two dreams reflected in two landscapes: one with leafy mountains; the other, arid and deserted.
Al Franken: God Spoke (2006)
Join filmmaking duo Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob as their cameras follow Franken to book signings, campaign rallies and the launch of Air America Radio, documenting his transformation from irreverent funnyman to political pundit.
It’s Not My Memory of It: Three Recollected Documents (2003)
“It’s not my memory of it” is a documentary about secrecy, memory, and documents. A former CIA source recounts his disappearance through shredded classified documents that were painstakingly reassembled by radical fundamentalist students in Iran in 1979 following the takeover of the U.S embassy. A CIA film—recorded in 1974 but unacknowledged until 1992—documents the burial at sea of six Soviet sailors, in a ceremony which collapses Cold War antagonisms in a moment of death and honor. A single photograph pertaining to a publicly acknowledged but top secret U.S. missile strike in Yemen in 2002 is the source of a reflection on the role of images in the dynamic of knowing and not knowing.
Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi (2007)
Alexandra Pelosi travels through the United States interviewing and filming several evangelical pastors and congregations.
The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit (1991)
The Beatles First US Visit uniquely chronicles the inside story of the two remarkable weeks when Beatlemania first ignited America. The pioneering Maysles Brothers who filmed at the shoulders of John, Paul, George and Ringo, innovated an intimate documentary style of film-making which set the benchmark for rock and roll cinematography that remains to this day.
Earth: The Power of the Planet (2007)
Dr Iain Stewart tells the story of how Earth works and how, over the course of 4.6 billion years, it came to be the remarkable place it is today.
Bronx Irish at the Ramparts (1984)
The story of the settlement of Irish immigrants in the North Bronx, New York, and how the once predominantly Irish neighborhoods are changing because of the influx of other groups.
Cristina (2016)
An intimate journey of a 37-year-old Cristina, as fate brings to her life both a new love and an unbeatable challenge. Determined to pass on a message of hope and a 'live in the now' mentality, Cristina's second cancer takes a toll on her diminishing body, however her love for Bruce only grows. Bruce stands by her side while juggling work and financial strains. The film follows Cristina's journey into her deep AMOUR, one that supports and lifts her up. If she had to choose between finding this deep and pure love and having cancer, or being cancer free but never experiencing true love... what would she choose? Her shocking answers are captured by veteran filmmaker Michèle Ohayon on camera.
American Teen (2008)
A documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques.
Sky, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth (2001)
Kawase tries to come to terms with her late father, whom she never knew when growing up, and contemplates getting a tattoo like his.