Kinder

In Bettina Büttner’s exquisitely lucid documentary Kinder (Kids), childhood dysfunction, loneliness, and pent-up emotion run wild at an all-boys group home in southern Germany. The children interned here include ten-year-olds Marvin and Tommy. Marvin, fiddling with a mini plastic Lego sword, explains matter-of-factly to the camera, “This is a knife. You use it to cut stomachs open.” Dennis, who is even younger, is seen in a hysteric fit, mimicking some pornographic scene. Boys will be boys, but innocence is disproportionately spare here. Choosing not to dwell on the harsh specifics, Büttner reveals the disconcerting manner in which traumatic episodes can manifest themselves in the mundane — a game of Lego, Hide and Seek, or Truth or Dare. Filmed in lapidary black-and-white, Büttner’s fascinating film sheds light on childhood from the boys’ characteristically disadvantaged perspective — one not yet fully cognizant — leaving much ethically to ponder over.

Appalachian Journey

Appalachian Journey is one of five films made from footage that Alan Lomax shot between 1978 and 1985 for the PBS American Patchwork series (1991). It offers songs, dances, stories, and religious rituals of the Southern Appalachians. Preachers, singers, fiddlers, banjo pickers, moonshiners, cloggers, and square dancers recount the good times and the hard times of rural life there. Performers include Tommy Jarrell, Janette Carter, Ray and Stanley Hicks, Frank Proffitt Jr., Sheila Kay Adams, Nimrod Workman and Phyllis Boyens, Raymond Fairchild, and others, with a bonus of a few African-Americans from the North Carolina Piedmont.

It's A Mean Old World

By the time "It's A Mean Old World" was filmed, Reverend Pearly Brown had been struggling to survive singing gospel music for nearly 40 years. While the rough sound of his bottleneck playing has the feel of a life spent scuffling on the street, the poignancy of his voice is a better measure of the gentle spirit and inner strength of the man.

One Ticket Please

A documentary about a 78-year-old Indian woman in New York who is the world's most passionate theatergoer. Nicki Cochrane has been seeing a play every day for more than 25 years, acquiring free tickets using a variety of ingenious means.

Psycho Path

Documentary on the making of Gus Van Sant's "Psycho."

You've Been Trumped Too

A timely film exploring the confrontation between a feisty 92-year-old Scottish widow and her family and a billionaire trying to become the most powerful man in the world.

Wanda Gosciminska - wlókniarka

The life of a female weaver is thrown onto the socio-political canvas of pre-war and post-war communist Poland through the use of expressive allegorical and symbolic imagery in this imaginative take on the documentary form.

The History of the Pit Stop: Gone in Two Seconds

The mavericks who pioneered the modern pit stop made it a raceday staple that takes less than two seconds.

Nos Interstícios da Realidade, ou O Cinema de António de Macedo

He was the most prolific within the New Portuguese Cinema generation. He would try western spaghetti, esoteric allegory, supernatural, and science-fiction. Without state subsidies, he would quit filmmaking in the 1990s. Who remembers António de Macedo?

Tiermythen - Im Auge des Löwen

I against ME

Wicker Kittens

Every January, the country's largest jigsaw puzzle contest is held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Choose your favorite team and watch them try to put the pieces back together.

Barbarossa: Hitler Turns East

Hitler's invasion of Russia was one of the landmark events of World War II. This documentary reveals the lead-up to the offensive, its impact on the war and the brinksmanship that resulted from the battle for Moscow. Rare footage from both German and Russian archives and detailed maps illustrate the conflict, while award-winning historian and author John Erickson provides insight into the pivotal maneuvers on the eastern front.

King Of The Hammers - Rise Of The East

Over 130 racers and teams assembled in Johnson Valley, California in 2012 to do battle in the desert and race for the coveted title of "King" through some of the most difficult rock trails in the world, and vast expanses of harsh desert. With 160 miles between then and the checkered flag, the competition would be fierce. In addition to the unlimited class racing, the KOH "Every Man Challenge" in Stock and Modified Class would take to the desert in search of an overall victor.

King Of The Hammers 6: Vindication

Get behind the wheel alongside some of Ultra4's fastest teams as you ride along with an inside look at what it is like to run one of the hardest off road races on planet earth, the King of the Hammers. Over 100 teams would take part in the race that would determine who would be King in Johnson Valley, CA. In addition, motorcycle riders and stock/ modified vehicles from around the world would gather to compete in the newly created King of the Motos & EMC/UTV competition, pitting them against not only each other, but over 150 miles of harsh desert with no outside assistance.

Baobab Play

Children and teenagers throw sticks, berries, and leaves at each other from perches in a large baobab tree.

Dief!

This documentary short is a portrait of Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and 13th prime minister of Canada, John George Diefenbaker (1895-1979). Diefenbaker's political career spanned 6 decades. When he died in 1979, his state funeral and final train trip west became more a celebration of life than a victory for death.

The British & Irish Lions 2013: Lions Raw

A behind the scenes documentary chronicling the British and Irish Lions' tour of Australia 2013.

Hidden Universe

An extraordinary journey deep into space offering fresh insight into the origins and evolution of the universe.

Guys 'N Divas: Battle of the High School Musicals

This fascinating documentary chronicles the intense rivalry between high schools in Southern Indiana to win a prestigious festival performance with lavish student musical productions that often cost in the tens of thousands of dollars to produce.