2018
It’s the 2014 midterms and residents of a South Florida retirement community feel the weight of democracy on their shoulders. In one of the most influential counties of America’s largest swing state, these political kingmakers trade their golf clubs for clipboards and hit the pavement to get out the vote. A GREATER SOCIETY is a feature documentary to inspire voter turnout. Inside the gates of Wynmoor Village are three miles of manicured lawns lined with palm trees, a golf course, and carefully maintained condominiums. At first glance, it’s just another retirement community where elders go to enjoy their golden years relaxing by the pool and taking ceramics classes; but look further and you’ll see that the people who live in this community share something unique: the power to have a real impact on national politics.
2019
There is a popular theory that it takes at least 10,000 hours of focused practice for a human to become expert in any field. In Japan, there are craftspeople who go far beyond this to reach a special kind of mastery. These people are called Takumi and they devote 60,000 hours to their craft. That's 8 hours a day, 240 days a year, for over 30 years. It's an almost superhuman level of dedication to a life of repetition and no shortcuts. This film asks the question: Will human craft disappear as artificial intelligence reaches beyond our limits?
An analysis of the causes, social, political, and economic that caused the rise of Hugo Chávez as president of Venezuela; his abuse of power and the response of civil society, including the student movement; his political fall as well as the secrecy that surrounded his illness and the succession of Nicolás Maduro.
Chronicles from Kashmir seeks to create a sense of “balance”: between differently positioned voices that emerge when speaking about Kashmir; between differently placed narratives on the “victim”/“perpetrator” spectrum. While there is an inevitable streak of political commentary that runs throughout the work – a political current that cannot be escaped when talking about Kashmir – Chronicles from Kashmir does not espouse any one political ideology. We see ourselves as being artists and educators, using aesthetics and pedagogy to engage audiences with diverse perspectives from/about the Valley.
2004
An American elementary school program from the 1970s, Man: A Course of Study (MACOS), looked to the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic to help students see their own society in a new way. At its core was The Netsilik Film Series, an acclaimed benchmark of visual anthropology from the National Film Board that captured a year in the life of an Inuit family, reconstructing an ancient culture on the cusp of contact with the outside world. But the graphic images of the Netsilik people created a clash of values that tore rifts in communities across the U.S. and revealed a fragile relationship between politics and education. A fiery national debate ensued between academic and conservative forces. hrough These Eyes looks back at the high stakes of this controversial curriculum. Decades later, as American influence continues to affect cultures worldwide, the story of MACOS resonates strongly.
2023
Raised in an orthodox home, Amos Dov Silver dreams of becoming Prime Minister. But when the State continues to shun him, he soon finds unexpected solace in the velvety smoke of Marijuana. Spreading his new Torah, he establishes an online community using a mobile app called "TeleGrass" that turns into the largest marketplace for drugs in Israel, raising Silver to Messiah status. Through exclusive footage of Silver, his family and his partners’ investigations, as well as secretly filmed footage of Silver in the Ukrainian prison, a polarizing portrayal of the man charged with heading a crime organization emerges. Champion of the people, or a lost soul corrupted by power?
1978
In 1978, just after Le fond de l'Air Est Rouge, which mercilessly analyzed the previous ten years of the revolutionary left's momentum until its collapse, Chris Marker made this complementary piece entitled Quand le Siècle a Pris Forme (Guerre et Révolution).
2016
Director Anna Broinowski explores how Pauline Hanson's speech in 1996 and the decades of debate that followed has influenced Australia today; the impact of her political career on modern multicultural Australia, and the people who have helped her transition from local fish shop owner to Member for Oxley. Featuring many of Hanson's critics, opponents, advisors and commentators, from former Prime Minister John Howard, to current members of the media, including Margo Kingston and Alan Jones; and leading Indigenous commentator, Professor Marcia Langton.
