Social & External
When filmmaker Debra Chasnoff faces stage-4 cancer, she turns her lens on herself and the disease. What emerges is a portrait of her extended LGBTQ family —a story about hanging on while letting go.
Groundbreaking psychiatrist and author Elisabeth Kübler-Ross dedicated her career to working with the incurably ill. In this intimate documentary filmed near the end of her life, Kübler-Ross relates her life story, from childhood to her final years. Friends, family members and colleagues weigh in with insightful observations and share their memories of this remarkable woman whose innovative concepts helped spawn the field of thanatology.
An experimental look at the origin of the death myth of the Chinookan people in the Pacific Northwest, following two people as they navigate their own relationships to the spirit world and a place in between life and death.
A reckoning of Nazi Germany’s planned execution of its own citizens with physical and mental disabilities whom they deemed useless to their society.
Jeff Witzeman goes on a quest to find out why his wife was cured of her cancer in 30 days, naturally, in Germany, after American doctors wanted to pull an organ out, chemo and radiate her, and basically send her off to die. What he found will change cancer treatment forever.
In June 2022, comedian Rhod Gilbert was diagnosed with a little-known form of head and neck cancer. This is the story of his intimate, inspiring and humorous journey through treatment.
Sgt. Mike Berry - officer, man of God, and world famous underwater detective, stands on Lake Chesdin's muddy shore, ready to dive for a murder weapon through a kaleidoscope of memories.
Documentary of the folk who use and defend treating cancer and other illnesses with Marijuana
An intimate documentary that follows Tig Notaro, a Los Angeles based comedian, who just days after being diagnosed with invasive stage II breast cancer changed the course of her career with a poignant stand-up set that became legendary overnight. It explores Tig's extraordinary journey as her career ignites and as her life unfolds in grand and unexpected ways, all the while continuing to battle a life-threatening illness and falling in love.
The Finnish modern dancer Noora Hannula dances through this documentary film in her own explosive style. Noora’s life has always been very connected to the artist environment with her grandfather, Simo Hannula, who throughout his entire life dedicated him fully to his art. Noora and her grandfather crossed paths when Noora used a picture of his dead body in her show and now we meet Noora working on her newest show: The Era of No Talent Rising, while she is trying to figure out where her own limits are.
This short documentary tells the story of the life and legacy of Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte, an Omaha woman who became the first Native American physician.
Phases of Matter follows living and inanimate residents of a teaching hospital in Istanbul, moving from the operating room to the morgue, between life and other states, the real and the virtual.
Filmmaker Jon Alpert turns the camera on his own family in this intimate portrait of his aging father. As illness and declining vitality reshape his life, the film captures a deeply personal struggle with dignity, humor, and the bonds that hold a family together.
A historical documentary documenting the rise, function, and abandonment of a 17 story building that once housed The Rochester Psychiatric Center. This film tells the story of the building through historical footage, interviews of former staff and patients who recount their memories of the behemoth facility while also exploring the abandoned building as it is today.
Examining one of the most baffling unexplained deaths of recent years. In August 2010, Gareth Williams, a GCHQ employee on a 3-year secondment to MI6, was found dead inside a padlocked duffle bag in the bath of his London flat.
Christopher Kerr is a hospice doctor. All of his patients die. Yet he has cared for thousands of patients who, in the face of death, speak of love and grace. Beyond the physical realities of dying are unseen processes that are remarkably life-affirming. These include dreams that are unlike any regular dream. Described as "more real than real," these end-of-life experiences resurrect past relationships, meaningful events and themes of love and forgiveness; they restore life's meaning and mark the transition from distress to comfort and acceptance.
Bob Ross brought joy to millions as the world's most famous art instructor. But a battle for his business empire cast a shadow over his happy trees.
A unique documentary that follows artist Mark Waller and his family over 20 years. When Mark is diagnosed with a deadly Melanoma the fault lines in the Waller family erupt with surprising results.
They are some of the biggest pyramids on the planet, millions of tons of stone and earth towering above the landscape in a display of massive wealth and power. But it wasn't the pharaohs that built these pyramids. This is the majestic ancient city of Teotihuacán, Mexico, home to one of the most powerful civilizations of its time. But why, around 750 AD, did the advanced civilization that created Teotihuacán suddenly vanish? The identities of its founders, the language they spoke and even the original name of the city are all unknown. DNA analysis of bodies from Teotihuacán shows they weren't Mayan, Incan or Aztec, but an entirely different civilization. It was assumed to have been a peaceful, utopian society, but the latest discoveries are revealing a much darker scenario. In the depths of Teotihuacán's pyramids, experts have uncovered vault after vault filled with curious human remains.
In New Jersey, the Good Grief community focuses on a holistic way of dealing with grief, where children can give in to rage in ‘the volcano room,' and say goodbye to a dying teddy bear patient in ‘the hospital room.' Over the course of a year, we follow the weekly meetings and get close to Kimmy, Nicky, Peter, Nora, Nolan, and Mikayla and their close companion: grief. It is sometimes heartbreaking, but also humorous, to experience the questions about life and death through their open and curious minds. Grief is high and heavy as a mountain, but it helps you understand what has happened, and that death is irreversible.
A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
Film which travels inside the singular world of one of Italy's most famous fashion designers, Valentino Garavani, documenting the colourful and dramatic closing act of his celebrated career and capturing the end of an era in global fashion. However, at the heart of the film is a love story - the unique relationship between Valentino and his business partner and companion of 50 years, Giancarlo Giammetti. Capturing intimate moments in the lives of two of Italy's richest and most famous men, the film lifts the curtain on the final act of a nearly 50-year reign at the top of the glamorous and fiercely competitive world of fashion. (Storyville)
Filmed and edited in intimate vérité style, this movie follows visionary medical practitioners who are working on the cutting edge of life and death and are dedicated to changing our thinking about both.
An experimental portrait of the North American commercial fishing industry through the lens of GoPro cameras placed on a fishing vessel off the coast of New England.
The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood’s most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever. This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man.
A documentary about the closure of General Motors' plant at Flint, Michigan, which resulted in the loss of 30,000 jobs. Details the attempts of filmmaker Michael Moore to get an interview with GM CEO Roger Smith.
A look at the fight choreography being developed for the film.
A documentary film that takes us on a scientific and spiritual journey where we discover that by changing one's perceptions, the human body can heal itself from any disease.
An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.
Based on real near-death experiences, the afterlife is explored with the guidance of New York Times bestselling authors, medical experts, scientists and survivors who shed a light on what awaits us.
Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei journeyed from a World War II internment camp to the helm of the Starship Enterprise, and then to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband, Brad, on a wacky and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
With exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen with Brando himself as your guide, the film will fully explore the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely from Marlon's perspective, entirely in his own voice. No talking heads, no interviewees, just Brando on Brando and life.
