The Thread (2015)

Renowned academic and author Noam Chomsky elucidates 10 principles of concentration of wealth and power that have led to unprecedented inequality and the hollowing out of the American middle class.

One woman's quest to turn personal tragedy into global awareness.

All odds were stacked against the pit-bulls rescued from quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting ring. Forced to fight for their lives, they were considered so dangerous many wanted them euthanized. But no one could have predicted how the dogs would change the lives of those who risked everything to save them.

From ticket-fixing in our police departments to test-score scandals in our schools, from our elected leaders' extra-marital affairs to financial schemes undermining our economy, dishonesty seems to be a ubiquitous part of the news. But it's not just true in the headlines - we ALL cheat.

'Ghost Exchange' probes the volatile state of U.S. capital markets and their critical impact on America's economic future. The film explores the acceleration of the evolution of U.S. stock exchanges, and uncovers the risks resulting from this wholesale adoption. Wall Street has transformed from the world of human touch trading, to computer algorithm trading- where stocks are owned for mere microseconds. The thought-provoking documentary also examines how recent financial headlines are a direct result of automated systems running unchecked. The capital market system that many considered as the world's best, may have been inadvertently lost by the pursuit of speed and efficiencies that we still do not truly understand. Wall Street has become a 'ghost exchange'.

A documentary that exposes what corporations and governments learn about people through Internet and cell phone usage, and what can be done about it ... if anything.

A documentary about juveniles who are serving life in prison without parole and their victims' families.

A documentary that tackles the ideological conflicts surrounding the December 21 election in the country, to the push for sovereignty and subsequent parliamentary declaration of independence and the aftermath.

A stylish, in depth look at the renaissance in psychedelic drug research in light of current scientific, medical and cultural knowledge.

America is facing a food crisis driven by profitability and a lack of consumer education. While the window to transforming our heartland continues to shrink, passionate individuals have emerged who provide hope that the health of our nation might still remain within our grasp. Sustainable weaves together expert analysis of America's food and farming system with a powerful narrative of one extraordinary farmer who is determined to create a sustainable future for his community. Amidst the cornfields of Illinois lives the hero of the film - Marty Travis, a seventh-generation farmer who watched his land and community fall victim to the pressures of big agribusiness. Determined to create a proud legacy for his son, Marty transforms his profitless wasteland and pioneers the sustainable food movement in Chicago. The film unearths the future of agriculture - a marriage of age-old tradition and groundbreaking science. Industry pioneers from around the nation reveal the secrets behind human health and environmental protection. Woven into these stories are the foremost experts of the food industry - connecting the dots between agriculture, the environment, economics and public health. Their stories are a reminder of America's troubled past and the devastating consequences that await the country if left unchanged. Sustainable empowers audiences and gives them hope for the future - that through this food revolution, we can all save humanity.

A journalist afflicted with the underresearched debilitating condition known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome embarks on a quest to find out why the CDC and medical system have neglected his disease and left millions sidelined from life.

An open-ended exploration of the energies and rituals of various workplaces. From one worker to another and one machine to the next; hands, faces, breaks, toil: what kind of absurdist, abstract dialogue can be started between human beings and their need to work? What is the value of the time we spend multiplying and repeating the same motions that ultimately lead to a rest - a state of repose whose quality defies definition.

A documentary that follows undercover activists trying to stave off a man-made mass extinction.

Behind the walls of a forbidden city, the only thing more dangerous than its secrets is the truth.

AMERICAN COUP tells the story of the first coup ever carried out by the CIA - Iran, 1953. Explores the blowback from this seminal event, as well as the coup's lingering effects on the present US-Iranian relationship. Includes a segment on the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis and its relation to the 1953 coup. Concludes with a section on the recent Iranian presidential election. Contains interviews with noted Middle East experts and historians and prominent public figures such as Stephen Kinzer (author, All The Shah's Men), Prof. Ervand Abrahamian, Trita Parsi, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Ted Koppel and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. With Iranian cinematography by James Longley.

Filmed in a Massachusetts prison, DOGS ON THE INSIDE follows the birth of a relationship between abandoned rescue dogs and prison inmates as they work together toward a second chance at a better life. Giving a voice to a forgotten dog and a forgotten man, the film is a life-affirming testament to the power of second chances.—Anonymous

The modern day Four Horsemen continue to ride roughshod over the people who can least afford it. Crises are converging when governments, religion and mainstream economists have stalled. 23 international thinkers come together and break their silence about how the world really works and why there is still hope in re-establishing a moral and just society. Four Horsemen is free from mainstream media propaganda, doesn't bash bankers, criticize politicians or get involved in conspiracy theories. The film ignites the debate about how we usher a new economic paradigm into the world which, globally, would dramatically improve the quality of life for billions.—Anonymous

A documentary on the UK's ambivalent alcohol culture.

The film traces the origins of our beliefs about healthful and unhealthful food. Experts from all over the world talk about the problems as well as short and long term solutions. Among the many experts in the film are authors like Gary Taubes, Mark Sisson, and Melanie Warner. Medical doctors such as David Perlmutter M.D., David L. Katz, and Timothy Noakes share insights that are certain to challenge the status quo. Carb-Loaded: A Culture Dying to Eat is a chronicle of the things it's writer and director Lathe Poland learned after he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. He sought to find out why he got sick, because he didn't fit the classic picture of an adult onset diabetes sufferer. He quickly learned that much of what he knew about healthy eating was based on myths or fifty year old science. In the film he searches out why Americas modern food culture is killing us. The upside? There is a lot that can be done!

THE INVISIBLE PATIENTS tells the story of Jessica Macleod, a nurse practitioner, and four homebound patients she cares for in Evansville, Indiana.

SlingShot focuses on noted Segway inventor Dean Kamen and his work to solve the world's water crisis. An eccentric genius with a provocative world view, Kamen is an inspiration for future scientists. His inventions help people in need and ease suffering. SlingShot is about an indomitable man who just might have enough passion and innovative thinking to create a solution for a crisis affecting billions. Kamen lives in a house with secret passages, a closet full of denim and a helicopter garage. His latest passion: the SlingShot water purification system created to obliterate half of human illness on the planet. Kamen reminisces about improving home dialysis technology and choosing to forgo parenthood while lamenting he has only one lifetime for inventing. SlingShot is both an inspirational character study and a look at Kamen's vapor compression distiller from its earliest development through recent trials in rural Ghana and beyond.

In a country famous for its success in international beauty pageants, three young women are fighting to participate in their nation's most celebrated cultural institution. But obtaining a place in the Miss Venezuela contest is no easy task. Women must endure grueling diets, consent to intensive plastic surgery, and find the resources necessary to transform themselves from ordinary citizens into famous and illustrious Misses. To Be a Miss is a character-driven documentary that takes the viewer through the inner workings of Venezuela's renowned beauty factory, revealing the risks and rewards associated with this multi-billion dollar industry while exposing what nationalism, personal ambition, and the influence of mass media has meant for women in the country.

In this meticulously researched documentary, filmmaker Mark Hall traces the origins of sushi in Japan to its status today as a cuisine that has spawned a lucrative worldwide industry.

Two Somali soccer stars chase impossible dreams in this human rights story born out of civil war and terror.

This documentary film chronicles the process of renaming Ft. James Island, which was a holding cell for slaves during the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, to Kunta Kinteh Island- after one of The Gambia's most well-renowned sons. It shares the points of view of both the government and the Kinteh family, who still preserve their history as residents of neighboring Juffureh Island. This film embodies the rich spirit of a people that can be passed on throughout the diaspora for decades to come.

On April 20th, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded off the Gulf of Mexico taking the lives of 11 workers and sank as millions of barrels of oil poured into the ocean creating one of the worst environmental disasters in history. The fate of the Gulf is still largely unknown. Dirty Energy tells the personal story of those directly affected by the spill and are now struggling to rebuild their lives amidst the economic devastation and long-term health risks. Still today, the people of the Gulf are fighting for their livelihoods and are desperately struggling to preserve their endangered way of life. This is their story.

The Making of Deflategate.

Winner of the Sakharov Prize 2014, Doctor Mukwege is internationally known as the man who mends thousands of women who have been raped during the 20 years of conflicts in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the poorest countries on the planet, despite its extremely rich sub-soil. His endless struggle to put an end to these atrocities and denounce the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators is not welcome. At the end of 2012, the Doctor was the target of another attempt on his life, which he miraculously survived. Threatened with death, this doctor with an exceptional destiny now lives cloistered in his hospital in Bukavu under the protection of the United Nation peacekeepers. But he is no longer alone in his struggle. The women to whom he has restored physical integrity and dignity, stand beside him, true activists for peace, hungry for justice.

This Little Land of Mines is an independent feature documentary about the resilience of the Lao people as they live among and work to clear 80 million unexploded bombs from when the United States secretly bombed Laos more heavily than any country on earth.

The story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.

A global contest reading of the Quran by young Muslim children that takes place in Cairo, Egypt annually during Ramadan. A coming of age story about Muslim kids in modern times.

A documentary on the history and present-day reality of big-business tax avoidance, which has seen multinationals depriving governments of trillions of dollars in tax revenues by harboring profits in offshore havens.

Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World explores the promise of open source investigation, taking viewers inside the exclusive world of the "citizen investigative journalist" collective known as Bellingcat.

'The Ragged Edge' is a documentary about survival on and off the racetrack; about riding the edge between victory and oblivion. Its focus is Erik Buell Racing (EBR), the only American sport bike company. EBR is now racing for its survival. This documentary combines the power, excitement, and tension of motorcycle racing from the point of view of teams in the pits with the equally powerful stories of a company trying to make it through a financial maelstrom and the personal survival stories of working families in America's heartland.—Anonymous

The 75-year history of the Hahnenkamm Race in Kitzbühel, Austria, one of the most famous and dangerous World Cup races in alpine skiing, is illustrated.

In 2012, one in three babies in America were delivered by c-section, despite the World Health Organization's recommendation that Cesarean births remain below 15 percent. How can these disturbing trend be reversed? In recent years, the idea of a collaborative care practice where doctors and midwives manage women's care together has begun to gain traction in the United States. The Mama Sherpas is a feature-length documentary film about women receiving their maternity care through midwife-doctor teams. We follow nurse midwives, the doctors they work with, and their patients to provide an investigative lens into how midwives work within the hospital system.