When the Beat Drops (2018)

In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Larry Flynt was seeking distributors for Hustler Magazine. What was expected to be a brief sideline led to their becoming fully immersed in the LGBT community as they took over a local store, Circus of Books. A decade later, they had become the biggest distributors of gay porn in the US. The film focuses on the double life they led, trying to maintain the balance of being parents at a time when LGBT culture was not yet accepted. Their many challenges included facing jail time for a federal obscenity prosecution and enabling their store to be a place of refuge at the height of the AIDS crisis. Circus of Books offers a rare glimpse into an untold chapter of queer history, and it is told through the lens of the owners' own daughter, Rachel Mason, an artist, filmmaker and musician.

A young man in 1981 South Africa must complete his brutal and racist two years of compulsory military service while desperately maintaining the secrecy of his homosexuality.

Victoria Cruz investigates the mysterious 1992 death of black gay rights activist and Stonewall veteran, Marsha P. Johnson. Using archival interviews with Johnson, and new interviews with Johnson's family, friends and fellow activists.

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.

In Uganda, a new bill threatens to make homosexuality punishable by death. David Kato - Uganda's first openly gay man - and his fellow activists work against the clock to defeat the legislation while combating vicious persecution in their daily lives. But no one, not even the filmmakers, is prepared for the brutal murder that shakes the movement to its core and sends shock waves around the world.

In this neon drenched behind the scenes documentary the Copenhagen Cowboy show creator Nicolas Winding Refn and his team detail how they brought the stoic heroine and dark fairy tale version of Copenhagen's netherworld to life.

It's the 10th of May 1836, Charles Darwin leans on the beaten wooden gunwale of The Beagle. He's yet to start writing his "Origin of the Species", but he's already forming his theories about evolution. Locations like the Galapagos islands had a huge impact on him, but as he looks upon the jungled coastline of Madagascar, he has no idea what he's missing out on. Darwin never did stop on Madagascar. Of all the visits he SHOULD have made, it's this one. The oldest, and in terms of evolution, the weirdest island on the face of Earth. The Beagle passed so close to its shoreline that it rose and fell on the swell rising on its reefs. From the cover of the dark jungle, freakish creatures could have watched as the fabled ship disappeared onto the Indian Ocean horizon. Would Charles Darwin have adjusted his conclusions on adaptation if he'd wandered these forests? He may have if he'd met this list of creatures.—Earth Touch

The greenhouse gas emissions of the industrial societies will most likely destroy the ancient culture of the Marshall Islands. This is not only a local event, but also a universal warning to all people on earth. Using the fate of the Marshall Islands as an example, the filmmakers were able to demonstrate the impact of global warming and rising sea levels. It was particularly important for Viviana and Mark Uriona not to go to the Marshall Islands as filmmakers from the first world and make a film about those affected. They followed a participatory approach. They got to know the people on site, developed the film project together with them and therefore enabled a kind of empowerment. This unique approach to mutual exploration has resulted in an exciting, vivid and highly charged documentary that captures the most important topic of our time.

Follow the tragic story of the young woman who dreamed of a military career, however after telling her mother that she was being harassed at the Fort Hood military base, Vanessa Guillen was killed by a partner.

Swept up in the counterculture revolution of the late-1960s, a wealthy businessman starts a commune in pursuit of a utopian society. But his dreams are thwarted when he and his chosen family are faced with a series of tragedies that threaten their existence.

In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years became the stuff of legend.

Strange Creatures of the Arctic highlights five animal winter specialists who brave the harshest winters with amazing evolutionary adaptations. These inhabitants of the Arctic and Subarctic deal with extreme temperatures, predators, and a changing environment through a variety of unique tools. Explore their environments and the evolutionary pressures that have caused them to develop these adaptations.

Documentary about free-diver Goran Colak and his boundary-pushing feats of survival without oxygen.

Jean grew up in a community under the influence of a guru named Chris. Years after escaping its grip, he receives a mysterious package. Chris has just died and Jean's sister who has lived all this time reclusive by his side sends him recordings. In these mysterious sound and visual archives, Jean rediscovers voices and sounds emerging from the past. On the tapes, interviews between members of his family and Chris. The memories start to come back : Jean decides to follow in the footsteps of the missing guru to try and decipher his family history.

After the death of his friend Amy Winehouse from an overdose, Russel Brand looks back on his own years of addiction and wants to show that not all addicts turn out the same way.

This feature-length documentary explores the life of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen as seen through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, Hallelujah.

Access inside KSI's life as he prepares for the biggest year of his career so far.

NEAT dives into the rich and storied world of bourbon. Exploring its colorful history, charismatic characters, and uniquely American process, the film is a celebration of the artistry that makes America’s only native spirit.

Documentary on Marian Anderson an African American woman, an international singing star in the twentieth century, who succeeded over racial prejudice and became an inspiration for America's civil rights movement.

The story of the "silent servant" of the musical world - the Bow. Starting from the workshops of five master bowmakers in the Pacific Northwest, journey to the fascinating origin of the bow In France, and to Brazil, home to the imperiled tree from which bows are made. A film for all people who love music. A film about hope. How a handful of craftsmen is preserving this centuries-old trade in service to world-class musicians. An immersion into beauty itself. A film that will change the way you hear music.

The Kimberley in West Australia is home to various Aboriginal communities, where today most is in transition causing limbo and distress. Some have given up; others choose to fight both past and present demons to bring a change for the better to their people. In 'Dreams from the Outback' best friends Gabriel and Peter try to keep the ancient cultural traditions alive, with almost no support from the rest of their community. Felicity struggles to keep her family together after years of drinking and neglect and teenagers Billy and Jordan are brothers who meet for the first time. The boys spend the days getting to know each other, exploring the outback and their culture.

The incredible story of how The Beatles emerged from post-war Liverpool and turned music on its head with their changes from skiffle to rock 'n' roll and the creation of the Mersey Beat sound.

The Story of Looking sees Mark Cousins prepare for surgery to restore his vision. Cousins explores the role that visual experience plays in our individual and collective lives. In a deeply personal meditation on the power of looking in his own life, he guides us through the riches of the visible world, a kaleidoscope of extraordinary imagery across cultures and eras. At a time when we are more assailed by images than ever, he reveals how looking makes us who we are, lying at the heart of human experience, empathy, discovery and thought. He shares the pleasure and pain of seeing the world, in all its complexity and contradiction, with eyes wide open.

99% of those who carried out the murders in the Holocaust were never prosecuted. Why not?

Masha Drokova joins Nashi, a Russian ultra nationalist youth group, at the age of 16 and rapidly ascends its ranks, famously garnering a medal and the opportunity to kiss Vladimir Putin. The film details her growing disillusion with the group's leaders and her falling in with the anti-Putin opposition, especially a journalist and blogger named Oleg Kashin, who gets brutally attacked.

Lena Mae Perry's electrifying voice may surprise you, but the power of her gospel will never leave you in this lively celebration of a North Carolina gospel crew, their steadfast faith, and the songs that get them through.

An exploration of the world-changing activism and potential of the largest youth generation in history.

Follows a group of 4,000 teenagers as they run a government complete with elections, legislators, lobbyists, and political party bosses.

"The Nicest Man in Stand-Up" is back with a comedy special filmed at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, AZ.

Follows the life of pop culture icon Pamela Anderson, including never-before-seen archival footage and personal journals.

Indigenous people of Canada share heartbreaking stories that reveal injustices inflicted by the country's child welfare system.

Featuring stunning footage from seven winters in the Arctic, People of a Feather takes you through time into the world of the Inuit on the Belcher Islands in Canada's Hudson Bay. Connecting past, present and future is a unique relationship with the eider duck. Eider down, the warmest feather in the world, allows both Inuit and bird to survive harsh Arctic winters. Traditional life is juxtaposed with modern challenges as both Inuit and eiders confront changing sea ice and ocean currents disrupted by the massive hydroelectric dams powering New York and eastern North America. Inspired by Inuit ingenuity and the technology of a simple feather, the film is a call to action to implement energy solutions that work with nature.—First Run Features

Patricio Guzmán left Chile more than 40 years ago when the military dictatorship took over the government. However, he never stopped thinking about a country, a culture and a place on the map.

MAKING THE GRADE invites us into the world of the piano lesson. Every year teachers and students throughout Ireland prepare for graded musical exams. These exams can be pleasing for some but daunting for others. Each student has their own particular goal but reaching Grade Eight is considered a pinnacle. This endearing and uplifting documentary explores the bond between piano teachers and their pupils as they struggle through these grades. This is a story of the trans-formative power of music and the pride and happiness it provides both the students and teachers. It may inspire us all to keep making the grade.—Nell Roddy

In a quest to discover new insights into Fryderyk Chopin, the man and his musical genius, Grabsky traveled the globe over four years recording performances by world-class musicians and interviewing respected historians and musicologists.