Between 1958 and 1962, China experienced tragedy on an epic scale when the “Great Leap Forward” – an economic campaign conceived by Mao Zedong led to a catastrophic famine resulting in the death of up to fifty-five million people.  more »

Every year thousands of migrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala leave their families and homes, staking everything they own on a one-way trip to the promised land of the United States, and encountering unimaginable hurdles along the way.  more »

An intimate portrait of twenty-three-year-old John Cadigan, the filmmaker’s brother who became seriously mentally ill while he as an art student at college.  more »

Takes us to a hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where circumcised women are given medical care.  more »

Smoking has become a polarizing issue in America, with manufacturers health professionals, legislators, insurance companies and consumers embroiled in controversy. But a voice seldom heard is one central to the debate, that of the small American tobacco farmer.  more »

This fanciful film takes us to the Mexican village of Patzcuaro where, on October 31 people return home from everywhere to celebrate and communicate with their ancestors and deceased loved ones.  more »

This remarkable film follows seven people in Holland who have registered a request for euthanasia when they judge the time to be right to end their lives by dying with dignity and without pain.  more »

This documentary examines one family burdened with a history of early onset Alzheimer's and captures their battle with the debilitating disease.The documentary also explores new treatments and preventive measures which may offer hope for future Alzheimer's patients.  more »

Informative and absorbing, this film illuminates the basis of deforestation and the associated land use problem in the Brazilian Amazon. It includes one of the last interviews with Chico Mendes who was murderd for his outspoken opposition to land clearance.  more »

This documentary examines the physiology of speech and shows how the larynx, vocal chords, wind pipe, tongue and lips produce the sounds of speech. Useful for speech and hearing programs.  more »

This film is about two people faced with the daunting task of learning to speak again. As the wife of one of them says, "...a person without language is a non-person."  more »

A short history of the Panama canal from its beginnings until the recent U.S.withdrawal and the aftermath of that event.  more »

Brain Gain transports viewers to an inner city high school in Saskatchewan where disciplinary and learning problems are rampant among students before one teacher instills motivation and discipline by adding an exercise program.  more »

This beautifully photographed science film makes visible the abstract concepts of what is predictable and what is random in nature. It also explores the state called chaos that lies at the borderline between these two extremes.  more »

The film looks at the Zapatista National Liberation Army¹s struggle to attain justice for the Maya Indians of Chiapas.  more »

When a massive earthquake struck China's Sichuan province in May, 2008, China's government presented a new face to the world, allowing increased media coverage. But as the months passed, this newly transparent China melted away into one of secrecy.  more »

This memorable film asks who should decide on aggressive medical intervention for children. The parents or society?  more »

High school kids who are gay and lesbian assert their identity with pride, but some are faced with parental rejection.  more »

An extraordinary investigation of the long drawn out guerrilla war in the jungles of Burma.  more »

Documents just how much fathers can matter to their daughters emotional development.It looks at the special bond between fathers and daughters, especially as it relates to a woman’s career choice and her choice of men.  more »

This CBC portrait of a sixteen-year-old Down syndrome boy , whose achievements include his role in a television drama about his disability, has inspired professionals and parents who work with the mentally handicapped.  more »

Is drug abuse a health problem or a criminal justice problem? This program shows how the drug problem is being addressed in four major cities: New York, Toronto, Amsterdam and Liverpool.  more »

This is a clear, concise and well-presented overview of the physical psychological and social aspects of depression.  more »

This film examines the legal, moral and ethical issues of euthanasia. Filmed mostly in Holland, the only country to permit euthanasia at the patrient's request.  more »

This documentary on facial kinetics begins with a brief history of the field and then reports on current research.  more »

This CBC program is an engaging study of how we chose our mates and for what reason. Dr. John Money discusses the "love map", or blueprint of the ideal relationship we carry within us.  more »

A wholesome young couple bringing up children in a farming community discovers they are both HIV positive. This inspiring film shows the ground swell of support they got from their neighbors.  more »

After ruling Cuba for almost fifty years, Castro has stepped down. From his childhood in rural Cuba through his fight in the Sierra Maestra to winning the revolution and transforming the country, this film presents a unique account of his life and times, taken largely from private letters, correspondence, speeches and interviews.  more »

This film from the Nature of Things series shows that the challenge of feeding billions of more people will effect soil erosion, salinization, and chemical pollution. Two-part series.  more »

Told through manuscripts, letters, and dramatic reconstructions, this is the story of the incredible exodus of thousands of African Americans to Canada in the 1850s.  more »

A provocative film based on the work of economist Jeremy Rifkin who foresees a calamity of global proportions as our workforce is marginalized by new technology.  more »

With DNA profiling and new laws, police are better able to solve crimes, even crimes committed years earlier. This timely program traces the development of DNA profiling in forensic science and shows how effective it is in identifying criminals.  more »

The Chinese Communist revolution promised women equality after thousands of years of subservience to men. This film takes us to remote villages and urban factories to show how women are still oppressed.  more »

This Nature of Things documentary takes a sobering look at how the explosive growth in the world population affects our planet's resources.  more »

When a sexual predator is released from jail, his accusers often worry that they may now be at risk, or that he will return to their community, placing others in danger. In the situation presented in this compelling film, it is the convicted criminal who is being stalked.  more »

In this shockingly frank program we hear adult women tell of the childhood experiences that so traumatized their later years. Included is the testimony of a formerly abusive father who underwent psychiatric treatment. (  more »

This fascinating program investigates the historical, cultural and modern scientific approach to confirming the existence of our pre-cognitive abilities. Scientific researchers are pushing the science of parapsychology forward and are proving that a correlation exists between physical science and parapsychology.  more »

The film examines why the powerful Japanese economy went into a slump and what the future will hold.  more »

Dr. Norman Geschwind of the Harvard Medical School introduces this fascinating film on hemispheric brain research.  more »

This sensitive film portrays the emotional difficulties men have who have grown up without a father.  more »

As a baby, Leslie was blind, mentally disabled, and had cerebral palsy. At sixteen he could not stand alone or speak. However, when his adoptive mother May bought a piano, her prayers for her son were answered.  more »

Neuroscientists such as Donald Stuss are now learning about the once-misunderstood frontal lobes of the brain from studying brain-injury patients in depth.  more »

This Nature of Things documentary explores many aspects of memory, such as long and short term memory, hypnosis and amnesia.  more »

With Drs. Berry Brazelton, Lewis Lipsett and Louis Sanders, this film documents the extraordinary capabilities of the newborn baby.  more »

A humorous and inspiring look at women who have been abandoned by their husbands for younger women.  more »

To find out how society treats older people, a young reporter, Pat Moore, disguised herself as a helpless 85-year-old woman. Here is a provocative film to help people understand the feelings and problems of being old.  more »

Peter and Jill de Villiers of Harvard University, researchers in language acquisition, provide a clear and informative description of the child’s linguistic development.  more »

Pain and its relief are of primary importance in medicine. This documentary explores methods of pain control.  more »

This documentary explores the effects of hard core pornography in our society. Does it indeed contribute to violence and de-sensitization?  more »

This CBC film delves into the world of forensic science and looks at some of the latest techniques in high-tech sleuthing.  more »

The AIDS crisis in Africa is an epidemic of staggering proportions. Thirty-six million people are infected with the HIV virus worldwide, with over 25 million of them in Africa, and a staggering number of Africans -- 17 million -- have died. This film is about the inspiring work of Canadian Stephen Lewis, the United Nations Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa as he searches for solutions to the pandemic ravaging the continent.  more »

China's economic revolution is illustrated by the change undergone in Shenzen, a farming village that has become an industrial center. The lure of free enterprise is so strong that millions of Chinese want to work there and guards have been posted to control the flow of migrants.  more »

This report, with David Suzuki,decries how the "war on drugs" has criminalized even the palliative use of marijuana.  more »

Following an accident during his circumcision, John was brought to an eminent doctor at Johns Hopkins, who recommended further surgery so that he could be brought up as a girl. The "girl" experienced emotional havoc until she reclaimed her gender, renamed Joan and brought up as a girl. This unique film tells his tragic story and includes interviews with professionals involved with psychosexual development.  more »

More than forty years ago three civil rights workers were savagely slain in Neshoba County. That heinous crime was a watershed in the struggle for equality for African-Americans. Return to Mississippi retells the story of the murders and the trial that ensued ­ events upon which the feature film Mississippi Burning was based.  more »

This documentary chronicles the infamous looting of the Baghdad Museum after the fall of Baghdad and reminds viewers of the seven-thousand-year-old history of the land with its rich buried culture waiting to be retrieved by archaeologists.  more »

An overwhelming majority of the men responsible for hijacking planes on 9/11 were Saudis, yet historically the Saudis were our allies. What this film shows with indelible clarity is the deep rift within Saudi society between the extremely wealthy and corrupt royal family who are ostensibly our allies (and business partners) and the majority of people who live in poverty and resent the excesses of the monarchy.  more »

A compassionate look at a wide variety of people who suffer from phobias and anxiety disorders, and the different forms of therapy used to help them.  more »

This comprehensive film is a cultural guide through the maze of menopause for both sexes.  more »

Some medical experts claim that a shocking 98% of hysterectomies are unnecessary. Yet, half the women in North America will have had their ovaries removed by the time they are 65. A "don't miss" film for women's studies.  more »

A searing report on the attempt in the former Soviet Union to develop "weapons grade" smallpox, which is still a threat.  more »

This film takes an amusing look how the English language developed differently in two neighboring countries, the U.S. and Canada. It shows how our speech patterns reflect our history.  more »

This film looks at the dramatic change in the kinds of toys available to children. Several noted psychologists, including Dr. Jerome Kagan, offer their views on the effect of toys on children’s behavior.  more »

There's a quiet calamity going on in libraries and archives all around the world. Books and documents are crumbling because the paper on which they are printed is turning to dust. This documentary shows us preservation centers where conservationists treat endangered books.  more »

Using 3D animation, time lapse, infrared, and macro photography, this documentary takes us on a fascinating exploration of the invisible teeming life that surrounds us.  more »

Recently declassified tapes from the Kennedy White House reveal how close we were to nuclear war with the Soviet Union in 1962. Kennedy's advisers warned him against "appeasement", but the President's restraint saved the country from disaster.  more »

This is an exploration of the incredible musical instrument, the pipe organ, which was invented 2,000 years ago by Greek engineers. Crafted of wood, metal and air, it is a lasting achievement of human technology, capable of filling monumental spaces with a staggering variety of sounds.  more »

Voluntary Simplicity is a movement founded in resistance to the overwhelming consumerism in our society. Its advocates reject material comforts for more spiritually rewarding, basic pleasures.  more »

Using hidden cameras, this film captures the interaction of three children with serious behavioral problems, and their parents. It shows how a whole family can be in turmoil if there is no intervention.  more »

Many young people in their twenties face an uncertain future because of poor job prospects and emotional stress. This is a sobering look at this generation which will ultimately become the leaders of their country.  more »

This moving documentary has generated widespread public debate over the bioethical issue of doctor-assisted suicide, illegal in North America.  more »

After the Indian tribes were vanquished, the governments of the U.S. and Canada destroyed their cultures as well. For generations, youngsters were separated from their Indian parents and adopted by both well-meaning and exploitive adoptive families. This film reveals some of these complicated stories  more »

This heartwarming film explores why people of a variety of ages, cultures, and gender orientation, still want to marry in an era when it is socially acceptable for couples to live together, forgoing wedding vows.  more »

From the "Nature of Things" series, this film investigates how babies become bilingual, how school children fare in language immersion classes, and how adults cope with learning foreign languages.  more »

This program examines anger, from its primordial roots in self-defense to its expression in modern violence. Part of a four-part series, Passion & Fury: The Emotional Brain.  more »

Fear is the most primal and powerful emotion, from its evolutionary origins in the involuntary fight-or-flight survival instinct, to its essential function as a learning tool today. Part of a four-part series, Passion & Fury: The Emotional Brain.  more »

Drawing a distinction between the lasting state of happiness and the pursuit of instant pleasure, the program explores the evolutionary role of happiness, and asks what happens in the brain, and possibly in the genes, that makes some people happy and others sad. Part of the four-part series, Passion & Fury: The Emotional Brain.  more »

This program examines the complexity of the emotion we call love, from the burning desire that can strike suddenly, to the giddy euphoria of falling in love. Part of the four-part series, Passion & Fury: The Emotional Brain.  more »

This four-part series looks at the primal emotions that are generated in the brain and examines how nature and nurture combine to make humans feel and react the way they do. Featured emotions include Anger, Fear, Love, and Happiness.  more »

This multi-award-winning film tells the story of a disguised Jewish orphan who, ironically, became a poster boy for the Nazis  more »

During World War II, Nazi forces attempted—and largely failed—to impose their Final Solution across Denmark, as more than 95 percent of the country's Jewish population survived the war. The Danish Solution details how so many Jews managed to escape the Nazi blueprint for their extermination.  more »

In this documentary film, captured at the Santa Fe Art Institute, viewers hear from a diverse array of artists, including sculptors, painters, weavers, musicians, and writers. They share their thoughts and feelings as they journey on a chartless path to creating a masterpiece.  more »

Who decides how life ends? The patient? The family? The physician? The health care system? Last Rights is a compelling, deeply personal exploration of four families and their terminally-ill loved ones as they begin to contemplate death.  more »

This classic film that shows the love/hate relationship women have with doing the laundry and pays homage to the commonality of women's experience.  more »

Bird Flu Wars The international scientific community has been monitoring the bird flu virus since 1997 when seven people died in Hong Kong. This films outlines some of the proposals suggested at the WHO to prevent a pandemic.  more »

Frank Lloyd Wright was considered the most innovative architect in Chicago when he traveled to Mason City, Iowa, in 1908 to design a unique business block—a bank and adjoining hotel facing a park. This unique film traces the life, death, and possible rebirth of a Midwest downtown through the prism of the decaying hotel.  more »

The filmmaker-anthropologist lived among a Nunamiut Eskimo family of four generations, members of the only tribe of inland Eskimos in the world.  more »

This groundbreaking documentary explores the explosive issue of gays in the military. It examines the case of Perry Watkins, the first openly gay man to challenge the ban against gays in the military.  more »

In 1996, two college students stumbled upon an anthropological find: a human skull that turned out to be one of the oldest skeletons ever found in North America. This film explores the firestorm of controversy which erupted when the Native American tribe in the area demanded that the bones be repatriated to the tribe for reburial by the Federal government.  more »

Religion, archaeology and understated drama intertwine in the story of the discovery of ancient papyrus manuscripts in southern Egypt in 1945.  more »

Water Flowing Together offers an intimate portrait of a remarkable dancer, Jock Soto, who retired from the New York City Ballet at age forty, after a twenty-four-year career. Soto’s journey as an openly gay man of Navajo Indian and Puerto Rican descent provides a rare glimpse into the life of a dancer and the disparate worlds which shaped this important artist.  more »

Narrated by Rita Moreno, this film documents startling testimonies of women who were mistreated and sexually abused while seeking care in Peruvian public health facilities.  more »

The slaves of the Caribbean contributed not only to the wealth of their masters, but also to the cultural heritage of the British Empire. As this film shows, the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, and the British Museum were all funded by money made from the slave trade.  more »

The "Black Triangle" where Poland, The Czech Republic, and Germany meet has pollution problems of major proportions  more »

A probing look at the situation in Cuba after the collapse of the Soviet bloc, including an interview with Castro.  more »

Through internet interviews a young Algerian college student explores with other women the condition of women in the developed and less developed world. In the process she challenges some prevalent cliches about Muslim women.  more »

Directed by a Brazilian filmmaker, the film gives a socio/political framework to the devastation of the Amazon.  more »

An urgent environmental problem of our times is the disposal of human waste. The relationship between drinking water and waste effluents, disease and contaminants, is explained clearly in this challenging program.  more »

In this powerful film about Jewish ritual circumcision of infant sons, the possible aftereffects are revealed. It was directed by a concerned Jewish parent.  more »

This groundbreaking program shatters the Victorian notion of childhood innocence, revealing the sexual abuse of children committed by other children.  more »

This portrait of autistic teenagers at a state school in England captures their frustration at not being 'normal'.  more »

A Catholic priest and a Protestant nun talk about the influence of Buddhism in their lives.  more »

This film focuses on a group from a Jewish congregation in New Jersey who journey to eastern Europe in search of their Jewish past. The impact is more searing than they anticipated.  more »

In a Phoenix, Arizona penitentiary, Sheriff Joe Arpalo has initiated an extremely controversial deterrent for juvenile delinquency, called 'Smart Tents' .It involves incarcerating children who have broken the law in a real prison for two days to show them what they could become as adults if dont clean up their act.  more »

This film examines the dramatic surge of interest among American Jews in the spiritual teachings of Buddhism. Jews, who make up 2% of the population, account for some 30% of non-Asian American Buddhists.  more »

The first film to reveal the horrific impact of the McCarthy era on the Chinese-American community.  more »

This documentary gives us a rare opportunity to meet young artists and intellectuals in Beijing and hear how they steer a course between survival and artistic expression.  more »

A real-life picture of an ordinary Chinese family devoured by a disease caused by official negligence and then being persecuted by the government in their struggle for help  more »

Agent Yellow is a powerful indictment of the U.S. government’s systematic prejudice against Chinese-American scientists. The film focuses on the mistreatment of Chinese scientists who contributed significantly to American military research.  more »

The Korean film industry, which once struggled to attract domestic audiences, has been successfully exporting its movies and expanding its influence throughout Asia, Europe and North America in the past decade. Korean cinema is enjoying a revival of interest internationally because of the broader cultural phenomenon of hallyu ("Korean Wave"). But contemporary Korean cinema's roots run deep and hallyu is only the latest chapter in a rich history.  more »

Filmmaker Christine Choy (Who Killed Vincent Chin) goes on a Kafkaesque journey to reclaim her family house.  more »

Three classically-trained Chinese opera artists keep alive their revered art form in New York by performing operas in their time off from work.  more »

When a young Japanese exchange student was shot to death on Halloween by a suburban homeowner, the world was horrified by another tragic event resulting from racism and the U.S. gun culture.  more »

In a rural village of southwestern China a bevy of young girls yearn for an education. Their parents are poor and mostly illiterate; going to school costs money the families can ill afford.  more »

In the 1940s, an Asian American couple rose from the Chinatown nightclub circuit to the Ed Sullivan Show, watched by millions of Americans. This film details the couple's story and their struggles in an era of racism.  more »

This Academy Award-nominated film makes a powerful statement about racism in working-class America. It details the stark facts of the case of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American man who was brutally murdered in a fight with a Detroit auto worker, and the ensuing trial and rally for justice.  more »

The producers of Who Killed Vincent Chin? turn their cameras on their own families to make this inventive documentary on ethnic stereotypes. Clips from Hollywood movies reveal nearly a century of disparaging images.  more »

A monument to the suffering of the Chinese at the hands of the Japanese during World War II. Includes the newly discovered film footage of the massacre shot by John McGee, an American missionary who was living in Nanjing.  more »

"Culture clubs" sprang up in the townships of South Africa, providing an outlet for the energy of the theater, dance and music that was created there.  more »

Profiles of women who have championed human rights both in their own country and internationally. They mobilize to improve conditions for workers in foreign -owned factories in Mexico.  more »

Violent interactive video games make up a 20 billion dollar industry. These games may have an addictive quality, especially to teenage boys, whose lives often become dominated by them. What effect does brutality in virtual reality have on the minds and psyches of the young?  more »

This beautiful film portrays the life and artistry of renowned guitar builder James D'Aquisto. D'Aquisto exemplifies what it means to be a great craftsman.  more »

This documentary exposes issues of prejudice, racism and class as they affect the multicultural community of South Central.  more »

This stunningly photographed film focuses on Sebim Odjo, of the Ivory Coast, who draws upon Moslem, Christian and traditional African beliefs in his healing ceremonies.  more »

An intrepid woman who reported on events in China during the turbulent 30's and gained the friendship of Mao's inner circle.  more »

River People documents a timely issue -- the clash between an ancient culture and modern society. It is the story of David Sohappy, a Native American spiritual leader who became a symbol of resistance for indigenous people of the Northwest U.S. and beyond.  more »

This film made by a woman who suffered from her mother's suicide provides support and understanding for the many survivors of suicide.  more »

In 1992, Deng Xiaoping's slogan "It is glorious to get rich" unleashed one of the biggest revolutions in thousand-year-old China. He overthrew the classless society and the equal division of the means of production and from then on, China stuck to a socialism with "Chinese characteristics." Which meant that many Chinese families have built successful companies, embracing all the lessons of capitalism.  more »

The discovery of sugar cane in the New World became the basis for a flourishing rum industry in the Caribbean. This film provides a lively social and cultural history of the industry, which for years depended on slave labor  more »

A portrait of a high functioning autistic young woman will sensitize viewers to the disorder.  more »

This film explores the culture of Samoan fa'afafines, boys who are raised as girls, fulfilling a traditional role in Samoan culture.  more »

The story of the St. Louis Journalism Review, an independent publication that acted like a watch dog of mainstream media.  more »

Noah Chomsky and other media critics evaluate the" objectivity " of the news we see on television and read in the newspapers. For example, one European critic notes that television news in America is part of show business and its content reflects this.  more »

The rolling hills of Idaho, known for picturesque farms and small villages, would not seem to be a comfortable spot for gay couples to have settled. But in Kendrick, population 369, the gays and the townspeople have successfully negotiated the delicate balance and become good neighbors. The gays are ‘out” but not too far “out “to antagonize their neighbors.  more »

No religion is growing faster in Western prisons than Islam. In the U.S. alone there are more than 200,00 converts. They are mainly black converts searching for an alternative to Christianity.  more »

This is an intimate portrait of a single mother in Burkina Faso who supports her six children through her street-side rice business. The film takes us through Awa's arduous 16 hour workday, interspliced with interviews of her children who are grateful for her hard work in their behalf. Here is a glimpse of some of the economic realities faced by women today in urban Africa.  more »

This is the affirming story of how Candomble, a Brazilian religion of African origin, has become a source of strength and power for a group of AIDS sufferers in Brazil's cities.  more »