A unique look at the culture, filmed by a Maasai warrior who studied in America.  more »

Since the former Portuguese colony Macao was ceded to China in 1999, it has become China's "Empire of Gambling." It derives all its income from tourism, thanks to its sleek new casinos and shopping malls. Thousands are employed by the casinos, with 80% of the population indirectly making their living from them  more »

This film details the enormous contribution to culture, politics, industry, and even human psychology made by Johann Gutenberg's fifteenth century achievement—the printing press. Writer and actor Stephen Fry energetically explores the story of the machine and of the man who created it.  more »

This film shows the roots and beliefs of Afrospirit religions as practiced by the privileged rich as well as the illiterate poor, shot primarily in Rio de Janeiro.  more »

With a sense of humor and curiosity, the filmmaker explores the shocking connections between the mad cow crisis, the farm crisis, and the global food crisis. Globalization emerges as a recurring theme, connecting the food we eat to the environmental, cultural, economic and health crises we are currently facing. Ironically, India is home to a burgeoning meat export industry that threatens to destroy an agricultural economy once centered around the feeding of the sacred cow, which was the livelihood 65% ot the population.  more »

Reminiscent of Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club," this real life film focuses on the widening chasm between a Chinese mother, a first generation immigrant, and her daughter, eager to assimilate  more »

This film takes a wry look at the cultural confrontation of East and West, as reflected in Hindu attitudes towards the slaughter in England of cows sick with Mad Cow disease.  more »

Documents the dependencies and abuses that existed during apartheid between the white mistress of the house and her black servant.  more »

Humorist Roy Blount, Jr takes an offbeat journey down the Mississippi River, the literal and figurative Main Stream of America. Blount's unpredictable odyssey celebrates the full range of American diversity and eccentricity -- from a wedding ceremony at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, to a rodeo at America's toughest prison in Angola, Louisiana.  more »

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

This documentary examines the current wave of welfare reform in America. It looks at the effect of new legislation on people’s lives, searching for initiatives that have proven effective.  more »

This charming documentary depicts the social space of a kosher Middle Eastern grocery store in the traditionally Sephardic section of Brooklyn, with customers speaking Hebrew, English, Syrian and Egyptian Arabic as well as other languages.  more »

In the dangerous, male-oriented world of Kandahar, home to drug smugglers and terrorists, a policewoman, Malalai Kakar is blazing the way for women. Unhindered by her heavy burka, this mother of six chases wife-beaters, murderers and thieves across Afghanistan.  more »

Timbuktu has been the center of the salt trade since ancient times. Nomads and miners still carry on the trade despite civil war and poverty  more »

This film focuses on an African woman who presides over the cloth market in Lome, Togo. She is a powerful woman treated with deference who owns a prized possesion, a chauffeured Mercedes Benz.  more »

This film details the interplay between a young ambitious European and an equally ambitious African market woman as they jockey for advantage in marketing cloth, which will make them rich.  more »

Three women from three African countries, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, tell of their struggle to feed their families. Their stories give a human context to Africa's relentless slide into perpetual famine.  more »

In 1934, a Belgian visionary named Paul Otlet conceived of a library with no physical books whose contents could be viewed on a screen. His obsession was to classify, encode and unify books and documents published all over the world. His classification system is regarded today as similar to hypertext, which enables us to navigate the Internet.  more »

Faith in Pentecostal Christianity, a blend of deep-rooted African traditions and imported values of Christianity, helped South African blacks survive appalling hardships and helped stabilize the new South Africa.  more »

Mandy's husband, Josh, was in a motorcycle accident which left him in a seven day coma with death imminent. Mandy, desperate to preserve her tie to her beloved husband, asked that his sperm be harvested so that she could have his child.  more »

A dramatized case study of manic depression  more »

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 »

This irrepressible film follows the fortunes of two attractive thirty-year old Beijing fashion designers who are out to make their mark on the international fashion industry.  more »

The spiritual side of Japanese society is often overlooked. This fascinating report focuses on Genshin Fujinami, a corporate employee who became a monk and embarked on a search for meaning in his life. He completed a grueling running test, known as the "Kaihogyo," which is not simply running, but rather a pilgrimage around the sacred mountain, worshipping Buddha.  more »

A documentary portrait of one of the most influential women of our time. Using never-before-seen archival footage and interviews, it weaves together the story of the scientist, adventurer, and international celebrity.  more »

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

Why did a shy student with no criminal record commit the worst gun rampage in US history? Psychologists, professors and witnesses try to understand the causes behind the tragedy.  more »

This documentary, filmed in Ho Chi Minh City, chronicles the search of an awkward 38-year-od Singaporean for a young, beautiful Vietnamese bride, with the help of a marriage broker.  more »

Focusing on the bioethical decisions involved in terminal care, this program asks whether a patient who is dying has a right to say, "I'd rather die now."  more »

Filmmaker Kate Feiffer was six years old when her father told her she was Jewish. Since she celebrated Christmas and never attended synagogue, this information came as a surprise. In Matzo & Mistletoe, Feiffer interviews a fascinating cast of characters, and uses archival footage, illustration, and clips from television shows and movies to ponder the paradox of American secular Judaism.  more »

This film provides a memorable portrait of a couple living in a tiny oasis outside Chinguetti, surviving despite the forces of nature that buffet them  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 carefully researched film celebrates the life and legacy of Peter Cooper, the remarkable 19th century inventor, industrialist and philanthropist. When business success brought wealth, Cooper used it to foster social justice.  more »

This biographical portrait of Gayatri Devi, the outspoken daughter and granddaughter of the Maharajas, spans modern India's history from British rule, through the struggle for independence to today's modern state. It is enriched with archival footage and home movies showing scenes of colonial splendor from a vanished way of life.  more »

The Peruvian town of Paradise was once a tropical Utopia.The villagers survived by growing coca. Then the Shining Path came in to control the drug trade. The town became embattled in the drug war. This firsthand account from deep inside the Peruvian jungle reveals the complex problems of stopping coca cultivation.  more »

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

This disturbing documentary looks at findings that point to pollutants as the cause of endocrinal changes in the male reproductive system.  more »

This is a sensitive portrait of men who had each lost a dearly loved wife at an early age, through illness or sudden act of fate. An impressive film on male psychology as well as grief studies.  more »

This film explores the lives of four child molesters. Three are in treatment at the nation's largest community-based facility in Seattle; we witness dramatic group therapy sessions and learn how devastating this crime is to the child and the family.  more »

Why did the U.S. and Britain ignore the devastating reports about Nazi atrocities during World War II? Anti-Semitism was common at that time both in the U.S. and in Europe and among high officials of the State Department.  more »

At age 36, Gary decided to begin the extraordinary process of changing his sex, which the filmmaker documents over a three-year period. Metamorphosis raises profound questions about gender stereotypes as Gary's fantasies collide with the realities of living as a woman.  more »

In 1962, Michael Harrington’s book The Other America was a groundbreaking study of poverty that was probably the driving force behind the "war on poverty." Archival footage and fascinating interviews explore why such poverty still exists despite a booming economy.  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 »

The life and work of the man who pioneered in the field of medical hypnosis and therapy.  more »

This delightful short is for film lovers everywhere. Jose Zagati is a trash gatherer on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. He has with created a fully functioning film theater from recycled objects. His modest garage is a gathering place for the children of the village who experience the joy of cinema (and popcorn) free of charge.  more »

Aggravated by the influx of undocumented immigrants and fed up with the lack of government involvement, the self-appointed Minutemen take up watch along the border between the United States and Mexico.  more »

Jewish feminists are creating new rituals to celebrate Jewish holidays like Passover, demonstrating how traditions can be updated to make women full participants.  more »

How does a young African American woman cope with the ideals of feminine beauty imposed by white society? Fifteen year-old Jantre finally comes to accept her "unruly" hair and feels liberated.  more »

With gentle humor, this short fiction film captures the plight of a young man caught between the traditional ways of his immigrant Indian parents and the freer lifestyle of his American peers.  more »

Louise Bennett-Covelly, a Jamaican icon, is an ebullient performer, folklorist, playwright and poet. She has spent her life furthering Jamaican language, raising the patois dialect to an art level.  more »

Mississippi, known for its rich literary and musical heritage, was the home of William Faulkner, Eudora Welty and Tennessee Williams. In this film, we see how the spirit of place inspires creativity among a new generation of artists.  more »

Each day, thousands of women leave underdeveloped countries to seek work as domestics in more prosperous places. This film shows the human and sometimes tragic side of their stories.  more »

From 1942 to 1944, nearly twenty-five thousand Jewish men, women, and children were deported from Belgium to Auschwitz. Fewer than fifteen hundred survived. This film raises and systematically answers the question: How did just a handful of Nazis, with the help—voluntary or unwitting—of the Belgian authorities, bring about their destruction?  more »

This unique film shows the art, craft, dance and history of the moko jumbie, which means "dancing spirit", as they appear at street festivals in New York City.  more »

When aging mothers move in with their grown daughters, the role reversals trigger social conflict, emotional adjustments, and unexpected difficulties.  more »

Goat herders, who typify a traditional community, are successfully adapting to a global economy as they are freed from government restraints.  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 »

Western researchers are turning to Eastern spiritual practitioners for illumination on the workings of the mind. They want to learn how meditation affects attention and consciousness, and how it controls the emotions.  more »

The More We Get Together gives insights into working with very old, disoriented, nursing home residents  more »

This documentary captures the color, romance and spiritual atmosphere of Marrakech's famous square, which once led visitors such as Edith Wharton and Winston Churchill to marvel at its magic.  more »

This inspiring film chronicles Capt. Bruce Yamashita¹s fight against racial discrimination in the Marine Corps. A third-generation American of Japanese ancestry, he sought to qualify as an officer in the Marine Corps. After a horrendous nine week training program where he endured racial slurs and humiliations, he was denied the commission. His five-year battle brought national attention to the Marine Corps¹ policy against minorities.  more »

Takes a fresh look at one of the most formative relationships of a woman's life by profiling four mother/daughter relationships.  more »

Filmed in Calcutta at a hospice founded by Mother Teresa, we learn how her legacy of devotion to the destitute inspires the volunteers who now care for them  more »

This provocative film raises complex bioethical issues arising from fertility advances such as "in vitro" fertilization and the implantation of fertilized eggs.  more »

This film gives us an intimate look at a resilient and spirited woman whose skill as a weaver keeps her family afloat through difficult economic times in Mexico. Through her eyes one can see how the forces of global economy affect her people.  more »

What drives a woman like Susan Smith to drown her two young sons? The Southern conservatives think it's a breakdown in "family values."  more »

This two-film series shows descendants of slaves exploring their African ancestry through DNA research and looks at how discoveries about their own history affects the participants.  more »

Descendants of slaves explore their African ancestry through DNA research and examine the emotional connections and that result.  more »

Two years after filming A Genetic Journey, this film picks up where the first award-winning film left off. It looks at how discoveries about their own genetic history have affected participants. Shot in the UK, USA, Africa, and Jamaica, this moving film continues three soul-searching journeys that raise fundamental questions about defining heritage.  more »

Astonishingly intimate, this festival film is a record of four years in the life of a charming and precocious teenager growing into womanhood in a township outside Cape Town. She faces not only life in a “colored” community beset by gangsterism and drug abuse, but also the toughness and anger within her own family.  more »

This documentary explores how several Japanese women struggled to reconcile their traditional upbringing with their desire to create unique lives.  more »

This is a unique chronicle of the Ipini, whose nomadic, hunter/gatherer society has gone through the profound change to a money economy over a ten-year period.  more »

This is an intimate look at the Yiu Mien, South Asian refugees who originally settled in the Pacific Northwest. They had to leave Laos because of their involvement with the CIA. Their adjustment to modern American life has its problems.  more »

This film from the National Film Board of Canada's series "The Elderly at Risk" deals with the difficult issue of community intervention when a reclusive elder neglects himself to the point of offending his neighbors.  more »

Mr. Wong is a wealthy business man who returned to China from Canada. He has made it his mission to rescue historic buildings of old Shanghai that would otherwise fall prey to the wrecking ball during an unprecedented building boom.  more »

In Texan communities along the Rio Grande, there is a vibrant mixture of Spanish Catholicism and Indian mysticism. Various saints and religious figures appear to the believers in the shape of everyday objects.  more »

When a family member has been tragically murdered, the survivors not only face the shock of losing a loved one, but face the cruel fact that the death was caused by another human being. Five individuals describe their feelings of betrayal, rage and alienation in this film.  more »

This film makes a strong case for beginning music education at a very early age because of its precursor to language skills. We hear from Prof. Howard Gardner of Harvard University.  more »

Alain Desjacques, a well-known ethnomusicologist, takes us on a pilgrimage to find and record the best traditional musicians on the rugged, remote steppes of Mongolia.  more »

In today's Arab-Muslim culture, the most taboo subject for women is sex. In this film, eight enlightened Muslim women living in France speak out frankly about their sexual education and experiences in relation to Islamic tradition.  more »

How do you find a mate when your religion doesn't permit you to date? Muslims in Love shares the stories of devout American Muslim young people pursuing love and marriage.  more »

My American Girls is a vivid portrayal of a year in the life of the Ortiz family—hard working Dominican immigrants who live frugally in Brooklyn and dream of retiring one day in their native country. But their American-born daughters have a different idea.  more »

"My Father the Luo" is about a young woman with a similar multicultural heritage to President Barack Obama. Roma Ndolo’s mother is European and her father from Kenya. Like Obama, she journeys to Kenya to find her “African side.” Each of their fathers was from the Luo tribe. There is historic footage of Obama’s initial journey in 2006. Roma Ndolo is an example of a person successfully integrating her multicultural identity.  more »

An engaging film on a memorable rite of passage, as shared by mothers and daughters.  more »

A spirited group of people of varied ages and backgrounds recall the first time they made love. Some are funny, some sad – all are interesting!  more »

Twenty-year-old Jennifer Wittberger, an attractive young woman from an affluent family, destroyed herself with her heroin addiction. Her story is told through the eyes of her best friend who was helpless to save Jenny.  more »

This affectionate, nostalgic film recalls the Jewish family resorts that flourished in the 1930's and '40's. Built in response to restrictive policies that excluded Jews from established resorts, Monteith Inn enabled a Jewish clientele to experience the fun of a vacation in the country. This is the real story behind the Hollywood film "Dirty Dancing".  more »

This unique documentary interweaves the story of the filmmaker—who grew up in Persia, today known as Iran—with the history of the country from the 1930s onward to the Islamic Revolution.  more »

A lively portrait of the mixed marriage beween a scholarly Sikh and his Australian-born wife, which unfolds against the complex social, political and religious events which tore the family apart.  more »

The sexual abuse of children committed by women, most often mothers, is a rarely documented subject. In this film, six victims of maternal incest powerfully convey their nightmarish child hoods.  more »

This is a funny, sometimes irreverent statement about growing up Asian-American in a white society. Suzanne's mother unwittingly fostered a "Chinese self-hatred" which her daughter had to overcome.  more »

In Iran, where men dominate the fishing trade, a fisherwoman struggles to support herself and her 100-year-old mother.  more »

Birger Bergmann, a man living with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease), is committed to helping other patients with the neurological disease consider their options and make the best possible medical and personal choices.  more »

This film explores the strange and relatively unknown world of sleep—a state in which we spend approximately one third of our lives. It shows how the discovery of REM in the early 1950s brought about a much broader understanding of the mechanism of sleep.  more »