I just found this incredible list of documentaries and movies from the International Documentary Association. Just the ideas and stories behind them are so inspiring and worth exploring deeper and if we support them in any way - by donating, watching and/or spreading the word - even better. Enjoy & share!
The Shift
Director: Rochelle Marmorstein, Co-Directors: Christopher Allingham and Stanley Fisher Producer: Rochelle Marmorstein Website: theshiftmovie.com/index2.html
A massive worldwide phenomenon is in progress offering seeds of great hope for the future. Millions of individuals, organizations and corporations around the world are waking up and embracing a new outlook with an emphasis on their responsibility to contribute positively to our collective future. We are in the middle of the biggest social transformation in human history, The SHIFT. At this critical point, it is imperative we make the masses aware of this global movement quickly. This evolutionary phenomenon is broader and deeper than the most visible SHIFT, the environmental movement. It involves our very understanding of who we are as human beings, and our responsibility to the world and to life itself. THE SHIFT film raises awareness to the story of our roles in an evolutionary shift in our collective consciousness. As it chronicles the faces, the stories and leaders assisting in this social transformation, the film reveals its emergence & meaning.
“A Finished Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour” is a feature-length documentary about Gregg Gour, a 48-year-old HIV positive gay man who is on the “Road Trip” of his life. Gregg has lived with HIV/AIDS for 24 years, and in July of 2004, after struggling with the side-effects for so long, he stopped taking the HIV/AIDS medications that were making him sicker than the disease itself. When Gregg was given six months to live in December of 2005 he gave away all his belongings, bought an RV, and decided to travel cross-country with his dog Cody, saying goodbye to family and friends in his “Goodbye & No Regrets Tour.” Adding to the poignancy of his trip was the fact that Gregg intended to “hasten his death” before he would need to be hospitalized.
“He was a little man who made coffee and played the harmonica - and that was enough!” Bill Sackter's life didn't start out extraordinary. As a child, he was abandoned by his family and spent 44 years locked in an institution. When he emerged, he could have easily been forgotten by society had it not been for unlikely friendships and Bill's incredibly positive embrace of life. His story gained international attention through the Emmy Award winning made-for-tv movie “Bill” starring Mickey Rooney. Now, through actual film & video footage and photographs of Bill himself, the real hero for people with disabilities will come to life in this riveting and uplifting feature-length documentary.
Can these taxi drivers be tamed? Find out in A Taxi Odyssey, the hilarious and insightful story about the infamous, independent, colorful and charming taxi drivers of Athens, Greece as they attend government mandated behavioral seminars to learn better manners. In their cabs, we visit modern Athens on the eve of the 2004 Olympics; experience the struggle to survive in the time of the Euro, feel the growing pains of a country changed forever by globalization, and follow these taxi drivers during charm school in this feature-length documentary which magically captures life in Greece through their eyes and their resilience in the face of change.
“History is biography writ large.” The same is true of health care. Many of the triumphs and advances in health care delivery in the developing world are intimately linked to those personalities making a difference. What are their motivations? This is a unique film essay exploring our responsibility to act in the face of suffering. The film is grounded in the reality of a health center and hospice in Africa, framed by interviews with philosophers, theologians, and leaders in public health.
All God's Children
Director: Scott Solary & Luci Westphal Producer: Scott Solary & Luci Westphal Website: www.goodhardworkingpeople.com
“All God's Children” takes a personal look at the consequences of child abuse within the Protestant missionary community through the eyes of three former missionary families. While the parents were stationed in remote outposts throughout West Africa, the children were required to attend a missionary boarding school in Mamou, Guinea, run by their Church. Cut off from their parents and without any reliable means of communication, the children suffered extensive abuse at the hands of the all-missionary staff. It took the children decades to acknowledge the effects the abuses had on their lives. When they finally dared to speak out, their Church denied all allegations and refused to help. The children and their parents took action.
All's Well and Fair gives a unique perspective on growth and identity, choice and consequence, through portraying three punk rock mothers and their five children. All's Well and Fair questions the stereotypes of “welfare moms” and alternative culture while examining the pitfalls of capitalism and living on the cusp of poverty. Do these women lead lives of integrity outside of the mainstream system or are they just feeding off the system? Did they have a choice? Through the unique approach of filming the women and their children twice over ten years, in 1996 and 2006, All's Well and Fair furthermore considers how much we all change as we grow up and how much we might stay the same.
Anna May Wong ~ Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times, and Legend
Frosted Yellow Willows is the story of Anna May Wong, the first Asian-American film star. She appeared in over 60 films and her very name conjured the exotic scents of the orient and fantasies of faraway lands. Her body slinked and shimmied while her hands hypnotized her eager audiences. She sang and danced on stages throughout Europe and the United States, performed on radio programs, and starred in her own television series. This documentary film recalls her long career, in the context of the anti-Chinese bias of the time, and will introduce modern audiences to an artist who overcame cultural struggles and personal tragedies to pursue her dreams of Hollywood stardom.
BAD BLOOD details the anatomy of a medical disaster that unfolds in the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic when the cause of the disease was still unknown. The hardest hit victims were hemophiliacs, who became the “canaries in the mineshaft” warning the rest of the world that a new disease was in the nation's blood supply. In just seven years, 70% of hemophiliacs in the United States – 10,000 victims – would become infected with HIV. BAD BLOOD recounts the complex chain of events that led to the worst medically induced disaster of the 20th Century and considers the valuable lessons to be learned in the wake of this tragedy.
Birth is a rite of passage through which all human beings pass, but for many mothers the physical realities of labor and birth are confusing and frightening. Why do some women feel deeply empowered by their birth experiences and others feel stripped of their motherhood? Is it safer to give birth in a hospital or at home? Is an elective c-section safe for the mother? The baby? What options are currently available for mothers as to where and how they can labor and give birth? What is the best scientific evidence telling us about the way in which we treat childbirth? The answers might surprise you.
Boys and Men Healing From Child Sexual Abuse
Director: Kathy Barbini Producer: Kathy Barbini & Simon Weinberg
“Boys and Men Healing” is a documentary portraying courageous male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and incest in the process of healing from the devastating effects of this insidious crime. By exploring their intimate lives, our documentary is a powerful witness to the possibilities and hope for victims, those speaking out and ending the cycle of self-abuse, crime, and a life of turmoil and shame. However arduous the healing process, “Boys and Men Healing” illustrates that males can overcome silence and social stigmas related to sexual abuse, while leading fulfilling lives. The documentary is also a bold voice revealing a secret epidemic effecting our families and communities.
A powerful reminder that the Indian Wars are far from over, Broken Promises, follows one woman's fight for justice for 500,000 American Indians. In this modern day, David vs. Goliath story, Elouise Cobell, a Blackfeet Indian, discovers fraud and corruption in Washington, DC and files the largest class action lawsuit ever filed against the federal government. Billions of dollars of royalty payments for some of the poorest people in America are unaccounted for in what many are calling the “Enron of the US government.” Throughout the film we meet Indian beneficiaries who own oil rich land but live in abject poverty. We talk to Senators, government officials, lawyers, and whistle blowers to find out what went wrong and how one woman's lone voice in the wilderness is echoing a truth everyone needs to hear.
Burning Man is the definitive American cultural phenomenon of the turn of the century. Defined by active participation, the festival has grown exponentially over its 20-year history, from a handful of spectators to well over 35,000 participants, each with their own sense of what it all means. In 1993, Harrod Blank perceived something revolutionary in the freedom and expression of Burning Man. He embarked upon an extensive inside look and has been at the festival, 16mm camera in hand, every year since. The film loosely follows Blank, as a participant/voyeur who participates with his art cars, and observes through his lens. The film will offer a cumulative look at the event and its growth, focusing on the array of artistic expression. The relationship between exhibitionism and voyeurism, seen so clearly at Burning Man, will be explored in depth. Mirroring the community spirit of the event, the film will be made up of the work and visions of many other photographers and filmmakers as well.
Children of War
Director: Bryan Single Producer: Bryan Single and Farzad Karimi Website: childrenofwarfilm.com
Set in the East African country of Uganda, CHILDREN OF WAR chronicles the daily struggle towards rehabilitation and reconciliation by a group of recently escaped child soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army, one of the world's longest running and most brutal guerilla militia's. To add perspective to the stories of these children, the film also follows the Chief Priest of the Lord's Resistance Army, as well as recipients of the Army's professsed healings and miracles, and victims of its atrocities. Together, these individuals illuminate the pitfalls, challenges, and triumphs of a war-sick society desperately attempting to transition from violence to peace.
Christa McAuliffe: Reach For The Stars
Director: Renee Sotile & Mary Jo Godges Producer: Renee Sotile & Mary Jo Godges Website: www.TEACHER1986.com
Everyone knows how Christa McAuliffe's story ended. Now see how this pioneering woman lived. For the first time, the heroic teacher's family, friends, colleagues and even NASA speak candidly about the memories, the pain and events surrounding the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster that brought a nation to tears and tore a family apart.
Colorblind or Blinded by Color? The State of Black Equality in America
Racism, as overt as it's been in the past, has been cleverly disguised in modern day America as colorblindness. Colorblind means one is free from racial prejudice or oblivious to one's color. Our feature length documentary examines the evolution of the race caste system in America by proving that segregationist Jim Crow laws, disguised in modern day terms as colorblindness or race neutrality, still hinders the progress of African Americans. With facts bearing out exaggeration, we prove that inequality and systematic racism still exists in the entire social fabric of America to include: education, the legal system, media and entertainment, in health, labor, housing and economics.
Crossed Lines
Director: Jeff Reichert & Seth Resler Producer: Jeff Reichert & Seth Resler Website: www.OneEyedManFilms.com
Since the dawn of our democracy, politicians have manipulated the outcomes of elections through a technique that poses a threat not just to Democrats or Republicans, but to Democracy as a whole. In 2003, fifty-three Democratic Representatives fled Texas to prevent the redrawing of state district lines. Republicans not only dispatched state troopers, but also misled the Department of Homeland Security to enlist their help with the chase. It was the latest battle in a war that has raged between the political parties for decades, in which both have used race and redistricting to manipulate elections. One-Eyed Man Films offers Crossed Lines, the definitive feature-length theatrical documentary on the hidden history of our country's redistricting wars.
Cuba: Beyond the Cars and the Cigars
Director: Carlos Alvarado Producer: Carlos Alvarado & Leonard Shields Website: www.cubabeyondthecars.org
“Cuba: Beyond the Cars and the Cigars” will shine a light on the Ballet and the arts in Cuba. This documentary-film is about the dreams, the dedication and the struggles of becoming a ballerina in Cuba. It will show how passionate these dancers are about their careers, how hard they work and the limited conditions in which they train, all to get a chance to one day dance for the National Ballet of Cuba and travel to the outside world. Photographer Carlos Alvarado has spent six years shooting the Ballet and the arts in Cuba, and aims to show the world a side of Cuba much too rarely seen.
Cult of Personality: The 2006 New Orleans Mayoral Election
The New Orleans mayoral election scheduled less than a year after Hurricane Katrina was a circus filled with unique characters, heated debates and groundbreaking politics. In the weeks before the election the city became a hot bed of political, social and economic debate. The stakes in this election were unbelievably high. The winner has the opportunity to direct the city's future. The lure of that power attracted nearly two-dozen candidates, civil rights leaders and national media attention. Amid the endless chatter a voice representing the history and the possibility of New Orleans was quietly rumbling. The voice of the voter took on new shapes The question is whose voice will be the loudest?
On November 5, 2001, Dr. Andrew Bagby, 28 years young, was brutally murdered by his ex-girlfriend, Dr. Shirley Turner, who fled the U.S. for Canada. She then announced that she was pregnant with Andrew's son, whom she named Zachary. Andrew's parents, Kate and David Bagby, moved to Canada to seek custody of Zachary, and in order to gain access to him they were forced to stomach a civil relationship with Shirley. Despite warnings from the Bagby's and the United States that Shirley should be behind bars while awaiting extradition, Canada allowed her to walk free and have custody of Zachary – and on the morning of August 18, 2003, Shirley drowned herself and the baby. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, a close childhood friend of Andrew Bagby, originally began compiling this film for Zachary, so that the boy could learn about his father when he was of age. It has now been transformed into a document of an unbelievable tragedy, and of Kate and David Bagby's heroic crusade to change the system so that this will never happen again.
Dislecksia: The Movie
Director: Harvey Hubbell V Producer: Andrea Haas Hubbell, Eric Gardner, Jeremy Brecher, Yvonne Reelick Website: www.capturedtimeproductions.com
About one American in seven has some degree of dyslexia. It's a condition that makes it hard to learn to read the same way other people do. With some special techniques, taught or self-invented, most dyslexics can learn to function normally. A lot of dyslexics are brilliant, talented, and successful. In the comic documentary Dislecksia: The Movie, dyslexic director Harvey Hubbell V with assistance from dyslexic writer Jeremy Brecher and several dyslexic crew members - will present the latest scientific knowledge about dyslexia and the experiences of dyslexics. Viewers will come to know dyslexics and those who teach them and study them not just as statistics or talking heads, but as people. And they'll know a lot about dyslexia: its causes, its effects, and what can be done about it.
“Divertissement” is the story of a remarkable group of everyday people who came to the study of classical ballet late in life. Ranging in age from 40 - 61, these non-professional dancers trained for, then took part in, an adult only ballet intensive. Each had their own challenges to overcome. Each has a unique story of how they came to dance late in life, and how having the courage to do so changed their lives. For one year we followed a handful of dancers from all walks of life, from all across the country as they prepared for, then took part in, this grueling, week-long intensive. We continued to follow them afterward, witnessing the changes in their lives. By confronting social, emotional and physical obstacles, these remarkable individuals learned that it is never too late to pursue a dream.
A custodian. A housewife. A pediatrician. A grandmother. Seemingly ordinary individuals. Yet these individuals have a story to tell. It is the story of suffering and death. It is the story of refugees. It is the story of terrified villagers running for cover. Yet, at the same time, it is a story of strength, courage and hope. It is the story of Sudan. Over the last 20 years, millions have died in Sudan. A civil war devastated the South and currently a genocide is occurring in the western region of Darfur. Facing Sudan is the story of ordinary individuals, moved into action by the events in Sudan. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things, even in Sudan.
Fate of the Lhapa
Director: Sarah C. Sifers Producer: Sarah C. Sifers
Fate of the Lhapa is a feature-length documentary about the last three Tibetan shamans living in a refugee camp in Nepal. With no other descendants to carry on their healing practices and a younger generation attending schools and modernizing, these “sucking doctors” are practicing an endangered tradition. Each lhapa requested that their story be filmed. Their fear was that the next heir might not appear until after their own deaths. Subsequently, with no lhapa alive to mentor the heirs, the documentary would be used to transmit their healing knowledge. Their tales of nomadic childhoods, shamanic callings and apprenticeships, cosmologies of disease and treatments, and of their flight from Tibet during the Chinese occupation in the late 1950s will be juxtaposed with images of present-day life in the camp, current healing practices and shared concerns of the future and the fate of their tradition. This is a touching portrayal of life in exile in a refugee camp in Nepal.
Feat
Director: Deborah and Bradley Carr Producer: Deborah and Bradley Carr Website: www.featmovie.com
FEAT chronicles one man's coast-to-coast quest to run 63 marathons in 63 consecutive days, while pushing a jogging stroller. Endurance runner Timothy Borland seeks to raise awareness and research funds for kids battling a rare terminal disease whose own feet lack the strength to run. Ataxia-Telangiectasia or A-T combines the complexities of cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and immune deficiencies. Most kids are in wheelchairs by age ten and few live beyond their teens. We'll reveal the mystery and progression of the disease through personal portraits of A-T families across the country. While the prognosis is grim, one man's inspirational journey revives hope for a cure or life prolonging treatment.
First Generation
Director: Jaye J. Fenderson Producer: Jaye J. Fenderson and Adam Fenderson Website: www.firstgenerationfilm.com
FIRST GENERATION is a feature-length documentary chronicling the journey of four low-income students who are first in their family attempting to attend college. While education is the most likely means of rising into another socio-economic class, our system makes it extremely difficult to break out of the cycle of poverty. We'll interview our nation's top educational experts to hear their perspective on the problems of access, affordability and guidance facing these first generation students. We'll also take a look at the history of public education and how things have changed in recent years. The film will be a thought-provoking look into what has become a major rite of passage for young people in America: getting into college.
Five Sisters (working title) paints a portrait of five sisters, in their 70s and 80s. During their annual get-together shortly after the first of the sisters' husbands has passed away, the youngest sister is on a quest to learn from her older siblings about transition and aging. Moving and enlightening, Five Sisters is full of joy and grief and tackles a subject that is essential to all of us - how to live fully and gracefully and yet be realistic about getting older and eventually dying.
Flashback
Director: Wendy Anson Producer: Wendy Anson
“Flashback” dramatically unspools the science behind the long-standing controversy over “recovered memory” of child sexual abuse. Exclusive footage brings the social history of the hard-fought conflict to life as world-class, renowned experts come together at key flashpoints over the years to passionately and eloquently spar over whether or not you can as Elizabeth Loftus challenges, “be raped every night for a 10 year period and then totally repress it until it comes out in therapy 20 years later”. Dramatic, compelling evidence from emerging brain science and the moving, engrossing stories from victims of child sexual abuse and lost memory both punctuate the story of the evolving evidence and bring it to a logically convincing conclusion.
Got the facts on Milk?
Director: Shira Lane Producer: Shira Lane, Executive Producer: Thomas Sells Website: www.unleashedproductions.com
Got the facts on Milk? a comical yet jolting feature documentary that questions the health benefits of milk and examines the dairy industry's advertised claims on milk. A hybrid Bible belt style road trip unwinds across America to uncover the compelling behind the scenes story of milk and ultimately meet with the USDA in Washington DC to get the real deal FACTS on milk. Peeking into milking farms, labeling fraud, hormones, obesity, diabetes, cancer, dairy funded experiments, food assistant programs and more. Also includes footage from pop culture, advertising, TV news, interviews and a live milk debate. “Got Milk”, the most dominant marketing campaign of our time, uses little known facts about milk and celebrity endorsements to sell the beverage to consumers, as a move to reverse a 30-year decline in milk consumption. With milk allergies on the rise and 75% of the world's population unable to consume milk, who is at greater risk? Is it the milk drinker or the non-milk drinker.
In 1989, Jim Klages - former cornet soloist of “The President's Own” United States Marine Band - was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, which prompted his early retirement. After years of declining health and unsuccessful medical treatments, Jim tried Gonstead chiropractic treatment, which has reduced symptoms since then. However, Jim was not the only one to suffer from MS. His wife and daughter were also deeply affected. Healed explores the toll that chronic illness takes on its victims and caregivers: medically, emotionally, and in Jim's case, musically. In sum, how healed are Jim and his family from this ordeal?
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