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Your search by 'Documentary' identified 68 films
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Netherlands, 2006, 89 min.
A poetic visual essay about man's uneasy relationship with fire, water, earth and air, as seen through the experiences of firefighters in Siberia, king crab fisherman on the Bering Sea in Alaska, German mineworkers and Russian cosmonauts preparing a launch to the international space station. …
83 min.
From the sublime to the bizarre, these short documentaries capture four stories of life lived at its most passionate. …
USA, 2007, 87 min.
A joyous, tongue-in-cheek documentary about the first National Aisling Competition:, a competitive shopping contest complete with costumes, customized carts, dancing and $10,000 first prize. Anyone who’s ever fought the drowsy effects of grocery stores by fantasizing about popping a wheelie with the …
USA, 2007, 95 min.
A wealthy Johannesburg family abandons their comfortable existence and spends their life savings to establish an orphanage in a village where 50% of the population is HIV-positive. This powerful documentary celebrates how children who are surrounded by death and tragedy can be instilled with strengt …
USA, 2007, 96 min.
Arctic Tale is an epic adventure that explores the beautiful icebound world of the Great North. The film follows a walrus and polar bear on their journey from birth to parenthood in a region that is in danger of melting away. Narrated by Queen Latifah from the producers that brought you …
Mexico, 2007, 90 min.
Along the Mexico-U.S. border, hundreds of murdered and disappeared women lie unavenged, the brutal crimes committed against them marked “unsolved”. This haunting documentary, narrated from a woman’s point of view, points toward a disturbing corruption that reaches the highest levels of the Mexican g …
USA, 2005, 118 min.
Filmmakers Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller have fashioned a lovely valentine to the 20th-century dance troupe, the Ballets Russes. Splendid archival footage and interviews with many of the company’s stars illustrate the fascinating story of a group of Russian refugees who became not one but two rival …
96 min.
Strength and truth can be overlooked if not given the proper attention. In this package we highlight these hidden virtues, found in some unexpected places. …
A broad portrait of modern America as seen through the eyes of the working-class heroes who transport everything we eat, drink, own and use. Doug Pray (Scratch, Hype!) delves into the daily lives and personal struggles of a variety of long-haul truck drivers as he hitches rides across 45 stat …
USA, 2007, 77 min.
Exploring the relationships between legendary curator Sam Wagstaff, famed photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and punk rock’s “poet laureate” Patti Smith, Black White + Gray reveals the fascinating story of the influential figures who helped form the epicenter of New York’s grand collision of ar …
This ain’t just roller skating: these are tough sexy women in short skirts and great outfits competing in the fast paced and thrilling sport of roller derby. Based in Seattle, the Rat City Rollergirls talk about the sport, their team and their supercharged drive to be number one. …
Israel, 2007, 91 min.
Oded is just 12 years old when his father reveals to him he's a Mossad spy. While anxiously awaiting his return from a top secret mission in Cairo, Oded journeys into the shadowy corners of his father's real and covert identities. …
USA, 2007, 81 min.
This powerful documentary explores the roles of social causes and government agencies in the rise of the Mara Salvatrucha (also known as MS-13) in the US and Central America. Estimated to have more than 100,000 members, it has the distinction of being the largest and most violent street gang in the …
Dominican Republic, 2006, 31 min.
The fascinating, triumphant and music-filled story of a chocolate collective formed by struggling farmers in the Dominican Republic. …
USA, 2007, 92 min.
The stranger-than-fiction tale of a twisted romance between Burt Rugach and Linda Riss, from their magical first date in the glamorous nightlife of late-’50s New York through a succession of twists and turns involving deceit, unbelievable obsession. violence and forgiveness. Crazy Love is, by …
United Kingdom, 2006, 94 min.
In 1962, during the height of the Cold War, Private James Dresnok deserted the US Army and left the country. More than four decades later, he remains the last American defector to reside in the enigma that is North Korea. This documentary takes a provocative look at an outsider’s experience of findi …
USA, 2007, 89 min.
While working as a neutral observer for the African Union, a former Marine Captain became the one to record the horrific genocide happening in the western Darfur region of Sudan. This powerful documentary follows his attempts to bring photographic evidence of the ongoing crisis to the attention of t …
USA, 2007, 80 min.
Two teams of 11- to 18-year-olds train to compete for the world double-dutch championship at the Apollo Theater in New York City. The determination of the kids—not to mention the breathtaking spectacle of their jumping, spinning and flipping through mazes of twirling ropes makes for an exciting …
USA, 2006, 88 min.
The amazing true story behind the famous peppermint soap and the "Moral ABCs" printed on every label. A 3rd generation master soapmaker, Dr. Bronner left Germany as the Nazis were coming to power, then escaped a Chicago insane asylum on his way to California to create his organic soap empire. …
USA, 2006, 105 min.
Against a distinctly American backdrop of denial, deception and delay, a group of global-warming messengers fervently searches for the right language and strategy to propel a reluctant citizenry and its elected officials into action. An entertaining, behind-the-scenes documentary about …
On the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, this documentary chronicles the dramatic events that followed man’s first entry into space: from the sense of wonder at the suddenly broadened scope of humankind, to escalating tensions and fears as a frantic race to develop rockets and bombs ensued. …
USA, 2007, 100 min.
For centuries, the Bible has been used to sanction discrimination, repression, and injustice. This provocative film explores the way religious conservatives have systematically misled the public in regards to biblical references of homosexuality and how this campaign continues to stigmatize the gay …
USA, 2007, 38 min.
Freeheld follows the desperate battle of Lieutenant Laurel Hester, a dying New Jersey police officer who fights to transfer her pension to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree. …
Denmark, 2006, 88 min.
This provocative documentary gives an unprecedented close-up look at the chimères (ghosts), gangs of gun-toting, doped up, nothing-to-lose thugs in Haiti’s ultra-violent slum Cité Soleil, designated by the United Nations as the most dangerous place in the world. A tough, shocking film, but al …
USA, 2006, 90 min.
Each summer, Portland’s Rock 'n' Roll Camp For Girls provides a place for girls ages 8–18 to sweat, scream and wail. This cranked-to-eleven documentary follows the dedicated counselors (including Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein), as they guide the girls through selecting their bands, learning …
USA, 2006, 111 min.
Part concert film and part sociological study, this documentary travels between concert venues and cultures to give a rare insider look at Gypsy music. With Macedonian diva Esma Redzepova, traditional Indian troupe Maharaja, Romanian groups Fanfare Ciocarlia and Taraf de Haïdouks and the …
Germany, 2006, 93 min.
A life-affirming documentary about Edward Espe Brown, whose mixture of culinary arts and Zen philosophy manages to nourish both body and soul—and Brown wouldn’t think of prioritizing one above the other. A tasteful reminder that eating well is an essential part of living well. …
USA, 2006, 101 min.
This stirring documentary illuminates the history and legacy of legendary Nazi-hunter and humanist Simon Wiesenthal. After losing many family members in the concentration camps, he dedicated more than six decades of his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals, ultimately contributing to the prosecu …
United Kingdom, 2007, 100 min.
Between 1968 and 1972, 12 men walked upon the surface of the moon. All of the surviving crew from the Apollo missions tell their stories. With visually stunning NASA footage as counterpoint to this riveting firsthand testimony, the Sundance Audience award winner vividly conveys the daring and the d …
Spain, 2007, 95 min.
Giving voice to those silenced by international indifference, Javier Bardem teams with Doctors Without Borders to produce this powerful collection of short films. Five acclaimed directors shed light on heroic yet unsung humanitarian efforts to combat international crises, which …
United Kingdom, 2007, 123 min.
Filmmaker Julien Temple crafts an engrossing and all-encompassing portrait of the legendary Clash frontman and antiestablishment icon, Joe Strummer. With an astonishing assemblage of performance footage and the recollections of friends, collaborators and fans, the film celebrates both the music and …
Hungary, 2007, 88 min.
Two American sisters return to their homeland of Hungary hoping to learn of their beloved father’s acts during the revolution of 1956. But the truth proves more slippery than they could ever have imagined. Was their father a freedom fighter, hooligan or thief? The reality is far from black and white …
USA, 2007, 79 min.
A real-life Rocky story set in the world of classic arcade gaming, this quarter-fueled documentary follows the unlikely rivalry of a Redmond schoolteacher determined to beat the world record on the classic game Donkey Kong and the Florida hot sauce mogul whose high score has stood since 1982. …
USA, 2006, 96 min.
AJ Schnack (Gigantic) directs this moving meditation on the life, music and times of late Seattle rocker Kurt Cobain. About A Son weaves music, photographs, and evocative new footage into candid, previously unheard audiotaped conversations with Cobain, recorded in the years between his …
USA, 2006, 152 min.
A brave look at the issue of abortion, this 15-years-in-the-making documentary tackles the conflict with shades of grey and offers no easy right or wrong. Utilizing a wide range of interviews with fundamentalists, pro-choicers and politicians, Lake of Fire focuses on the physical and psycholo …
USA, 2005, 57 min.
Weaving together natural history and biography, A Life Among Whales is a fascinating exploration into the unique relationship between humans and whales as told by renowned biologist and activist Dr. Roger Payne. Preceded by the short documentary Sharks: Stewards of the Reef. …
Shortly after her overnight success with former Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic in the band Sweet 75, Venezuelan-born Seattle street performer Yva Las Vegass was back busking for change and struggling to survive. This new documentary reveals the unusual story and extraordinary life behind this a …
Austria, 2006, 80 min.
This award-winning experimental documentary is a mesmerizing remix of the acclaimed 1997 film Megacities, combining its stunning original footage with an excellent new soundtrack by Sofa Surfers. A fiercely imaginative audio-visual journey that finds fragments of hidden urban life in New York …
USA, 2007, 70 min.
Seattle filmmaker John Helde directs this personal documentary uncovering his father’s experience growing up an American boy in pre-World War II China and discovering a community of other Americans with similar childhoods. Photographs, home movies, interviews and a journey to China reveal an unusual …
Canada, 2006, 90 min.
On a tour of Asia, still photographer Edward Burtynsky takes large-format photographs of industrial landscapes: factory workers lined up to infinity, massive recycling dumps, expansive strip mines. A portrait of a luscious world of destruction that neither celebrates nor condemns but simply explores …
USA, 2007, 65 min.
A complex narrative of the lives of the first generation of women to come of age in Post-Soviet Russia, viewed through the prism of a beauty pageant staged by female inmates of a Siberian prison camp. Far from exploitation fare, this is a non-clinical character exploration carried out …
USA, 2007, 82 min.
It’s like Dungeons & Dragons, but for real! In Seattle, a group of gamers dress up and participate in a live action role-playing game where they battle monsters and search for treasure. Made with great affection for both the players and the subculture, this documentary looks at the eccentric …
USA, 2006, 78 min.
Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, American Graffiti, The English Patient: the list of movies helped along to greatness by film editor and sound designer Walter Murch is daunting. This entertaining and edifying, as well as long overdue, documentary manages to capture both the man and his artistic …
USA, 2007, 91 min.
A chilling chronicle of the Japanese army’s 1937 invasion and obliteration of Nanking, China, told through the letters and diaries of a handful of Western expatriates who stayed to establish a makeshift safety zone in the ravaged city, as well as testimonies of both Nanking survivors and Japanese …
Spain, 2006, 86 min.
Two musicians journey to remote regions of the world, using the txalaparta, a uniquely collaborative traditional Basque instrument, as a medium for cross-cultural exchange. Traveling to the north of India, the Mongolian Steppes, the Sahara desert and Lapland, the film captures an exciting, organic …
USA, 2007, 106 min.
The theft of the 2004 Ukrainian elections prompted spontaneous demonstrations of over one million people. Weaving footage of the protest concerts with a magnificent succession of faces—musicians, politicians, journalists and most importantly ordinary citizens—this is a spirited salute to …
Ostensibly a look at four old-world Austrian businesses that won’t survive gentrification, this rewarding documentary is really about the quiet moments and the banter that takes place among the aging proprietors. Beautifully shot and absolutely charming, it recalls of a time when community was more …
United Kingdom, 2006, 150 min.
In his freewheeling and endlessly amusing style, world famous philosopher and mad cinema buff Slavoj Zizek playfully utilizes clips ranging from Vertigo to The Matrix to take the viewer on a wacky psychoanalytical ride through some of cinema’s seminal scenes. …
Sweden, 2006, 84 min.
This highly ambitious Scandinavian production draws on some of the poetic, observational strategies of Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi, allowing us to reflect on patterns and phenomena of human and natural existence from both intimate and sweeping viewpoints. The truths of …
USA, 2007, 8 min.
Lynette Huffman Johnson’s calling is to capture the sweetest moments at the most difficult times, in very touching portraits of children who are dying and their families. …
