In Willison, ND, where the natural-gas industry is booming, the population is growing so quickly that housing is in critically short supply. Pastor Jay Reinke offers newcomers the chance to sleep in his church, setting off a controversy with the town and his congregation. Director Jesse Moss gains intimate access to events as they unfold. […]
In his breakthrough documentary Food Inc., director Robert Kenner investigated how corporations affect what we eat. Now he reveals how corporations affect what we think, exploring the shadow world of experts who stake claims contrary to scientific consensus. Their past efforts have spread confusion and delayed action over cigarettes and toxic chemicals. Now their main […]
Acclaimed filmmaker Steve James pays tribute to the late Roger Ebert and to the love of movies. Using Ebert’s memoir as a launching point, James adroitly traces the Pulitzer Prize- winning critic’s career, demonstrating how Ebert, with TV sparring partner Gene Siskel, popularized film criticism for the masses. Folded into the film is the story […]
In the final weeks of the Vietnam War, with the invasion of Saigon imminent, the White House ordered the evacuation of U.S. citizens—but their South Vietnamese allies flooded onto embassy grounds seeking help. Rory Kennedy captures the dramatic withdrawal from multiple perspectives, skillfully interweaving little-seen archival footage with reflective interviews with participants who were on […]
Celebrating mentorship as much as music, Alan Hicks’s inspirational and poignant film explores the common bonds between a 92-year-old jazz legend and his 23-year-old protégé. In his storied career, Clark Terry has played with luminaries like Count Basie and Duke Ellington, and counts Quincy Jones and Miles Davis among his past pupils. Now, as he […]
State College, Pennsylvania, home to Penn State University, has long prided itself on its football program, lionizing its head coach, Joe Paterno. But when “Saint Joe” is caught up in the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the once-harmonious community splinters. With impressive access to family members and community residents who are still reeling from the accusations, Amir […]
Winner of the SXSW grand jury prize, The Great Invisible examines the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and its impact on fishermen, oilmen and survivors. Director Margaret Brown (The Order of Myths) brings a nuanced understanding of the American South to the film, paying attention to ecosystems of nature and society. […]
When Vivian Maier died in 2009 at age 83, she left behind more than 100,000 negatives of her street photography—images that she’d scarcely shared with anyone. Acquiring a box of her photos at a storage auction, John Maloof became obsessed and set out to tell her story, teaming with collaborator Charlie Siskel. As New York […]
Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman’s breathtaking film chronicles the dangerous but life- affirming work performed by the Human Rights Watch Emergency Team, or E-Team, a compelling group of intrepid investigators willing to enter hostile territories to document crimes against humanity that might otherwise go unreported. Allowing outside filmmakers to follow them for the first time, […]
In early 2013, Oscar®-nominated director Laura Poitras started receiving encrypted e-mails from someone identifying himself as “citizen four,” who was ready to blow the whistle on the massive covert surveillance programs run by the NSA and other intelligence agencies. That June, she and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many […]