Filmmaker Appreciation Dinner and special screening of "CONCERT" by Richard Warren Rappaport
"Concert"
The film "Concert" was borne out of a live acoustic solo concert benefit performance. Our purpose was to develop a documentary that addressed the question as to why artists create their works and, in this case, what drives an artist to write a musical composition, whether it is based upon political, social or personal reasons.
In this respect, our goal was to provide an introspective and reflective story of the genesis of original music, its importance to the creative process and the significance of the message to be delivered. To accomplish that, we conducted a series of interviews during and following the concert on why each song was composed and what the artist meant to convey to the listener.
In the end, we wanted our audience to understand the texture that lives within a musical composition, the mosaic of stories that unfold in each song, and the artistic relevance of music to our world. We hope that in "Concert," we’ve accomplished that goal.
The Director
Richard Warren Rappaport is a BMI recording artist, songwriter and publisher. He has performed his original music live on television, radio and onstage, and at numerous events in support of the arts, including the Broward Center for the Performing Arts and the Steinway/BMI Music and Arts Showcase series. His recordings have been played in film and on television and radio. His soulful composition, Louisiana Way, was in the soundtrack of the CBS Television Movie of the Week, The Madam’s Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel. His ballad, Sail Into The Sun, charted into the Top 20 on the national Adult Contemporary Charts. And his pop tune, Great Rock ‘N’ Roll, became the theme song for the television show Hello Hollywood. He is also a prominent entertainment attorney and is chair of the ABA’s annual International Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film, Television and Sports. He has had numerous articles published and has lectured extensively in entertainment law. He has produced for television and has been an on-air personality, hosting American Law, a series of television vignettes on the law. He also co-produced and co-hosted the television show Hello Hollywood, now on iStudioi.com. He believes in the importance of ongoing discussions on topics and issues facing the entertainment industry today, and supports the film, television and music industries and emerging and established talent within it He is active in civic, community and charitable organizations in South Florida, New York and Los Angeles, and is completing his first book, STAR: Finding Artistic and Commercial Success in the New Entertainment Industry, to be published by ABA Publishing in 2013. “Concert” is his first film.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lynn Parks
Behind the Orange Curtain is a documentary that will delve into the staggering problem of teenage Rx drug abuse in one of the most affluent counties in the country. Young, privileged teenagers are dying of drug overdoses in record numbers in Orange County, California. In particular prosperous cities like Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach. This documentary film will set out to ask the question.....why? Many of these tragic deaths are from pain medication drugs like: Opana, OxyContin and Hydrocodone. Who are the doctors that are giving these teenagers the lethal prescriptions? Why? We want to find an honest, objective answer. The teen years are challenging for both teenagers and parents. Is it harder these days with the online bullying and social networks? Is it peer pressure? Low self esteem? Do kids turn to drugs to solve their problems? Is it easier to find drugs if you have money? Do "rich kids" have more temptation? These are questions we want to address and try and answer or at least shine a light on.
WHO CARES is a 92-minute High Definition feature documentary about social entrepreneurs around the world. People who are making changes, bringing solutions, generating huge social impact and most of all, inspiring people to do the same. A film that searches the world for brilliant people with simple solutions to the hard global issues.Social Entrepreneurship is a relatively new movement and still raises questions. People still get confused regarding the notions of philanthropy and social activism. So we've decided to make a movie that really dives into the soul of social entrepreneurs. The film weaves together the stories of the 18 most important social entrepreneurs from all around the globe, diverse in ages, ethnicities, cultures, geographically, who each began with a small simple idea that grows and grows to improve the lives of millions of people. In WHO CARES these extraordinary people share openly the feelings that motivated their initial idea, the challenges they faced, and what they have learned in the process. In collaboration with Ashoka, the first organization to recognize and support social entrepreneurship, Mamo Filmes wishes to create a web-based platform that will make the film WHO CARES easily accessible to educational institutions and other places of learning around the world.We want this film to encourage a global movement of changemakers; we need to share these stories and inspire others now, before we destroy the earth and each other. The movie mixes interviews, images of their social work and computer graphics creating a very dynamic feature.
In a time of unprecedented technological achievements and luxuries, close to one billion people still go to sleep hungry; but there's one organization attempting to change that. In this powerful new documentary film, Grassroots Films captures Mary's Meals life-changing work in action throughout Malawi, Kenya, and India and its mission to help millions of children throughout the world realize their dreams. Follow founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow as we get a glimpse into his simple, yet groundbreaking, idea that is working to lift the developing world out of poverty and give a face to hunger's deadly numbers.
'The Eyes of Thailand' is the inspirational and powerful story of one woman's quest to help two elephant landmine survivors Motala and Baby Mosha walk on their own four legs. Treating their wounds was only part of the journey; building elephant-sized prostheses was another. Narrated by Ashley Judd, 'The Eyes of Thailand' is a true story of sacrifice and perseverance that shows how far one woman will go to save an endangered species from threats above and below the surface.
Young filmmaker, Matthew J. Evans, takes a look at one of the most pressing issues in our modern society: violence among religions. Through discussions with Arun Gandhi, grandson of M.K. Gandhi, and local religious leaders from the Central Coast of California, Matthew learns powerful lessons about nonviolence, acceptance, and cultural understanding. As Gandhi has said, 'We must become the change we wish to see in our world!' This film helps us understand how we can make these changes.
Break For Lunch
Lunch Break
'Tales of Masked Men' exploration of Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) and the tradition of the masked wrestler. The film tells the story of lucha libre through the lives of three classic enmascarados (masked wrestlers). The film was shot throughout Mexico and in the American Southwest andtraces the roots of lucha libre from 1930s Mexico to it's current state. Featuring beautiful imagery and acrobatic action sequences 'Tales' includes interviews with wrestlers, academics and other thoughtful observers of the 'lucha' world.
Deep in the rain forests of Grenada, anarchist chocolate-maker, Mott Green operates an unusual chocolate factory that makes delicious creations unknown to a world saturated with industrially produced cocoa, much of it harvested by exploited child labour in West Africa. Mott utilizes solar power, employee shareholding and small-scale antique equipment to make delicious, organic, and socially conscious chocolate. Each step in the production process, from cocoa pod to candy bar, involves ethical and sustainable methods aimed at empowering the community of farmers involved. This is an intimate story of the relentless and headstrong Mott Green, founder of the Grenada Chocolate Company, as he pursues his unique vision to create the best chocolate in the world, ethically and taste-wise. Alongside Mott's story we enter the busy life of Nelice Stewart, an independent cocoa farmer, not part of Mott's co-operative. We experience how she harvests cocoa, meet three of her seven children and her new husband on her farm-land, and are present at the government bean market where she sells her cocoa. We watch in awe as she builds her own house and does her church-work, and better understand the intricate relationships between cocoa farmers, their produce, and their lives. Why is Nelice not part of the co-operative? NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE allows us to enter the world's smallest chocolate factory, and we see how, by tackling the unsustainable and exploitative practices of the Goliaths of the industry, they are doing enormous things for cocoa communities, and the world's sweet tooth.
Step into the extraordinary life of a Chinese immigrant who overcame challenges as early as childhood, eventually making a life for himself one that would touch the lives of many others around the world. It all started with a simple dream and today, the dream lives on. This family-authorized biography follows the path of a young boy who learns the value of hard work and perseverance through kung fu, escapes the harshness of political oppression, bravely ventures out on his own, and embraces opportunity in a new land. Watch the beginning of an eager martial arts instructor in 1960s Boston, Massachusetts, open his own Kung Fu school, and start to spread the tradition, always maintaining the original fundamentals and values he learned as a boy. Pui would finally realize his dream of building the first authentic Chinese martial arts temple in America as a tribute to his kung fu master. The now highly recognized Grandmaster Pui Chan, 6th generation successor of the Wah Lum Kung Fu System, is one of the pioneers responsible for bringing traditional Kung Fu to America, and leads an internationally renowned martial arts school and system across the world. Fifty years later, Pui's eldest daughter and successor Mimi confronts a new set of challenges, trying to keep the traditional values alive in an increasingly modernized era. Narrated by Mimi Chan.
This documentary shares the story of Sasha Shulchev, a handsome and charismatic 19-year-old. Born with no legs and with missing fingers, Sasha's mother abandons him. The orphanage for children with special needs in a tiny Russian town becomes his home.Sasha grows up open, sociable, inquisitive and full of love for people. He, like all children, dreams about the future - of becoming a famous writer and of having a family. In reality, he knows that there is no chance of him surviving outside the orphanage and that the outside world will never accept him. He holds on to one very special but unrealistic dream - that his legs will grow. That is when Natasha Shaginian-Needham meets him, changing both their lives forever. His dream becomes not only hers, but also that of others all over the world. People in Moscow raise money for Sasha to fly to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, where he will receive surgery and prosthetics, and a family in Texas agrees to host him during the process.Sasha overcomes the amputation of his deformed legs, phantom pains, and a language barrier. But it becomes apparent that it is all worth it when Sasha begins to walk. The family that is hosting Sasha decides to become his family forever and to adopt him. Recently, Sasha returned to Russia to see his friends in the orphanage. Sasha endeavors to help others by sharing the stories of children who are still in the orphanages - children like him.
The Believers tells the strange story of Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, chronologically documenting the summer of 1989 as well as new developments today. The tale includes mystery, scandal, personal tragedy, and scientific wonder. As in Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, understanding of events shifts depending on who is telling the story. A mixture of interviews, footage, archival media, scientific animation, and reenactments will compliment interviews with scientists, journalists, politicians, and officials. Woven together, they paint a vivid, often contradicting account of what happened.Martin Fleischmann is at the core of the story, both as a fiery intellect in 1989 who achieved near rock-star status and a musing, evasive recluse who today suffers from Parkinson's disease and has become the figurehead of the small band of aging scientists who still pursue cold fusion experiments. The film explores basement laboratories in New Mexico, Illinois, and California where these believers continue to work, desperate to prove their detractors wrong while wondering if the field will survive when they retire.Cold fusion scientists and their detractors - the physicists - each claim the other side is blinded by desire. These physicists claim the cold fusionists so desperately want to be right that they overlook fundamental truths about the nature of the atom; cold fusionists claim the physicists are so sure of their facts that they have lost the ability to question them. No definitive answer is presented, so the viewer must determine what --- and whom --- to believe.
From the nail-biting freshman auditions to the spectacular graduation performance, FAME HIGH captures the in-class and at-home drama, competition, heartbreak, and triumph of one year following a group of struggling freshmen and seniors at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Here, both underprivileged and privileged teenagers reach for their dreams of becoming actors, singers, dancers, and musicians.FAME HIGH is where intensely devoted teachers and highly motivated students go about the business of making the best better. But all-that-talent means all-that-pressure when students are competing for the same roles, the same teachers favors, and the same career opportunities. They are also struggling with grades, family and young love, while defying complications of race, culture, and economic challenges at every turn.
Have you ever faked a restroom trip to check your email? Slept with your laptop? Or become so overwhelmed that you just unplugged from it all? In this funny, eye-opening, and inspiring film, Director Tiffany Shlain takes audiences on an exhilarating roller coaster ride to discover what it means to be connected in the 21st century. From founding The Webby Awards to being a passionate advocate for The National Day of Unplugging, Shlain's love/hate relationship with technology serves as the springboard for a thrilling exploration of modern life…and our interconnected future. Equal parts documentary and memoir, the film unfolds during a year in which technology and science literally become a matter of life and death for the director. As Shlain's father battles brain cancer and she confronts a high-risk pregnancy, her very understanding of connection is challenged. Using a brilliant mix of animation, archival footage, and home movies, Shlain reveals the surprising ties that link us not only to the people we love but also to the world at large. A personal film with universal relevance, Connected explores how, after centuries of declaring our independence, it may be time for us to declare our interdependence instead.
'Ida Haendel - This Is My Heritage' is an honest account of growing older, a story of solitude and one's total devotion and love for music. Ida Haendel, widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, does not attach too much weight to exact dates. Her actual age remains one of the best-kept secrets in the music world. A Jewish Polish-born British citizen who managed to flee the Nazis right before the outbreak of the war, she has been residing in Miami since the early 80s and now considers it her home. She is a flamboyant character with a sharp sense of humor who doesn't mind presenting the high and low points of her eventful life in a profoundly honest way. She hasn't given up dreaming and searching yet. Her biggest wish is to be able to continue playing her beloved violin as long as possible.
Bassam and Rami, a Palestinian and Israeli, were once dedicated fighters willing to kill and be killed by one another for the sake of their nations. Yet each one of them came face to face with the price of war when their daughters were killed in the conflict. Left with the excruciating pain of bereavement, they chose to do the unexpected. They set out on a joint journey to humanize the very enemy, which took the dearest thing from them and prevent the vicious cycle of retaliation in themselves and their societies. Along the way they reveal the friendship and humor that keeps them alive.The film follows their two parallel stories and the moments where they converge, both in their personal experiences and peace work as they face their shattered families, confused communities and opposing society. This is a critical junction in both their lives, as their life mission and personal agendas clash and they stand the biggest test to their friendship
Noseland is a humorous ode to the world of classical music and some of its star musicians. Although it is a feature length documentary, it crosses genres into fiction and comedy.The world famous violinist with a nose fetish, Julian Rachlin, takes over the town of Dubrovnik, Croatia, every year to bring together some of the world's greatest musicians, actors and composers and create a unique two week long classical music festival. His oldest friend, the violinist, composer and "wanna-be" filmmaker Aleksey Igudesman offers to make a documentary film that will take an 'inside look' at this "fairytale" festival but things seem to go wrong pretty much from the start.Finding himself in the role of a somewhat oblivious producer, Rachlin watches the documentary fall apart in front of his eyes, as Igudesman manages to offend every one of the artists he interviews. By the time John Malkovich starts ranting about how much Rachlin "sucks" and all classical musicians are depicted as "gay", Rachlin realizes that this is not quite what he expected.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the tragic attacks on members of the Israeli Olympic team by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. The iconic picture of the hooded assassin became a symbol of modern terrorism and the vulnerability of free society. Eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer were killed during the hostage drama and the botched rescue effort. Eight Israeli athletes were able to escape. Their story though has never been heard. Now after four decades these former Olympians once again return to the site of their biggest hopes and darkest fears and tell for the first time how they have barely survived and how their lives were changed forever.
Jazz is lived, seen and heard first through the recordings of giants who made their names, in part, in Washington D.C., including Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Butch Warren and Billie Holiday. The journey continues with living legends, such as Buck Hill, Billy Taylor, Butch Warren, Andrew White III, Maurice 'Brother' Lyles, Jo Byrd, and Lennie Cuje, among other greats, who contribute music, show the audience the area's real jazz scene, and tell stories from venues along U Street (the "black Broadway"), such as the historic Howard Theatre. The film captures their personal journeys of how and when, during the 1930s through 60s, famous jazz artists such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Charlie Byrd, and Stan Getz performed and lived their jazz lives in the Capitol. Contributing to this documentary story, local jazz historians and members of the jazz community recognize jazz's rich history and discuss it's uncertain future. Frank interviews and stunning performances with rising stars, such as Esperanza Spalding, Eric Lewis, Chuchito Valdes, Ben Williams, Ravi Coltrane, Brian Settles, Antonio Parker, Dwain Adell, Jimmy 'Junebug' Jackson, Akua Allrich and many others, show that D.C. remains one of today's epicenters of jazz that music bubbles and bursts beyond.
This film highlights the state of Human Rights within Cuba. Compelling interviews expose the continuous violation of human rights by the Cuban government since their rise to power. These testimonies show the systematic and permanent violation of civil rights, the abuses suffered by the people and the ethnic and religious discrimination they are victims of including the limitations upon basic liberties such as freedom of speech. This documentary also reveals the horrors of electroshocks as described by the victims who suffered them.
Celebrating Life in Union is a story of human resilience, community, and brotherhood. It follows a group of former Cuban political prisoners through their memory of imprisonment and their half century fight against the aging Castro regime. Having developed a strong community for themselves that now crosses three generations, they struggle with the realization that their own mortality may come before they can return to their homeland. Celebrating in Life in Union is narrated by Academy Award winning actor, Andy Garcia.
Over seven years ago I started an artistic venture of interviewing extraordinary individuals on specific questions that are at the core of human fulfillment: Purpose, Love, the Best and Worst of life, Intimacy, God, Religions and Spirit. Many of these candid interviews are the only ones ever recorded and a few of these individuals have now passed away. What resulted was over 100 hours of in-depth study of the human condition; what is key to fulfillment and joy, and what causes separation. The interviews are filled with moments of self reflection, cognitive authority and insight, laughter, tenderness, tears, authenticity and joy.After over one thousand hours of dissecting these recorded discussions, I wove these interviews into a dialogue that reveals the elements of consciousness and personal responsibility that are required to perpetuate widespread human joy. I funded every dollar of this film solely, and with only one agenda; to spread compassion and drive consciousness evolution - to bring people together.
When sarodist Maestro Ali Akbar Khan's American born son, Alam, travels from California to India on his first concert tour without his ailing father, he wonders: How can I follow a legend? He knows his father would tell him, Don't worry, Play Like a Lion. Ali Akbar Khan, who introduced Indian classical music to the US at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1955, was The Emperor of Melody, a national treasure in India and the US, a Grammy nominee, and according to renowned master violinist Lord Yehudi Menuhin, possibly the greatest musician in the world. Carlos Santana said of Ali Akbar Khan that he was one of the few who like Bob Marley and Coltrane had the universal tone, a tone which shares the spirit of compassion of Desmond Tutu, Mandela, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama.'Play Like a Lion' is Ali Akbar Khan seen through his son Alam's eyes. As Alam assumes the mantle of his father's musical legacy, he is learning that his ends are in his beginnings and that he must come to terms with playing an enduring old music in a disposable new age. 'Play Like a Lion' illuminates the Khan legacy featuring interviews with Carlos Santana, The Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, blues slide guitarist Derek Trucks, sarodist Ustad Aashish Khan, tabla masters Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and Ustad Zakir Hussain. The documentary was shot in Kolkata, Mumbai, Rajasthan and the San Francisco Bay Area to a soundtrack of Ali Akbar Khan's music.
WE CAME HOME: The story of Afghanistan through Afghan American artist, Ariana Delawari. Born in LA, the year the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, Ariana's life unfolds parallel to Afghanistan. Her home is filled with refugees, Afghan music, and her father's dedication to his homeland. Ariana watches her father's tireless efforts, while painfully aware that nobody seems to care. September 11th changes her family's lives. Her parents sell everything and move to Kabul; Ariana finally sees Afghanistan for herself.Ariana spends ten years traveling between LA and Afghanistan, documenting her father's homeland through photographs, film and music. She believes she's witnessing the moment Afghanistan will be free. Her father thrives as he helps reconstruct Afghanistan's banking system.With the Taliban resurgence, Ariana decides to go to Kabul to record an album with Afghan master musicians. The recording is a glimpse into the challenges of building anything in Afghanistan after thirty years of war, but nothing can touch the universal language of music.Ariana names her album 'Lion of Panjshir', after Afghanistan's revolutionary hero, Massoud. Filmmaker David Lynch releases the album. Though Ariana receives international acclaim, she's heartbroken, because Afghanistan keeps getting worse.In 2011, her father is arrested by the very government he's worked so hard to build. Ariana must decide what to do when war and corruption threaten her father's life. Though terrified that he could be wrongfully imprisoned, Ariana finally understands her Dad. Even with his life threatened, Noor cannot abandon his people and Ariana cannot let them be forgotten.
For Americans, the name Iran conjures certain key images the Shah, the Revolution of 1979, the hostages, the Ayatollah Khomeini, and black chador-clad women. Worn as part of the Islamic code of hijab, the chador became a kind of visual symbol of the religious fundamentalism that took hold of Iran after the revolution. Adanto's new documentary confronts and then strips away the clich's surrounding the chador through interviews with Iranian women artists. As in the fairy tale of the ugly duckling, a beautiful swan emerges from the darkness of this history in the body of work done by these courageous women artists.For each of these woman, the revolution of 1979 marks the turning point in their life and art. Some lived in Iran at the time and felt the chill hand of repression claim their careers and lives until their escape. Others lived overseas when the revolution struck and found their roots literally cut from under them. Some younger artists profiled didn't know or barely knew pre-revolutionary Iran and struggle to lay claim to a conflicted heritage. This variety of connections helps Adanto weave an intricate narrative of loss and remembrance.Pearls introduces women caught in a maelstrom of forces pulling on them: religious, sexual, political, and artistic. Their ability to keep themselves together and even to thrive under such conditions testifies to their power as individuals. This film inspires the viewer to reexamine what they thought they knew about Iran and the black swans hidden beneath the infamous chador.
RAID OF THE RAINBOW LOUNGE is a 103 minute documentary recounting the widely publicized and controversial 2009 police raid of a Fort Worth, Texas gay bar that resulted in multiple arrests and serious injuries. Following sordid allegations and outrage, many changes would occur in the city, and Fort Worth would become a leader in LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) equality. However, the changes did not happen overnight and without controversy. The audience witnesses history unfold as this film documents that journey from the perspective of witnesses, activists and politicians who helped changed the city. Narrated by television icon and Emmy nominated actress, Meredith Baxter (Family Ties, Family, Bridget Loves Bernie)
What good can come from the ashes of genocide? Then meet Leo Zisman, an 83-year-old whose past was so terrifying, he never spoke of it until now. Leo had the rare courage to return to Poland where he witnessed unspeakable atrocities. With the hope that his horrific experience could somehow change the next generation for the better, Leo leads a diverse group of young men and women, Jews and non-Jews, through the details of humanity's darkest period, including his own miraculous escape Auschwitz minutes before execution. Inter cut with Leo's testimony we hear from trip participants who reveal their own search for answers and identity. We talk to young Poles about their opinions, some sadly unchanged from their grandparents' deep-rooted anti-Semitic feelings. And as the participants discuss differing viewpoints we find that the Holocaust is not just an apparition haunting the past. And so we gain the courage to change the world, inspired by the strength of Leo, the Lion of Judah.
This compelling and compassionate film follows Pulitzer Prize nominee Claudia Johnson's nineteen year quest to penetrate the mysterious silence surrounding the story of Ruby McCollum, well educated wife of numbers racketeer "Bolita" Sam and the richest African-American woman in Live Oak, Florida, convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to the electric chair for the 1952 murder of her white doctor and alleged lover, state senator elect LeRoy Adams. News of the interracial murder shocked the nation, the state, and the region, escalating racial tension in Live Oak that remains to this day, almost sixty years later. It's still an unbelievably controversial hot topic in town, Johnson says in the film's opening. This story they do not want told. In spite of warnings there will be repercussions -- and a terrifying death threat -- she believes Ruby's story has to be told because she's discovered startling new information that Live Oak's corrupt white power structure has been covering up since 1952. A nationally recognized advocate for free speech, Johnson connects deeply to Ruby's story in 1991 when she discovers that the white power structure silenced Ruby, on the stand and to the press. Zora Neale Hurston, who covered the notoriously unfair trial, concluded that the truth lay on the other side of silence. Johnson wants to know why Ruby was silenced and why she killed LeRoy Adams. She didn't, as Johnson comes to believe when two courageous African Americans risk everything and break their long silence.
In the Footsteps of Willie Sutton is a documentary film based on the life a colorful and famous bank robber, who was once dubbed The Babe Ruth of Bank Robbers by a NYPD Police Commissioner. Sutton's criminal career takes us from the 1920s into the early 1950s. A master of disguise, he used finesse to gain entry into banks. Posing at times as a messenger or policeman, he eventually earned him the nickname Willie the Actor. Using his charm, wits, and smooth talking, Sutton never had to resort to violence. When arrested, it was not an easy task keeping Willie locked up. He successfully broke out of three prisons, all considered until then as escape-proof. The film takes us through these three prisons today and walks us through his masterful escapes. Using licensed stock footage and photographs, the film returns us to the eras when Sutton was robbing banks, busting out of prison, and on the lam as a fugitive. Visits to actual locations where events in the life of Willie Sutton took place, along with period music adds authenticity to the story. Newsreel footage is used to revisit Willie's final arrest in 1952, followed weeks later by the ruthless murder of the young man who identified him. A murder case that remains unsolved to this day. Deep research has led to interviews of persons who played significant roles in Sutton's life, who tell some fascinating stories of one of the most unique criminals in history.
Yoga was brought to the west from India by a lineage of male teachers. Now there's a generation of women who are leading the way. They're strong, they're inspiring, and they're radically changing people's lives. From the busy streets of Manhattan to the dusty slums of Kenya, from the golden beaches of Australia to the serene piazzas of Italy, YOGAWOMAN uncovers a global phenomenon that has changed the face of yoga forever.A quiet revolution brews in yoga studios, hospitals and living rooms around the globe. In record numbers women are discovering their own strength, vitality, peace and power through yoga. Reclaiming this ancient spiritual path from its traditionally male form, the result is a radical transformation of modern yoga as we know it.Led by a new generation of dynamic female teachers, this "new" yoga replaces the male-centered, more rigid style with a distinctly feminine practice that honors intuition, family, flow, connection, community, activism and the cyclical nature of women's lives.YOGAWOMAN is a groundbreaking film that captures this fascinating time of awakening female power.Through rich personal stories, YOGAWOMAN reveals how yoga has utterly transformed the lives of millions of over-stimulated, overscheduled multitasking modern women. With vivid detail and poignancy, YOGAWOMAN shows how women have embraced yoga for easing health conditions like breast cancer, infertility, heart disease, anxiety and depression. And given a lifeline to women in prison, cancer survivors and those struggling with body image or eating disorders.
In the beginning, AIDS was seen as a disease that mysteriously devoured countless young, otherwise healthy, white, gay Americans. Thirty years later, the image of AIDS is no longer lesion-covered, gaunt faces, or IVs dripping into narrow blue/green veins. Because of this new, healthier look,the public now appears to believe the AIDS crisis is over or -- at the very least -- under control.However, as a collective calm settled over the general population, a dark cloud descended upon the African-American community. As reported by the Centers for Disease Control in 2004, and every year since, black Americans - who make up just 13 percent of the population - now account for 50 percent of all new HIV/AIDS infections.Thirteen Percent is an exploratory journey to discover how such disproportionate numbers have come to be. In our investigation, we follow the stories of several people within the three top subgroups most susceptible to this virus: men who have sex with men, youth aged 13-29 and women between the ages of 25-44 We also pick the brains of professionals from a variety of fields that view the epidemic from different perspectives: physicians, medical researchers, journalists, clergy, politicians and entertainers. After taking a look at how we got where we are - an epidemic out of of control, but plagued by complacency - we ask everyone involved, 'How can we reverse a trajectory that will shape the future of African-American culture and productivity?'
Greg Nicotero currently sits at the top of Hollywood as co-executive producer and special make-up effects designer on AMC's monster hit, 'The Walking Dead'. But back in 1989, making monsters was just a dream, until Greg quit medical school and headed for Hollywood. Together with gore masters Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman, Nicotero went on to create KNB EFX Group, one of the most prolific make-up effects studios in the world.Nicotero and his team of artists have frightened and delighted hundreds of millions of viewers with their ground-breaking special make-up effects on more than 800 films.Nightmare Factory delves inside the high-stakes world of special FX make-up and creature design through the eyes of one of the industry's key players.
REBELS WITH A CAUSE tells the David and Goliath story of how one of America's most visited, and arguably its most beautiful, urban national parks--San Francisco's Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area--almost didn't exist. In the 1950's, California became the fastest growing state in the nation, booming with a banal development grind to accommodate more people. Marin County, north of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, felt this momentum and made ready for the influx, planning tract homes and beach-front resorts to pave over the wilderness and coastline in its western lands. In the face of this, a handful of local politically savvy advocates start planting the seeds of conservation. They awakened their community to the threats of urban sprawl and the potential loss of magnificent open space. But awareness is just the beginning. The activists must overcome the seemingly omnipotent opponents of their day in industry and government. Through high-stakes face-offs with Big Oil and federal commissions, collaboration with the US Army, and innovative partnerships with private ranchers, each step towards progress sets new precedents for the National Park Service, shaping the environmental movement as we know it today.
Watching his hometown and its surrounding areas being desecrated by BP's massive oil spill, director Barker White was compelled to uncover the truth. Traveling thousands of miles across the most severely impacted areas, he interviewed key experts, BP contractors, government officials, fisherman and many more. Ride along with this team of filmmakers as they unveil a shocking tale of greed and corruption, which culminated into the largest man-made environmental disaster in America's history.
Director: Barker White
Producers/ Co Writers: Harper Robinson and Christopher Shaw
Writer/ Co Producer: Alisha Mims
Includes Dinner/Awards Ceremony & Concert! The Awards Gala is hosted byMiamiTV's Jenny Scordamaglia. Keynote Speaker: Jacqueline Ripstein, World Renowned Artist and United Nations World Peace Envoy. Special performances by: Tito Puente, Jr., Kiki Sanchez & Eloy "Rali". Bring your dancing shoes!