Browse Movies : 2017 : Documentary

Every 53 hours in the United States, a police officer is killed in the line of duty. However these losses go mostly unnoticed, overshadowed by sensational, politically charged headlines of the day. Fallen takes a deeply personal look at the stories behind these statistics. More than five years in the making, the film follows the stories of eight fallen officers from across the country. Told through the eyes of those closest to them, as well as the communities they served, these stories offer a sobering glimpse into a routinely overlooked and misunderstood reality

Discover the incredible life of Michael Alago, a gay Puerto Rican kid from Brooklyn who went on to shape and reinvent the world’s musical landscape -- first as a 19-year-old talent booker at the legendary Ritz nightclub in New York City and then as a 24-year-old A&R exec who signed Metallica, White Zombie and worked with other notable artists including Nina Simone, John Lydon and Cyndi Lauper. The film tells the tender, loving and sometimes self-destructive story of a man who “just loved music.” He had the passion to bring it to the world on his terms and lived to talk about it. Barely.

Examines the efforts of two conservationists in the Amazon to bring about change by using the national media, only to discover the consequences of their actions come with a high price. Provides an eye opening look at what happens when passion and opinion trump reason and morality.

The musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club exposed the world to Cuba's vibrant culture with their landmark 1997 album. Now, against the backdrop of Cuba's captivating musical history, hear the band's story as they reflect on their remarkable careers and the extraordinary circumstances that brought them together.

Tells the incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Abacus becomes the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The indictment and subsequent trial forces the Sung family to defend themselves – and their bank’s legacy in the Chinatown community – over the course of a five-year legal battle.

A documentary feature about the passion and personalities at the heart of today’s new wave of burlesque. On stage and in candid conversation, twelve of today’s hottest performers reveal the naked truth about an exotic world where artifice is a route to authenticity and pretending to be someone else is the ultimate journey to become yourself. These burlesquers put it all on the line in performances that are sexy, funny, elegant and outrageous – and they bare more than just their bodies as they discuss their artistic vision, their financial struggles, the misconceptions that infuriate them and the community that sustains them.

From the director of Generation Iron comes the anticipated sequel that will depict five of the top bodybuilding and fitness megastars on a quest to achieve the ultimate physique and take it to the next extreme level. In the world of social media and the internet, the rules have changed as to what makes an iconic bodybuilding mass-monster.

Pulling back the curtain on Genocide censorship in Hollywood due to U.S. government pressure to appease a strategic ally, Intent To Destroy embeds with a historic feature production as a springboard to explore the violent history of the Armenian Genocide and legacy of Turkish suppression and denial over the past century.

The story of Gertrude Bell, the most powerful woman in the British Empire in her day. Bell shaped the destiny of Iraq after World War I in ways that still reverberate today. More influential than her friend and colleague T.E. Lawrence (a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia), why has she been written out of the history?

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, a former soldier deeply influenced by the literature and ideas of the radical right, parked a Ryder truck with a five-ton fertilizer bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. Moments later, 168 people were killed and 675 were injured in the blast. OKLAHOMA CITY traces the events—including the deadly encounters between American citizens and law enforcement at Ruby Ridge and Waco—that led McVeigh to commit the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history. With a virulent strain of anti-government anger still with us, the film is both a cautionary tale and an extremely timely warning.

In 2012, “Nature” published a study led by more than 20 researchers from the top scientific institutions in the world predicting that humankind could disappear between 2040 and 2100. It also said that it could be avoided by drastically changing our way of life and take appropriate measures.

Shortly after giving birth to her first child, French actress and director Mélanie Laurent became increasingly aware of the dangers and the state of urgency that her son will face in the future. Along with friend and activist Cyril Dion and their crew, she decided to travel the world in search of solutions that can help save the next generations. The result is Tomorrow, an inspiring documentary that presents concrete solutions implemented throughout the world by hundred of communities.

A portrait of French glaciologist, Claude Lorius, whose groundbreaking research in Antarctica gave us the first clear evidence of man-made global climate change.

Lorius discovered his destiny as a college student when he joined an expedition to Antarctica in 1955; land essentially untouched by scientific experiment. He would go on to participate in twenty-two expeditions during his long career, facing unforgiving conditions and brutal personal challenges that were rewarded with an amazing discovery: using ice cores thousands of meters deep, tiny air bubbles suspended in the ice reveal the composition of the planet’s atmosphere over nearly a million years.

Born in China follows the stories of three animal families, transporting audiences to some of the most extreme environments on Earth to witness some of the most intimate moments ever captured in a nature film. A doting panda bear mother guides her growing baby as she begins to explore and seek independence. A two-year-old golden monkey who feels displaced by his new baby sister joins up with a group of free-spirited outcasts. And a mother snow leopard—an elusive animal rarely caught on camera—faces the very real drama of raising her two cubs in one of the harshest and most unforgiving environments on the planet.

An unprecedented look into the life of conceptual artist and sculptor Chris Burden. He had himself shot, confined to a locker for five days, and was crucified on the back of a VW bug, only to reinvent himself as the creator of truly mesmerizing installations and sculptures, all in the name of art.

Follows female war reporter Alex Quade’s daring missions to tell soldiers' stories during a series of unprecedented embeds with Conventional Forces and US Special Ops Forces at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Based on a true marriage journey, the film tells the story of ultra-marathon runner and college professor David Horton, his wife, Nancy, and their attempt to finish their marriage race well.

Tells the story of one of the most important choreographers living today, Ohad Naharin, who studied with some of the greatest dance figures of our time and created the daring new “movement language” Gaga. Meeting him at a critical turning point in his life, this spirited and insightful documentary introduces viewers to a most engaging, controversial, and always entertaining figure constantly battling for artistic perfection. E

The Heart of Man is a cinematic retelling of the parable of the Prodigal Son, interwoven with true testimonials of personal and sexual brokenness. Narrative storytelling and documentary filmmaking are combined like never before to reveal the compassionate heart of God the Father for His sons and daughters, illuminating an age-old truth: shame is not a barrier to God’s love, but a bridge to absolute transformation, victory, freedom, and hope.

On the morning of Election Day 2016, Americans of all stripes woke up and went about living their radically different lives. These were the hours leading up to Donald Trump's unexpected, earth-shaking victory, but, of course, no one knew that yet. Curated and produced by Jeff Deutchman 11/8/16 documents the moments leading up to a defining moment in American history.