Sacred Sites: Ireland

Ireland's history is steeped in religion and mystery. Why did its people stop worshipping the earth 5,000 years ago? Did St. Patrick really act alone in converting the Irish to Christianity in the 5th century? Historians, astronomers, and other scientists believe answers to these and other questions lie in the stars. Discover the role that celestial occurrences have played in Irish religious beliefs and practices as we explore ancient hallowed sites and even the heavens above.

Stonehenge Empire

For centuries, Stonehenge has been cloaked in mystery. Who built it? How did they do it? Why did they do it and what is its significance? Now, a team of archaeologists takes a high-tech approach to find out, and their discoveries will exceed all expectations. Learn the full story of the world's most investigated prehistoric site, featuring a forgotten people who were meticulous planners, profound believers and true warriors. It's a 10,000-year-old tale, pieced together by state-of-the-art survey equipment and compelling archaeological evidence.

Arreda Homem Que Chegou Mulher

Documentary about terreiro women in Fortaleza who occupy the highest positions in the hierarchy, subverting the patriarchal tradition of religious communities.

Stand

Raw and unflinching examination of the courageous life of basketball star and social justice activist Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Born Chris Jackson, he overcame tremendous adversity to reach the NBA and found his true calling when he converted to Islam. His decision not to stand for the national anthem, however, turned him from prodigy to pariah. Told candidly by Abdul-Rauf himself more than 20 years later it’s the remarkable story of one man who kept the faith and paved the way for a social justice movement.

Dance for All

Me Alone in the Classroom

Doing really well on your school assessment tests, but still having the school recommend that you go to preparatory vocational school. Going to a club with friends and having the bouncer keep you out. Having to endure jokes from classmates. These are examples of the sort of casual racism that the children of director Karin Junger and their friends have to face. In Ik alleen in de klas, director Karin Junger, white mother of three darker-skinned children, stands with her family to confront the racism they experience in their daily lives. Twelve adolescents meet at a mansion in France. The group consists of Junger’s children and their friends. All of them come from ethnic minority backgrounds and share a feeling of being excluded from Dutch society. Re-enactment is used to explore painful situations again. In this simple but effective documentary, we can see the impact of subtle and less subtle forms of racism on the lives of young Dutch people.

By the River

Varanasi is the Indian city where Hindus go to die. Stretching along the Ganges, Varanasi holds great spiritual significance because Hindu scriptutres say that anyone who dies there will attain moksha—liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Berlin-based director Dan Braga Ulvestad captures life and death in India’s heartland in this moving documentary filled with exquisite cinematic moments. By the River starts its narrative journey with the city’s “death hotels,” dedicated apartments where people wait to die, sometimes for decades, so they can be cremated on the banks of the Ganges.

No Māori Allowed

When an academic unearths a forgotten history, residents of the small township of Pukekohe, including kaumātua who have never told their personal stories before, confront its deep and dark racist past.

The Twenty Dollar Miracle

The American woman is the best dressed woman in the world. This is due to Yankee ingeniuty, which makes a fashionable, well-made dress to sell for twenty dollars or less.

Obaida

OBAIDA, a short film by Matthew Cassel, explores a Palestinian child’s experience of Israeli military arrest. Each year, some 700 Palestinian children undergo military detention in a system where ill-treatment is widespread and institutionalized. For these young detainees, few rights are guaranteed, even on paper. After release, the experience of detention continues to shape and mark former child prisoners’ path forward.

The Hutterites

A look at the Hutterites, an Anabaptist religious community similar to the Amish or the Mennonites in rural Alberta.

Christspiracy

The moral dimension of humanity's interaction with nonhuman animals and the industries that profit from their exploitation, as informed by world religions. A historical explanation of how the current global situation came to be.

Jesus Is King

Filmed during summer 2019, Jesus Is King brings Kanye West’s famed Sunday Service to life in the Roden Crater, visionary artist James Turrell’s never-before-seen installation in Arizona’s Painted Desert. This one-of-a-kind experience features songs arranged by West in the gospel tradition along with new music from his forthcoming album.

Women After the War

A provoking film on the place of women.

Finding Nasseebi

A soul-searching filmmaker sets out to make a documentary about the United Arab Emirates' Islamic hotline center, where scholars answer questions and guide people towards the right path according to the Quran. As a friendship blossoms with one of the scholars, the filmmaker's relationship with a Muslim boyfriend makes her question her beliefs and the integrity of her film. This self-reflexive documentary follows one woman's journey to understand Islam and to love, regardless of differences in faith.

I'm Not Racist... Am I?

What if this next generation could transcend racism? One year, 12 teens, on a remarkable journey to face racism and white privilege, have the conversations most of us are too afraid to have. Once they push through naivete, guilt and tears, what they learn may change us all.

To Be and to Have

The documentary's title translates as "to be and to have", the two auxiliary verbs in the French language. It is about a primary school in the commune of Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson, Puy-de-Dôme, France, the population of which is just over 200. The school has one small class of mixed ages (from four to twelve years), with a dedicated teacher, Georges Lopez, who shows patience and respect for the children as we follow their story through a single school year.

Was lebst Du?

I followed the everyday lives of Ali, Kais, Ertan and Alban with my camera for over two years. The time was characterized by disappointments, conflicts and also great successes. It all began with a visit to the "Klingelpütz" youth center in the middle of Cologne. Young migrants have been meeting here for many years.

Oaxacalifornia: The Return

The Mejia family emigrated from Oaxaca to Fresno, California 40 years ago. Filmmaker Trisha ZIff filmed the family in 1996, and returns now to see the changes that have settled over them, and follows the family on their return to Mexico.

Time Machine: Banned From The Bible

Time Machine: Banned from the Bible in 2003. Banned from the Bible discusses the ancient books that did not become part of the Biblical canon.