GOING CLEAR intimately profiles eight former members of the Church of Scientology, shining a light on how they attract true believers and the things they do in the name of religion.
Former United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Deep Web gives the inside story of one of the most important and riveting digital crime sagas of the century -- the arrest of Ross William Ulbricht, the 30-year-old entrepreneur convicted of being 'Dread Pirate Roberts,' creator and operator of online black market Silk Road. As the only film with exclusive access to the Ulbricht family, Deep Web explores how the brightest minds and thought leaders behind the Deep Web and Bitcoin are now caught in the crosshairs of the battle for control of a future inextricably linked to technology, with our digital rights hanging in the balance.
Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true "free lance, " goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor's heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts.
Marino Pacileo has a soft spot for gambling. When he discovers that Lila's father, the young Chinese girl that he is in love with cannot pay a debt, the gambler steals money from the jail he is in to help the love of his life.
It is happening all across America-rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a reservoir dubbed the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas." Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground-a hydraulic drilling process called "fracking"-and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower.
The story of the insane scandals related to the remake of “Island of Dr. Moreau” —originally a novel by H. G. Wells—, which was brought to the big screen in 1996. How director Richard Stanley spent four years developing the project just to find an abrupt end to his work while leading actor Marlon Brando pulled the strings in the shadows. Now for the first time, the living key players recount what really happened and why it all went so spectacularly wrong.
A profoundly personal voyage into the complexity, fragility and wonder of the human brain, after Lotje Sodderland miraculously survives a hemorrhagic stroke and finds herself starting again in an alien world, bereft of language and logic. This feature documentary takes us on a genre-twisting tale that is by turns excruciating and exquisite - from the devastating consequences of a first-time neurological experiment, through to the extraordinary revelations of her altered sensory perception.
During the chaotic final weeks of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as the panicked South Vietnamese people desperately attempt to escape. On the ground, American soldiers and diplomats confront a moral quandary: whether to obey White House orders to evacuate only U.S. citizens.
Academy Award®–winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Love Me follows Western men and Ukrainian women as they embark on an unpredictable and riveting journey in search of love through the modern "mail-order bride" industry.
In a tiny Alabama town with the curious name of Muscle Shoals, something miraculous sprang from the mud of the Tennessee River. A group of unassuming, yet incredibly talented, locals came together and spawned some of the greatest music of all time: “Mustang Sally,” “I Never Loved a Man,” “Wild Horses,” and many more. During the most incendiary periods of racial hostility, white folks and black folks came together to create music that would last for generations and gave birth to the incomparable “Muscle Shoals sound.”
Armed only with their cameras, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning conflict Journalist Mike Boettcher, and his son, Carlos, provide unprecedented access into the longest war in U.S. history.
"SNL" star Michael Che takes on hot-button topics like inequality, homophobia and gentrification in this stand-up set filmed live in Brooklyn.
The Arab Spring in Egypt: From a dictator to free elections, back to a dictatorship. One comedy show united the country and tested the limits of free press. This is the story of Bassem Youssef, a cardiologist turned comedian, the Jon Stewart of Egypt, and his show "The Show".
Determined to understand the repeating patterns he was finding in nature, French mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot used an early form of computer imagery to produce his own versions, coining the recurring shapes fractals. This installment of the PBS series "Nova" examines the rules of these self-similar patterns and explores the ways these fascinating geometric configurations can be applied in the fields of science, medicine and the arts.
Unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity.
Moosa, a private detective, faces many challenges while solving various cases. His only rival is his own brother-in-law, Peethambaran, who is a police officer.
A loner from an early age, Thomas Quick went on to become Sweden's most notorious serial killer, openly confessing to the gruesome murders of more than 30 people. Held for decades in a psychiatric institute, Quick's confessions emerged after years working with a group of touchy feely therapists, convinced that the recovery of memories would cure patients of their criminality. In a country with a low crime rate, the nation watched with horror as Quick's confessions mounted, accounting for many of the country's unsolved murders. With testimonials from a range of people whose lives have been dominated by this story - including Quick himself - and dramatic reenactment, Brian Hill weaves a stylish noir thriller that works a treat on the big screen. What appears at first to be a tale of unimaginable evil evolves into something much more layered as Hill digs deep into the motivations behind those working closely with Quick.
In February 2022, the Boy Scouts of America reached a $2.7 billion agreement over sex abuse claims, the largest such settlement in history. Leave No Trace explores how this all-American institution went so horrifyingly wrong.
On September 11, 2001, Cantor Fitzgerald became famous for the worst of all possible reasons. 658 of their employees were missing, presumed dead, in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Though Cantor suffered almost twice the casualties of the FDNY, their story was soon pushed aside as the media ambushed Cantor CEO Howard Lutnick, who went from face-of-the-tragedy to pariah within weeks. A true stranger-than-fiction account, unfolding over months and years, the film captures being caught in the crosshairs of history.
At nearly 30 years old, Pauline left her stressful life in Paris and started walking with nothing but her backpack, on the path to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Embarking on a four month long journey, she traveled over 2000 kilometers on foot from her native town of Strasbourg, France, meeting pilgrims from across the world along the road and asking them what made them go on this adventure. Whether it was a desire to reconnect with their inner selves, a desire to challenge themselves, or even as a spiritual quest : every path is unique. This documentary discusses a generation of pilgrims and their needs to review their everyday habits, to discover the unknown and experiencing the magic of life.
Scientologists at War examines the independent Scientology movement and the high level defectors who have publicly renounced their membership from the Church of Scientology. Marty Rathbun is one of the most senior defectors in Scientology's history. As the former Inspector General of Ethics in the organisation that was created by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, Rathbun worked closely with its leader, David Miscavige, and celebrity follower Tom Cruise. The film provides a rare insider view of the Church of Scientology.
Jesus Camp is a Christian summer camp where children hone their "prophetic gifts" and are schooled in how to "take back America for Christ". The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future.
Recent scandals have revealed the brutal methods often imposed on young top athletes. Fueled by numerous testimonies, this damning investigation reveals the workings of a system which sacrifices children in the name of economic interests and glory.
A collection of death scenes, ranging from TV-material to home-made super-8 movies. The common factor is death by some means.
Ireland, June 1944. The crucial decision about the right time to start Operation Overlord on D-Day comes to depend on the readings taken by Maureen Flavin, a young girl who works at a post office, used as a weather station, in Blacksod, in County Mayo, the westernmost promontory of Europe, far from the many lands devastated by the iron storms of World War II.
July 2006. Another war breaks out in Lebanon. The directors decide to follow a movie star, Catherine Deneuve and a friend, actor and artist Rabih Mroue;, on the roads of South Lebanon. Together, they will drive through the regions devastated by the conflict. It is the beginning of an unpredictable, unexpected adventure...
For ten years, Raymond Depardon has followed the lives of farmer living in the mountain ranges. He allows us to enter their farms with astounding naturalness. This moving film speaks, with great serenity, of our roots and of the future of the people who work on the land. This the last part of Depardon's triptych "Profils paysans" about what it is like to be a farmer today in an isolated highland area in France. "La vie moderne" examines what has become of the persons he has followed for ten years, while featuring younger people who try to farm or raise cattle or poultry, come hell or high water.
In 1988, 20-year-old Céline Dion won Eurovision for Switzerland with the song ‘Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi’, a moment that kickstarted her international career and propelled the young Celine to world fame. This documentary looks back through the archives at an event that changed the Quebec singer's life, with interviews from the song’s composer as well as from Scott Fitzgerald, the British singer who was runner up at Eurovision 1988, beaten by just one point.
The film discusses the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, Nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. Dunn uses a family-tree-type flowchart to document some of the most popular metal subgenres. The film also explores various aspects of heavy metal culture.
In one of the most tragic face-offs in the history of law enforcement, the deadly debacle at Waco pitted the Branch Davidian sect against the FBI in an all-out war. This documentary makes the most of footage and recordings to examine how the events that led to the tragedy of April 19, 1993, unfolded, and how the FBI's unrelenting approach made what was already a bad situation much worse.
Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.
The first of a documentary serie about rural France.
Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story is a documentary about the life and work of Michael "Mick" Ronson, the guitarist, songwriter, producer and arranger who, in the early part of his career, performed with David Bowie as one of the 'Spiders from Mars'.
Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
On September 16, 2022, in Teheran, the murder by police of the young Mahsa Amini, arrested for "wearing a headscarf contrary to the law", sparked off an unprecedented insurrection. Within hours, a spontaneous movement formed around the rallying cry: "Woman, life, freedom". For the first time, women, joined by men and students, took the initiative and removed their veils, the hated symbol of the Islamic Republic. The Iranian population, from all regions and social categories, rose up in protest. Social networks went wild. The diaspora (between 5–8 million Iranians) took up the cause, and the whole world discovered the scale of this mobilization: could the theocratic regime be overthrown this time?
Irish director Donagh Coleman explores the extraordinary phenomenon of Tukdam, whereby some Tibetan Buddhist practitioners are able to forestall physical decay at the point of clinical death for days, even weeks, by entering a deep meditative state. Supported by His Holiness the Dalai Lama a group of leading scientists conduct groundbreaking research into the phenomenon, which challenges Western medical understanding of the line between life and death.
Filmmaker Werner Herzog combs through the film archives of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft to create a film that celebrates their legacy.
Exploring the underground world of trafficking, where children are used for prostitution and organ harvesting. Patryk Vega interviews a mother who intends on selling her unborn child to traffickers.