Last year nearly 400,000 women in the United States got breast implants. At a time when more women than ever are making this choice, fewer voices than ever seem to be asking “Why?” And fewer still are asking “Are they safe?” Absolutely Safe takes an open-minded, personal approach to the controversy over breast implant safety. Ultimately, Absolutely Safe is the story of everyday women who find themselves and their breasts in the tangled and confusing intersection of health, money, science,...
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Arab Labor is a raucous and irreverent critically acclaimed comedy series from Israel about Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity. His personal quest for status and success as a journalist at a Jerusalem newspaper is foiled by the humiliating searches he endures everyday when he leaves his Palestinian neighborhood to commute to his job. In the midst of a walloping identity crisis, Amjad jockeys between two cultures as he tries to polish his image for his Jewish...
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Art of Faith is a visually sumptuous series revealing outstanding examples of the art and architecture of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The films bring to life many of the greatest and most significant religious buildings through stunning photography and interviews with the people who know and love them.
The programs are filmed in twenty-seven key locations in eighteen countries, from Russia to the USA, India to Egupt, and the UK to Hungary. The architecture and art of each building is explored...
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As part of the making of the ground-breaking series “A Brief History of Disbelief,” Jonathan Miller filmed conversations with some very distinguished minds. Jonathan, of course, could not resist the temptation to make these conversations wide ranging and so – naturally enough – their final contributions to “A Brief History of Disbelief” are only a small part of the original interviews.In these off-the-record interviews, neurologist turned playwright, filmmaker and self-described...
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Susan Retik and Patti Quigley were two ordinary soccer moms living in the affluent suburbs of Boston until the tragedy of September 11 struck. Rather than turn inward, grief compelled these women to focus on empowering widows in the country where the terrorists who took their husbands’ lives were trained: Afghanistan.
As Susan and Patti make the courageous journey from their comfortable neighborhoods to the most desperate Afghan villages, they discover a powerful bond with each other, an unlikely...
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Elvis Presley may have been born with the rock ‘n roll in his blood but without poverty, southern culture and a mother whom he adored, Elvis Aaron Presley might have been just another poor white guy rather than the King of Rock ‘n Roll. Narrated by prolific country musician and actor Kris Kristofferson, this feature-length documentary takes an intimate look at Elvis’ childhood growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi. Before the gold records, movie deals and infamous variety show performances, Elvis...
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Over 40 years ago, on October 9, 1967, Ernesto Che Guevara was executed by the Bolivian army, aided by the CIA. Guevara’s diary, a detailed, personal account of his futile 11-month attempt to foment revolution in Bolivia, is the basis of this moving portrait. Che’s relationship with the mysterious Tania, his betrayal by local peasants, his constant battle with asthma, and his distress at the death of his comrades is recounted. Interviews with Bolivians who met Che during these final days, coupled...
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Fela Kuti is to African music what Bob Marley is to reggae: its prophet. All contemporary forms of black music, from funk to electronic, owe something to the irresistible groove of the Afrobeat sound that he created. He recorded more than 60 albums and spent a lifetime fighting against political corruption in his homeland of Nigeria, where the people affectionately called him their “Black President.”
Shot in Lagos at the peak of his career in 1982, this documentary contains interviews with...
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In these times of crisis, there is an electric charge in the air, a burgeoning renewal amongst both people who have focused their lives on the spiritual, and those whose lives are centered around the struggle for change. Featuring Velcrow Ripper’s stunning cinematography, a compelling soundtrack, and dramatic stories of resistance and transformation, FIERCE LIGHT: WHEN SPIRIT MEETS ACTION is a feature documentary that captures the excitement of Spiritual Activism that is catalyzing the planet....
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This award-winning documentary about poet, artist, calligrapher and mystic Brion Gysin, portrays the life and legacy of an artist who believed art could revolutionize human consciousness. FLicKeR chronicles Gison’s complex ideas, friendships and influence with some of the 20th century’s key counterculture figures, such as William Burroughs, Kurt Corbain and Marianne Faithful.
Gysin was fascinated by identity. He saw himself as incarnating the 10th-century King of Assassins, trained in...
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Never before in our collective human history have so many women had such autonomy to construct a life of their own creation. Yet, the terrain is still rocky and ‘choice’ does not necessarily bring happiness, let alone freedom. Meanwhile, old models of femaleness still haunt women everywhere.
In this six-hour tour de force, Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, master storyteller Jennifer Fox lays bare her own turbulent life to penetrate what it means to be a free woman today. As her drama...
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Forgiveness: Stories of Our Time focuses on four individuals who have lived through events so painful and horrific they are unimaginable to most of us.
Lesley Parrott’s young daughter was stalked, raped and strangled. Anne Marie Hagan’s father was murdered by their next-door neighbor. Alan McBride’s wife and eight others were killed in an IRA bombing in Belfast. Reverend Julie Nicholson’s daughter was killed on the London underground in an al Qaeda bombing in 2004. Through heartfelt interviews...
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A vibrant chronicle of one of today’s most notorious and revered live bands, Gogol Bordello Non-Stop follows Eugene Hütz’s gypsy-punk brigade around the world as they spread their liberating libertine musical gospel. Filmmaker Margarita Jimeno tracks their raucous gigs from 2001 to 2006, from NYC to Italy, as the band rises from dingy basements to festival main-stages. The cast is a rotating circus of polyglot personalities from Israel, Russia and America, who dish on their music, their...
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A universal experience whether or not we can admit it, death is the sole counterpart to life. From the moment we take our first breath, death is our only guaranteed experience. This is something Stephen Jenkinson not only understands but something he loves. And he wants you to feel the same way. Griefwalker, a feature length documentary by Tim Wilson, sets its lens on Jenkinson in an unforgettable exploration of death phobia as a culture.
Stephen Jenkinson, a Harvard educated theologian, is one...
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Since its overwhelming success on Broadway forty years ago, HAIR: Let the Sun Shine In has inspired generations with its messages of love, non-violence and liberation. This definitive and entertaining documentary highlights the continuing relevance of the show and its still radical, transformative power.
In preparation for its fortieth anniversary, the show’s author and co-creator Jim Rado rehearses a troupe of young performers for a new production whose vibrant energy brings HAIR’s fantastic...
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In the 1960s and 1970s thousands of hippies journeyed east to India in search of enlightenment. Indian peasants assumed that a severe drought in the West was the reason for their migration. India’s holy men saw it as a search for spirituality. Most moved back to their home countries after a few months or years while others stayed for good. Hippie Masala is a portrait of Western ex-patriates: Robert from Holland, a gifted painter, lives with jos wife and young children. Meera, a hermit, seeks enlightenment...
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Long before Timothy Leary urged a generation to “tune in, turn on and drop out,” lysergic acid diethylamide (or LSD) was being used by researchers committed to understanding the workings of the human mind. Discovered in 1943 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, LSD was hailed as a powerful tool for the treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction and to provide a window into schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. Much of that pioneering research was done by the team of Humphry Osmond, Abram Hoffer...
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Holes In My Shoes profiles the ultimate New Yorker, Jack Beers, and demonstrates the power and promise of the American Dream through the artfully-told, inspirational story of his life. The stuff that urban legend is made of, Beers represents everything good about New York – and America itself. His story reminds us that time and time again, American society has been resurrected from times of hardship through the sheer will of individuals who uplifted the nation through their common fight for...
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Direct from the Knitting Factory stage in downtown Manhattan, A Not So Silent Night features Kate and Anna McGarrigle in a live performance of The McGarrigle Christmas Hour, joined by Kate’s children, Rufus and Martha Wainwright. Other guests include Grammy award-winner Emmylou Harris, Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed, and famed performance artist Laurie Anderson. An eclectic cast performing original and traditional Christmas-themed songs transports viewers through a rousing rendition of...
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Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman are KIKI & HERB, worldwide smash punk rebel entertainers, cabaret outsiders, and subversive pop stars who rock stages all over the world. Join the Tony-nominated duo at the epicenter of their madness for their first-ever live DVD from the Knitting Factory in New York City. Featuring 15 numbers from their incendiary Year of Magical Drinking Tour including Rhythm Divine, Song Against Sex, I’m Ugly (and I Don’t Know Why), Moments of Pleasure, I was a Maoist...
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LIVING GODDESS is a powerful portrait of a young girl venerated as a goddess growing up in a country on the verge of civil war. This is the story of Sajani, who is worshipped as one of three living goddesses in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, and whose peaceful existence is contrasted with violent political turmoil that threatens their traditional way of life. With beautiful imagery and an intimate story, LIVING GODDESS unfolds a world of spirituality and political turbulence through the eyes of...
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Meditate and Destroy profiles the persona who quite possibly represents America’s most unexpected Buddhist: former punk rocker and juvenile delinquent Noah Levine, bestselling author of the book Dharma Punx. As a teenager, Levine was mired in an abyss of violence, drug and alcohol abuse – and criminal detention. When he hit bottom, attempting suicide in juvenile jail in the late 80’s, Levine received a phone call from his father who instructed him how to take baby steps toward initiating...
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Is it possible to shed light on the states of grace experienced by mystics and meditators? Mystical Brain shows us the most recent discoveries of scientific research on this phenomenon in North America and abroad.
It seems that mystical ecstasy is a profoundly transformative experience. It could contribute to people’s psychic and bodily health, treat depression and speed up the healing process in patients who combine meditation with conventional medicine.
A guided tour of the depths...
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With gorgeous stop-motion animation and enlightening interviews, Mythic Journeys seeks to reclaim the power of myth, which is the reservoir of human wisdom. The filmmakers gained access to Deepak Chopra and other spiritual leaders for a rich and stimulating dialogue, which is woven in with the astonishing puppetry of Brian and Wendy Froud (The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth). Using the voices of Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), and Lance Henriksen (Alien), the beautiful animated...
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NOLLYWOOD BABYLON chronicles the wild world of “Nollywood,” a term coined in the early ‘90s to describe the world’s fastest-growing national cinema, surpassed only by its Indian counterpart. The film delves first-hand into Nigeria’s explosive homegrown movie industry, where Jesus and voodoo vie for screen time. Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, known in Lagos as “Da Governor,” is one of the most influential men in Nollywood. Undeterred by miniscule budgets, Da Governor is one of a cadre of...
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PROTAGONIST explores extremism through contrasting stories of personal revelation. The film features four individuals who have been devoted to personal odysseys - a cause, a quest, an ideal - to the point of total consumption. At first glance the characters appear disconnected: a former German terrorist, an “ex-gay” evangelist, a bank robber and a martial arts student. But as their stories unfold, one starts to see the parallels between the uncommon, common experience of these four men.
Each...
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Make Love a sacred art. Transform your love life, enjoy more passion and fun, experience more meaningful intimacy, strengthen your marriage, become a great lover by learning ancient and contemporary love arts with Karinna Kittles Karsten’s Sacred Love-Making DVD.
Sacred Love is the experience and expression of a meaningful, passionate, intimate relationship that includes a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual connection between two people. Sacred Love helps both singles and couples create...
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A Revealing Look at History’s Most Misunderstood Woman
Mary Magdalene: a sinner and prostitute, or the secret wife of Jesus and leader of his church? This riveting two-program investigation provides the most up-to-date information on one of the world’s most controversial religious figures.
Program One: Secrets of Mary Magdalene
Shot in Hi-Def and based on Dan Burstein’s and Arne De Keijzer’s nonfiction book, this fascinating documentary strips away the veils of history to...
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What is the soul? Is it genetically encoded in our DNA or the product of centuries of religious teachings dealing with our mortality?
Secrets of the Soul takes an all encompassing look at the search for the soul, from the faithful who seek to touch it to the scientists who investigate its reality. This two-hour documentary special explores the western belief in the soul as way of understanding the afterlife, and the eastern concept that it is energy recycled through reincarnation.
Scientists have...
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SEX: How To Do Everything is a groundbreaking ten-part series featuring renowned sexperts Em & Lo setting out to whip your sex life into seriously seductive shape. Each episode is full of information, interviews and how-to demonstrations from various models illustrating a variety of different techniques, from the ordinary to the super-scandalous.
Aimed equally at guys and gals, singles and couples - Em & Lo will stop at nothing to dish out all there is to know about everything from orgasms...
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Signs Out of Time, a film by Donna Read and Starhawk, examines the life and work of world-renowned archaeologist Dr. Marija Gimbutas. Drawing from her extensive knowledge of mythology and linguistics, Lithuanian-born Gimbutas uncovered the life-affirming and goddess-worshipping civilizations of pre-historic “Old Europe.” Weaving together footage of Gimbutas herself, as well as interviews with her supporters and critics, Signs Out of Time reveals a visionary scholar whose theories challenged...
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If you don’t believe in God, but want to, where do you begin? Simon Cole sets out across America in search of a connection with God that has perplexed and eluded him throughout his life in the new documentary film So Help Me God.
In Religulous, Bill Maher embarked on a satirical quest to find God while mocking the beliefs of the religious. In So Help Me God, Simon Cole chronicles his odyssey across the nation asking Christians, Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses,...
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In the state of Judea in southern Africa, violence, poverty and sectarianism are endemic. The neighboring Alliance has invaded to restore ‘peace’ at gunpoint. Bloody street battles accompany the neighboring dictatorship’s incursion into its weaker satellite. Promises of a transition to open democratic rule accompany summary executions and brutal massacres. As the civil war reaches a new level, a divine child is born to a lowly couple. As he grows and witnesses the inhumanity of the world he...
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Already a worldwide film festival favorite, SOUND OF THE SOUL transports viewers on an exhilarating and inspiring cinematic journey into the heart of the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music.
SOUND OF THE SOUL celebrates the historic city of Fez, an ancient sanctuary for Muslim, Jewish and Christian inhabitants. This North African desert Mecca is the ideal location for an exceptional music festival that brings together a gospel band from Harlem, the ethereal sound of Irish vocal group Anuna, a transcendent...
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Spiritual Revolution captures the spiritual revival that is exploding across the United States today. Rooted in eastern traditions, specifically the practice of meditation, the new spirituality is transforming traditional western faith practices. Eminent spiritual leaders, Zen masters, yogis, scholars and scientists explore the new role of meditation in traditional faith practices; the power of meditation to affect the brain on the molecular level; and its potential as a remedy for those with ADD....
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The daily life of the Dalai Lama is brought home with remarkable intimacy in Sunrise/Sunset. Granted total access to His Holiness for 24 hours, this is a day in the life of the Dalai Lama from when he wakes up at 3AM until his bedtime at dusk. Starting with his morning fitness routine and continuing on through the private audiences, press conferences, and blessings he imparts every day, it is a comprehensive and compassionate document of his everyday habits. As the sun begins to set, and with his...
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The American Ruling Class is a morality tale set to music about two Yale students who seek their opportunities after graduation. Lewis Lapham, the renowned essayist, author and longtime Harper’s Magazine editor, conducts them through the corridors of power – Pentagon press briefings, the World Economic Forum, philanthropic foundations, Washington law firms, banks, the Council on Foreign Relations and New York society dinners. As they make their way, the real-life luminaries they meet become...
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In a wooded glade somewhere near San Francisco, The Workshop challenges the rules of modern society by pushing all boundaries of normal convention - especially the sexual ones! A group of people agree to take part in a 10-day ‘workshop’ led by spiritual leader Paul Lowe in their search for a higher personal truth. On day one they are told to introduce themselves and meet everyone else - completely naked!
Searing emotional honesty, full nudity, experiments and sexuality and the exorcising...
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Filmmaker John Walter artfully captures Meryl Streep groping for – and then seizing – the character in her unforgettable portrayal of Mother Courage in Tony Kushner’s adaptation of the Bertold Brecht masterpiece Mother Courage and Her Children, which was presented by The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival in Central Park in the summer of 2006. As Manohla Dargis in the Times observed, “filmmaker John Walter jumps from art to history and politics and back again, from the theater of the...
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What moves young, educated people to give up lives of material security for a spiritual quest that confronts uncertainty?
Filmed in the gorgeous countryside and ancient cities of India and Turkey, Through the Eastern Gate is a compelling documentary following the journeys of three young people who have turned their backs on the material comforts and distractions of the West to find meaning in the spiritual philosophies of the East.
Sister Yeshe Chodron’s journey leads her from Australia to...
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Death is real, it comes without warning and it cannot be escaped. An ancient source of strength and guidance, The Tibetan Book of the Dead remains an essential teaching originating in the spiritual cultures of the Himalayas. Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this enlightening two-part series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to its profound wisdom.
Part 1: A Way of Life reveals the history of The Tibetan Book of the Dead and examines its traditional use in northern India,...
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With One Voice shares the eternal message and wisdom of the mystics. This illuminating documentary explores the unity of humanity, reveals our essential oneness and spreads the single message that binds all faiths together. The film features mystics from many of the great spiritual traditions around the world, whose lives have been dedicated to answering the mysteries of existence. For mystics, all of our problems stem from a loss of connection with the infinite source that sustains us all and...
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Women and Spirituality is Donna Read’s definitive series that explores the power of the sacred feminine in mythological, historical and cultural contexts. This trilogy investigates the relationship between women and spirituality from ancient times to the present.
Goddess Remembered - Part 1 - This poetic documentary is a salute to 35 000 years of “pre-history,” to the values of ancestors only recently remembered, and to the goddess-worshipping religions of the ancient past. Goddess...
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WORKINGMAN’S DEATH is an unflinching portrait of the state of manual labor in the 21st century. In the Ukraine, a group of men spend long days crawling through cramped shafts of illegal coal mines. Sulfur gatherers in Indonesia brave the smoky heat of an active volcano and the treacherous trip back down. Blood, fire and stench are routine for workers at a crowded open-air slaughterhouse in Nigeria. Pakistani men use little more than their bare hands to dismantle an abandoned oil tanker for scrap...
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