Social Issues
see all genres ›The documentary medium was always ideal for exploring man's relation to man, in all its infinite complications of class, economy, race and other divisive topics.
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Genres / Documentary / Social Issues
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Heavy Metal Parking Lot
Hailed by Cameron Crowe as "one of the greatest rock movies ever made," HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT documents the parking lot tailgating at Capital Centre in Largo, Maryland, in the hours before (and the moments after) a Judas Priest concert in May 31, 1986 (the "JUN 23 1995"...Watch Movie
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The Pearl Button
The ocean contains the history of all humanity. The sea holds the voices of the Earth and those that come from outer space. Water receives impetus from the stars and transmits it to living creatures. Water, the longest border in Chile, also holds the secret of a mysterious...Watch Movie
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John Garfield
Mark Rappaport completed his concise portrait of the legendary John Garfield in 2002, comprised (like much of his filmed essays) from existing film footage of the actor. Exceptionally engaging, Rappaport's extraordinary short contains more insightful observations of its subject than many...Watch Movie
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Human Remains
HUMAN REMAINS is a haunting documentary which illustrates the banality of evil by creating intimate portraits of five of the 20th century's most reviled dictators. The film unveils the personal lives of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Francisco Franco and Mao Tse Tung. We learn the...Watch Movie
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Our Stars
Stars of the 1940s and 1950s, were they cast for their mutual affinities or for their commercial appeal? If and when they were re-starred years later, did the magic still work? Did sparks still fly? The movie business, a machine that manufactured romance and desire at the same time that it...Watch Movie
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See No Evil
The daily life of three famous elderly apes who spend their days in sanctuaries; a movie-star, a scientist and a crippled are portrayed in SEE NO EVIL. We have watched them closely for many years. And they have been watching us... A poetic, sometimes bitter tale on the intriguing relationship...Watch Movie
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Daguerréotypes
A classic documentary from Agnes Varda, DAGUERREOTYPES is a wonderfully intimate portrait of the small shops and shopkeepers on a short stretch of the Rue Daguerre, a picturesque street that has been the filmmaker's home for more than 50 years. As in her films THE BEACHES OF AGNES and THE...Watch Movie
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The Double Life of Paul Henreid
Paul Henreid, perhaps most famous for his roles in CASABLANCA and NOW, VOYAGER became a star at Warner Brothers during World War II, as the exotic lead with the European accent. After the war, his contract was cancelled and he was left to his own devices. He continued acting...Watch Movie
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Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO delves into the mystery of Japan's age-old love affair with insects. From the first fabled emperor who dubbed Japan the "Isle of the Dragonflies," to the cricket-selling businesses of the 1800s and finally to modern-day Tokyo where a beetle recently...Watch Movie
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Fata Morgana
Possibly Werner Herzog's most experimental work, FATA MORGANA defies categorization. Is it a narrative feature? A documentary? A metaphysical essay on film? As the director himself has noted, it regards Earth and its creatures as if from the curious, alienated viewpoint of interplanetary...Watch Movie
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Zizek!
The author of works on subjects as wide-ranging as Alfred Hitchcock, 9/11, opera, Christianity, Lenin and David Lynch, Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek is one of the most important and outrageous cultural theorists working today. This captivating, erudite documentary explores the eccentric...Watch Movie
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The Pervert's Guide to Ideology
Cultural theorist superstar Slavoj Zizek re-teams with director Sophie Fiennes for another wildly entertaining romp through the crossroads of cinema and philosophy. With infectious zeal and a voracious appetite for popular culture, Zizek literally goes inside some truly...Watch Movie
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Korla
KORLA is the amazing story of John Roland Redd, an African-American from Columbia, Missouri who migrated to Hollywood in 1939 and reinvented himself as a musician from India. He played the piano and organ, wore a jeweled turban, had a hypnotic gaze and never spoke a word while performing on his...Watch Movie
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Vortex
Internet changed not only our personal lives around the globe, it keeps changing dramatically itself. In a relatively short time, it changed from a free haven, full of new initiatives that were not only business-minded, but also creative and liberating, into "Big Brother" (an all encompassing...Watch Movie
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The Polymath
A cinematic portrait of the larger than life Samuel R. Delany, a visionary and subversive novelist and one of the most important and innovative writers of the last fifty years. Delany, the grandson of a slave, is an award-winning author, gay activist, cultural and social historian, professor,...Watch Movie
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Tokyo Waka
TOKYO WAKA is as much a carefully-etched, lyrical portrait of Tokyo and its denizens as it is a full-fledged rendering of the surprisingly rich life of crows. A tofu seller, a homeless woman and a Buddhist priest contemplate mortality, the metabolism of their city and garbage, while around them...Watch Movie
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The Box
Every year, thousands of teens are placed in solitary confinement cells in juvenile halls, jails and prisons nationwide. This animated short tells the story of Ismael "Izzy" Nazario and the time he spent in solitary confinement in New York City's Rikers Island jail. This story is based on an...Watch Movie
