Daughter Rite

This documentary follows two Mohawk girls on their journey to become Mohawk women. Friends since childhood, Kaienkwinehtha and Kasennakohe are members of the traditional community of Akwesasne on the U.S./Canada border. Together, they undertake a four-year rite of passage for adolescents, called Oheró:kon, or "under the husk." The ceremony had been nearly extinct, a casualty of colonialism and intergenerational trauma; revived in the past decade by two traditional leaders, it has since flourished. Filmmaker Katsitsionni Fox has served as a mentor, or "auntie," to many youth going through the passage rites.

This feature documentary is an exploration of the concept of dirt and impurity. From the slums of Kolkata to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to a barbeque joint in Central Texas, Dirt digs deep into the webs of meaning and feeling attached to that deceptively simple 4-letter word. An odyssey into all things unclean, the film features animation to make Hieronymus Bosch blush and music from Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Mayan Renaissance is a feature length film which documents the glory of the ancient Maya civilization, the Spanish conquest in 1519, 500 years of oppression, and the courageous fight of the Maya to reclaim their voice and determine their own future, in Guatemala and throughout Central America. The film stars 1992 Nobel Peace Laureate and Maya Leader Rigoberta Mencu Tum. All of the images, voices, expert commentary and music in the film come directly from Central America, the heart of the Mayan World.

Mahaleos voices and music have accompanied the people of Madagascar ever since the collapse of the colonial regime. Yet, even after 30 years of success, the groups seven musicians still keep their distance from the world of show-business, and remain deeply committed to helping their countrys development; their professions range from surgeon to farmer, physician to sociologist and member of parliament. Accompanied by the groups rhythmic melodies, the film follows the singers through their daily lives, giving us a glimpse of the far-reaching social and economic problems of the Malagasy people. The combined talents of the Brazilian, Cesar Paes, and the Malagasy, Raymond Rajaonarivelo, have produced a work that is both ethereal and concrete, poetic and political.

"What if someone wrote your biography? Would there be horns and halos involved?"

It's no exaggeration to say this might be the most intense and groundbreaking 45-minute performance in the history of rock. Jimi Hendrix's debut American set at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival is generally considered one of the most radical and legendary live shows ever. Virtually unknown to American audiences at the time, even though he was already an established entity in the UK, Hendrix and his two-piece Experience explode on stage, ripping through blues classics "Rock Me Baby" and Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor," interpreting and electrifying Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," debuting songs from his yet-to-be-released first album and closing with the now historic sacrificing/burning of his guitar during an unhinged version of "Wild Thing" that even its writer Chip Taylor would never have imagined. Hendrix uses feedback and distortion to enhance the songs in whisper-to-scream intensity, blazing territory that had not been previously explored with as much soul-frazzled power.

A young working class Baltimore man spends 10 years on a single portrait, believing it is his means to fame and fortune. But he also believes that only one man can lead him there--the famous artist David Hockney. What happens when you finally meet the god of your own making?

First Edition is a 1977 American short documentary film about the Baltimore Sun directed by Helen Whitney. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

“In the beginning, women lived apart, unaware of the existence of men. Until one day, when the first woman, Toli, who was brave and adventurous traveled deep into the forest. Toli discovered solitary creatures with big muscles who knew how to climb trees and harvest wild honey. When Toli tasted their honey, she thought they should all live together….” That is how one of the creation stories of the Aka people from the tropical rainforest of the Congo Basin goes. Akaya, Kengole, Dibota and their friends and family are hunters-gatherers (and also great story-tellers) who guide us through their world. They explain their origins, myths, and the very spiritual meaning of life.

Margaret Mee and the Moonflower is a documentary about the life and work of the botanical illustrator, Margaret Mee, a pioneer and a visionary, one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. Through her diaries, interviews and narratives, the film reveals a tireless advocate for the preservation of Brazilian flora, whose love of nature and whose art provide a constant reminder of the need to preserve our environment.