John Ford & Monument Valley

Meet Tajikistan's answer to the Jackson family. Nearly 80, Allo "Papa" Alaev rules his celebrated folk music clan with an iron tambourine. Beginning with his unilateral decision to emigrate to Israel, the gifted musician micro-manages nearly every aspect of their lives, both on stage and off. From every meal made in his kitchen to what instrument each member will play, the patriarch accepts nothing less than total commitment and obedience. Every child and grandchild lives in their single-family house in Tel Aviv. All but one, that is. His only daughter, Ada, chose her own way in life, a sin her father will not forgive. As generations clash over new musical directions, competing personal interests and Papa's advancing age, the family show must go on—but who will lead the band? Set to a blazing tribal soundtrack, drama and drumbeats sing out from every entertaining exchange in this grand family affair.

After several farmyard analogies featuring chicks and calves, the well-spoken narrator and director of the film, Winifred Holmes, considers the subject of girls and how they reach adulthood and readiness for the 'important job of motherhood.

Documentary about red-bereted Jimmy Mirikitani, a feisty painter working and living on the street, near the World Trade Center, when 9/11 devastates the neighborhood. A nearby film editor, Linda Hattendorf, persuades elderly Jimmy to move in with her, while seeking a permanent home for him. The young woman delves into the California-born, Japan-raised artist's unique life which developed his resilient personality, and fuel his 2 main subjects, cats and internment camps. The editor films Jimmy's remarkable journey.

The film is set to the music of Franz Schubert and is very strange. Much of it consists of disembodies arms and legs all moving about to the music. There are also folks in body suits moving rhythmically to the tune. Occasionally, there are shots of a guy in full color with multiple exposures.

A documentary about the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday (1915-1959). There exist many myths and legends about the Jazz Singer Billie Holiday — one of the greatest voices of the last century. Most of them tell the story of the tragic victim of drugs, alcohol, men, color, or the circumstances of her upbringing. To some extent she contributed herself to these legends, especially in her autobiography "Lady Sings the Blues". In recent years, more and more records and reports have shown a different picture of her. These statements of confidants, colleagues and friends clean up with many of the legends and show a strong personality who has been anything but a pitiable victim. Billie Holiday was a strong-willed and determined person and a very complex personality who did not correspond to the classic victim type.

Welcome to Africville gives voice to what may have been marginalized members of an Afro-Canadian community in 1969. It's intention is to be a catalyst to thought and reflection about the lives and struggles of people from that community whose stories still go untold. It is the fictional account of a family. We listen to the stories of three generations of women and their friend Julius on the day their community is to be destroyed by the municipal government of Halifax. This story is a portrait of four individuals coping with universal uncertainties and insecurities.

A Way Out is a documentary about breaking the cycle of poverty in Canadian's oldest and largest "ghetto," Regent Park. In addition to talking about what it is like to grow up poor in North America, it explores the reasons behind one person finding a way out of poverty and others remaining. As a former resident of a low-income community, Christene Browne went back to find out what had happened to some of her old friends. Formal and impromptu interviews are conducted and the community is revealed through footage and stills.

An unpredictable documentary from a fascinating storyteller, Agnès Varda’s last film sheds light on her experience as a director, bringing a personal insight to what she calls "cine-writing," traveling from Rue Daguerre in Paris to Los Angeles and Beijing.

Upending expectations and challenging the definition of womanhood, these “first women” found themselves at the forefront of progressive movements, organizing campaigns and leading paths to cultural change. Female historians share the names and stories of five of these pioneers: Martha Hughes Cannon, Jovita Idár, Jeannette Rankin, Mary Church Terrell and Zitkála-Šá.