Let It Fall takes a unique and in-depth look at the years and events leading up to the city-wide violence that began April 29, 1992, when the verdict was announced in the Rodney King case.

Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent explores the remarkable life of Jeremiah Tower, one of the most controversial and influential figures in the history of American gastronomy. Tower began his career at the renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1972, becoming a pioneering figure in the emerging California cuisine movement. After leaving Chez Panisse, due in part to a famously contentious relationship with founder Alice Waters, Tower went on to launch his own legendary Stars Restaurant in San Francisco. Stars was an overnight sensation and soon became one of America’s top-grossing U.S. restaurants. After several years, Tower mysteriously walked away from Stars and then disappeared from the scene for nearly two decades, only to resurface in the most unlikely of places: New York City’s fabled but troubled Tavern on the Green. There, he launched a journey of self-discovery familiar to anyone who has ever imagined themselves to be an artist. [The Orchard]

A wildlife drama that follows the families of endangered animals in China.

In 1960 Jane Jacobs’s book The Death and Life of Great American Cities sent shockwaves through the architecture and planning worlds, with its exploration of the consequences of modern planners’ and architects’ reconfiguration of cities. Jacobs was also an activist, who was involved in many fights in mid-century New York, to stop “master builder” Robert Moses from running roughshod over the city. This film retraces the battles for the city as personified by Jacobs and Moses, as urbanization moves to the very front of the global agenda. Many of the clues for formulating solutions to the dizzying array of urban issues can be found in Jacobs’s prescient text, and a close second look at her thinking and writing about cities is very much in order. This film sets out to examine the city of today though the lens of one of its greatest champions.

At the heart of the Apollo space program and a remarkable decade of achievement was the team who worked in Mission Control.They were born against a backdrop of economic turmoil and global conflict. Some came from a rural lifestyle little changed from the 19th century. Others grew up in a gritty, blue-collar America of mines and smoke stacks. They ranged from kids straight out of college to those toughened by military service. But from such ordinary beginnings, an extraordinary team was born. They were setting out on what JFK called: “The most hazardous, dangerous, and greatest adventure upon which mankind has ever embarked” and through their testimony – and the supporting voices of Apollo astronauts and modern NASA flight directors – the film takes us from the faltering start of the program through the Mercury and Gemini missions, the tragedy of the Apollo 1 fire to the glories of the Moon landings.

Finding Oscar is a feature length documentary about the search for justice in the devastating case of the Dos Erres massacre in Guatemala. That search leads to the trail of two little boys who were plucked from a nightmare and offer the only living evidence that ties the Guatemalan government to the massacre.

An art world upstart, provocative and elusive artist Maurizio Cattelan made his career on playful and subversive works that send up the artistic establishment, until a retrospective at the Guggenheim in 2011 finally solidified his place in the contemporary art canon. Axelrod's equally playful profile leaves no stone unturned in trying to figure out: who is Maurizio Cattelan?

Featuring never-before-seen Coltrane family home movies, footage of John Coltrane and band in the studio (discovered in a California garage during production of this film), along with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and rare television appearances from around the world, Coltrane's incredible story is told by the musicians that worked with him (Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Reggie Workman), musicians that have been inspired by his fearless artistry and creative vision (Common, John Densmore, Wynton Marsalis, Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter, Kamasi Washington), and many others.

Nebbishy filmmaker Joanna Arnow documents her yearlong relationship with racially charged poet-provocateur James Kepple. What starts out as an uncomfortably intimate portrait of a dysfunctional relationship and protracted mid-twenties adolescence, quickly turns into a complex commentary on societal repression, sexuality and self-confrontation through art.

Alive and Kicking gives the audience an intimate, insider’s view into the culture of the current swing dance world while shedding light on issues facing modern society. No matter what troubles they are facing in their lives, swing dancers are filled with joy, exhilaration, and even giddiness while they dance. Boiled down to its core, swing dancing is about the pursuit of happiness. Most people think of happiness as a passive emotion: if something good happens, I will be happy. But we all have the ability to feel joy despite the worst of circumstances once we realize that happiness exists inside of us. [Magnolia Pictures]

SHOT! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock is an odyssey into the colorful and bohemian tales of rock 'n' roll's history. A cinematic adventure that delves deep into the mind of one of rock's greatest living photographers: Mick Rock. Through the poignant lens of rock 'n' roll mythology; icon-maker, psychedelic explorer, poet, and custodian of dreams Mick Rock navigates his story from the glam rock shimmer of London to the snarl of NYC punk, and deep into the new millennium. Mick turns inward to face himself and the experiences as the visual record-keeper of myths and legends that propelled him into a living icon in this rock n’ roll comeback story.

After Kris breaks up with his long-time girlfriend, anything seems possible and Warsaw is his playground. Along with best friend Michal, handsome and wide-eyed, they roam the metropolis at night, floating from party to party, dancing until dawn in makeshift clubs and city squares. With only instinct and desire as their guides, big ideas intermingle with drugs and sex and one thing seamlessly gives way to another. However, when Kris falls for Michal’s ex-girlfriend, the indomitable and alluring Eva, the relationship between the two best friends falls apart. Determined to find his true self Kris navigates between his memories and future hopes soon realizing that his crusade to understand life has starting to overshadow living it.

All This Panic takes an intimate look into the lives of seven teenage girls as they come of age in NYC. The film mixes portraiture and verite as the teens navigate the ephemeral and fleeting transition between child and adult. Shot over a three-year period in a lush and cinematic style, All This Panic is a meditation on the mysterious, sometimes painful, and ultimately exhilarating time of life. In a world where “they want to see us, but they don’t want to hear us.” this is a project comprised of young women speaking to their own experiences. [Factory 25]

The body of a homeless woman is found in an abandoned New Hampshire farmhouse. Beside the body, lies a diary that documents a journey of starvation and the loss of sanity, but told with poignance, beauty, humor, and spirituality. For nearly four months, Linda Bishop survived on apples and rain water, waiting for God to save her, during one of the coldest winters on record. As her story unfolds from different perspectives, including her own, we learn about our systemic failure to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

David Lynch: The Art Life looks at Lynch’s art, music, and early films, shining a light into the dark corners of his unique world and giving audiences a better understanding of the man and the artist. As he says, “I think every time you do something, like a painting or whatever, you go with ideas, and sometimes the past can conjure those ideas and color them. Even if they’re new ideas, the past colors them.” We’re invited in and given private views from Lynch’s compound and painting studio in the hills high above Hollywood, as he tells personal stories that unfold like scenes from his films. Strange characters come into focus only to fade again into the past, all leaving an indelible mark.

Twenty-five years after the collapse of the German Democratic Republic, New York filmmaker Petra Epperlein returns to her childhood home of Karl Marx City to find the truth about her late father’s suicide and his rumored Stasi past. Had he been an informant for the secret police? Was her childhood an elaborate fiction? As she looks for answers in the Stasi’s extensive archives and from her own family, she pulls back the curtain of her own nostalgia and enters the parallel world of the security state.

In 1970, William Powell wanted to help build a new society, so he taught the world how to blow up the old one. As the heady days of the late 60’s counterculture and political upheaval turned darker, Powell, at 19, wrote one of the most infamous books ever published: The Anarchist Cookbook. Part manifesto, part bomb-making manual, it went on to sell over 2 million copies, and it’s been associated with decades of anti-government attacks, abortion clinic bombings, school shootings and homegrown domestic terrorism. Now 65, Powell, haunted by his creation, struggles to make sense of the damage it’s done. After writing it, he left the US, leading an itinerant life, teaching kids with special needs -- ironically, the kinds of kids who may have turned to violence and the Cookbook. The film is a cautionary tale of youthful rebellion, unforeseen consequences, and a universal, all-too human story of an older man, wrestling with his past, his identity, and coming to terms with who he really is.

It may be surprising to learn that a major culinary revolution is taking place in Israel – a country so frequently associated with political drama. In just thirty years, Israel has gone from having no fine food to call its own to a cuisine that is world-renowned.

On a snowy night in February 1972, the 33 year old jazz trumpet star Lee Morgan was shot dead by his common-law wife, Helen, during a gig at a club in New York City. The murder sent shockwaves through the jazz community, and the memory of the event still haunts the people who knew the Morgans. Helen served time for the crime and, following her release, retreated into obscurity. Over 20 years later, a chance encounter led her to give a remarkable interview. Helen’s revealing audio “testimony” acts as a refrain throughout the film, which draws together a wealth of archival photographs and footage, notable talking heads and incredible jazz music to tell the ill-fated pair’s story.

Writer/director Ted Braun follows controversial hedge fund titan Bill Ackman as he puts a billion dollars on the line in his crusade to expose Herbalife as the largest pyramid scheme in history.

In the midst of the Egyptian Arab Spring, Bassem Youssef makes a decision that’s every mother’s worst nightmare… He leaves his job as a heart surgeon to become a full-time comedian. Dubbed, “The Egyptian Jon Stewart,” Bassem creates the satirical show, Al Bernameg. The weekly program quickly becomes the most viewed television program in the Middle East, with 30 million viewers per episode. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart averaged two million viewers. In a country where free speech is not settled law, Bassem’s show becomes as controversial as it popular. He and his staff must endure physical threats, protests, and legal action, all because of jokes. As Bassem attempts to remain on the air, keep his staff safe, and not get arrested, he continues to let those in power know they’re being held accountable. Despite increasing danger, the team at Al Bernameg employ comedy, not violence, to comment on hypocrisy in media, politics, and religion. Tickling Giants follows the team of Al Bernameg as they discover democracy is not easily won. The young women and men working on Bassem’s show are fearless revolutionaries, who just happen to be really, really funny. No unicorns or falafel were harmed in the making of this film.

Inspired by the Church of Scientology’s use of filming techniques, and aided by ex-members of the organization Louis Theroux uses actors to replay some incidents people claim they experienced as members in an attempt to better understand the way it operates. In a bizarre twist, it becomes clear that the Church is also making a film about Theroux. [Magnolia Pictures]

In New York City, as elsewhere in the United States, thousands of men and women collect discarded cans and bottles for their nickel deposit. From the time garbage bags appear on sidewalks, to the time the bottles and cans are cashed in at redemption centers and supermarkets the “canners” are at work—often for a good part of the day and night. Redemption centers are few and far between. Supermarkets are often uncooperative, so several must be visited. Canners often need to walk miles to unload their gleanings.

Uncertain is a visually stunning and disarmingly funny portrait of the literal and figurative troubled waters of Uncertain, Texas. In a 94-resident town so tucked away “you’ve got to be lost to find it", three Uncertain men make their own bids for survival looking to find a more certain future. An ex-convict obsessed with Mr. Ed, a gigantic boar he hunts in order to stay on the straight and narrow. A young idealist with big plans but few prospects is looking for a bigger life. An aging fisherman learning to let go of his youthful ways, and making peace with a fateful moment thirty years ago. All the while Uncertain’s vast, swampy lake is being choked by an aquatic weed, upsetting the natural balance and the town’s only source of livelihood.

Buenos Aires. Exe, 25 years old, has just lost his job and is not looking for another one. His neighbors and friends seem as odd to him as they always do. Online, he meets Alf, a boy from Mozambique who is also bored with his job and who is about to follow Archie, another boy who has run away into the jungle. Through the dense vegetation of the forest, Archie tracks ants back to their nest. One of them wanders off course and comes across Canh, a Filipino, sitting on top of a giant heap of earth and who is about to go back to his strange, beautiful home town. [Grasshopper Film]

The Freedom to Marry is the behind-the-scenes story of the architects of this historic civil rights movement and the brilliant, nerve-wracking campaign to win same sex marriage throughout the United States.

The first film of its kind to offer a comprehensive view of the Jewish settlers in the occupied territories of the West Bank. An historical overview, a geopolitical study and an intimate look at those people at the core of the most daunting challenges facing Israel and the international community today as the Palestinians and Israelis resume talks again.

A six-hour interview with David Ben-Gurion emerges from the obscurity of an archive where it has lain unrecognized for decades. Ben-Gurion is 82 years old and lives in the desert, remote from all political discourse, which allows him a perspective on the Zionist enterprise, and a surprising vision for the future of Israel.

A harrowing exploration of the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the devastating civil war that has defined the country over the last five years.

The Last Laugh is a feature documentary that proceeds from the premise that the Holocaust would seem to be an absolutely off-limits topic for comedy. But is it? History shows that even the victims of the Nazi concentration camps themselves used humor as a means of survival and resistance. Still, any use of comedy in connection with this horror risks diminishing the suffering of millions. So where is the line? If we make the Holocaust off limits, what are the implications for other controversial subjects—9/11, AIDS, racism—in a society that prizes freedom of speech?

In the summer of 2015, legendary musician David Byrne staged an event at Brooklyn's Barclays Center to celebrate the art of Color Guard: synchronized dance routines involving flags, rifles, and sabers. Recruiting performers that include the likes of Saint Vincent, Nelly Furtado, Ad-Rock, and Ira Glass to collaborate on original pieces with 10 color guard teams from across the US and Canada, Contemporary Color is a beautifully filmed snapshot of a one-of-a-kind live event.

Featuring Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer, Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, Sarah Silverman, Jerry Lewis, Steve Coogan and the late Garry Shandling, Dying Laughing is a candid look at the complicated and fascinating lives of some of the world’s greatest stand-up comedians. A stand-up comedian must be the writer, the director and the star performer - and in stand-up there is no rehearsal, no practice, no safety net as it only works in front of a live audience, with feedback being instantaneous and often brutal. For most people, baring their soul on stage and having an audience “boo” at you would become a life-long trauma, but for stand-up comedians, it’s a nightly challenge. Once you take this step behind the curtain, you will never look at these funny folks the same way again. [GravitasVentures]

In New York City, LGBTQ youth-of-color gather out on the Christopher Street Pier, practicing a performance-based artform, Ballroom, which was made famous in the early 1990s by Madonna’s music video “Vogue” and the documentary “Paris Is Burning.” Twenty-five years after these cultural touchstones, a new and very different generation of LGBTQ youth have formed an artistic activist subculture, named the Kiki Scene. Kiki follows seven characters from the Kiki community over the course of four years, using their preparations and spectacular performances at events known as Kiki balls as a framing device while delving into their battles with homelessness, illness and prejudice as well as their gains towards political influence and the conquering of affirming gender-expressions.

The Speed Sisters are the first all-woman race car driving team in the Middle East. Grabbing headlines and turning heads at improvised tracks across the West Bank, these five women have sped their way into the heart of the gritty, male-dominated Palestinian street car-racing scene.

Midway through the filming of a documentary about his life as an anti war activist, Mayer Vishner declares that his time has passed and that his last political act will be to commit suicide— and he wants it all on camera. Now the director must decide whether to turn off his camera or use it to keep his friend alive.

As vice-president of Hungary’s far-right extremist party, Csanad Szegedi espoused anti-Semitic rhetoric and Holocaust denials, and founded the Hungarian Guard, a now-banned militia inspired by a pro-Nazi group complicit in the murder of thousands of Jews during WWII. But his life was soon upended when Szegedi’s maternal grandparents were revealed to be Jewish and his beloved grandmother an Auschwitz survivor who had hidden her faith, fearing further persecution. Keep Quiet depicts Szegedi’s three-year journey to embrace his newfound religion. But is his transformation genuine? Or does he simply have nowhere else to turn? [Kino Lorber]

I Am Jane Doe chronicles the epic battle that several American mothers are waging on behalf of their middle-school daughters, victims of sex-trafficking on Backpage.com, the adult classifieds section that for years was part of the Village Voice. Reminiscent of Erin Brockovich and Karen Silkwood, these mothers have stood up on behalf of thousands of other mothers, fighting back and refusing to take no for an answer.

Hundreds of thousands of Turkish cats roam the metropolis of Istanbul freely. For thousands of years they’ve wandered in and out of people’s lives, becoming an essential part of the communities that make the city so rich. Claiming no owners, the cats of Istanbul live between two worlds, neither wild nor tame –and they bring joy and purpose to those people they choose to adopt. In Istanbul, cats are the mirrors to the people, allowing them to reflect on their lives in ways nothing else could.

This HBO Documentary Film follows the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal as they recount their experiences before, during and after the tragic terrorist attack at their concert in Paris on November 13, 2015 – a heinous act of violence that claimed 89. The film spotlights the deep bond of friendship between band co-founders Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme as well as the intensely personal connection that the Eagles of Death Metal has always had with their devoted fans. That relationship, coupled with a profound sense of responsibility to help the Bataclan survivors cope with their physical and emotional wounds, inspired the band to return to Paris: first to perform with U2 at a rescheduled concert three weeks after the attacks, and later to finish the Paris show at the Olympia concert hall in front of their fans, many of whom were survivors of the earlier show.

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, a former soldier deeply influenced by the literature and ideas of the radical right, parked a Ryder truck with a five-ton fertilizer bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. Moments later, 168 people were killed and 675 were injured in the blast. Oklahoma City traces the events — including the deadly encounters between American citizens and law enforcement at Ruby Ridge and Waco — that led McVeigh to commit the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history. With a virulent strain of anti-government anger still with us, the film is both a cautionary tale and an extremely timely warning. [PBS]

A Good American tells the story of the best code-breaker the USA ever had and how he and a small team within NSA created a surveillance tool that could pick up any electronic signal on earth, filter it for targets and render results in real-time while keeping the privacy as demanded by the US constitution. The tool was perfect - except for one thing: it was way too cheap. Therefor NSA leadership, who had fallen into the hands of industry, dumped it - three weeks prior to 9/11. In a secret test-run of the program against the pre-9/11-NSA database in early 2002 the program immediately found the terrorists.

This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous portrays the intimate journey of Gigi Lazzarato, a fearless young woman who began life as Gregory Lazzarato, posting beauty and fashion videos to YouTube from his bedroom, only to later come out as a transgender female to an audience of millions. Directed by two-time Oscar® award winner Barbara Kopple, the film provides a raw and revealing look into a life that never compromises happiness, and spotlights a family’s unwavering and unconditional love for a child.

Mr. Gaga is a unique documentary experience that tells the story of the internationally acclaimed choreographer Ohad Naharin, who created the daring form of dance and “movement language” Gaga. When he was 22, he was invited to perform with the prestigious Martha Graham dance company, and attended Juilliard and the School of American Ballet simultaneously. But Ohad would not be happy until he could do exactly what he wanted. Moving back to Israel, Naharin became the Artistic Director of the Batsheva Dance Company, developing gaga within his own ensemble. Even after achieving worldwide acclaim, Naharin continues to fight every day, sometimes with his own dancers, once even with the president of Israel, to make his vision come to life. [Abramorama]

The Age of Consequences investigates the impacts of climate change, resource scarcity, migration, and conflict through the lens of US national security and global stability. Whether a long-term vulnerability or sudden shock, the film unpacks how water and food shortages, extreme weather, drought, and sea-level rise function as accelerants of instability and catalysts for conflict. Left unchecked, these threats and risks will continue to grow in scale and frequency, with grave implications for peace and security in the 21st century. military veterans take us beyond the headlines of the European refugee crisis, the conflict in Syria, the social unrest of the Arab Spring, the rise of radicalized groups like ISIS, and lay bare how climate change stressors interact with societal tensions, sparking conflict. Whether a long-term vulnerability or sudden shock, the film unpacks how water and food shortages, extreme weather, drought, and sea-level rise function as 'accelerants of instability' and 'catalysts for conflict' in volatile regions of the world. These Pentagon insiders make the compelling case that if we go on with business as usual, the consequences of climate change - waves of refugees, failed states, terrorism - will continue to grow in scale and frequency, with grave implications for peace and security in the 21st century.

Beginning with a mining explosion in Mongolia and ending in a ghost city west of Beijing, political documentarian Zhao Liang’s visionary new film Behemoth details, in one breathtaking sequence after another, the social and ecological devastation behind an economic miracle that may yet prove illusory. [Grasshopper Films]

Midsummer in Newtown is a testament to the transformative force of artistic expression to pierce through the shadow cast by trauma. In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, one grieving couple honors their daughter through music, while community children find their voice through a rock-pop version of “A Midsummer Night's Dream.”

They Call Us Monsters takes viewers behind the walls of the Compound, the facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals. To their advocates, they’re kids. To the system, they’re adults. To their victims, they’re monsters.

A real-life Breaking Bad for the psychedelic set, The Sunshine Makers reveals the fascinating, untold story of Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully, the unlikely duo at the heart of 1960s American drug counter-culture. United in a utopian mission to save the planet through the consciousness-raising power of LSD, these underground chemists manufactured a massive amount of acid, including the gold standard for quality LSD, Orange Sunshine, all while staying one step ahead of the Feds. [FilmRise]

Starless Dreams plunges us into the lives of young teenage girls sharing temporary quarters at a juvenile detention center on the outskirts of Tehran. Director Mehrdad Oskouei, one of Iran’s most prominent filmmakers, spent seven years securing access to this all-female facility. As the New Year approaches, the girls bond, and reveal—with playfully disarming honesty—the circumstances and acts that resulted in their incarceration. They have killed their father, robbed a bank, or were arrested for carrying 651 grams of cocaine. Outside the prison walls, danger is everywhere, even within their own families. [Cinema Guild]

French glaciologist Claude Lorius discovered his destiny as a college student when he joined an expedition to Antarctica in 1955; land essentially untouched by scientific experiment. He would go on to participate in twenty-two expeditions during his long career, facing unforgiving conditions and brutal personal challenges that were rewarded with an amazing discovery: using ice cores thousands of meters deep, tiny air bubbles suspended in the ice reveal the composition of the planet’s atmosphere over nearly a million years. Through remarkable archival footage and stunning drone cinematography, Antarctica: Ice and Sky is an epic tale where science and adventure meet, equal parts contemplative memoir and an ardent call to action. [Music Box Films]

In 1990, seven young male dancers - 6 gay, 1 straight - joined Madonna on her most controversial tour. On stage and in the iconic film Truth or Dare they showed the world how to express yourself. Now, 25 years later, they reveal the truth about life during and after the tour. Strike a Pose is a dramatic tale about overcoming shame and finding the courage to be who you are.

Bandleader Vince Giordano keeps the Jazz Age alive with his 11-member band The Nighthawks, vintage musical instruments, and a collection of more than 60,000 original arrangements from the 1920s and '30s.

Stunningly gorgeous and delicate in both subject and treatment, Reset depicts renowned choreographer and dancer Benjamin Millepied (best known for choreographing the dance sequences in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan) as he attempts to rejuvenate the Paris Opera Ballet in his new position as director. With appearances by composer Nico Muhly, Opera alumna Aurélie Dupont, and designer Iris van Herpen, Reset is a delightfully aesthetic affair from filmmakers Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai, a moving portrait of a landmark moment for one of the ballet’s oldest institutions and one of its brightest new stars, both on the cusp of great transition. [FilmRise]

Saving Banksy is the story of one misguided art collectors attempts to save a Banksy painting from destruction and the auction block.

Everybody Knows...Elizabeth Murray is an intimate portrait of the groundbreaking artist Elizabeth Murray, a determined single mother who broke through notorious art world barriers to become one of the preeminent painters of our time. This film explores the relationship between Murray’s family life and career, and reconsiders her place in contemporary art history. Verité footage, home videos and excerpts from her journals, voiced by Meryl Streep, tell of Murray's internal struggles and incredible ambition. Exclusive interviews with art world luminaries provide the historical backdrop for the New York art scene.

Dr. William Hurwitz was a preeminent doctor sentenced to 25 years in prison for overprescribing painkillers. His story provides a window into the ethical dilemma of opioid prescriptions. Painkillers give doctors tremendous power to relieve pain, a primary goal of any physician, but this power begets trouble when the same drugs can lead to addiction, abuse and death.

Located in an impoverished Mojave Desert community, Black Rock Continuation High School is one of California’s alternative schools for students at risk of dropping out. Every student here has fallen so far behind in credits that they have no hope of earning a diploma at a traditional high school. Black Rock is their last chance. [FilmRise]

Harry Benson: Shoot First charts the illustrious career of the renowned photographer who initially rose to fame alongside The Beatles, having been assigned to cover their inaugural trip to the United States in 1964. With unprecedented “behind the scenes” access, Benson captured some of the most vibrant and intimate portraits ever taken of the most popular band in history. His extensive portfolio includes iconic images of Winston Churchill, Bobby Fischer, Muhammad Ali, Greta Garbo, Michael Jackson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination, and his work has appeared in publications including Life, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Now 86, workaholic Benson has no intention of stopping.

Daryl Davis is an accomplished musician who was played all over the world. He also has an unusual hobby, particularly for a middle aged black man. When not displaying his musical chops, Daryl likes to meet and befriend members of the Ku Klux Klan. When many of these people eventually leave the Klan with Daryl's support, Daryl keeps their robes and hoods; building his collection piece by piece, story by story, person by person, in hopes of one day opening a museum of the Klan.

Director Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished - a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words. He draws upon James Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr to explore and bring a fresh and radical perspective to the current racial narrative in America. [Magnolia Pictures]

In June of 1964 hundreds of college students, eager to join the civil rights movement, traveled to Mississippi, starting what would be known as Freedom Summer. That same month, two groups of young men--made up of musicians, college students and record collectors--also traveled to Mississippi. Though neither group was aware of the other, each had come on the same errand: to find an old blues singer and coax him out of retirement. Thirty years before, Son House and Skip James had recorded some of the most memorable music of their era, but now they seemed lost to time. Finding them would not be easy. There were few clues to their whereabouts. It was not even known for certain if they were still alive. And Mississippi, that summer, was a tense and violent place. With hundreds on their way to teach in freedom schools and work on voter registration, the Ku Klux Klan and police force of many towns vowed that Freedom Summer would not succeed. Churches were bombed, shotguns blasted into cars and homes. It was easy to mistake the young men looking for Son House and Skip James as activists. Finally, on June 21, 1964, these two campaigns collided in memorable and tragic fashion.

In rural Maine, a bright and magnetic 20-year-old woman named Michelle Smith lives with her mother. Legally blind and on the autism spectrum, Michelle defies labels as she chases big dreams with humor and bold curiosity. Searching for community, Michelle explores an uncensored world online and experiences a provocative sexual awakening. Her joyful story of self-discovery celebrates outcasts everywhere. [First Run Features]

Directed by celebrated British filmmaker Tony Palmer, "Bird on a Wire" follows Cohen on his 1972 European tour. Long lost 16mm prints were restored for this release, not seen since 1972.

In the spring of 1981 Irish Republican Bobby Sands’ 66-day hunger strike brought the attention of the world to his cause. Drawing on an Irish Republican tradition of martyrdom, Sands’ emotive, non-violent protest to be classified as a political prisoner became a defining moment in 20th century Irish history. Sands’ death after 66 days marked a key turning point in the relationship between Britain and Ireland, and brought a global spotlight to the Northern Irish conflict which eventually triggered international efforts to resolve it.

The legacy of the fastest man in history, Usain Bolt.

On the Map tells the against-all-odds story of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 1977 European Championship, which took place at a time when the Middle East was still reeling from the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1972 Olympic massacre at Munich, and the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight from Tel Aviv. Through the of lens of sports, On the Map presents a much broader story of how one team captured the heart of a nation amidst domestic turmoil and the global machinations of the Cold War.

After traveling the world alongside migrating birds (Winged Migration) and diving the oceans with whales and manta rays (Oceans), Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud return to more familiar ground: the lush green forests and megafauna that emerged across Europe following the last Ice Age. Winter had gone on for 80,000 years when—in a relatively short period of time—the ice retreated, the landscape metamorphosed, the cycle of seasons was established, and the beasts occupied their new kingdom. It was only later that man arrived to share this habitat, first tentatively as migratory hunter/gatherers, then making inroads in the forest as settled agriculturalists, and later more dramatically via industry and warfare. With its exceptional footage of animals in the wild, Seasons is the awe-inspiring and thought-provoking tale of the long and tumultuous shared history that inextricably binds humankind with the natural world. [Music Box Films]

Mifune: The Last Samurai explores the accidental movie career of Toshiro Mifune, one of the true giants of world cinema. Mifune made 16 remarkable films with director Akira Kurosawa during the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema, including Rashomon, Seven Samurai and Yojimbo. Together they thrilled audiences and influenced filmmaking around the world, providing direct inspiration for not only The Magnificent Seven and Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood’s breakthrough, A Fistful of Dollars, but also George Lucas’ Star Wars.

Set in a village on the edge of Belgium, Bob, Flemish, and Marcel, Walloon share their solitude, sense of humor and craving for alcohol.

Magnus Carlsen is widely known as the "Mozart of Chess" because, unlike many chess grandmasters, he not only possesses an innate ability and a remarkable memory, but he blends those attributes with unrivaled creativity and intuition. Memorized moves and calculated probabilities can carry a chess player extremely far. But Magnus’ journey eventually proves that there can be other elements of the game, ones that are impossible to measure or calculate.

One of the truly legendary musicals in the history of Broadway, Merrily We Roll Along opened to enormous fanfare in 1981, and closed after sixteen performances. For the first time, Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened draws back the curtain on the extraordinary drama of the show's creation - and tells the stories of the hopeful young performers whose lives were transformed by it.

Uncle Howard is an intertwining tale of past and present––the story of filmmaker Howard Brookner, whose work captured the late 70s and early 80s cultural revolution, and his nephew’s personal journey 25 years later to discover his uncle’s films and the legacy of a life cut short by the plague of AIDS.

Blood on the Mountain is an investigation into the economic and environmental injustices that have resulted from industrial control in West Virginia. This feature documentary details the struggles of a hard-working, misunderstood people, who have historically faced limited choices and have never benefited fairly from the rich, natural resources of their land. Blood On The Mountain delivers a portrait of a fractured population, exploited and besieged by corporate interests, and abandoned by the powers elected to represent them. [Abramorama]

An experimental documentary comprised of regional vignettes about faith, force, technology and exodus. Eleven parables relay histories of settlement, removal, technological breakthrough, violence, messianism and resistance, all occurring somewhere in the state of Illinois. The state is a convenient structural ruse, allowing its histories to become allegories that explore how we’re shaped by conviction and ideology. The Parables consider what might constitute a liturgical form. Not a sermon, but a form that questions what morality catalyzes, and what belief might teach us about nationhood. In our desire to explain the unknown, who or what do we end up blaming or endorsing?

In the summer of 1983, just days before the birth of his first son, writer and theologian John Hull went blind. In order to make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began keeping a diary on audiocassette. Upon their publication in 1990, Oliver Sacks described the work as 'the most extraordinary, precise, deep and beautiful account of blindness I have ever read. It is to my mind a masterpiece.' With exclusive access to these original recordings, Notes on Blindness encompasses dreams, memory and imaginative life, excavating the interior world of blindness.

National Bird follows the harrowing journey of three U.S. military veteran whistleblowers determined to break the silence surrounding America’s secret drone war. Tortured by guilt for their participation in the killing of faceless people in foreign countries, and despite the threat of being prosecuted under the Espionage Act, these three veterans offer an unprecedented look inside this secret program to reveal the haunting cost of America’s global drone strikes.

In a world filled with conflict, in an area where people have abandoned the idea of peace, emerges an energy of determined optimism. When someone is willing to stand for a dream to create a world of freedom and security for all, who will stand with them? Disturbing the Peace follows a group of former enemy combatants - Israeli soldiers from the most elite units, and Palestinian fighters, many of whom served years in prison - who have come together to challenge the status quo and say “enough." The film traces their transformational journeys from soldiers committed to armed battle to non-violent peace activists and their founding of Combatants for Peace. While the film is based in the Middle East, it creates an experience that addresses universal themes that are relevant to all of us - regardless of geography. It is a story of the human potential unleashed when we stop participating in a story that no longer serves us, and with the power of our convictions take action to create a new possibility.

Independent journalists like Amy Goodman, Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, and Matt Taibbi are changing the face of journalism, providing investigative, adversarial alternatives to mainstream, corporate news outlets. Our cameras follow as they expose government and corporate deception – just as the ground-breaking independent journalist I.F. Stone did decades ago. [White Pine Pictures]

More people are imprisoned in the United States at this moment than in any other time or place in history, yet the prison itself has never felt further away or more out of sight. The Prison in Twelve Landscapes is a film about the prison in which we never see a penitentiary. Instead, the film unfolds as a cinematic journey through a series of landscapes across the USA where prisons do work and affect lives, from a California mountainside where female prisoners fight raging wildfires, to a Bronx warehouse full of goods destined for the state correctional system, to an Appalachian coal town betting its future on the promise of prison jobs.

Wildlife activists in take on poachers in an effort to end illegal ivory trade in Africa.

Off the Rails tells the remarkable true story of Darius McCollum, a man with Asperger’s syndrome whose overwhelming love of transit has landed him in jail 32 times for impersonating New York City bus drivers and subway conductors and driving their routes. As a boy in Queens, NY, Darius found sanctuary from school bullies in the subway. There he befriended transit workers who taught him to drive trains. By age 8, he memorized the entire subway system. At 15, he drove a packed train 8 stops by himself, making all the stops and announcements. Over the next three decades, Darius commandeered hundreds of trains and buses, staying en route and on schedule, without ever getting paid. He attended transit worker union meetings, lobbying for better pay and working conditions for a union he didn’t belong to. Although Darius has never damaged any property or hurt anyone in his decades of service, he has spent 23 years in maximum security prison. Darius’ recidivism embodies the criminal justice system’s failure to channel the passions of a harmless, mentally challenged man into a productive career and purposeful life.

Peter Dunning is the proud proprietor of Mile Hill Farm, which sits on 187 acres in Vermont. The land’s 38 harvests have seen the arrivals and departures of three wives and four children, leaving Peter with only animals and memories. The arrival of a film crew causes him to confront his history and his legacy, passing along hard-won agricultural wisdom even as he doubts the meaning of the work he is fated to perform until death. Haunted by alcoholism and regret, Peter veers between elation and despair, often suggesting to the filmmakers his own suicide as a narrative device. He is a tragedian on a stage it has taken him most of his life to build, and which now threatens to collapse from under him.

The Eagle Huntress follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down from father to son for centuries. [Sony Pictures Classics]

Emerging from Ann Arbor Michigan amidst a countercultural revolution, The Stooges’ powerful and aggressive style of rock-n-roll blew a crater in the musical landscape of the late 1960s. Assaulting audiences with a blend of rock, blues, R&B, and free jazz, the band planted the seeds for what would be called punk and alternative rock in the decades that followed. Jim Jarmusch’s Gimme Danger chronicles the story of The Stooges, one of the greatest rock-n-roll bands of all time, presenting the context of the Stooges emergence musically, culturally, politically, historically, and relating their adventures and misadventures while charting their inspirations and the reasons behind their initial commercial challenges, as well as their long-lasting legacy.

The United Nations’ World Health Organization projects that a billion people will die prematurely from smoking this century. In the next 20 years, there will be nearly 1.6 billion smokers around the world. A Billion Lives takes a critical look at the history of smoking and the corruption that's led to the current situation where safer, healthier alternatives are banned or heavily restricted in most countries, while the cigarette trade is continually protected. The film examines major conflicts of interest and corruption between governments, big pharmaceutical companies, and public health officials. It also takes a look at the history of e-cigarettes, as well as the role vapor technology and Swedish snus have played in the current health crisis.