Ever since Venus and Serena Williams started playing in tennis tournaments, they've provoked strong reactions - from awe and admiration to suspicion and resentment. They've been winning championships for over a decade, pushing the limits of longevity in such a demanding sport. How long can they last? In Venus & Serena, we gain unprecedented access into their lives during the most intimidating year of their career. Over the course of 2011, Venus grappled with an energy-sapping autoimmune disease while Serena battled back from a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. Neither Venus nor Serena let their adversities hold them back. They drew their greatest strength from each other. [Magnolia Pictures]

Jeffrey Kagel travels to India in search of legendary saint Neem Karoli Baba, struggles through drug addiction and depression, and emerges as Krishna Das, a world famous spiritual teacher.

Two young women follow completely different paths in the new, modernizing India-one wants to become Miss India, the other trains to be a fierce Hindu Nationalist prepared to kill and die for her beliefs.

A documentary on the Manhattan department store with interviews from an array of fashion designers, style icons, and celebrities.

Brain scientist Professor Richard Davidson sets up his mind to conduct an unusual experiment: He will teach American war veterans and children meditation and yoga.

The Source Family were the darlings of the Sunset Strip until their communal living, outsider ideals and spiritual leader, Father Yod's 13 wives became an issue with local authorities. They fled to Hawaii, leading to their dramatic demise.

The injustice of solitary confinement and the transformative power of art are explored in Herman’s House, a feature documentary that follows the unlikely friendship between Jackie Sumell, a New York artist, and Herman Wallace, one of America’s most famous inmates, as they collaborate on an acclaimed art project. [First Run Features]

Shirley Clarke interviews Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne, house boy, would be cabaret performer, and self proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be coloured and gay in 1960's America.

Unmade in China follows Los Angeles filmmaker Gil Kofman who finds himself in Xiamen, China trying to direct a thriller, in Chinese, using a translator. He soon discovers that the old adage of making a film three times – in the writing, shooting, and editing – is in fact the opposite in China, where his film is “unmade” three times - in the writing, shooting, and editing - with each subsequent stage of the process even more excruciating and devastating than the one that came before it.

A documentary on Levon Helm, a founding member of The Band, begun during the creation of his first studio album in 25 years.

What happens when documentary filmmakers, whose mission is to probe, explore and reveal, take as their subject one of the world's greatest living magicians, whose life and art are basically off limits to probing, exploration and revelation? More than a decade in the making, Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay is the captivating result of this curious conundrum. [Kino Lorber]

American Meat is a solutions-oriented documentary chronicling the current state of the U.S. meat industry. First explaining how America arrived at our current industrial system, the story shifts to the present day, showing the feedlots and confinement houses, not through hidden cameras but through the eyes of the farmers who live and work there. From there, the documentary introduces the revolution taking root in animal husbandry, led by the charismatic and passionate Joel Salatin. Stories are shared of farmers across the country who have changed their life to start grass-based farms, and everyday solutions highlight actions people can make to support America's agriculture.

A look a the life of photo-journalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington who covered wars in Afghanistan, Liberia and Libya.

This Ain't California is a celebration of the lust for life, a contemporary documentary trip into the world of skateboarding in the German Democratic Republic. The film follows its three heroes from their childhood in the seventies through their teenage rebellion in the eighties to the summer 1989 when their life changed forever.

Bert Stern: Original Mad Man is the definitive voyage into the life and work of one of the greatest American photographers of all time. After working alongside Stanley Kubrick at Look Magazine, Stern became an original Madison Avenue "mad man," his images helping to create modern advertising. Groundbreaking photos of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Marilyn Monroe, Twiggy and the infamous Lolita image from Kubrick’s film, coupled with his astonishing success in advertising, minted Stern – along with Irving Penn and Richard Avedon – as a celebrity in his own right; indeed, Stern’s photographs of Monroe in her last sitting are considered to be the ultimate images of the 20th century icon. After marrying the stunning ballet dancer Allegra Kent, the kid from Brooklyn was sitting on top of the world...until a dramatic fall from grace. [First Run Features]

A documentary that chronicles the life of young college professor Angela Davis, and how her social activism implicates her in a botched kidnapping attempt placing her on the FBI's 10 most wanted list.

Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner is an exploration of the life and work of Andre Gregory, groundbreaking director, actor, artist, and raconteur, filmed by prize-winning documentarian Cindy Kleine, his wife. Through her close-up lens, Cindy introduces us to this cultural icon and master storyteller, and tells the unusual story of a good marriage that thrives in collaboration, art, and humor, celebrating the great vitality of the later years in life.

A documentary that explores the numerous theories about the hidden meanings within Stanley Kubrick's The Shining which continues to inspire debate, speculation, and mystery more than thirty years after its release. Using voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments, Room 237 investigates five very different points of view drawing the audience into a new maze, one with many ways in, but no way out.

In October 1942, Esther Stermer, the matriarch of a Jewish family in the Ukraine, leads her family underground to hide from the pursuing Nazis. Their harrowing story of surviving in near total darkness in two cold, damp caves for nearly a year and a half is like none ever told. [Magnolia Pictures]

In the documentary film You Don’t Need Feet to Dance, African immigrant Sidiki Conde, having lost the use of his legs to polio at fourteen, balances his career as a performing artist with the almost insurmountable obstacles of life in New York City. [First Run Features]

A documentary about the honor, courage and commitment of Navy SEAL LT Michael P. Murphy, who gave his life for his men in 2005 and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2007.

Filmmaker Renate Costa explores the life of her uncle Rodolfo who was included in one of the "108 lists of homosexuals", arrested and tortured during Paraguay dictator Alfredo Stroessner's rule.

For the first time in 35 years, Daniel Lutz recounts his version of the infamous Amityville haunting that terrified his family in 1975.

Snoop Dogg goes to Jamaica, immerses himself in Rastafarian culture, changes his name to Snoop Lion and records his first reggae album.

A documentary on one of America’s greatest living novelist featuring candid interviews with the Pulitzer Prize-winner.

Amlan Ganguly doesn't rescue slum children; he empowers them to become change agents, battling poverty and transforming their neighborhoods with dramatic results. Filmed over the course of three years, The Revolutionary Optimists follows Amlan and three of the children he works with on an intimate journey through adolescence, as they challenge the idea that marginalization is written into their destiny.

Greedy Lying Bastards investigates the reason behind stalled efforts to tackle climate change despite consensus in the scientific community that it is not only a reality but also a growing problem placing us on the brink of disaster. The film details the people and organizations casting doubt on climate science and claims that greenhouse gases are not affected by human behavior. From the Koch Brothers to ExxonMobil, to oil industry front groups, to prominent politicians and Justices, this provocative film unravels the layers of deceit threatening democracy and the ability for future generations to survive on planet earth.

The story of Arnel Pineda is a real rock-n-roll fairy tale. Plucked from You Tube to become the front man for Journey, Arnel became the latest performer to go from the Internet to real life celebrity. Follow Arnel as he overcomes a life of painful obstacles and deals with the pressures of replacing the lead singer of an iconic band.

Downeast focuses on Antonio Bussone's efforts to open a lobster processing plant in rural Maine.

In 2009, Sprague Theobald and his family set sail for the infamous Northwest Passage, the Arctic sea route connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. Since 1906 a staggering number have died trying. From Newport, RI, through the Arctic, down to Seattle, it would be a five month, 8500 mile trek filled with deadly danger from ice, predators, personal conflict and severe weather.

A documentary that looks at nine girls from different parts of the world who face arranged marriages, child slavery, and other heartbreaking injustices. Through education, these brave girls are able to break barriers, create change and offer hope and inspiration.

Gut Renovation charts the destruction of Williamsburg after the city passed a re-zoning plan in 2005 which allowed developers to build luxury condos where there were once thriving industries, working-class families, and artists.

Filmed off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the country’s largest fishing port with over 500 ships sailing from its harbor every month, Leviathan follows one such vessel, a hulking groundfish trawler, into the surrounding murky black waters. Filmmakers Lucien Castaing-Taylor (Sweetgrass) and Verena Paravel (Foreign Parts) use a dozen cameras to present a vivid representation of the work, the sea, the machinery and the players, both human and marine. [Cinema Guild]

A documentary that traces the history of the song "Hava Nagila."

Genius on Hold looks at the lives of Walter L. Shaw, a genius inventor who died poor, and his son, Walter T. Shaw, a notorious jewel thief.

A documentary that looks at 50 years of environmental activism.

A Place at the Table looks at the economic and cultural impact of hunger in America and at possible solutions to a problem plaguing 50 million people in the U.S, one in four of which are children.

Wampler’s Ascent documents Steve Wampler as he attempts to become the first person with a disability to climb the biggest rock face in the world, El Captain in Yosemite National Park. 20,000 pull-ups, 5 nights and 6 days on the sheer face of a mountain with only the use of one limb, this is a story of a man’s commitment to bringing international attention to the funding of a camp for kids with severe disabilities. Wampler’s Ascent started out as an adventure movie to bring awareness and funding to a summer camp for kids with disabilities. While that mission was fulfilled, the finished documentary actually takes the viewer deep into a remarkable love story that awakens the potential in all of us.

Daniel Craig narrates this BBC wildlife documentary focusing on the cyclical journey taken by all living creatures.

Using animation, stand-up comedy, and interviews with Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, Marc Maron and others, this documentary looks at the life of a comic Eddie Pepitone as he struggles with self-doubt, sobriety, and a challenging family history during a middle-age career surge.

In the summer of 1991 Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in Milwaukee and sentenced to 957 years in prison for killing 17 people and dismembering their bodies. Through the use of archival footage and interviews with the local medical examiner, police detective, and Dahmer's neighbors, this documentary explores the ordinary man behind the horrifying acts.

In this definitive documentary, director Christopher Felver crafts an incisive, sharply wrought portrait of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a catalyst for numerous literary careers and for the Beat movement itself. One-on-one interviews with Ferlinghetti, made over the course of a decade, touch upon various characters and events that began to unfold in postwar America including the publication of Allen Ginsberg's Howl, William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, and Jack Kerouac's On the Road as well as the divisive events of the Vietnam war, the sexual revolution, and this country's perilous march towards intellectual and political bankruptcy. [First Run Features]

A Rubberband is an Unlikely Instrument is a lyrical exploration of a Brooklyn couple as they navigate their path amidst rapidly changing political, social, financial and spiritual landscapes. Walter Baker is an eccentric, multi-instrumentalist struggling to maintain balance between creating art, making ends meet and raising his twelve year old son with his third wife, a poet. Artistically and philosophically situated on the fringes of mainstream culture, Baker grasps to bear the roles of family man, business owner and aspiring composer. [Factory 25]

A documentary by the Israeli director Dror Moreh which consists of interviews with six surviving former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency established in 1949 which has engaged in counter-terrorism and intelligence gathering, among other things.

Through interviews with hockey’s toughest players, director Alex Gibney explores the career of Chris "Knuckles" Nilan and what it means to be an enforcer in the National Hockey League.

Before he was convicted of murdering a policeman in 1981 and sentenced to Death Row, Mumia Abu-Jamal was a gifted journalist and brilliant writer. Now after more than 30 years in prison and despite attempts to silence him, Mumia is not only still alive but continuing to report, educate, provoke and inspire. Stephen Vittoria's new feature documentary is an inspiring portrait of a man whom many consider America's most famous political prisoner. [First Run Features]

Former Mayor Ed Koch ruled New York from 1978 to 1989—a down-and-dirty decade of grit, graffiti, near-bankruptcy and rampant crime. Making his directorial debut, former Wall Street Journal reporter Neil Barsky has crafted an intimate and revealing portrait of this intensely private man and the town he helped transform. Through candid interviews and rare archival footage, Koch thrillingly chronicles the personal and political toll of running the world’s most wondrous city in a time of upheaval and reinvention. [Zeitgeist Films]

Dave Grohl directs this documentary about the legendary, but now defunct, analog recording studio in Van Nuys, California.

With Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, Werner Herzog takes viewers on yet another unforgettable journey into remote and extreme natural landscapes. The acclaimed filmmaker presents this visually stunning documentary about the people living in the heart of the Siberian Taiga. Deep in the wilderness, far away from civilization, 300 people inhabit the small village of Bakhtia at the river Yenisei. There are only two ways to reach this outpost: by helicopter or boat. There‘s no telephone, running water or medical aid, The locals, whose daily routines have barely changed over the last centuries, live according to their own values and cultural traditions. With insightful commentary written and narrated by Herzog, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga follows one of the Siberian trappers through all four seasons of the year to tell the story of a culture virtually untouched by modernity. [Music Box Films]

Three Roma (or Gypsy) children - Alin, Benjamin, and Dana - participate in an initiative to desegregate the Romanian school system. Filmed over four years, their journey from a rural Transylvanian village to the city school highlights the difficulty in overcoming institutionalized racism, shocking ignorance, and poverty.

Utilizing exclusive interviews and access to real pirates, hostages, ship-owners, pirate negotiators and experts on piracy and international policy, Stolen Seas explores the Somali pirate phenomenon - how it came to be and why it will continue.

Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a Generation explores the cultural and political impact of some of the greatest singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s.

Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives tells the story of a spirited group of women, led by counterculture heroine Ina May Gaskin, who taught themselves how to be midwives while creating a commune called The Farm in the 1970s. With access to the midwives’ archival video collection, the documentary captures the unique sisterhood at The Farm Clinic - from its earliest beginnings to the present - and the fight to preserve the community’s knowledge of midwifery.

A varied group of New Yorkers with attitude reveals how a hidden world of beautiful wild birds in the middle of Manhattan has upended and magically transformed their lives.

Celebrity photographer Kevin Mazur provides an all-access pass to life behind the velvet ropes and in front of the camera.

Uprising recounts the story of the Egyptian revolution from the perspective of its leadership and key organizers, their struggle for freedom against major odds, their sacrifice, and the courage and ingenuity that allowed them to succeed. Featuring major figures including four Nobel Peace Prize nominees, several Egyptian presidential candidates, the former foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, and former US Ambassadors and White House officials, along with never before seen footage, UPRISING provides Amir Waked the authoritative behind-the scenes view of one of the most dramatic events of our generation.

FrackNation is a feature documentary that will tell the truth about fracking for natural gas.

More money flows through the family courts, and into the hands of courthouse insiders, than in all other court systems in America combined - over $50 billion a year and growing. Through extensive research and interviews with the nation's top divorce lawyers, mediators, judges, politicians, litigants and journalists, this documentary uncovers how children are torn from their homes, unlicensed custody evaluators extort money, and abusive judges play god with people's lives while enriching their friends. This explosive documentary reveals the family courts as unregulated, extra-constitutional fiefdoms. Rather than assist victims of domestic crimes, these courts often precipitate them. And rather than help parents and children move on, as they are mandated to do, these courts - and their associates - drag out cases for years, sometimes decades, ultimately resulting in a rash of social ills, including home foreclosure, bankruptcy, suicide and violence. Solutions to the crisis are sought out in countries where divorce is handled in a more holistic manner.

The film tracks the journey of two of China’s first citizen reporters as they travel the country – chronicling under reported news and social issues stories. Clad with laptops, cell phones, and digital cameras they develop skills as independent one-man news stations while learning to navigate China’s evolving censorship regulations and avoiding the risk of political persecution. The film follows 57-year-old Tiger Temple, who earns the title of China’s first citizen reporter after he impulsively documents an unfolding murder and 27-year-old “Zola” who recognizes the opportunity to increase his fame and future prospects by reporting on sensitive news throughout China.

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults he has been chronicling in documentaries every seven years since they were each 7 years old. The original concept, starting in 1964's "Seven Up," was to interview 14 children from diverse backgrounds from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Every seven years, Apted, a researcher for Seven Up, has been back to talk to them, examining the progression of their lives. From cab driver Tony to schoolmates Jackie, Lynn and Susan and the heart-breaking Neil, as they turn 56 more life-changing decisions and surprising developments are revealed. (First Run Features)

My Brooklyn is a documentary about Director Kelly Anderson’s personal journey, as a Brooklyn “gentrifier,” to understand the forces reshaping her neighborhood along lines of race and class.

An examination of a failure of justice in the case against the West Memphis Three.

When doctors diagnosed 19-year-old rocker Jason Becker with Lou Gehrig's Disease, they said he would never make music again and that he wouldn’t live to see his 25th birthday. 22 years later, without the ability to move or to speak, Jason is alive and making music with his eyes. Jason Becker : Not Dead Yet is a feature-length documentary film that tells the story of a guitar legend who refuses to give up on his dream of being a musician despite the most incredible odds. It is a story of dreams, love, and the strength of the human spirit. The film has been made with the full co-operation of Jason and the Becker family, who have given their consent for this to be the first feature-length documentary film about his life. They have provided their entire family archive of never-before-seen photos and footage. [Projextra.ca]

This documentary chronicles how a generation of artists, thinkers, and activists used their creativity as a response to the reactionary politics that many believe defined culture in the 1980s.

Jeremy Irons sets out to discover the extent and effects of the global waste problem, as he travels around the world to beautiful destinations tainted by pollution. This is a meticulous investigative journey that takes Irons (and us) from skepticism to sorrow and from horror to hope.

Waiting for Lightning is the inspirational story of visionary skateboarder Danny Way. The film follows the journey of a young boy from a broken home in Vista, CA, whose passion for skateboarding would one day bring him fame and a lifetime of accomplishments. Way's drive has no limits as exemplified by his creation captured on screen, a ramp of prodigious and dangerous proportions, across many cultural and ideological boundaries to attempt the impossible: jump China's Great Wall on a skateboard. It's a film about how much abuse the body can sustain, how deep you have to dig to survive the challenges life presents, and how high and far dreams can fly. Danny Way has not only proven himself to be an incredibly talented skateboarder but also the sport's greatest innovator. In his quest for greatness, Way continues to shape the very sport which helped save his own life. (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

The friendship between a couple of high school boys in California, both snowboarders and evangelical Christians, is explored in this documentary by Eliazabeth Mimsand Jason Tippet.

Three brothers make their way through a night of discovery in this New Orleans documentary.

British actor and writer Stephen Fry embarks upon a journey to explore his fascination for Wagner and confront his troubled legacy. Can he disentangle the music he loves from its poisonous links with Hitler? His journey plays out against the backdrop of preparations for the Bayreuth Festival - the annual Wagner extravaganza held in a theatre purpose-built by the composer.

When an American filmmaker is commissioned to make a film for a Middle East Biennial on the theme of 'art as a subversive act,' his film is banned for blasphemy, he is asked to destroy every copy, and he is threatened with arrest.

Honor Flight is a documentary about four living World War II veterans and a Midwest community coming together to give them the trip of a lifetime. Volunteers race against the clock to fly thousands of WWII veterans to Washington, DC to see the memorial constructed for them in 2004, nearly 60 years after their epic struggle.

In Walk Away Renee, Caouette embarks on a road trip to move his mentally ill mother Renee across the country. As they encounter roadblocks in the present, we begin to flash back to moments from the past, giving us insight into this anything-but-ordinary mother/son relationship. Through musical montage, psychedelic sequences and real and imagined circumstance, the film raises questions about love, sacrifice, and the reality in which we live.

The life and work of Marilyn Monroe are examined in this documentary.

The tragic true story of one filmmaker’s journey from obscurity to moral blindness in the seductive glare of the media spotlight.

Born in South East London the same week the Nazis began bombing, Ginger Baker’s first memory was running after a train that carried his father off to death in WWII. From his music to his life, at the expense of family and fortune, Ginger would never be left behind on the tracks again. Though best known for his work with Eric Clapton in Cream and Blind Faith, the world’s greatest drummer did not hit his stride until years later in 1972 when he drove the first Range Rover ever produced from London to Nigeria in pursuit of the African rhythms and musical icon, Fela Kuti. There he found his Mecca of drumming, introducing the African beat and “world music” to the West, years before any other musicians in the field. The documentary includes stories from his ex-wives, children, and many of the greatest living musicians that worked with Ginger including Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, Mickey Hart, Carlos Santana, Max Weinberg, Chad Smith, Femi Kuti, Neal Peart, Simon Kirke, Marky Ramone and many more.

A compelling compilation of expert testimony, undercover footage and true life stories shot against the dramatic backdrops of the American countryside. Featuring interviews with distinguished veterinarians, trainers, academics, investigators, policymakers and members of the equine community including Paul Sorvino, Linda Gray, Tippi Hedren, and Willie Nelson, the film addresses a question that recently prompted the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, to threaten to ‘punch out’ a reporter who asked him if “any changes need to take place in the system in terms of safeguarding” America’s wild and domestic horses.

Renown Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein takes on the contentious role of Production Designer for a never before seen opera about the Holocaust in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2010.

A feature documentary about one of the greatest sportsmen ever. Darko Kralj (the King) is the only sportsman in the history of sports who has beaten a world record in his category five times in a row at one world championship. A croatian paralympic, seriously wounded in 1991 during the war in Croatia, Darko Kralj has almost died. Doctors did not expect him to survive. Today, he lives with a wife and three sons, the eldest one being the one Darko is the most attached to. Some kind of similar destiny brought them together, the kid has lost his biological father in the war. Tereza, his wife, has her own life story. Going towards the end of this unusual life story, we shall more and more understand where his strength and incredible love for life comes from.

A documentary that examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were wrongfully accused of raping a white woman in Central Park.

Alex Gibney examines the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all the way to the Vatican.

Chanoch Ze'evi's documentary examines the lives of the descendants of the top Nazi high commanders who worked under Hitler's command.

The dramatic inside story of the monumental collision of interests at Ground Zero in the decade after 9/11. It's the story of how and why this historic project got built. At the heart of the story is the dramatic tension between noblest intentions, the desire of everyone involved to "get it right," and the politics, hubris, ego and ideology that is the bedrock of New York City. [Tanexis]

The story of two eight-year-old Thai girls seeking their country’s national Muay Thai championship and a cash prize that could change their families’ lives forever. [Buffalo Girls]

A news anchor reports while graphic news coverage of a terrorist car bomb attack in 1990 in Oakland, CA is shown. Two Earth First! activists are immediately blamed by the FBI for bombing themselves. We learn that the victim/suspects Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney have later sued the FBI and Oakland Police and that Judi Bari is now dying of cancer before her case goes to trial. Weak though defiant, she gives her deposition, on camera, just a month before she dies. [Hokey Pokey]

TURNING, based on a tour of Europe by Antony and Charles Atlas, is a music documentary that explores the heart of that performance. Through its synthesis of Antony´s songs and unfurling video portraiture of the 13 remarkable women who performed on stage, TURNING creates an intimate and cinematic experience exploring themes of identity, transcendence and the revelation of essence. [TurningFilm.com]