(Also known as "Ningen Johatsu") The American premiere of a 1967 documentary by one of Japan's most prominent directors Shohei Imamura which focuses on a seemingly ordinary office worker who was one of the 91,000 Japanese citizens who disappeared in that year. [New York Times]

Alexandrowicz's documentary is an examination of the legal infrastructure put in place by Israel for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Burn is a look at firefighting as you’ve never seen it before. Detroit is burning. With vast stretches of forsaken buildings left as kindling, the highest arson rate in the country, and a budget crisis of epic proportions, this action-packed documentary takes us to the heart of a once-roaring industrial mecca to meet the men and women charged with saving a city that many have written off as dead. But BURN isn’t just about Detroit firefighters. It’s about all national first responders, whose budgets and pensions are on the chopping block. It’s about the people you hope will make it to your house when there’s a fire. (Area23a)

For the past 40 years, a group of comedy writers and directors has gathered every other Wednesday for lunch - and other nourishment. These are the fabled guys that made America funny.

In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk. Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. (National Geographic Channel)

The man is Ozwald Boateng, one of Britain's most successful and influential fashion designers of the past two decades. Directed by Varon Bonicos, and spanning a twelve-year period, A Man's Story weaves together his rocket-like trajectory through the fashion world with an intimate portrait of a family man struggling to balance life and work. (Trinity Pictures)

Photographer Gregory Crewdson’s 10-year quest to create a series of haunting, surreal, and stunningly elaborate portraits of small-town American life — filmed with unprecedented access as he makes perfect renderings of a disturbing, imperfect world. [Ben Shapiro Productions]

Eleven veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan join an expedition to climb the 20,000 foot Himalayan giant Mount Lobuche. With blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer and a team of Everest summiters as their guides, they set out on an emotional and gripping climb to reach the top in an attempt to heal the emotional and physical wounds of the longest war in U.S. history. (Red Flag Releasing)

It's not a death metal band, an extreme diet club or historic dominoes association—the Bones Brigade was a talented gang of teenage outcasts. Unmotivated by fame or popularity, they completely dedicated their lives to a disrespected art form. For most of the 1980s, this misfit crew headed by a 1970s ex-skateboard champion blasted the industry with a mixture of art and raw talent becoming the most popular skateboarding team in history. The core unit of the Bones Brigade built an empire that covered the world. They dominated contests, made hundreds of thousands of dollars, created the modern skateboard video, reinvented endemic advertising, pushed skate progression into a new era, and set the stage for a totally new form of skating called street style. There's nothing comparable in today's skateboarding. This is a documentary about them. (Union Avenue Productions)

In the early 1930’s Hitler began firing Jewish musicians across Europe. Overcoming extraordinary obstacles, violinist Bronislaw Huberman moved these great musicians to Palestine and formed a symphony that would become the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. With courage, resourcefulness and an entourage of allies including Arturo Toscanini and Albert Einstein, Huberman saved close to 1000 Jews - along with the musical heritage of Europe. (First Run Features)

During the summer of 2006, I was deep into editing my first film, Walking On Dead Fish. We were working twelve-hour days, six days a week, when the owner of the editing facility and my executive producer, Stan Cassio, asked if I would coach his son's AAU team in a tournament that was coming up in Las Vegas. First off, let me say, I'm not a big Vegas guy, and I'm definitely not a big Vegas guy in the middle of 110-degree temperatures of mid-July. Secondly, I prefer to stay away from AAU Basketball as much as possible. Don't get me wrong, there are some great AAU coaches, but 90% of them are the reason I got out of college coaching in the first place, so there was no way I was accepting this offer. Unfortunately, Stan knew I'd been a NCAA Division One Coach and ran a NBA camp with Hall of Fame Center, Bill Walton. So, each day he'd ask again. And each day, I'd decline. Finally, two days before the tournament, still without a coach, my editor urged me to go. I think I was driving him crazy trying to figure out the second act and he needed some space, so the next thing you know, I'm in the mid-summer Vegas heat coaching a bunch of 17-year olds. (Dutchmen Films)

In Austin, Texas, fifteen people influence what is taught to the next generation of American children. Once every decade, the highly politicized Texas State Board of Education rewrites the teaching and textbook standards for its nearly 5 million schoolchildren. And when it comes to textbooks, what happens in Texas affects the nation as a whole. Don McLeroy, a dentist, Sunday school teacher, and avowed young-earth creationist, leads the Religious Right charge. After briefly serving on his local school board, McLeroy was elected to the Texas State Board of Education and later appointed chairman. During his time on the board, McLeroy has overseen the adoption of new science and history curriculum standards, drawing national attention and placing Texas on the front line of the so-called "culture wars." n his last term, McLeroy, aided by Cynthia Dunbar, an attorney from Houston and professor of Law at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, finds himself not only fighting to change what Americans are taught, but also fighting to retain his seat on the board. Challenged by Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, and Ron Wetherington, an anthropology professor from Southern Methodist University in Texas, McLeroy faces his toughest term yet. THE REVISIONARIES follows the rise and fall of some of the most controversial figures in American education through some of their most tumultuous intellectual battles. (Kino Lorber)

The Zen Of Bennett is a seductive and soulful view into the mind of singer Tony Bennett as well as an intimate portrait of the artist’s creative process as he turns 85 years old. In a first person narrative, Tony reflects back over his 60 year career while looking ahead within the context of his latest recording project. We experience inspirational insights as Tony discusses his philosophies of life, lessons learned, and his passion for art and music. (Abramorama)

They’ve been called criminals, “hackers on steroids” and even terrorists. But the vast majority of those who identify as Anonymous don’t break the law. They see themselves as activists and protectors of free speech, and tend to rise up most powerfully when they perceive a threat to internet freedom or personal privacy. WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists, takes us inside the complex culture and history of Anonymous. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, and then moves to Anonymous’ own raucous and unruly beginnings on the website 4Chan. (Luminant Media)

Along the rhythm of the changing seasons they watch one another. Bestiary unfolds like a filmed picture book about mutual observation, about peculiar perception. A contemplation of a stable imbalance, and of lose, calm and indefinable elements. (Metafilms)

Brooklyn Castle tells the stories of five members of the chess team at a below-the-poverty-line inner city junior high school that has won more national championships than any other in the country. The film follows the challenges these kids face in their personal lives as well as on the chessboard, and is as much about the sting of their losses as it is about the anticipation of their victories. Ironically, the biggest obstacle thrust upon them arises not from other competitors but from recessionary budget cuts to all the extracurricular activities at their school. BROOKLYN CASTLE shows how these kids’ dedication to chess magnifies their belief in what is possible for their lives. After all, if they can master the world’s most difficult game, what can’t they do? (Producers Distribution Agency)

On May 6th, 2009 Maine became the first state in this country to legislatively grant same-sex couples the right to marry. Seven months later, on November 3rd 2009 Maine reversed, becoming the thirty-first state in this country to say "no" to gay and lesbian marriage. Filmed from within both campaigns, "Question One" chronicles the fierce and emotional battle that took place in Maine during that time, a battle whose political symbolism is a bellwether for the greater ideological battlefield in American politics. (Fly on the Wall Productions)

Sexy Baby is the first documentary film to put faces to a seismic cultural shift: the cyber age is creating a new sexual landscape. While doing research for the film, we had intimate and candid conversations with kids in middle school classrooms, suburban shopping malls, nightclubs, college dorms, and even conducted an informal roundtable during a high school house party. While chronicling trends among small town and big city kids, we discovered this: Having pubic hair is considered unattractive and “gross.” Most youngsters know someone who has emailed or texted a naked photo of themselves. Many kids have accidentally or intentionally had their first introduction to sex be via hardcore online porn. Facebook has created an arena where kids compete to be "liked" and constantly worry about what image to portray – much of what was once private is now made public. And the list goes on. (Two to Tangle Productions)

Unmasked Judeophobia is a meticulous examination of rising anti-Jewish ideology. Filmmaker Gloria Greenfield travels from Israel to Europe to North America, covering this phenomenon from all angles, including historical Christian and contemporary Islamic polemics against Jews, the proliferation of anti-Israeli bias in academia and cultural institutions, misinformation campaigns and state-sanctioned denials of Israel’s right to exist. Wide-ranging interviews include such eloquent and respected voices as Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz, Senator Joe Lieberman, former UN ambassador John Bolton, human rights activists Natan Sharansky and Irwin Cotler, British attorney Anthony Julius, Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens, Middle East senior fellow Caroline Glick, British journalist and blogger Melanie Phillips, and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon, among many others. (Emet Productions)

With vivid detail and poignancy, Yogawoman shows how women have embraced yoga for easing health conditions like breast cancer, infertility, heart disease, and anxiety and depression. It illuminates how yoga has transformed the lives of women in prison, cancer survivors, and those struggling with body image or eating disorders with candor. And beyond these circumstances, we witness how women have integrated yoga into their daily lives so they are happier, healthier, and more fulfilled — allowing them to give back to others with full hearts and creative minds. Through intimate interviews with the world’s leading experts, many who have become worldwide icons with rock-star status, Yogawoman captures the teachings that have blazed a new trail for women. (Shadow Distribution)

The documentary takes a look at Michael Jackson's legacy, focusing on the reception of his album "Bad."

A Whisper to a Roar tells the heroic stories of courageous democracy activists in five countries around the world – Egypt, Malaysia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. From student leaders to prime ministers and heads of state, these activists share their compelling personal stories of struggle, past and present, with their countries’ oppressive regimes. Shot over three years and finalized in July 2012 by award-winning filmmaker, Ben Moses, the film was inspired by the work of Stanford University’s Larry Diamond, author of “The Spirit of Democracy” and Director of Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. It was funded by The Moulay Hicham Foundation, whose benefactor, Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco, is a renowned public intellectual and democracy advocate, particularly in regards to the Middle East. (Appleseed Entertainment)

Some may find the rabid devotion of Rick Springfield's fans perplexing, but if his 17 Top 40 hits, including "Jessie's Girl", or his run on General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake didn't convince you, watching him blast out live performances with straight-on charisma and spontaneously dropping in on fans most certainly will. Somewhere in between the introvert plagued with lifelong depression and the 60-something extrovert who still performs 80 to 100 high energy concerts a year, lies the real Rick Springfield. For most fans Rick Springfield is much more than a celebrity crush; some have overcome deep trauma by connecting with his music, for others he has served as a catalyst for life-long friendships, and without fail all have a unique bond of reciprocity with him. A fascinating look at a singular, multi-generational celebrity culture, An Affair of the Heart is a soulful examination of contrasting individual connections revealed through common universal threads of humanity. (Yellow Rick Road Productions)

The flat on the third floor of a Bauhaus building in Tel Aviv was where my grandparents lived since they immigrated to Palestine in the 1930's. Were it not for the view from the windows, one might have thought that the flat was in Berlin. When my grandmother passed away at the age of 98 we were called to the flat to clear out what was left. Objects, pictures, letters and documents awaited us, revealing traces of a troubled and unknown past. The film which begins with the emptying out of a flat develops into a riveting adventure, involving unexpected national interests, a friendship that crosses enemy lines, and deeply repressed family emotions. And even reveals some secrets that should have probably remained untold. (Sundance Selects)

What does it mean for our collective future when we are too divided to address the challenges we face as a nation? SPLIT: A Deeper Divide is the riveting investigation into the partisanship paralyzing our politics, going beyond the bitter rancor to reveal the truth of why our country is more polarized and our politics more gridlocked than at any other time in recent memory. Through unparalleled access to the most insightful and recognizable names analyzing politics and society, the documentary unpacks the partisan wedges that have been driven ever deeper into our national fabric and the devastating impact these have had on our democracy. The film moves beyond the headlines of conservatives vs. liberals to the deeper questions of why: Why have we become two Americas? What are the forces - social, cultural, economic, political - that divide our nation so deeply? (Feature Presentations Releasing)

Filmmaker Ross McElwee finds himself in frequent conflict with his son, a young adult who seems addicted to and distracted by the virtual worlds of the internet. To understand his fractured love for his son, McElwee travels back to St. Quay-Portrieux in Brittany for the first time in decades to retrace his own journey into adulthood. A meditation on the passing of time, the praxis of photography and film, and the digital versus analog divide. (First Run Features)

Using old 16mm cameras, artist Ben Rivers creates work from stories of real people, often those who have disconnected from the normal world and taken themselves into wilderness territories. Two Years at Sea extends Ben's relationship with Jake, a man first encountered in his short film This Is My Land. He lives alone in a ramshackle house, in the middle of the forest. It's full of stuff that might come in useful someday. Jake has a tremendous sense of purpose as he works around the house and surrounding forest and moorland. Rivers' witty and gracefully-constructed film creates an intimate connection with an individual who might otherwise be hard to get to know if we met him face-to-face. (Soda Pictures)

From the tentative first day of school to the amazing year-end performances, Fame High captures the in-class and at-home drama, competition, heartbreak, and triumph during one school year at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA). Where talented teens reach for their dreams of becoming actors, singers, dancers, and musicians.

As America remains embroiled in conflict overseas, a less visible war is taking place at home, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage on future generations of Americans. Over forty years, the War on Drugs has accounted for more than 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever before. (Charlotte Street Films)

Journalist and filmmaker Gotham Chopra spends a year traveling the world decoding his father Deepak Chopra, resolving the spiritual icon he is to the world vs. the real man known to his family. What starts as an intimate biopic becomes a deeper plunge into the meaning of identity itself. (Snagfilms)

In Foucault’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco calls the city of Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, the “Black Rome.” The rich culture of Salvador emanates from a fusion of European, African, and Native Indian roots. Today, tattooed onto the skin of the cityʼs 500-year-old urban landscape, one observes the ubiquitous public artwork created by the artist Bel Borba over the past 35 years. The documentary film, Bel Borba Aqui, reflects the intense and intimate relationship between this historically rich city and her beloved native son, Bel Borba. (Abramorama)

Escape Fire tackles one of the most pressing issues of our time: what can be done to save our broken medical system? The film examines the powerful forces trying to maintain the status quo in a medical industry designed for quick fixes rather than prevention, for profit-driven care rather than patient-driven care. The film is about a way out, about saving the health of a nation. (Roadside Attractions)

Husham works tirelessly to build the hopes, dreams and prospects of the 32 damaged children of war, under his care at a small orphanage in Baghdad’s most dangerous district. Against this threatening backdrop, with funds running desperately low, the bittersweet dramas of childhood play out: 7-year-old SAIF can only remember his dead mother’s name, ‘Mejuda’, as he faces the taunts of other kids in constant playground battles; teenager Mohammed struggles to balance academic life with his search for self-identity ; whilst young Salah fears he may never be able to go to school. When the landlord gives Husham and the boys just two weeks to vacate, a desperate search ensues. (Human Film)

The Waiting Room uses unprecedented access to go behind the doors of Oakland’s Highland Hospital, a safety-net hospital fighting for survival while weathering the storm of a persistent economic downturn. Stretched to the breaking point, Highland is the primary care facility for 250,000 patients of nearly every nationality, race, and religion, with 250 patients – most of them uninsured – crowding its emergency room every day. Using a blend of cinema verité and characters’ voiceover, the film offers a raw, intimate, and often uplifting look at how patients, staff and caregivers cope with disease, bureaucracy, frustration, hope and hard choices during one typically hectic day. (International Film Circuit)

After leading the USSR to a gold medal (and victory over the U.S.A.) at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Sarunas Marciulionis and Arvydas Sabonis were poster boys for their oppressor’s sports machine. Four year later, after the fall of the Soviet Union, they emerged as symbols of democracy, helping their country break free from the shackles of Communism, and willing newly independent Lithuania to the medal stand at the Barcelona Olympics. The Other Dream Team documents the Lithuanians’ experiences behind the Iron Curtain for 50 years, where elite athletes were subjected to brutalities of Communist rule. As they hid from KGB agents and feared for their lives, Lithuania’s basketball stars always shared a common goal - to utilize their athletic gifts to help free their country. (The Film Arcade)

Harvest of Empire takes an unflinching look at the role that U.S. economic and military interests played in triggering an unprecedented wave of migration that is transforming our nation’s cultural and economic landscape. From the wars for territorial expansion that gave the U.S. control of Puerto Rico, Cuba and more than half of Mexico, to the covert operations that imposed oppressive military regimes in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, Harvest of Empire unveils a moving human story that is largely unknown to the great majority of citizens in the U.S. (Onyx Films)

The Iran Job follows American basketball player Kevin Sheppard as he accepts a job to play in one of the world’s most feared countries: Iran. With tensions running high between Iran and the West, Kevin tries to separate sports from politics only to find that politics is impossible to escape in Iran. Along the way he forms an unlikely alliance with three outspoken Iranian women. Thanks to these women, his apartment turns into an oasis of free speech, where they discuss everything from politics to religion to gender roles. Kevin’s season in Iran culminates in something much bigger than basketball: the uprising and subsequent suppression of Iran’s reformist Green Movement – a powerful prelude to the sweeping changes across the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring. (Paladin Films)

Past present and future mix in this eloquent, intense and surprisingly humorous portrait of documentary filmmaker David Fisher and his siblings, as they retrace the footsteps of their late father—a Holocaust survivor who was interned in Gusen and Gunskirchen, Austria. David’s journey takes him to the U.S., where he meets American WWII veterans who participated in the liberation of his father and Gunskirchen camp. This sparks a remarkable journey to Austria by the Fisher siblings. They joke, kibitz and quarrel, and remind us that history and memory require active discussion among the later generations. (Nancy Fishman Film Releasing)

The first feature length documentary on the Occupy movement not only offers answers for those who continue to ask: “what does the occupy movement stand for? What are our demands?” – it offers a challenge and an invitation to engage with the movement. (Dennis Trainor Jr. Film)

How To Survive A Plague is the untold story of the efforts that turned AIDS into a mostly manageable condition – and the improbable group of young men and women who, with no scientific training, infiltrated government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, and helped identify promising new compounds, moving them through trials and into drugstores in record time. These drugs saved their lives and ended the darkest days of the epidemic, while virtually emptying AIDS wards in American hospitals. (IFC Films)

Head Games is a revealing documentary about the silent concussion crisis in American sports. Athletes from the professional to the youth levels share their personal struggles in dealing with the devastating and long-term effects of concussions, an epidemic fueled by the 'leave everything on the field' culture so prominent in American sport. (Variance Films)

Tears of Gaza is less a conventional documentary than a record – presented with minimal gloss – of the 2008 to 2009 bombing of Gaza by the Israeli military. (Choices Productions)

Influential radio personality Bob Fass revolutionized the airwaves by developing a patchwork of music, politics, comedy and reports from the street, effectively creating free-form radio. For nearly 50 years, Fass has been heard at midnight on listener-sponsored WBAI-FM, broadcast out of New York. Long before today's innovations in social media, Fass utilized the airwaves for mobilization, encouraging luminaries and ordinary listeners to talk openly, taking the program in surprising directions. Radio Unnameable is a visual and aural collage that pulls from Bob Fass's immense archive of audio, film, photographs, and video that has been sitting dormant until now. (Kino Lorber)

Does hell exist? If so, who ends up there, and why? Featuring an eclectic group of authors, theologians, pastors, social commentators and musicians, HELLBOUND? is a feature-length documentary that looks at why we are so bound to the idea of hell and how our beliefs about hell affect the world we are creating today. (Area23a)

The film follows the Major League’s only knuckleballers in 2011, Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey, as they pursue a mercurial art form in a world that values speed, accuracy, and numerical accountability. (FilmBuff)

The story of Burma, told with stunning footage shot clandestinely over a 2 ­year period by filmmaker Robert H. Lieberman. It provides an astonishing and intimate look inside at what has been one of the most isolated countries on the planet, lifting the curtain on the everyday life of the people in this land that has been held hostage by a brutal and superstitious military regime for 48 years. A revealing interview with Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi conducted just after her most recent release from house arrest is interwoven with extensive interviews and interactions with Burmese people from all around this incredibly diverse nation. The film, culled from over 120 hours of striking images, is an impressionistic journey that leads across the vastness of Burma. It traces the history of Burma from its beginnings in the ancient city of Bagan, through colonial times, recent uprisings, the devastating Cyclone Nargis that killed 150,000 people, and up to the present day. (PhotoSynthesis Productions)

Medical Inc. reveals the unseen tactics of these "influencers" in an investigation that leads to the highest levels of the American Medical Association (AMA) and reveals an alarming portrait of deception and criminality. Is it because the "Medical Monopoly" spends millions a year attacking, ridiculing, and trying to discredit these natural therapies? The answers are almost beyond belief, until Medical Inc. takes us into the courtroom with five chiropractors who, having been labeled "an unscientific cult," fought back and won a landmark verdict. Their heroic story forms the backdrop of one of the most personally compelling documentaries ever. Because of their bravery, the medical industrial complex is no longer blocking access to safe natural alternatives, pill popping is giving way to smarter preventative care, and purveyors of sickness are being shoved aside, resulting in a healthier life for us all. (Jeff Hays Films)

Dr. Tinker explores the world’s leading energy sites, from coal to solar, oil to biofuels, many highly restricted and never before seen on film. He gets straight answers from the people driving energy today, international leaders of government, industry and academia. In the end, he cuts through the confusion to discover a path to our future that is surprising and remarkably pragmatic. [Acro Films]

In 2003, the French celebrity chef Bernard Loiseau, fearing the loss off one of his Michelin stars, shot himself with a sporting gun. "Three stars" explores the psychological and economical effects that the Guide Michelin puts on the Haute Cuisine with its paramilitary-style organized kitchens. The scenery changes from the hectic activities at the stove to the on-site laboratories, where the newest menus are designed. The protagonists from nine different kitchens are given the opportunity to freely speak about their daily routine, their personal worries and their ambition to make it to the very top. (HMR Produktion)

There's something funny about voting in America. For starters, where is the Electoral College—and does it have a winning football team? Why does America have 13,000 voting districts, each with its own set of rules? And why are residents of our nation’s capital denied full voting rights? Electoral Dysfunction, a feature-length documentary created by a team of award-winning filmmakers, uses humor and wit to take an irreverent–but nonpartisan–look at voting in America. (Trio Pictures)

During Diana Vreeland’s fifty year reign as the “Empress of Fashion,” she launched Twiggy, advised Jackie Onassis, and established countless trends that have withstood the test of time. She was the fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar where she worked for twenty-five years before becoming editor-in-chief of Vogue, followed by a remarkable stint at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, where she helped popularize its historical collections. Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel is an intimate portrait and a vibrant celebration of one of the most influential women of the twentieth century, an enduring icon who has had a strong influence on the course of fashion, beauty, publishing and culture. (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Carolyn Parker was the last to leave her neighborhood when a mandatory evacuation order was decreed as Hurricane Katrina approached New Orleans in the summer of 2005. After the flood waters subsided, Mrs. Parker was the first resident to return to her now flood-devastated community with what many thought was the "impossible dream" of bringing her ruined home back to life. I'm Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful is the portrait of an "ordinary family" who banded together under extraordinary circumstances, and reclaimed their home. (Caruso/Mendelsohn Productions)

Jian Ping was born in China in 1960, during the cultural revolution. After many hardships, she immigrated to America where she gave birth to her own daughter. As an emotional and cultural distance grew between her and her daughter, Jian began to write her memoir. And on a trip to modern China to visit relatives, Jian began to educate her daughter about her life.

The Manzanar Fishing Club began as a lecture, walking tour and artifacts exhibit to raise awareness of the internees who slipped away under the cover of night to find freedom and adventure matching wits with the prized trout of the Sierra Nevada's high-altitude lakes and streams. This creative treatment of actual events is the brainchild of cinematographer-turned-director Cory Shiozaki. An avid fisherman whose parents were among the 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent who were rounded up in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor, Cory has spent the past six years chronicling the untold story of this overlooked chapter in U.S. history. The project moved to the next level when fellow anglers and video production company principals Lester Chung and John Gengl proposed interviewing the surviving internee fishermen for a documentary film. (From Barbed Wire to Barbed Hooks)

French chef Michel Bras, one of the most influential chefs in the world, has decided to hand over his renowned 3-Michelin-Star restaurant to his son Sébastien. Having worked with his father for 15 years, Sébastien is ready. But it's not easy to take over the family business when your father is a master in his field. Filmed in the gorgeous Aubrac region in the South of France, home to the Bras family for generations, Step Up To The Plate offers a rare glimpse into the Bras' culinary process while capturing one of the most closely watched transitions in the world of haute cuisine. (Cinema Guild)

Despite a lack of obvious similarities between Siberia and Tokyo, a thriving model industry connects these distant regions. Girl Model follows two protagonists involved in this industry: Ashley, a deeply ambivalent model scout who scours the Siberian countryside looking for fresh faces to send to the Japanese market, and one of her discoveries, Nadya, a 13-year-old plucked from her rustic home in Russia and dropped into the center of bustling Tokyo with promises of a profitable career. After Ashley’s initial discovery of Nadya, they rarely meet again, but their stories are inextricably bound. As Nadya’s optimism about rescuing her family from financial hardship grows, her dreams contrast against Ashley’s more jaded outlook about the industry’s corrosive influence. (First Run Features)

Beauty Is Embarrassing chronicles the vaulted highs and the crushing lows of a commercial artist struggling to find peace and balance between his work and his art. Acting as his own narrator, Wayne guides us through his life using moments from his latest creation: a hilarious, biographical one-man show. The pieces are drawn from performances at venues in Tennessee, New York and Los Angeles including the famous Roseland Ballroom and the Largo Theater. (Future You Pictures)

Detroit's story has encapsulated the iconic narrative of America over the last century - the Great Migration of African Americans escaping Jim Crow; the rise of manufacturing and the middle class; the love affair with automobiles; the flowering of the American dream; and now... the collapse of the economy and the fading American mythos. With its vivid, painterly palette and haunting score, "Detropia" sculpts a dreamlike collage of a grand city teetering on the brink of dissolution. These soulful pragmatists and stalwart philosophers strive to make ends meet and make sense of it all, refusing to abandon hope or resistance. Their grit and pluck embody the spirit of the Motor City as it struggles to survive postindustrial America and begins to envision a radically different future. (Loki Films)

Ornette: Made In America captures Ornette’s evolution over three decades. Returning home to Fort Worth, Texas in 1983 as a famed performer and composer, documentary footage, dramatic scenes, and some of the first music video-style segments ever made, chronicle his boyhood in segregated Texas and his subsequent emergence as an American cultural pioneer and world-class icon. (Milestone Films)

This darkly comic, genre-bending piece of gonzo journalism from international provocateur Mads Brügger rips the corroded lid off the global scheme of political corruption and exploitation happening in one of the most dangerous places on the planet: the Central African Republic. Armed with a phalanx of hidden cameras, black-market diplomatic credentials and a bleeding-edge wit, Brügger transforms himself into an outlandish caricature of a European-African consul. As he immerses himself in the life-threatening underworld of nefarious bureaucrats, Brügger encounters blood diamond smuggling, bribery, and even murder -- while somehow managing to crack amazing razor-sharp barbs at every step along the way. From each absurdly terrifying/hilarious situation to the next, The Ambassador is a one-of-a-kind excursion from the man whom The Huffington Post has called “the most provocative filmmaker in the world.” (Drafthouse)

Wild Horse, Wild Ride tells the story of the Extreme Mustang Makeover Challenge, an annual contest that dares 100 people to each tame a totally wild mustang in order to get it adopted into a better life beyond federal corrals. Stunning and poignant, Alex Dawson and Greg Gricus’ debut feature documentary chronicles a handful of unforgettable characters from their first uneasy meeting with their horses and over three months as they attempt to transform from scared strangers to the closest of companions. (Screen Media Films)

Death by China, a documentary feature which pointedly confronts the most urgent problem facing Amercia today – its increasingly destructive economic trade relationship with a rapidly rising China. Since China began flooding U.S. markets with illegally subsidized products in 2001, over 50,000 American factories have disappeared, more than 25 million Americans can’t find a decent job, and America now owes more than 3 trillion dollars to the world’s largest totalitarian nation. Through compelling interviews with voices across the political spectrum, Death by China exposes that the U.S.-China relationship is broken and must be fixed if the world is going to be a place of peace and prosperity. (Area23a)

Expanding on the themes they developed in Baraka (1992) and CHronos (1985), Samsara explores the wonders of our world from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man’s spirituality and the human experience. Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation. Through powerful images, the film illuminates the links between humanity and the rest of nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet. (Oscilloscope Pictures)

Of the roughly 80,000 girls who have been adopted from China since 1989—a decade after China implemented its One Child Policy—the film intimately follows four teenagers: Haley, Jenna, Ann, and Fang. These four wise-beyond-their-years, yet typical American teens, reveal a heartbreaking sense of self-awareness as they attempt to answer the uniquely human question, “Who am I?” They meet and bond with other adoptees, some journey back to China to reconnect with the culture, and some reach out to the orphaned girls left behind. In their own ways, all attempt to make sense of their complex identities. Issues of belonging, race, and gender are brought to life through these articulate subjects, who approach life with honesty and open hearts. (Ladylike Films)

Join Keanu Reeves on a tour of the past and the future of filmmaking in SIDE BY SIDE. Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged, creating a groundbreaking evolution in the medium. Reeves explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters, such as James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, and many more. (Tribeca Films)

rue Wolf is the story of a wolf called Koani. Koani, with the help of her human companions, became an ambassador for her species, traveling the country to help raise awareness about wolves. True Wolf is about Koani’s life and journey; it is the tale of a wolf and the way she changed lives, most of all those of Pat Tucker and Bruce Weide. Koani and her humans, Pat and Bruce, presented 1,400 programs about wolves to 200,000 people. (Shadow Distribution)

A documentary-collage illustrating the dramatic events during last year's Green Revolution in Iran. Facebook reports, Twitter messages, videos posted on the internet and hundreds of real blog entries served as reference for the fictional 'storylines' of the film. (Red Flag Releasing)

We Women Warriors follows three native women caught in the crossfire of Colombia's warfare who use nonviolent resistance to defend their peoples' survival. Colombia has 102 aboriginal groups, one-third of which face extinction because of the conflict. Despite being trapped in a protracted predicament financed by the drug trade, indigenous women are resourcefully leading and creating transformation imbued with hope. We Women Warriors bears witness to neglected human rights catastrophes and interweaves character-driven stories about female empowerment, unshakable courage, and faith in the endurance of indigenous culture.(Todos Los Pueblos Productions)

Meet Louise and Martine Fokkens: 69-year-old identical twins who have worked as prostitutes in Amsterdam's red light district for over 50 years. Louise is newly retired due to arthritis (“I couldn't get one leg over the other”), but Martine carries on, unable to support herself on a state pension. Between explicit scenes of her daily grind, she and Louise stroll the city in matching outfits, recounting hilariously ribald stories from a lifetime of sex work. (Discussing a client who was a chaplain, one recalls: “Don't you remember, we even had a little confessional!”) An immensely affectionate portrait of two women who have seen and done everything (and everyone), Meet the Fokkens is a rollicking and revealing look at the world's oldest profession in the 21st century.(Kino Lorber)

This Time is a celebration of six diverse artists living on the flip side of the music industry. They’ve sung back-up for Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield and Jimi Hendrix, been homeless while their songs were on the charts, and struggled to fill tiny cabarets while fighting for their big break – all the while holding tight to their dignity and to their dreams. A new documentary work by filmmaker Victor Mignatti, This Time explores a world far from the overnight television sensations of “American Idol,” capturing the underbelly of an industry that relies on the ever-present and eternally-dedicated pool of new artists waiting for their chance at stardom. Accompanied by the soaring music of the undiscovered stars featured in the film, including The Sweet Inspirations and Cissy Houston, the film tracks the triumphant and heartwrenching efforts of six musicians working day and night to turn up the volume on their careers. From the streets of South Central Los Angeles to Park Avenue in New York, This Time is a musical story about utter dedication to an art form and the transformative power of music. (Inspirations 101)

In Nitro Circus the Movie 3D, coming to theaters August 8th, Travis Pastrana and his tight-knit, highly-skilled, adrenaline-addicted friends bring their impossible, ridiculous, insane and hysterical adventures to the big screen for the first time! Dreaming up the most dangerous stunts in the world of action sports -- whether they are trying to back flip a bike over a building 60-stories high or landing a death defying jump -- Pastrana and his gang are always at it. High Risk. High Octane. And No Safety Nets Allowed. (Arc Entertainment)

In this David and Goliath tale, a group of proud Scottish homeowners take on Donald Trump, as he gets set to destroy the crown jewels of Scotland’s natural heritage in order to build a luxury golf resort. We follow the local residents as they make their last stand in the face of police harassment, constant legal threats and the cutting off of their water and electricity supplies. Director Anthony Baxter himself becomes international news after being thrown in jail following an interview with Trump’s greenskeeper. Told entirely without narration, You've BeenTrumped captures the cultural chasm between the glamorous, jet-setting and media savvy Donald Trump and a deeply rooted Scottish community. For the tycoon, the golf course is just another deal, with a possible billion dollar payoff. For the residents, it represents the destruction of a globally unique landscape that has been the backdrop for their lives. [International Film Circuit]

Twenty-nine-year-old Joseph Garner cut himself off from everyone he knew and everything he owned, to embark on a bold adventure. Armed with only a laptop, cell phone, toothbrush, and the clothes on his back – alongside the hope that community was not gone but just had shifted – Joe lived for a month looking for alms in America’s new town square: Craigslist. For 31 December days and nights, everything in his life would come from the Craigslist website. From transportation to food, from shelter to companionship, Joe would depend on the generosity of people who had never seen him and whose sole connection to him was a giant virtual swap meet. Would America help Joe? Could he survive with nothing, apart from the goodwill of others? Through his explorations, Joe gained insights into our collective psyche, and took the pulse of an anxious nation teetering on a knife’s edge of hope and uncertainty. Joe encountered a diversity of unique stories that reveal the layered mosaic of our national identity. He observes some of the most challenging issues facing our country today – from new economic realities to the continued reconstruction of New Orleans to the effect of America’s presence in Iraq. His experiences raise profound questions about who we are as a society and where we are headed, leaving you to draw your own conclusions. (CLJ Films)

Nobody noticed when thirty-eight year old Joyce Vincent died in her apartment in North London in 2003. Three years later when her skeleton was discovered, her heating and television were still on. Who was Joyce Vincent and how could her death have gone unnoticed for so long? Dreams of a Life attempts to answer this question through testimonies from Joyce’s former friends, lovers and colleagues combined with re-imagined scenes, providing insight into her life and tragic death. (Strand Releasing)

Sushi, a cuisine formerly found only in Japan, has grown exponentially in other nations, and an industry has been created to support it. In a rush to please a hungry public, the expensive delicacy has become common and affordable, appearing in restaurants, supermarkets and even fast food trailers. The traditions requiring 7 years of apprenticeship in Japan have given way to quick training and mass-manufactured solutions elsewhere. This hunger for sushi has led to the depletion of apex predators in the ocean, including bluefin tuna, to such a degree that it has the potential to upset the ecological balance of the world’s oceans, leading to a collapse of all fish species. (Kino Lorber)

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the first feature-length film about the internationally renowned Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. In recent years, Ai has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations. AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY examines this complex intersection of artistic practice and social activism as seen through the life and art of China’s preeminent contemporary artist. (Sundance Selects)

Night work juxtaposed with oblivious evening digression, birth and death, questions that await answers in the semi­darkness, a Babel of languages, the routine of the daily news, and political negotiation: all this has been captured in images with a wealth of details that make us look at things in a new way. The longer you consider a word, the more distant is its return gaze: Abendland.(Nikolaus Geyrhalter Film Production)

What is a big corporation capable of doing in order to protect its brand? Recently, Swedish documentary filmmaker Fredrik Gertten experienced this personally. His previous film BANANAS!* recounts the lawsuit that 12 Nicaraguan plantation workers successfully brought against the fruit giant Dole Food Company. That film was selected for competition by the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. Nothing wrong so far, right? But then just before leaving Sweden to attend the Los Angeles world premiere of his film, Gertten gets a strange message: the festival has decided to remove Bananas!* from competition. Then, a scathing, controversial and misinformed article appears on the cover of the Los Angeles Business Journal about the film a week before the premiere. And subsequently, Gertten receives a letter from Dole's attorneys threatening legal action if the film is shown at this festival and to cease and desist. What follows is an unparalleled story that Gertten captured on film. He filmed this entire process of corporate bullying and media spin - from DOLE attacking the producers with a defamation lawsuit, utilizing scare tactics, to media-control and PR-spin. Big Boys Gone Bananas!* can be seen as a thriller and a cautionary tale. But, mostly this is a personal story about what happened to Gertten, as a documentary filmmaker and to his company and how the livelihood of documentary filmmakers can be easily put into jeopardy. (WG Film)

Young-Chan is an accomplished poet who can no longer hear or see. He communicates with his wife Soon-Ho through finger braille, a unique form of communication where words are tapped on each other's hands. They rely on one another completely; even simple domestic tasks require complex collaboration and everyday moments that most of us hardly notice become tender shared experiences. (Cinema Guild)

The stakes could not be higher as one of the theater's finest stage directors teams up with one of the world's leading opera companies to tackle opera's most monumental challenge: the production of Wagner's epic Ring cycle - the four-part, 16-hour work that the composer first presented in 1876. For the past 130 years, the quest to produce a perfect Ring has stymied directors, including Wagner himself, who struggled to meet the immense theatrical demands of his own creation. The cosmic vision of gods and mortals vying for power and destroyed by greed calls for astonishing stage visuals of fire storms, flying warriors, and underwater and heavenly actions. (The Metropolitan Opera)

With epic proportions of Shakespearean tragedy, the film follows two unique characters, whose rags-to-riches success stories reveal the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream. The film begins with the family triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America, a 90,000 sq. ft. palace. Over the next two years, their sprawling empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis. Major changes in lifestyle and character ensue within the cross-cultural household of family members and domestic staff. (Magnet Releasing)

On April 2nd, 2011, LCD Soundsystem played its final show at Madison Square Garden. LCD frontman James Murphy had made the conscious decision to disband one of the most celebrated and influential bands of its generation at the peak of its popularity, ensuring that the band would go out on top with the biggest and most ambitious concert of its career. The instantly sold out, near four-hour extravaganza did just that, moving the thousands in attendance to tears of joy and grief, with New York Magazine calling the event “a marvel of pure craft” and Time magazine lamenting “we may never dance again.” Shut Up and Play the Hits is simultaneously a document of a once-in-a-lifetime performance and an intimate portrait of Murphy as he navigates both the personal and professional ramifications of his decision.(Oscilloscope Pictures)

The feature-length documentary is a music-filled biographical film about the life and work of Raymond Scott. It also is a personal investigation into the father/son dynamic — what it means to have a famous father obsessed with his work and the consequent impact on the parent/child relationship.(Waterfall Films)

This compelling documentary narrated by John Leguizamo (Moulin Rouge!, Ice Age, Carlito's Way) is a gritty and rare look inside the recruitment of top talent baseball players from the Dominican Republic. Miguel Angel Sanó and Jean Carlos Batista are among 100,000 teenagers vying for a handful of coveted contracts with baseball teams. As they turn 16 years old and become eligible to sign, each must navigate the fiercely competitive and frequently corrupt system if they are to lift their families out of poverty and achieve their dream: to one day play in the Big Leagues. Filmmakers Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, and Jon Paley take you inside this never before seen world for an up close and personal look at the cost of the American dream. (Strand Releasing)

For more than a decade, Olga has been picking up the black babies left in Ukrainian orphanages and raising them together so that they may support and protect one another. Neo-Nazis in Ukraine pose a real danger for a dark-skinned individual in the street. These white supremacist youth joke about their evening raids and how police seem to let them do it. Prosecutors are not particularly determined to give strict sentences to racially motivated crimes, and young thugs can get away with probation for beating someone nearly to death. Olga sends her foster children to stay with host families in France and Italy in the summers and over Christmas, where they are cared for by charitable families who have committed to helping disadvantaged Ukrainian youth since the Chernobyl disaster. Olga's kids now speak different languages, and the older girls chat in fluent Italian with each other even while cooking a vat of borscht. But Olga doesn't believe in international adoption and has refused to sign adoption papers from host families that wanted to adopt her kids. "At least when the kids grow up, they'll have a mother to blame for all the failures that will happen in their lives," she says. (First Pond Entertainment)