Wise, brilliant and funny, Fran Lebowitz hit the New York literary scene in the early ‘70s when Andy Warhol hired the unknown scribe to write a column for interview magazine. Today, she’s an acclaimed author with legions of fans who adore her acerbic wit. (HBO Documentary Films)

From the lush wetlands of Botswana’s Okavango Delta comes the suspense-filled tale of a determined lioness ready to try anything—and willing to risk everything—to keep her family alive. In the new wildlife adventure, The Last Lions, filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert follow the epic journey of a lioness named Ma di Tau (“Mother of Lions”) as she battles to protect her cubs against a daunting onslaught of enemies in order to ensure their survival. (National Geographic Entertainment)

The Sky Turns is a contemplation of time, memory, and mortality. After 35 years, Álvarez returns to her native village, Aldealseñor, in remote northwest Spain. She was the last child born there; now only 14 aged inhabitants remain. They represent the final generation of a people after more than 1,000 years of uninterrupted village life. Soon they will join the other ghosts that haunt these ancient hills – ghosts of dinosaurs, Romans, Moors, and Fascists. Though her film is intensely personal, Álvarez yields the spotlight to the dwindling but tenacious villagers. The passing years have made them natural philosophers, historians, and comedians – they muse on the transience of things, regard the folly of conquerors from Caesar to Bush, and lace it all with stoic, quintessentially Spanish humor. Álvarez’s proxy within the film is her friend Pello Azketa, a painter whose encroaching blindness mirrors the theme of dimming memory. Azketa’s nebulous landscapes offer a key to the region’s austere beauty, its stony heights dotted with lonely, wind-stunted trees that squat beneath a towering sky. From a small patch of ground, Álvarez opens up a vast domain, dissolving the personal into the universal, the fleeting into the timeless, and isolation into a connectedness that reaches high into the heavens and deep into the past. (Anthology Film Archives)

Carbon Nation is a feature length documentary about climate change SOLUTIONS. Even if you doubt the severity of the impact of climate change or just don't buy it at all, this is a compelling and relevant film that illustrates how SOLUTIONS to climate change also address other social, economic and national security issues. Carbon Nation is an optimistic discovery of what people are already doing, what we as a nation could be doing and what the world needs to do to prevent (or slow down) the impending climate crisis. We already have the technology to combat most of the worst-case scenarios of climate change, and it is very good business as well. We meet a host of entertaining and endearing characters along the way, including entrepreneurs, visionaries, scientists, business, and the everyday man, all making a difference and working towards solving climate change. (Earth School Educational Foundation)

In this shocking and hilarious documentary, filmmaker Liz Canner takes a job editing erotic videos for a drug trial for a pharmaceutical company. Her employer is developing what they hope will be the first Viagra drug for women to win FDA approval to treat a new disease: Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). Liz gains permission to film the company for her own documentary. Initially, she plans to create a movie about science and pleasure but she soon begins to suspect that her employer, along with a cadre of other medical companies, might be trying to take advantage of women (and potentially endanger their health) in pursuit of billion dollar profits. Orgasm Inc. is a powerful look inside the medical industry and the marketing campaigns that are literally and figuratively reshaping our everyday lives around health, illness, desire – and that ultimate moment: orgasm. (First Run Features)

Vidal Sassoon is more than just a hairdresser-he's a rock star, an artist, a craftsman who "changed the world with a pair of scissors." With the geometric, Bauhaus-inspired hairdos he pioneered in the 1960s and his "wash and wear" philosophy that liberated generations of women from the tyranny of the salon, Sassoon revolutionized the art of hairstyling and left an indelible mark on popular culture. This documentary traces with visual gusto the life of a self-made man whose passion and perseverance took him from a Jewish orphanage in London to the absolute pinnacle of his craft. (Phase 4 Films)

"Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" is the inspiring true story and rare inside look at the rise of Justin from street performer in the small town of Stratford, Ontario to internet phenomenon to global super star culminating with a dream sold out show at the famed Madison Square Garden in 3-D. (Paramount Pictures)

The documentary, Dressed, is a compelling story of a young, self-taught clothing designer, Nary Manivong, who defied the odds of a broken childhood and homelessness is Columbus, Ohio, to reach his dream of showing his collection at New York's Fashion Week and launching his own brand. (OneRock Moving Pictures)

In the past 200,000 years, humans have upset the balance of planet Earth, a balance established by nearly four billion years of evolution. We must act now. It’s too late to be a pessimist. The price is too high. Humanity has little time to reverse the trend and change its patterns of consumption. Through visually stunning footage from over fifty countries, all shot from an aerial perspective, Yann Arthus-Bertrand shows us a view most of us have never seen. He shares with us his sense of awe about our planet and his concern for its health. With this film, Arthus-Bertrand’s feature film directorial debut. Home the movie is carbon offset. All of the CO2 emissions engendered by the making of the film are calculated and offset by sums of money that are used to provide clean energy to those who don’t have any. For the last ten years, all the work of Yann Arthus-Bertrand has been carbon offset. (Europa Corp.)

Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storages, which are vulnerable to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and to societal changes. In Finland the world's first permanent repository is being hewn out of solid rock - a huge system of underground tunnels - that must last 100,000 years as this is how long the waste remains hazardous. Once the waste has been deposited and the repository is full, the facility is to be sealed off and never opened again. Or so we hope, but can we ensure that? And how is it possible to warn our descendants of the deadly waste we left behind? How do we prevent them from thinking they have found the pyramids of our time, mystical burial grounds, hidden treasures? Which languages and signs will they understand? And if they understand, will they respect our instructions? While gigantic monster machines dig deeper and deeper into the dark, experts above ground strive to find solutions to this crucially important radioactive waste issue to secure mankind and all species on planet Earth now and in the near and very distant future. Captivating, wondrous and extremely frightening, this feature documentary takes viewers on a journey never seen before into the underworld and into the future. (Magic Hour Films)

In the wake of the turbulent 1960s, a new style of song and songwriter came to the fore. In Los Angeles, the emerging center of the American music scene, young songwriters come together to express, to inspire, to complete, to love. That scene largely revolved around an old beatnik club with capacity of a few hundred people, The Troubadour. The seed idea for this film, came out of a series of landmark reunion concerts James Taylor and Carole King played at the Troubadour in 2007, to mark the club’s 50th anniversary. (Tremolo Productions)

In 2007 filmmakers Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski formed a partnership to produce and direct “Lemmy”, the highly acclaimed epic rock & roll adventure doc about Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister. Born from the fire of “Lemmy”, Damage Case Films & Distribution is a production company dedicated to creating high quality, music-driven films, and a distribution company dedicated to bringing these works directly to the fan and audiences that deserve them. (Damage Case Films & Distribution)

Strongman is a cinema verité documentary about Stanless Steel, The Strongest Man in the World at Bending Steel and Metal. Told with the kind of intimacy that can only be achieved with years of filming, Strongman follows the dreams and heartbreaking humanity of Stanless Steel—the only man alive who can bend a penny with his fingers—as he struggles to gain control of a world that seems constantly out of his grasp. Strongman is a film about faith, about believing in yourself and a film about never giving up. It is a film about weakness and a film about strength. (No Props, Inc.)

A fascinating, unflinching portrait of the late photographer Francesca Woodman, told through the young artist’s work (including experimental videos and journal entries) and remarkably candid interviews with her artist parents Betty and Charles (a ceramic sculptor and painter/photographer), who have continued their own artistic practices while watching Francesca’s professional reputation eclipse their own. (Lorber Films)

This feisty, informative documentary takes us on a journey around the globe - from the Moroccan Sahara to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, from a factory in China to the highest peaks of the Alps - to reveal the far-flung reaches of our plastic problem. Interviews with the world’s foremost experts in biology, pharmacology, and genetics shed light on the perils of plastic to our environment and expose the truth of how plastic affects our bodies and the health of future generations. (First Run Features)

I'm Dangerous with Love is an underground adventure that traces Dimitri's risky journey as he treats desperate drug users. He is a man of edgy energy going from one addict to the next without stopping to catch his breath. But then one session goes bad in a remote snowed-in Canadian home, and a quiet young man almost dies. Dimitri must decide whether or not to continue his mission. Is it serving the addicts or simply releasing his own demons? Dimitri travels to Gabon, West Africa, to consult with Bwiti shamans, and puts himself through a punishing iboga initiation in search of guidance. (Michel Negroponte Films)

As our country continues to embroil itself in foreign wars and pins its hopes on a new leader's promise for change, Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune is a timely and relevant tribute to an unlikely American hero. Over the course of a meteoric music career that spanned two turbulent decades, Phil Ochs sought the bright lights of fame and social justice in equal measure - a contradiction that eventually tore him apart. From youthful idealism to rage to pessimism, the arch of Ochs' life paralleled that of the times, and the anger, satire and righteous indignation that drove his music also drove him to dark despair. In this brilliantly constructed film, interview and performance footage of Ochs is illuminated by the ruminations of Joan Baez, Tom Hayden, Pete Seeger, Sean Penn, Peter Yarrow, Christopher Hitchens, Ed Sanders, and others. (First Run Features)

Winner of the World Cinema Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Mads Brügger’s documentary follows a trio of Danish comedians as they pretend to be regime sympathizers and mount an absurd variety show in North Korea. Combining the muckracking spirit of Michael Moore with the confrontational comedy of Borat, The Red Chapel is an unconventional, hilarious and damning peek into a totalitarian regime. (Kino International Film)

From legendary French documentarian Nicolas Philibert, a captivating study of a 40-year-old orangutan — the oldest animal in the oldest zoo in the world. (Kino International)

I Am Secretly An Important Man is a feature length documentary film portrait of Steven J. Bernstein (aka Jesse Bernstein), one of Seattle's most celebrated voices. His angry, surprisingly fresh, lyrical writings are about sensitive souls, drifters and drug addicts; people alienated by a society that refuses to understand them. He peeled back the ugliness and the darkness of life on the fringe to expose tender and not so tender human feeling. His unique rhythms, filled with humor and pain, were especially exciting when read in his own gravely voice. People packed into theaters, bars and cafes to hear him read and sing.(Official Site)

And Everything Is Going Fine provides an intimate portrait of master monologist Spalding Gray, as described by his most critical, irreverent and insightful biographer: Spalding Gray. Director Steven Soderbergh, who collaborated with Gray on Gray’s Anatomy (1996), has sifted through rare and revealing footage to construct a riveting final monologue. There are glimpses of Gray’s father, and of his son Forrest (who provides soaring music for the end credits), but mostly this is an inspired one-man show, a bittersweet display of Spalding’s playful and embattled intelligence, his gift for tracking universal truths by looking himself squarely in the eye.(IFC Films)

Twelve years in the making, Shoah is Claude Lanzmann’s monumental epic on the Holocaust featuring interviews with survivors, bystanders and perpetrators in 14 countries. The film does not contain any historical footage but rather features interviews which seek to ‘‘reincarnate’’ the Jewish tragedy and also visits places where the crimes took place. Growing out of Lanzmann’s concern that the genocide perpetrated only 40 years earlier was already retreating into the mists of time, and that the atrocity was becoming sanitized as History, his massive achievement-at once epic and intimate, immediate and definitive-is a triumph of form and content that reveals hidden truths while rewriting the rules of documentary filmmaking. Shoah remains nothing less than essential. [IFC Films]

Beginning with Woodstock ‘99, director Michelle Esrick has spent ten years documenting the life of Wavy Gravy. Saint Misbehavin’ journeys from the hills of California to the Himalayan Mountains to reveal the life of this one of a kind servant to humanity. The film blends Wavy’s own words with magical stories from an extraordinary array of fellow travelers both cultural and counter-cultural, revealing the man behind the clown’s grin and the fool’s clothing. In Saint Misbehavin’ Wavy is revealed more than the tie-dyed entertainer and ice-cream flavor namesake that often defines him in the popular imagination. Audiences will come to know the activist, the optimist, and the healer who reaches beyond political, economic, and cultural divisions in his commitment to social change and the alleviation of human suffering. Wavy’s life is his message, serving as deeply needed inspiration that we can change the world and have fun doing it. (Ripple Effect Films)

RABBIT À LA BERLIN is the 2010 Academy Award-nominated story of thousands of wild rabbits which lived in the Death Zone of the Berlin Wall. This is the first film showing the story of the Wall and the reunification of Germany seen from such an unusual perspective – from the rabbits' point of view. As if the green belt between the two walls was designed for those animals - full of untouched grass, the predators stayed behind the wall and the guards made sure no one disturbed the rabbits. They had been living there for 28 years, enclosed but safe. With the fall of the Wall in 1989, the rabbits had to look for another place to live. (Icarus Films)

Bhutto tells the epic story of one of the most fascinating characters of our time — Benazir Bhutto, the first woman in history to lead a Muslim nation. A favored daughter of the family often called the “Kennedys of Pakistan,” Benazir was elected Prime Minister after her father was overthrown and executed by his own military. Her two terms in power saw extreme acts of courage and controversy as she tried to clean up Pakistan’s corrupt political culture while quelling the fires of radical Islam that threaten to engulf the region. A fascinating array of archival footage and interviews with family members and leading experts brings life to this tale of Shakespearean dimension in the country the Economist calls "the World's most dangerous place." (First Run Features)

This is the true account of one of the most surprising and remarkable love stories in the history of New York. It begins in 1993, when a young man has an unexpected encounter in Central Park. He meets a hawk. Not just any hawk, but a wild Redtail, a fierce predator that has not lived in the City for almost a hundred years. Little does he know that the journey will take him almost twenty years and lead him down many trails of life, death, birth, hope, and redemption. (Balcony Releasing)

At 10 years old, Chico Colvard shot his older sister in the leg. This seemingly random act detonated a chain reaction that exposed unspeakable realities and shattered his family. Thirty years later, Colvard ruptures veils of secrecy and silence again. As he bravely visits his relatives, what unfolds is a personal film that’s as uncompromising, raw, and cathartic as any in the history of the medium. (C-Line Films)

Featuring never-before-seen archival footage of Burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and confidants including John Waters, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Gus Van Sant, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Sonic Youth, Laurie Anderson, Amiri Baraka, Jello Biafra, and David Cronenberg, William S. Burroughs: A Man Within is a probing, yet loving look at the man whose works at once savaged conservative ideals, spawned countercultural movements, and reconfigured 20th century culture. The film is narrated by Peter Weller, with a soundtrack by Patti Smith and Sonic Youth. Burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950's. His novel Naked Lunch is one of the most recognized and respected literary works of the 20th century and has influenced generations of artists. The intimate documentary breaks the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time. (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

This film recounts how in the mid 1980's, the nation of Estonia still lay firmly in the grip of the Soviet Union, and the repressive authorities controlled virtually all aspects of Estonian life. The totalitarian government's power was derived in no small part from their ability to censor cultural life and keep Western culture on the other side of the border. Rock and Roll was but a rumor and the only television shows on the air were dreary propaganda. But one day everything changed. Just a few miles across the border in Finland, a huge new television antenna was built that broadcast western signals in all directions--including directly into the heart of the Talinn, the capital of Estonia. (Icarus Films)

Award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner trains her camera on Bjorn Lomborg, the controversial author of “The Skeptical Environmentalist,” who takes on the issue of climate change, challenging the status quo, and pointing toward new science and technology that might hold the solutions for our future. (Roadside Attractions)

This documentary feature takes an in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Nicknamed "The Sheriff of Wall Street," when he was NY's Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer prosecuted crimes by America’s largest financial institutions and some of the most powerful executives in the country. After his election as Governor, with the largest margin in the state's history, many believed Spitzer was on his way to becoming the nation's first Jewish President. Then, shockingly, Spitzer’s meteoric rise turned into a precipitous fall when the New York Times revealed that Spitzer - the paragon of rectitude - had been caught seeing prostitutes. As his powerful enemies gloated, his supporters questioned the timing of it all: as the Sheriff fell, so did the financial markets, in a cataclysm that threatened to unravel the global economy. With unique access to the escort world as well as friends, colleagues and enemies of the ex-Governor (many of whom have come forward for the first time) the film explores the hidden contours of this tale of hubris, sex, and power. (Magnolia Pictures)

Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story portrays the contributions of Jewish major leaguers and the special meaning that baseball has had in the lives of American Jews. More than a film about sports, this is a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry, heroism, the passing on of traditions, and the shattering of stereotypes.(7th Art Releasing)

Ne Change Rien looks at the career of singer Jeanne Balibar from rehearsal to recording sessions, from rock concerts to classical singing lessons, from an attic in Sainte Marie-aux-Mines to the stage of Tokyo café, from Johnny Guitar to Offenbach’s La Perichole. (Shellac Productions)

Documentary filmmaker Doug Block (51 Birch Street) has captured much of his daughter Lucy’s life – and their relationship – on camera. Now his only child is 17 and preparing to leave home for college. Lucy’s imminent departure is the springboard for The Kids Grow Up, a funny, moving and deeply personal look at modern-day parenting. (Shadow Distribution)

Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of "catadores" -- or self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz's initial objective was to "paint" the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Walker has great access to the entire process and, in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit. (Arthouse Films)

Walking With Destiny highlights Churchill's years in the political wilderness, his early opposition to Adolf Hitler and Nazism, and his support for Jews under threat by the Nazi regime. As historian John Lukacs explains, Churchill may not have won the War in 1940, but without him, the War most certainly would have been lost. Sir Martin Gilbert, historical consultant for the film and Churchill's official biographer, adds that had Churchill's warnings about Nazi Germany's racial policies towards Jews been heeded in the early 1930's, the Holocaust may never have occurred. The film examines why Winston Churchill's legacy continues to be relevant in the 21st Century and explores why his leadership remains inspirational to current day political leaders and diplomats. (Moriah Films)

Strange Powers is an intimate portrait of songwriter Stephin Merrit and his band, the Magnetic Fields. (Variance Films)

The subject of legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman’s hypnotic new film is an Austin, TX institution: Lord’s Gym, which was founded 16 years ago by professional boxer Richard Lord. People of all ages, races, ethnicities and social classes come to Lord’s: doctors, lawyers, judges, businessmen and kids all learn to spar alongside fellow amateurs and trained professionals. Wiseman depicts the gym as a uniquely American melting pot, a place where people meet to talk and train, and shows us that all the world’s a ring. (Zipporah Films)

Johnny Knoxville and his buddies are up to their daredevil comic antics again. And this time they're coming at ya' in 3D. (Paramount Pictures)

Jeff Reichert's wake-up-call political documentary that exposes the hidden history of our country's redistricting wars, mapping battles that take place out of public scrutiny but that shape the electoral landscape of American politics for decades at time, posing a threat not just to democrats, republicans, but democracy as a whole. (Green Film Company)

Pablo Escobar was the richest, most powerful drug kingpin in the world, ruling the Medellín Cartel with an iron fist. Andres Escobar was the biggest soccer star in Colombia. The two were not related, but their fates were inextricably-and fatally-intertwined. Pablo's drug money had turned Andres' national team into South American champions, favored to win the 1994 World Cup in Los Angeles. It was there, in a game against the U.S., that Andres committed one of the most shocking mistakes in soccer history, scoring an "own goal" that eliminated his team from the competition and ultimately cost him his life. The Two Escobars is a riveting examination of the intersection of sports, crime, and politics. For Colombians, soccer was far more than a game: their entire national identity rode on the success or failure of their team. Jeff and Michael Zimbalist's fast and furious documentary plays out on an ever-expanding canvas, painting a fascinating portrait of Pablo, Andres, and a country in the grips of a violent, escalating civil war.

Inside Job is the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, Inside Job traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia. (Sony Classics)

On April 8, 2000, Mark Hogancamp was brutally attacked outside of a bar by five men. Revived by paramedics, Mark had suffered brain damage and physical injuries so severe even his own mother didn’t recognize him. After nine days in a coma and 40 days in the hospital, Mark was discharged with little memory of his previous life. Unable to afford therapy, Mark decided to create his own. In his backyard, he built Marwencol, a 1/6th scale World War II-era town that he populated with dolls representing his friends, family and even his attackers. After a few years, Mark started documenting his miniature dramas with his camera. Through Mark’s lens, these were no longer dolls – they were living, breathing characters in an epic WWII story full of violence, jealousy, longing and revenge. And he (or rather his alter ego, Captain Hogancamp) was the hero. When Mark’s stunningly realistic photos are discovered by an art magazine, and a prestigious gallery comes calling, his homemade therapy suddenly becomes “art,” forcing Mark to make a choice between the safety of his fictional town and the real world beyond it. [The Cinema Guild]

Rachel Corrie, a young American woman and her friends attempt to stop a bulldozer from clearing out some homes and other buildings. Corrie was run over and killed. Witnesses claim it was deliberate.

Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Casino Jack and the United States of Money) delivers a visually arresting look at the crumbling facade of Sumo wrestling and exposes searing and violent truths about this ancient and revered sport. Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) offers up a buoyant and revealing angle on the repercussions of baby names. Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp) balance levity and candor with their eye-opening profile of underachieving kids incentivized to learn with cold hard cash. Finally, Eugene Jarecki, who brought us the unforgettably powerful Why We Fight, investigates an unsettling theory to explain why crime rates dramatically dropped in the early '90s. Seth Gordon (The King of Kong) weaves the pieces together with brisk interludes, providing context and commentary from the authors. Freakonomics exposes the hidden side of everything, debunking conventional wisdom, and revealing what answers may come if one just asks the right questions. (Magnolia Pictures)

Narrated by Kate Winslet, this inspiring film follows one woman's quest to unlock her autistic son's mind. Margret, whose ten-year-old son Keli is severely autistic, has tried a number of treatments to help her son. Consumed by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about this mysterious and complex condition, she travels from her home in Iceland to the United States and Europe, meeting with top autism experts and advocates. She also connects with several other families touched by autism, whose struggles echo her own: the endless doctor visits and experiments with different treatments, the complication of doing everyday tasks, and the inability to communicate - perhaps the most painful and frustrating aspect of autism. But as she comes across innovative new therapies with the potential to break down the walls of autism, Margret finds hope that her son may be able to express himself on a level she never thought possible. (First Run Features)

For a nation that proudly declared it would leave no child behind, America continues to do so at alarming rates. Despite increased spending and politicians’ promises, our buckling public—education system, once the best in the world, routinely forsakes the education of millions of children. Oscar winning filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education “statistics” have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing foundation of Waiting for Superman. As he follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth, Guggenheim undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, surveying “drop—out factories” and “academic sinkholes,” methodically dissecting the system and its seemingly intractable problems. However, embracing the belief that good teachers make good schools, Guggenheim offers hope by exploring innovative approaches taken by education reformers and charter schools that have—in reshaping the culture—refused to leave their students behind. (Paramount Vantage Point)

Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo goes behind prison walls to follow convict cowgirls on their journey to the 2007 Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo. In 2006, female inmates were allowed to participate for the first time. In a state with the highest female incarceration rate in the country, these women share common experiences such as broken homes, drug abuse and alienation from their children. Since 1940, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary has held an annual 'Prison Rodeo'. Part Wild West show and part coliseum-esque spectacle, it's one of the last of its kind - a relic of the American penal system. Prisoners compete on wild-broncs and bucking bulls, risking life-long injuries. For inmates like Danny Liles, a 14-year veteran of the rodeo, the chance to battle livestock offers a brief respite from prison life. Within this strange arena the prisoners become the heroes while the public and guards applaud. (Cinema Purgatorio)

In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shocking product of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue. (Rogue Pictures)

A look at the inner world of modeling.

Not far from the White House, the Capitol, and the National Mall lies a part of Washington, DC that the tourists never see and the mainstream media virtually ignores. At least three percent of DC is HIV positive, a staggering rate higher than parts of Africa. Behind all the stories of heartbreak, loss, and struggle there are also the incredible, encouraging stories of the people behind grassroots movements to extend education, combat stigmas, and spread hope.

Imagine a scene never before witnessed: Sixteen French pastry chefs gathered in Lyon for three intense days of mixing, piping and sculpting everything from delicate chocolates to six-foot sugar sculptures in hopes of being declared by President Nicolas Sarkozy one of the best. This is the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition (Best Craftsmen in France). The blue, white and red striped collar worn on the jackets of the winners is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef – it is a dream and an obsession. The finalists, France’s culinary elite, risk their reputations as well as sacrifice family and finances in pursuit of this lifelong distinction of excellence. Similar to the Olympics, the three-day contest takes place every four years and it requires that the chefs not only have extraordinary skill and nerves of steel, but also a lot of luck. [First Run Features]

With her love of adventure and fearlessness, Ruth Gruber defied tradition from the moment she became the world’s youngest PhD at the age of 20 in 1931. Ahead of Time tells the remarkable journey of 96 year-old Gruber, and is the directorial debut of noted cinematographer Bob Richman (The September Issue, My Architect, and An Inconvenient Truth). Gruber continued to make history throughout her trail-blazing career by becoming the first journalist to enter the Soviet Arctic in 1935 and escorting 1000 Holocaust refugees from Naples to New York in a secret war-time mission in 1944. She covered the heart wrenching ordeal of the refugees aboard the ship Exodus 1947 with photographs that helped change the world. (Reel Inheritance Films)

The directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actor Casey Affleck, I'm Still Here is a striking portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of internationally acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, I'm Still Here follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip hop musician. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, and always riveting, the film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads. Defying expectations, it deftly explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye. (Magnolia Pictures)

An enigmatic musical poet — and the most documented classical musician of the last century — world-renowned pianist Glenn Gould continues to captivate international audiences twenty-six years after his untimely death. Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould humanizes the legend, weaving together an unprecedented array of unseen footage, private home recordings and diaries, as well as compelling interviews with Gould’s most intimate friends and lovers — all exploring the incongruities between Gould’s private reality and his wider image.(Lorber Films)

A wildly entertaining, star-studded documentary about The Beatles’s favorite American musician, Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)? is a vibrant and definitive portrait of one of the most talented singer-songwriters in pop music history. Directed by Emmy and Grammy nominee John Scheinfeld (The U.S. Vs. John Lennon), the film combines compelling interviews with Nilsson’s family, friends and colleagues — including Brian Wilson, Randy Newman, Robin Williams, Micky Dolenz and Yoko Ono — with rare and never-before-seen archival footage, home movies, and excerpts from a recently discovered oral autobiography. The film delves deeply into Nilsson’s artistic process, his spirited relationship with John Lennon, and the additions that haunted him in and outside the studio — as well as the peace he found as a devoted husband and father. (Lorber Films)

During four years a film crew followed for the first time the classified investigations and tactics of the Sao Paulo Anti-Kidnapping Police Division. During this period 386 people were kidnapped in the State and over 1,500 Brazil. Kidnappers victim, police officers, politicians mixed with the emotions of police actions takes the view to experience the real life drama of living in Latin America's largest and most terrorizing city.(Yukon Filmworks)

Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired. Race to Nowhere is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens. (Reel Link Films)

Every spring, China’s cities are plunged into chaos as 130 million migrant workers journey to their home villages for the New Year’s holiday. This mass exodus is the world’s largest human migration—an epic spectacle that reveals a country tragically caught between its rural past and industrial future. Working over several years in classic verité style Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Lixin Fan (with the producers of the award-winning hit documentary Up the Yangtze) travels with one couple who have embarked on this annual trek for almost two decades. Like so many of China’s rural poor, Zhang Changhua and Chen Suqin left behind their two infant children for grueling factory jobs. Their daughter Qin—now a restless and rebellious teenager—both bitterly resents their absence and longs for her own freedom away from school, much to the utter devastation of her parents. Emotionally engaging and starkly beautiful, Last Train Home’s intimate observation of one fractured family sheds light on the human cost of China’s ascendance as an economic superpower. (Zeitgeist Films)

Welcome to the North Shore of Oahu – the 7 Mile Miracle – surfing’s Xanadu. A freak of nature that is long considered the ultimate test for surfers. Six decades ago, it was the rite of passage for a select few. Then a few more, and a few more. An image that created a fashion; a fashion that became and industry of shoes, shirts, pants, short, hats, movies, and magazines that defined a lifestyle. A lifestyle commoditized and exploited mixing liars with legends until it's nearly impossible to separate Da Bull from Da shit. It's layers of mystique, the mystique that generates ten billion dollar years, dollars that fund pro surfing's world tour which culminates on the North Shore of Oahu. Where each year the circle completes to begin again. It’s the Triple Crown – the final 3 contests of the year - held in the cyclone of the North Shore between Halloween and Christmas Eve. For 55 days the Triple Crown is a catalyst for a big wave soap opera that unfolds around, beside and away from the actual contests. (Outsider Pictures)

In 2006, director Spike Lee created an astonishing record of the cataclysmic effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans with his epic award-winning documentary, When the Levees Broke. Five years later, Lee returns to New Orleans, to see how the ambitious plans to reinvent the Crescent City were playing out. He finds a patchwork of hope and heartache just as a new disaster unfolds. The four-hour documentary is a continuation of the heart-rending story of destruction and rebirth of America's most unique city.

Pat Tillman never thought of himself as a hero. His choice to leave a multimillion-dollar football contract and join the military wasn't done for any reason other than he felt it was the right thing to do. The fact that the military manipulated his tragic death in the line of duty into a propaganda tool is unfathomable and thoroughly explored in Amir Bar-Lev's riveting and enraging documentary.

Yael Hersonski's powerful documentary achieves a remarkable feat through its penetrating look at another film-the now-infamous Nazi-produced film about the Warsaw Ghetto. Discovered after the war, the unfinished work, with no soundtrack, quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record, despite its elaborate propagandistic construction. The later discovery of a long-missing reel complicated earlier readings, showing the manipulations of camera crews in these "everyday" scenes. Well-heeled Jews attending elegant dinners and theatricals (while callously stepping over the dead bodies of compatriots) now appeared as unwilling, but complicit, actors, alternately fearful and in denial of their looming fate.

NESHOBA tells the story of a Mississippi town still divided about the meaning of justice, 40 years after the murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. Although Klansmen bragged openly about what they did in 1964, no one was held accountable until 2005, when the State indicted preacher Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old notorious racist and alleged mastermind of the killings. Through intimate interviews with the families of the victims, candid interviews with black and white Neshoba County Citizens, and exclusive, first time interviews with Killen, the film explores whether healing and reconciliation are possible without telling the unvarnished truth.

"It's not just a parking lot, it's a battle with humanity." The Parking Lot Movie is a documentary about a singular parking lot in Charlottesville, Virginia and the select group of parking lot attendants that inhabit its microcosm. The attendants are a uniquely varied group of men from the local Charlottesville, Virginia environment. They are comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, artists, musicians, intellectuals, philosophers and marginal-type characters. They all work under the banner of parking lot chief and ringleader Chris Farina. Farina himself is a fascinating sociological study. A native of an Italian immigrant family from Baltimore, Maryland, Farina is a graduate from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He took over a lease of a then-struggling parking lot in 1986 and turned it into an extremely dynamic business model with an iconic local flavor and storied history. As Farina states, "For these guys that I hire, it's like becoming part of a tradition, like the marines going all the way back to Tripoli." A strange rite of passage for all involved - everything from cars and license plates, class struggles, capitalism, anger, justice, drunkenness, and awareness receive daily scrutiny and detailing. For these denizens of Charlottesville, the intersection between the status quo and the quest for freedom becomes the challenge. Something as simple as a parking lot becomes an emotional weigh station for The American Dream. In the end, as one attendant interestingly puts it, "We had it all in a world that had nothing to offer us."

A look at the battles Hugh Hefner fought over the years against the U.S. government, the religious right, and militant feminists.

A film centering on the life and work of Ron Galella that examines the nature and effect of paparazzi.

In 'What's the Matter with Kansas?' a politically active Kansas megachurch splinters, moves to an amusement park, and when that fails, a Best Western motel. Meanwhile, an idealistic farmer revives Kansas' progressive tradition, taking his message all the way to Washington, D.C.

On October 12th 1978 New York Police discovered the lifeless body of a 20 year-old woman, slumped under the bathroom sink in a hotel room. She was dressed in her underwear and had bled to death from a stab wound. The woman was Nancy Spungen, an ex-prostitute, sometimes stripper, heroin addict, and girlfriend of Sex Pistols' bassist Sid Vicious. In a trial by tabloid newspapers Vicious was pronounced guilty before noon the following day. But the case never had the chance to be brought to trial, and a number of New York cops weren't convinced. Less than six months later in a flat in New York's Greenwich Village, Sid, himself aged only 21, died of a heroin overdose. For the next 28 years the assumption was that Sid did it - case closed. Over time, the death of Sid and Nancy has passed into rock legend and has only added to the controversial and notorious image of the Sex Pistols and punk music. At the request of Sid's mother, who committed suicide in 1996, rock author and punk expert Alan Parker has devoted himself to discovering what really happened in room 100. Parker has re-interviewed 182 people, re-examined NYPD evidence, and gone back to his original interviews with Sid's mother.

Countdown to Zero traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs: nine nations possessing nuclear weapons capabilities with others racing to join them, with the world held in a delicate balance that could be shattered by an act of terrorism, failed diplomacy, or a simple accident. Written and directed by acclaimed documentarian Lucy Walker, the film features an array of important international statesmen, including President Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pervez Musharraf and Tony Blair. It makes a compelling case for worldwide nuclear disarmament, an issue more topical than ever with the Obama administration working to revive this goal today. (Magnolia Pictures)

Michael Campbell is one of the few hundred white farmers left in Zimbabwe since President Robert Mugabe began his violent land seizure program in 2000. Initially a policy meant to reclaim white-owned land and redistribute it to poor black Zimbabweans, it has instead been used to gift farmland to Mugabe’s supporters. Like hundreds before him, Mike has suffered years of land invasions and violence at his farm. But this genial 75-year-old grandfather with a dry sense of humor has refused to back down. In 2008, Mike took the unprecedented step of challenging Mugabe and his Land Reform program in an international court, accusing the regime of illegal racial discrimination and violations of basic human rights. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous 2008 Zimbabwean presidential elections, "Mugabe and the White African" follows Mike and son-in-law Ben Freeth in their harrowing attempt to save their family farm and the lives and livelihoods of the 500 black workers that live and work there. (First Run Features)

In his short career, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a phenomenon. He became notorious for his graffiti art under the moniker Samo in the late 1970s on the Lower East Side scene, sold his first painting to Deborah Harry for $200, and became best friends with Andy Warhol. Appreciated by both the art cognoscenti and the public, Basquiat was launched into international stardom. However, soon his cult status began to override the art that had made him famous in the first place. Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in this definitive documentary. (Arthouse Films)

To Age or Not to Age, tracks the pioneers in the field of anti-aging research at Harvard, MIT, and Cambridge and other research centres. (Sag Harbor Basement Pictures)

Following a two-week shoot in August 1988 for a Winnebago sales ad, a 4-minute outtakes reel surfaced and eventually came to be known as "Winnebago Man." While the finished sales ad was sent to Winnebago dealers to promote the 1989 Itasca Sunflyer motorhome, copies of the "Winnebago Man" outtakes were being passed amongst the crew and their friends on VHS tape. Eventually the video fell in the hands of videotape collectors, who began copying and trading it, sparking an underground phenomenon that turned Jack Rebney into a cult hero. When the online video revolution took off on YouTube and other websites, Jack Rebney became one of the first viral video superstars. (Kino International)

Great Directors, a celebration of films and film making starring ten of the world's most acclaimed, individualistic and provocative living directors, is deeply personal and intimate look at the art of cinema and the artists who create it. (Anisma Films)

This feel-good documentary follows Irlan and Isabela, two teenagers from the violent favelas of Rio de Janeiro, as they pursue their dreams of becoming professional ballet dancers. This inspiring story takes us from Rio - where their communities must raise the funds to support their ambitions - to exhilarating ballet competitions in New York and Switzerland. It's a film about their determination to dance, and the price one must pay for talent, ambition and success. (Film Movement)

Legendary pop music genius, record producer Phil Spector created the “wall of sound” behind some of the greatest hits of the ’60s: Be My Baby, He’s a Rebel, Da Doo Ron Ron, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, to name just a few. Today he is imprisoned serving 19 yearsto- life for the murder of B-movie actress Lana Clarkson. During his first trial (a hung jury), Spector gives a rare freewheeling interview to Vikram Jayanti, filmed at his castle, seated before the white piano which he bought with John Lennon, for Imagine. He lucidly holds forth on his life and work: his father’s suicide when he was a child; the process through which he achieved his distinctive sound; his friendship with Lennon; and his case that (despite Paul McCartney’s position), he salvaged the Beatles’ album, Let It Be. Then there is Spector’s curious enmity toward Tony Bennett and Buddy Holly (“he got a postage stamp even though he was only in rock ’n’ roll three years”), and a grandiosity that has him likening himself to Bach, da Vinci, Michelangelo and Galileo. And, yes, there is an endless parade of hairstyles and flamboyant outfits. (Film Forum)

A feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soliders in Afghanisatn'ss Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, Restrepo, named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the US military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley: there are no interviews with the generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you. (Passion Pictures)

In January 2009, Oliver Stone travelled to Venezuela to interview President Hugo Chavez, and examine the way Chavez has been portrayed in the U.S. media. Was Chavez really the “anti-American” force the media claimed he was? Once the journey began, however, Stone and his crew found themselves going beyond Venezuela to several other countries, and interviewing seven Presidents in the region, telling a larger and even more compelling story. In casual conversation, Stone sits down with Presidents Chavez, Evo Morales (Bolivia), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), as well as her husband and ex-President Nestor Kirchner, Fernando Lugo (Paraguay), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Raul Castro (Cuba). (Good Apple Productions)

Director Reed Cowan experienced first-hand what it was like to grow up gay in Utah in the Mormon faith, and he turned his attention to the historic campaign by the Mormon Church to pass Proposition 8 in California believing that it was the cornerstone of an ideology that has worked for decades “to damage gay people and their causes.” The film is his emotional outcry to what he found. (RedFlag Releasing)

45365 takes us on an unforgettable journey into the heartland of the USA. Through beautiful imagery and an open invitation into the participants' lives we have a rare opportunity to meet people we would never have a chance to in real life. From the man who calls 911 because his cable is out to an ex-con who is just trying to get by we walk away with a greater understanding of each other and can revel in a truly American experience. (Seventh Art Releasing)

"It was the Rosa Parks moment," says one man. June 28, 1969: NYC police raid a Greenwich Village Mafia-run gay bar, The Stonewall Inn. For the first time, patrons refuse to be led into paddy wagons, setting off a 3-day riot that launches the Gay Rights Movement. Told by Stonewall patrons, reporters and the cop who led the raid, Stonewall Uprising recalls the bad old days when psychoanalysts equated homosexuality with mental illness and advised aversion therapy, and even lobotomies; public service announcements warned youngsters against predatory homosexuals; and police entrapment was rampant. At the height of this oppression, the cops raid Stonewall, triggering nights of pandemonium with tear gas, billy clubs and a small army of tactical police. The rest is history. (Karen Cooper, Director, Film Forum)

What is the most important question there is? After exploring the phenomenon of Star Trek fans in the acclaimed documentary Trekkies, filmmaker Roger Nygard is taking on The Nature of Existence, traveling the globe to the source of the world’s philosophies, religions, and belief systems, interviewing spiritual leaders, scholars, scientists, artists and others who have influenced, inspired, or freaked out humanity. (Walking Shadows)

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work takes the audience on a year long ride with legendary comedian Joan Rivers in her 76th year of life. Peeling away the mask of an iconic comedian and exposing the struggles, sacrifices and joy of living life as a ground breaking female performer. The film is an emotionally surprising and revealing portrait of one the most hilarious and long-standing career women ever in the business. (IFC Films)