A behind-the-scenes look at the televised benefit concert to raise relief funds for victims of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The title of Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis.

Fearless Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in seven months. [Netflix]

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

Footage from two decades of intimate home video is used to tell the story of the Sanford family, who live just 17 blocks from the U.S. Capitol and whose struggles with addiction and gun violence lead them through a journey of love, loss, and acceptance.

On March 8, 1971, The Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI, as they called themselves, broke into a small FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, took every file, and shared them with the American public. These actions exposed COINTELPRO, the FBI's illegal surveillance program that involved the intimidation of law-abiding Americans and helped lead to the country's first Congressional investigation of U.S. intelligence agencies. Never caught, forty-three years later, these everyday Americans – parents, teachers and citizens – publicly reveal themselves for the first time and share their story in the documentary 1971.

As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war’s atrocities.

Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are, until now.

Drama and reality combine in a fictitious 24 hours in the life of musician and international cultural icon Nick Cave. With startlingly frank insights and an intimate portrayal of the artistic process, the film examines what makes us who we are, and celebrates the transformative power of the creative spirit. [Drafthouse Films]

Amid a failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end.

2016 Obama's America takes audiences on a visual journey into the heart of the world’s most powerful office to reveal the struggle of whether one man's past will redefine America over the next four years. The film examines the question, "If Obama wins a second term, where will we be in 2016?" Across the globe and in America, people in 2008 hungered for a leader who would unite and lift us from economic turmoil and war. True to America’s ideals, they invested their hope in a new kind of president, Barack Obama. What they didn't know is that Obama is a man with a past, and in powerful ways that past defines him--who he is, how he thinks, and where he intends to take America and the world. Immersed in exotic locales across four continents, best selling author Dinesh D’Souza races against time to find answers to Obama’s past and reveal where America will be in 2016. During this journey he discovers how Hope and Change became radically misunderstood, and identifies new flashpoints for hot wars in mankind’s greatest struggle. The journey moves quickly over the arc of the old colonial empires, into America’s empire of liberty, and we see the unfolding realignment of nations and the shape of the global future. [OAF LLC]

2040 is an innovative feature documentary that looks to the future, but is vitally important NOW. Award-winning director Damon Gameau embarks on journey to explore what the future would look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them into the mainstream. Structured as a visual letter to his 4-year-old daughter, Damon blends traditional documentary footage with dramatized sequences and high-end visual effects to create a vision board for his daughter and the planet.

It’s the year 2073, and the worst fears of modern life have been realized. Surveillance drones fill the burnt orange skies and militarized police roam the wrecked streets, while survivors hide away underground, struggling to remember a free and hopeful existence. In this ingenious mixture of visionary science fiction and speculative nonfiction, filmmaker Asif Kapadia transports us to a future foreshadowed by the terrifying realities of our present moment. Samantha Morton plays a survivor besieged by nightmare visions of the past—a past that happens to be our present, visualized through contemporary footage interconnecting today’s global crises of authoritarianism, unchecked big tech, inequality, and global climate change. 2073 is an urgent, unshakable vision of a dystopic future that could very well be our own. [Neon]

It's been said that the first 21 years defines the career of an artist. Few directors have single-handedly shaken up the film establishment like the godfather of indie, Richard Linklater. From the groundbreaking Slacker to his innovative Boyhood, Linklater has just reached the 21-year mark and has unapologetically carved his signature into American pop culture. This compelling documentary takes you on a behind the scenes tour into Linklater's style, skills, and motivation via his friends, actors, and other directors. Get a raw and honest perspective on Richard through candid conversations with Ethan Hawke, Jack Black, Keanu Reeves, Billy Bob Thornton, Matthew McConaughey, Jason Reitman, Julie Delpy and others, and see their stories brought to life through hilarious animated sequences. For a guy who became famous for celebrating the cool and casual, Linklater emerges as a surprisingly strategic and visionary director who has already established a legacy and perfected a style that can't be denied.

From a single post on craigslist 8 film crews were assembled to document a random day-in-the-life of what has evolved into the world's largest community board. Not just the "Best-Of" or the "Success Stories", but a real, down-to-earth look at the fastest-growing grassroots cyber-community in the city that started it: San Francisco. (Zealot Pictures)

Broke, brave, and brash, Richard Davis shot himself 192 times. Why? To invent the modern-day bulletproof vest and launch a multimillion-dollar company. He was a hero to police and the military, until tragedy brought him down. His is an American story of guns, violence, lies, and self-deception.

Black Friday 2012, the day after Thanksgiving November 2012, four boys in a red SUV pull into a gas station after spending time at the mall buying sneakers and talking to girls. With music blaring, one boy exits the car and enters the store, a quick stop for a soda and a pack of gum. A man and a woman pull up next to the boys in the station, making a stop for a bottle of wine. The woman enters the store and an argument breaks out when the driver of the second car asks the boys to turn the music down. 3 1/2 minutes and ten bullets later, one of the boys is dead.

When two siblings undertake an archaeological excavation of their late grandmother's house, they embark on a magical-realist journey in search of what life remains in the objects we leave behind.

She's beautiful, artistic, loved and can't stand to be alive. 32 Pills traces the fascinating life and mental illness of New York artist and photographer Ruth Litoff, and her sister's struggle to come to terms with her tragic suicide.

32 Sounds is an immersive feature documentary and profound sensory experience from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sam Green (The Weather Underground) featuring original music by JD Samson (Le Tigre, MEN). The film explores the elemental phenomenon of sound by weaving together 32 specific sound explorations into a cinematic meditation on the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us. Join Oscar-nominated filmmaker Green as he takes the audience on a journey through time and space — exploring everything from forgotten childhood memories, to the soundtrack of resistance, to subaquatic symphonies — and experience in new ways the astonishing sounds of our everyday lives. 32 Sounds investigates the mysterious nature of perception and the subtle yet radical politics that arise from sensation and being present in one’s body. [Abramorama]

This documentary is the inspirational and humorous story of Ami Ankilewitz, a 3-D animator in Israel whose bodily motion is limited to a single finger on his left hand. (HBO/Cinemax Documentary Films)

On September 15, 1963, a bomb destroyed a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls who were there for Sunday school. It was a crime that shocked the nation -- and a defining moment in the history of America's civil-rights movement. Now, acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee tells the full story of the bombing, through heart-wrenching testimonials from surviving members of the victims' families, insights from Bill Cosby, Walter Cronkite, Andrew Young, Coretta Scott King and many others, and a rare and revealing interview with former Alabama Governor George Wallace. [HBO Documentary Films]

Philadelphia native Tommy Oliver follows the efforts of Mike Africa Jr. to exonerate his parents, both incarcerated members of the revolutionary group MOVE.

TV writer/producer Lee Aronsohn tracks down the scattered members of a beloved early 1970s band with the hope that, 40 years after they broke up, he can get them to play one last show.

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. One of the most interesting film experiments ever. This time the group is 42, with eleven of the original fourteen still being documented.

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)

49 UP is the seventh film in a series of landmark documentaries that began 42 years ago when UK-based Granada's World in Action team, inspired by the Jesuit maxim "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man," interviewed a diverse group of seven-year-old children from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Michael Apted, a researcher for the original film, has returned to interview the "children" every seven years since, at ages 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and now again at age 49. (First Run Features)

An extraordinary work of both cinematic and political activism, 5 Broken Cameras is a deeply personal, first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil'in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the footage was later given to Israeli co-director Guy Davidi to edit. Structured around the violent destruction of each one of Burnat's cameras, the filmmakers' collaboration follows one family's evolution over five years of village turmoil. Burnat watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify, and lives are lost. "I feel like the camera protects me," he says, "but it's an illusion." (Kino Lorber)

From a historic genocide trial to the overthrow of a President, 500 YEARS tells a sweeping story of mounting resistance played out in Guatemala's recent history through the actions and perspectives of the majority indigenous Mayan population, who now stand poised to reimagine their society.

Both unexpectedly funny and heartbreaking, 51 Birch Street is the first-person account of Block’s unpredictable journey through a whirlwind of dramatic life-changing events: the death of his mother, the uncovering of decades of family secrets, and the ensuing reconciliation with his father. What begins as his own intimate, autobiographical story soon evolves into a broader meditation on the universal themes of love, marriage, fidelity and the mystery of family. (Copacetic Pictures)

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

5B is the inspirational story of everyday heroes who took extraordinary action to comfort, protect and care for the patients of the first AIDS ward unit in the United States. 5B is stirringly told through first-person testimony of the nurses and caregivers who built Ward 5B at San Francisco General Hospital in 1983, their patients, loved ones, and hospital staff who volunteered to create care practices based in humanity and holistic well-being. The result is an uplifting yet bittersweet monument to a pivotal moment in American history and a celebration of quiet heroes worthy of remembrance and renewed recognition.

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.

Part investigative documentary, part real-life gangster movie, 69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez unpacks the life of polarizing rap sensation and internet troll Tekashi69. One of the most controversial figures in contemporary pop culture, 69 repeatedly broke the internet with his sensationalist music videos and social media beefs before infamously testifying against Brooklyn gang the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods in a landmark trial. [Hulu]

Chronicles the life and events of 28 New Yorkers during the week of 9/11.

Raw and intimate, this documentary captures the struggles of patients and frontline medical professionals battling the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan.

The screeching strings, the plunging knife, the slow zoom out from a lifeless eyeball: in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho changed film history forever with its taboo-shattering shower scene. With 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits over the course of 3 minutes, Psycho redefined screen violence, set the stage for decades of slasher films to come, and introduced a new element of danger to the moviegoing experience. Aided by a roster of filmmakers, critics, and fans—including Guillermo del Toro, Bret Easton Ellis, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eli Roth, and Peter Bogdanovich—director Alexandre O. Philippe pulls back the curtain on the making and influence of this cinematic game changer, breaking it down frame by frame and unpacking Hitchcock’s dense web of allusions and double meanings. [IFC Midnight]

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)

The 8th traces Ireland’s campaign to remove the 8th Amendment – a constitutional ban on abortion. It shows a country’s transformation from a conservative state in thrall to the Catholic church to a more liberal secular society. The 8th includes voices from both sides of the debate, but its primary focus is on the dynamic female leaders of the pro-choice campaign. The film follows the veteran campaigner Ailbhe Smyth and self-described glitter-activist Andrea Horan as they chart a bold strategy of grassroots activism and engineer the impossible. This dramatic story is underscored by a vivid exploration of the wrenching failures that led to this defining moment in Irish history.

A documentary about illegal border crossings – from Palestine into Israel.

Set in the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn, 93Queen follows a group of tenacious Hasidic women who are smashing the patriarchy in their community by creating the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City. With unprecedented — and insider — access, 93Queen offers up a unique portrayal of empowered women who are taking matters into their own hands to change their own community from within.

Ray Romano's eight-day drive through the South on a stand-up comedy tour becomes more than he bargains for when longtime friend and opening act Tom Caltabiano brings a film student along to document their thousand-mile journey. Together, all three struggle with Ray's obsessions, phobias, and insecurities in this unscripted exploration of fame and life on the road. (ThinkFilm)

99 filmmakers & artists collaborate to create a portrait of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

When a-ha’s breakthrough hit Take On Me shot to 1 on the Billboard charts in 1985, it turned its three young band members into global superstars overnight. While the iconic song and its groundbreaking music video remain ubiquitous to this day, the story of a-ha didn’t end there. After 35 years, a deep catalog of 11 studio albums and 55 million units sold – despite controversies and disagreements – a-ha continues to record music and play to packed arenas around the world. Following Mags, Morten and Pal over a period of four years, a-ha: The Movie provides unprecedented access to the inner workings of the band as well as a career spanning look at one of the most enduring and beloved acts in pop music history.

Doc Pomus was the most unlikely of rock & roll icons. Paralyzed with polio as a child, Brooklyn-born Jerome Felder reinvented himself first as a blues singer, renaming himself Doc Pomus, then as a songwriter, creating some of the greatest hits of the early rock and roll era: "Save the Last Dance for Me," "This Magic Moment," "A Teenager in Love," "Viva Las Vegas," and a thousand others. Doc used crutches and a wheelchair. He lived life fully, if not always happily or easily. A.K.A. Doc Pomus brings to life Doc's joyous, heartbreaking, romantic, and extraordinarily eventful journey.

Filmmaker Josh Gilbert follows the tragic and absurd journey of legendary counter-culture comedian Tommy Chong who in 2003 was indicted in an internet drug paraphernalia sting and wound up serving nine months in federal prison. (ThinkFilm)

One year in the life of a family of reindeer herders in Finnish Lapland. A study of hard work, hard earned leisure, and an intricate bond between man and nature.

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail tells the incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Abacus becomes the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The indictment and subsequent trial forces the Sung family to defend themselves – and their bank’s legacy in the Chinatown community – over the course of a five-year legal battle.

A documentary about the tragedy of the children whose parents have died of AIDS and are now stranded in a refugee camp in Kampala, Uganda.

Japan, 1977. A dark, lonely road leads to the windswept shores. This is the remarkable story of a 13-year-old Japanese girl abducted on her way home from school by North Korean spies. For 20 years, her parents had no idea what had happened to her or if she was even alive. Then, one day the whole world learned the shocking truth. (Safari Media)

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)

In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade recognized the right of every woman in the United States to have an abortion. Since 2011, over half the states in the nation have significantly restricted access to abortions. In 2016, abortion remains one of the most divisive issues in America, especially in Missouri, where only one abortion clinic remains open, patients and their doctors must navigate a 72-hour waiting period, and each year sees more restrictions. Awarding-winning director and Missouri native Tracy Droz Tragos sheds new light on the contentious issue with a focus not on the debate, but rather on the women themselves – those struggling with unplanned pregnancies, the providers who show up at clinics to give medical care, as well as the activists on both sides of the issue hoping to sway decisions and lives. Abortion: Stories Women Tell offers an intimate window into the lives of these women through their personal stories. Some are heartbreaking and tender some are bleak and frightening; some women, on both sides of the issue, find the choice easy to make due to their own circumstances and beliefs, while others simply inform us of the strength and capacity of women to overcome and persevere through complicated and unexpected circumstances. [HBO]

About Baghdad is the first film made about Iraq after the fall of the Ba'ath regime in July 2003. It is also perhaps the first effort to privilege the voices of the Iraqi people, from all walks of life as well as social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. While many have talked about and for the Iraqi people, few media outlets have sought to probe beyond the simplistic binary of pro-US/pro-Saddam perspective so often found in Western and Arab media portrayals of Iraq. About Baghdad presents Iraqis who describe the pain, complexity and suffering of living under decades of tyranny, oppression, wars, sanctions and now occupation. Silenced for so long by a regime that sought to replace the people with the image of just one man, and re-silenced by the bombs and occupation forces, the Iraqi people long to speak out and to claim their future. About Baghdad is a small step forward towards that goal in presenting audiences with their first opportunity to hear unadulterated Iraqi voices that should be privileged regardless of one's perspective on the war and the justifications given for it. We found in Baghdad a people who are tired, traumatized and uncertain about their future, and yet determined and united in seeking to build a strong nation for its people.

This not-quite-documentary takes place far away and out of sight, on the margins and off the grid of American society. It tells the stories of April, Dave, Cindy, Rick and a man who calls himself ‘the Godfather.’ From a couple scraping by in the depths of the flood channels located beneath Sin City, to a man living in a reclaimed military bunker in the middle of the dusty California desert, and beyond even the stratosphere, to a place where Mars and Earth have become one and the same place, this motley crew of individuals have been flung into periling circumstances on this rollercoaster ride called life. Through the hustle, pain, and laughter, we are whisked away to an unfamiliar world whose inhabitants are revealed to be souls not unlike our very own.

In 1948, just three years after the liberation of Nazi death camps, a group of Jewish American pilots answered a call for help. In secret and at great personal risk, they smuggled planes out of the U.S., trained behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia and flew for Israel in its War of Independence. As members of Machal - "volunteers from abroad" - this ragtag band of brothers not only turned the tide of the war; they also embarked on personal journeys of discovery and renewed Jewish pride.

Absolute Wilson chronicles the epic life, times and creative genius of Robert Wilson, intimately revealing for the first time one of the most controversial, rule-breaking and downright mysterious artists of our era. More than a biography, the film becomes an exhilarating exploration of the transformative power of creativity itself - and the inspirational tale of a boy who grew up as a troubled and learning-disabled outsider in the American South only to become a fearless artist with a profoundly original perspective to share with the world. (New Yorker Films)

In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, an abandoned water reservoir just outside the bustling metropolis, the Enache family lived in perfect harmony with nature for two decades, sleeping in a hut on the lakeshore, catching fish barehanded, and following the rhythm of the seasons. When this area is transformed into a public national park, they are forced to leave behind their unconventional life and move to the city, where fishing rods are replaced by smartphones and idle afternoons are now spent in classrooms. As the family struggles to conform to modern civilization and maintain their connection to each other and themselves, they each begin to question their place in the world and what their future might be. With their roots in the wilderness, the nine children and their parents struggle to find a way to keep their family united in the concrete jungle.

T.M. Landry, an unconventional prep school in Louisiana, receives national attention for sending its graduates to elite universities. When an explosive New York Times exposé rocks the school, students face uncertain futures and must decide for themselves what they are willing to do to be accepted.

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

If you were impoverished, politically voiceless, and believed you didn’t matter, ACORN hoped to change your mind. For 40 years, the controversial community-organizing group sought to empower marginalized communities. Its critics, though, believed ACORN exemplified everything wrong with liberal ideals, by promoting government waste and ineffective activism. These competing perceptions exploded on the national stage in 2008, just as Barack Obama became president. Fueled by a YouTube video made by undercover journalists, ACORN’s very existence would be challenged. ACORN and the Firestorm goes beyond the 24-hour news cycle and cuts to the heart of the great political divide.

A documentary in which former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass-killings in various cinematic genres.

Relying on expert testimony and existing footage, Active Measures documents the surprisingly interconnected rise of two men, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. This film examines the evolution of Soviet influence techniques into modern warfare tactics that manipulated elections in several democratic nations, culminating in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. Active Measures exposes what is possibly the largest and most effectively executed espionage operation in history.

Brandy Burre had a recurring role on HBO’s The Wire when she gave up her career to start a family. When she decides to reclaim her life as an actor, the domestic world she’s carefully created crumbles around her.

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

Addiction Incorporated tells the amazing story of Victor DeNoble, one of the most important and influential whistle-blowers of all time. In the 1980s, DeNoble was a research scientist at Philip Morris, where he was tasked with finding a substitute for nicotine that would not cause heart attacks. His quest was to find out whether it would be possible to create a cigarette that would be safer for smokers… though not necessarily less addictive. DeNoble succeeded, but in the process, produced something that had been denied and avoided for years: scientific evidence that nicotine was addictive. After his lab was shuttered and his research pulled from publication and locked in a vault, DeNoble took his findings public in what was nothing less than an act of modern-day heroism, testifying about his research in the infamous 1994 Congressional hearings—the same ones that produced the now-famous video of the seven heads of the major tobacco companies declaring, under oath, that they believed nicotine was not addictive. In the end, an unprecedented alliance of journalists, politicians, attorneys, and whistle blowers banded together to achieve what was once considered impossible: the first-ever federal regulation of the tobacco industry. (Variance Films)

As the muse of Hal Hartley's indie classics and as writer/director of the critically acclaimed Waitress, Adrienne Shelly was a shining star in the indie film firmament.

Advanced Style examines the lives of seven unique New Yorkers whose eclectic personal style and vital spirit have guided their approach to aging. Based on Ari Seth Cohen’s famed blog of the same name, this film paints intimate and colorful portraits of independent, stylish women aged 62 to 95 who are challenging conventional ideas about beauty, aging, and Western’s culture’s increasing obsession with youth.

Lea Tsemel defends Palestinians: from feminists to fundamentalists, from non-violent demonstrators to armed militants. As a Jewish-Israeli lawyer who has represented political prisoners for five decades, Tsemel, in her tireless quest for justice, pushes the praxis of a human rights defender to its limits. As far as most Israelis are concerned, she defends the indefensible. As far as Palestinians are concerned, she's more than an attorney, she’s an advocate.

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)

After 30 years of Taliban and wartime rule, pop culture is creeping back into Afghanistan in the form of Afghan Star, an enormously popular American Idol–type contest. Filmmaker Havana Marking follows the dramatic stories of four of the contestants over three months, from regional auditions to the finals in Kabul, giving us a new, and more human, look at this troubled part of the world. (Zeitgeist Films)

An epic true story set against the backdrop of one of the wildest places on Earth, "African Cats" captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. The story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother's strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a once banished lion.(Disneynature)

The 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, West Africa, serve as a backdrop for this feature documentary that looks behind-the-scenes at the complex, political machinery of a third world democracy struggling to legitimize itself to its first world contemporaries. At stake in this race are the fates of two political parties that will do almost anything to win. Director Jarreth Merz follows the key players for almost three months to provide an unprecedented insider’s view of the political, economic and social forces at work in Ghana. He builds suspense by taking the viewer down the back roads of the nation to capture each unexpected twist and turn in a contest that is always exciting and never predictable. Throughout the film, Merz depicts the pride and humanity of the larger-than-life politicians, party operatives and citizens who battle for the soul of their country. (Urban Republic)

"You're free. Go home" Most Holocaust films end with these words, the very words that survivors heard at liberation. After Auschwitz begins with these words, inviting audiences to experience what happened next. For survivors, liberation from the camps was the beginning of a life long struggle. They wanted to go home, but there was no home left in Europe. They came to America and wanted to tell people about their pasts but were silenced for over three decades. "You're in America now, put it behind you". After Auschwitz is a "Post-Holocaust" documentary that captures what it means to survive and try to life a normal life after unspeakable tragedy. Six extraordinary women who all survived Auschwitz take us on a journey that American audiences have never seen before. These women all moved to Los Angeles, married, raised children and became "Americans" but they never truly found a place to call home. What makes the story so much more fascinating is how these women saw, interpreted and interacted with the changing face of America in the second half of the 20th century. They serve as our guides on an unbelievable journey, sometimes celebratory, sometimes heart breaking but always inspiring. It is also the only "Holocaust" film that includes Ricardo Montalban, George W. Bush and an appearance at The Kennedy Center Honors. After Auschwitz gives us the story that we have always wanted to see and one that in many ways is as important as the stories of the camps themselves.

Based on real near-death experiences, After Death explores the afterlife with the guidance of New York Times bestselling authors, medical experts, scientists, and survivors that shed a light on what awaits us.

This documentary tells the dramatic and compelling story of the exonerated -- innocent men wrongfully imprisoned for decades and then released after DNA evidence proved their innocence. The film focuses on the gripping story of seven men and their emotional journey back into society and efforts to rebuild their lives. (New Yorker Films)

In the aftermath of the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead, filmmakers Emily Taguchi and Jake Lefferman traveled to Parkland and began filming with students who endured gunfire and the parents who lost their children in the crosshairs. After Parkland is an intimate chronicle of families as they navigate their way through the unthinkable; reckoning with unexpected loss, journeying through grief, and searching for new meaning.

A 2018 fatal shark attack on a boogie boarder rocked visitors and residents in the idyllic summer community of Cape Cod, forcing them to respond to the encroachment of apex predators. After the Bite explores the far-reaching repercussions for this beach community when rapid changes in the natural world begin to clash with a cherished way of life.

In Israel, soccer is king, and Bnei Sakhnin has become the first team from an Arab town to win the prestigious Israeli Cup- and represent Israel in European competition. Fielding Arab, Jewish and foreign-born players, owned by an Arab, and coached by a Jew, Bnei Sakhnin’s success has begun to represent a symbol of coexistence, a potential bridge between Arabs and Jews in Israel. But as Bnei Sakhnin begins its first season after their unexpected win, they know it may well be their first and last in the limelight. As the ideals born in the heady days and weeks following their cup win collide with the realities of a long season competing against the more talented and better funded teams, Bnei Sakhnin must fight to survive in Israel’s premier league. These challenges, and the weight of impossible expectations that have come with their sudden success, threaten to crush the team and all of the hope and goodwill that its historic victory inspired. After the Cup tells the story of a soccer team that couldn’t create a new Middle East, but showed the world what one could look like. (Variance Films)

After the Storm is a feature-length documentary film that follows the production of the musical Once on an island from auditions through performances and also includes the story of each young actor’s life in the wake of Katrina. The focus is not on rescues, evacuations and losses, but on survival, hopes and dreams. Filmmaker Hilla Medalia gently explores the young actors’ daily lives, how they are coping with a struggling school system, limited job opportunities and the loss of family members and friends. Through their eyes, the film’s audiences can view the recent history of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina’s impact through the lens of a group of talented young people. (Priddy Brothers)

After the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas in 2009, there are a limited number of doctors left in the country who provide third-trimester abortions for women. After Tiller moves between the rapidly unfolding stories of these doctors, all of whom were close colleagues of Dr. Tiller, and are fighting to keep this service available in the wake of his death. These four people have become the new number-one targets of the pro-life movement, yet continue to risk their lives every day to do work that many believe is murder, but which they believe is profoundly important for their patients' lives. After Tiller shows them confronting harassment from protesters, challenges in their personal lives, and a series of tough ethical decisions.

Director Tsai Ming-liang converses with his muse, Lee Kang-sheng, in the afternoon.

Of all the great ballerinas, Tanaquil Le Clercq may have been the most transcendent. With a body unlike any before hers, she mesmerized viewers and choreographers alike. Her elongated, race-horse physique became the new prototype for the great George Balanchine. Her unique style, humor and authenticity redefined ballet for all dancers who followed. Amazingly, she was the muse to not one great artist but two; both George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins loved her as a dancer and a woman. Balanchine married her, and Robbins created his famous version of Afternoon of a Faun for Tanny. Tanaquil Le Clercq was the foremost dancer of her day until it suddenly all stopped.

Afternoons of Solitude is a spellbinding documentary that turns its gaze on the ceremonial splendor and devastating brutality of bullfighting in Spain. With quiet intensity, Serra follows famed matador Andrés Roca Rey, from the solitude of his hotel room and the meticulousness of his preparations to the charged spectacle of the arena. Through his immersive and unhurried lens, Serra reveals Rey’s profound physical, spiritual, and aesthetic commitment to a centuries-old ritual—one that demands he take part in a timeless duel between man and beast.

Following the deaths of two young women due to childbirth complications, two bereaved families galvanize activists, birth-workers and physicians to reckon with one of the most pressing American crises today: the US maternal health crisis.

Jerusalem-born trauma expert Ofra Bloch forces herself to confront her demons in a journey that takes her to Germany, Israel and Palestine. Set against the current wave of fascism and anti-Semitism sweeping the globe, 'Afterward' delves into the secret wounds carried by victims as well as victimizers, through testimonies ranging from the horrifying to the hopeful. Seen as a victim in Germany and a perpetrator in Palestine, Ofra faces those she was raised to hate and dismiss as she searches to understand the identity-making narratives of the Holocaust and the Nakba, violent and non-violent resistance, and the possibility of forgiveness.