Documentary on the past and future of Newark, New Jersey after the racial riots of 1967.
Social & External
The people behind it
See how the Benedictine monks of Newark Abbey, in the heart of one of America's most dangerous cities, are able to achieve amazing success with the most vulnerable population: inner city African American and Latino teenage males. While Newark, NJ, with a high poverty rate of 32%, has an abysmal high school graduation rate, St. Benedict's Prep has a near 100% COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE rate. The film details how their "recipe for success" follows the 6th century Rule of Saint Benedict and how this rule can serve as a model for whole cities nationwide.
The story of how Everett Leroy Jones became Amiri Baraka, from his childhood to the mid '60s, is told through interviews recorded in the late '90s.
This feature-length documentary offers a chilling look at the long-term effects of urban conflict on a city, its people, and its neighbors. More than just a dusty history lesson, this program brings viewers face-to-face with not only the racism and violence of the event, but the heartbreak that followed, and the ensuing determination of the people who refused to let the riot define or defeat them.
Brother François, a young Frenchman, will live a human adventure in the heart of an American Ghetto.
This documentary follows the 2002 mayoral campaign in Newark, New Jersey, in which a City Councilman, Cory Booker, attempted to unseat longtime mayor Sharpe James.
This follow-up to the 1989 documentary ONE YEAR IN A LIFE OF CRIME revisits three of the original subjects in New Jersey during a five-year period in the 1990s. We share in their triumphs and setbacks as they navigate lives of poverty, drug abuse, AIDS, and petty crime.
Their job is stealing, their lives a cruel dead end. Director Jon Alpert takes his cameras undercover for this hard-hitting look at men who live by theft and suffer addiction. Focusing on a year in the lives of three professional criminals, this gritty profile—which includes hidden-camera footage of actual thefts—exposes the "petty" crimes that are paralyzing America.
"In this half-hour documentary, Producer Sandra King provides an intimate portrait of a public phenomenon: Graffiti. Over an 18 month period, King and her crew followed the teenage members of a graffiti 'crew,' Vandals on the Street, as they painted and rapped and moved through the streets of downtown Newark. What emerges is a unique glimpse behind the 'tags' at the kind of inner city kids who write on walls, but who also make art; who create out of wedlock children, but who also form binding relationships; who drop out of school and never read a book, but who create their own brand of poetry through the medium of 'rap.'
A look at the Stanley Cup winning season of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.
Tommy Cuba, a renowned skateboarder from Newark, has competed in numerous tournaments and been profiled in top skating magazines. He is one of the founders of “Shorty’s Skate Park”, built by hand from scraps, which is a legendary hub for skating enthusiasts from all over the country. Despite a motherless childhood, Tommy owns a timeless joy for life and generosity of spirit that captivates all those around him. Yet, his deliberately insulated world cannot prepare him for the looming forces of change.
Beginning as a city-symphony of Newark streets, buildings, and people set to wordless chanting, The New-Ark quickly arrives at its political imperatives: Black Power must be accomplished through nationalism, and "a nation is organization." The film focuses on black education, urban public theater, and political consciousness-raising inside and outside of Spirit House - director Amiri Baraka's Black nationalist community center.
After escaping the horrors of civil war in Liberia, Robert Wilmote arrives in Newark, New Jersey, determined to build a new life. But when his search for belonging leads him into gang life and ultimately prison, he is forced to confront the man he has become. Blending documentary with dramatic reenactments featuring Robert himself, Grind tells an inspiring true story of resilience, redemption, and the transformative power of purpose.
An underprivileged, gifted young black man from Newark reaches Yale University, only for shadows and injustices from his past to threaten his future.
Thug, is a documentary type style film about a filmmaking student from the suburbs who comes to the inner city of Newark New Jersey to document one of New Jersey's worst criminals named GINO. But things take a turn for the worse as he digs deeper, which makes Gino's True Colors come out that sets off a chain of unnerving events sending him on a killing spree against anyone who crossed him.
Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark, N.J., history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters start to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti, whose influence over his nephew will help shape the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss, Tony Soprano.
Fresh out of prison, Dane believes he has left his addiction and the demons of his past behind. But on his first day of freedom, mounting debts, fractured relationships, and the relentless pull of old habits force him into a desperate fight for survival. Exit Road is a tense and emotionally raw portrait of a man teetering between redemption and self-destruction.
A young man, plagued by the music in his head, has to come to terms with an uncertain future while balancing love, family and Brazilian culture in Newark, New Jersey.
Elvis Presley & Pat Boone were two of the hottest forces on the early rock ‘n’ roll music scene in the 1950’s. In this toe-tapping documentary, the good-nature chart-topping rivalry between the duo is explored through rare footage and newsreels. Interviews include Dick Clark, Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell, Phyllis McGuire, Bill Medley, Arlene Dahl, Joe Esposito, Shirley Jones and others.
Filmed during summer 2019, Jesus Is King brings Kanye West’s famed Sunday Service to life in the Roden Crater, visionary artist James Turrell’s never-before-seen installation in Arizona’s Painted Desert. This one-of-a-kind experience features songs arranged by West in the gospel tradition along with new music from his forthcoming album.
In Tennessee, and across the South, transgender people like Graham and Zeke face a daily struggle in their pursuit of equal protection under the law. From so-called 'bathroom bills' to laws restricting their ability to change their sex on legal documents, not to mention the personal and familial challenges as you transition, life is not easy nor fair for trans folk.
A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.
A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
A night of drunken chaos rocks a quiet Dutch town in this shocking documentary about a teen's birthday invite that accidentally went viral on Facebook.
Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
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.
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.