Performing Arts
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GHOSTS OF OUR FORESTAfrican Studies Music Anthropology Indigenous Studies 2017 Dance Environmental Studies Performing Arts Loud Roar Productions
Forcefully removed from their ancestral home by the Ugandan government to protect the endangered gorilla population, the indigenous Batwa people start a music club in hopes to preserve their culture through song and story.
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JOE'S VIOLINAcademy Award Winners & Nominees Music New York City Performing Arts Jewish Studies 2017 Education Directed by Women
2017 ACADEMY AWARD® Nominee for Documentary Short Subject In Joe’s Violin, a donated musical instrument forges an improbable friendship between a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor and 12-year-old Bronx school girl, showing how the power of music to bring light in the darkest of times and how a small act can have a profound impact.
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YUMENAsian Studies Anthropology Performing Arts Cinema Studies 2014 Sensory Ethnography Lab
A collaboration between two Chinese artists, Xu Ruotao and Huang Xiang, and acclaimed American filmmaker J.P. Sniadecki, Yumen is a documentary-fiction hybrid that tells the story of a ghost town, a once-thriving oil-rich community in China's western Gansu province, through a series of wandering characters and inventive vignettes. Produced with the support of SEL
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BAM150Performing Arts Art History New York City Dance Music American History 2013
A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the staging of a major operatic production, Verdi's masterpiece, "La Traviata," starring world-famous French coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay and directed by the celebrated Jean-Francois Sivardier.
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MUSICWOODEnvironmental Studies Native American Studies Music Performing Arts 2013 Business Directed by Women
For hundreds of years, the acoustic guitar has been made from the same species of Spruce. Today, due to an extreme logging practice known as clear-cutting, this tree is in danger of disappearing - and with it, the acoustic guitar. In this captivating documentary, owners of the top guitar makers unite with Greenpeace and travel to the largest forest in the US to meet with Native American landowners in the hope of finding a sustainable solution.
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BECOMING TRAVIATA
A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the staging of a major operatic production, Verdi's masterpiece, "La Traviata," starring world-famous French coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay and directed by the celebrated Jean-Francois Sivardier.
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ANDRE GREGORY: BEFORE AND AFTER DINNERPerforming Arts Literature New York City American Studies 2013 Directed by Women
A wonderful exploration of the life and work of groundbreaking director, actor and artist Andre Gregory. A witty and often hilariously funny raconteur, Gregory looks back on a career that spanned decades, from his influential theatre work to the making of the Louis Malle-directed classic My Dinner with Andre, in which he starred and co-wrote.
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THE WELCOME: a healing journey for war veterans and their familiesPsychology & Psychiatry American Studies Native American Studies Performing Arts 2013 Directed by Women
An up-close and emotionally resonant look at a diverse group of veterans, from Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, who come together to participate in a healing retreat. The Welcome offers an intimate view of life after war: the fear, anger and isolation of post-traumatic stress that affects veterans and family members alike.
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PLANET OF SNAILAsian Studies Health Disabilities Literature Performing Arts 2012
Winner of the prestigious Best Documentary prize at the International Film Festival Amsterdam, Planet of Snail is a mesmerizing, critically-acclaimed documentary about an accomplished young poet who can no longer hear or see and his relationship to the world around him.
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SHAKESPEARE HIGHPerforming Arts Literature Urban Studies Latino Studies Education 2012
Executive produced by Kevin Spacey, Shakespeare High is an uplifting documentary that follows a diverse group of California high school students as they prepare for and compete in an annual Shakespeare Festival - a unique program that counts many of Hollywood's biggest stars among its alumni. A celebration of theater and performance, Shakespeare High illustrates the life-changing effect drama programs such as this can have on young people.
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BROOKLYN BOHEMEAfrican-American Studies Performing Arts Cinema Studies Urban Studies New York City 2012 Directed by Women
In this inspiring documentary, filmmaker Nelson George explores a singular neighborhood in Brooklyn that gave rise to an African-American arts movement in the late 20th century as vibrant as the Harlem Renaissance. Through interviews with Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Lisa Jones Chapman, Branford Marsalis, Lorna Simpson, and many others, Brooklyn Boheme celebrates the rise of a new kind of African-American artist.
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AL-HALQA – IN THE STORYTELLER’S CIRCLEAnthropology Cultural Studies Literature Performing Arts Islamic Studies 2011
For centuries, Marrakech's historic Djemaa el-Fna square has been home to the world's greatest storytellers; their craft even recognized by UNESCO as an "Intangible Heritage of Humanity." This wonderful documentary examines this age-old tradition and considers its place in the modern world.
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PUPPETPerforming Arts American Studies LGBTQ Photography Art History Psychology & Psychiatry 2011
Centered around the development and staging of a complex work of modern puppet theater, this illuminating documentary offers a look at the fascinating history of American puppetry - its cultural roots and influence - as well as its current renaissance.
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NE CHANGE RIEN (CHANGE NOTHING)Music Cinema Studies Performing Arts 2011
A luminous exploration of the creative process from one of the world's most important filmmakers, Pedro Costa's Ne Change Rien is a spare, hypnotic portrait of French chanteuse Jeanne Balibar. Photographed in shimmering black-and-white and featuring a soundtrack of haunting jazz-inflected pop songs.
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THE BEACHES OF AGNESCinema Studies Art History Photography Women's Studies Performing Arts 2009 Directed by Women
A reflection on art, life and the movies, The Beaches of Agnès is a magnificent film from the great Agnès Varda (The Gleaners and I), a richly cinematic self portrait that touches on everything from the feminist movement and the Black Panthers to the films of husband Jacques Demy and the birth of the French New Wave.
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SONIAArt History Women's Studies Russia Performing Arts Jewish Studies Eastern Europe Cultural Studies Architecture 2007 Directed by Women
A magical portrait of Russia's revolutionary artistic avant-garde - Mayakovsky, Voloshin, Blok, Malevich, Tatlin - through the life of Sonia Dymshitz-Tolstaya, an impassioned artist whose life reflected the social upheavals of her time. She was one of the few Jewish women who became part of this inner circle.
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PROMISED PARADISECultural Studies 2007 Terrorism Studies Sociology Religion & Spirituality Political Science Performing Arts Media Studies Islamic Studies Asian Studies Southeast Asian Studies
How can one believe that terrorism leads to heaven? Banned by the Indonesian government, this provocative documentary examines the psychology of extremism in a country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
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BE HERE TO LOVE ME - Townes Van ZandtMusic Alcohol & Drug Abuse Performing Arts American Studies Directed by Women
An acclaimed documentary about the life and music of Townes Van Zandt, perhaps one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time, who inspired artists from Bob Dylan to Norah Jones.
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DANCEWEBDance Performing Arts Education Children & Young Adult Directed by Women
Danceweb is an intimate, rewarding film that gives a unique understanding of the world of contemporary dance by following three young dancers.
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COMEDY MIDDLE EASTERN STYLEMiddle Eastern Studies Islamic Studies American Studies Sociology Performing Arts Directed by Women
Middle Eastern standup comics living in New York share their views on political issues and the prejudice they’ve had to endure since 9/11.
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