Urban Studies

From the producers of the Academy Award winning documentary Inocente, 1 Way Up tells the inspirational story of two teenage boys hoping to escape one of the toughest gang neighborhoods in London with the only thing they have—a bike.

Executive produced by Steve James (The Interrupters, Life Itself), Lucky is an unforgettable portrait of a young Puerto Rican woman, a single mother, homeless, and struggling to find work, yet still passionately dreaming of true love and success. Filmed over six years, the film powerfully brings to light a myriad of social issues such as the flaws of foster care and social services, systemic poverty, urban blight, homelessness and LGBT discrimination.

Never before available, Thom Andersen's landmark documentary Los Angeles Plays Itself explores the tangled relationship between the movies and their fabled hometown – as seen entirely though the films themselves.Newly remastered, this kaleidoscopic tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, from the silent era to modern times, is an extraordinary achievement, unlike any documentary that has come before or since.

A master of the essay film, Thom Andersen (Los Angeles Plays Itself, Red Hollywood) surveys the work of Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura - winner of his profession's highest honor, the Pritzker Prize - whose astonishing, often-controversial projects embrace decay, the passage of time, local history, and nature.

Focusing on a vast demolition site in the center of Chengdu, the Sichuan capital in western China, a bustling site emblematic of the rapid growth and development occurring throughout the country, J.P. Sniadecki’s Demolition is a wonderfully patient and revealing portrait of the migrant laborers who work and live in its shadow.

Blending autobiographical monologues, intimate conversations, and staged performances, Lynne Sachs' Your Day Is My Night documents the lives of Chinese immigrants sharing a "shift-bed" apartment in the heart of New York City's Chinatown, offering a deeply felt portrait of the Asian-American immigrant experience.

A documentary about greed, politics, urban development and renewal, the award-winning Zipper: Coney Island's Last Wild Ride is an absorbing chronicle of the efforts to redevelop an iconic American landmark, Coney Island.

Clinging to the last affordable housing in a rapidly gentrifying city, a determined group of neighbors come together when the city claims eminent domain over their land in order to build a new school. An absorbing look at the complex issues surrounding urban planning, gentrification and economic renewal.

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.

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.

From Steve James, acclaimed director of Hoop Dreams, and Alex Kotlowtiz, bestselling author of There Are No Children Here, The Interrupters is an epic documentary work exploring violence in America, a look at an innovative program in which former gang members disrupt violent situations as they happen.

Jumping rope is one of the most timeless and universal forms of play. In the last 30 years, its popularity has moved it from the sidewalk to the stage. Doubletime profiles two championship teams - one suburban white and one inner-city black - for a revealing look inside an exciting new sport and a snapshot of race in America.