2012

This film explores Gillian Jagger's work, the relationship of that work to her life, and the role of art in society.

A thrilling debut by a major new voice in world cinema, Kleber Mendonça Filho's Neighboring Sounds is a film about the long-suppressed history of class and racial oppression that continues to haunt contemporary Brazilian society.

One of the most influential chefs in the world, Michel Bras has decided to hand over his legendary 3-Michelin-star restaurant to his son Sebastien. Filmed in the Aubrac region in the South of France, Step Up To The Plate offers a rare glimpse into the Bras' culinary process while capturing one of the most closely watched transitions in haute cuisine.

A heartbreaking and hilarious film of repeating patterns and circumstance, The Day He Arrives, from the celebrated Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo, is a meditation on relationships, filmmaking, and the unknowable forces that govern our lives. An official selection of the Cannes Film Festival.

Do people still want to hear stories about the Holocaust? This question plagues Leo Bretholz, a Holocaust survivor who has recounted his story to thousands of students across the country. See You Soon Again is a singular film about the weight of history, about how hard it is to tell a story of unspeakable suffering, and how impossible it is not to.

From legendary director Jacques Rivette (Va Savoir, The Duchess of Langeais) comes a tale of lost love, chance encounters and the transformative power of art.

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.

On December 17, 2010, 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself on the streets of Tunis sparking a popular uprising that toppled a dictator and developed into the Arab Spring. With remarkable never-before-seen footage of the demonstrations and celebrations, Rouge Parole chronicles the revolution in Tunisia and its immediate aftermath.

An engrossing ethnographic work, Canícula is a study of the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Totonac people of Veracruz, Mexico, who have resided in this region for thousands of years. Beautifully photographed, this documentary features rare footage of the Totonac's "voladores" ritual ("the flying dance"), named an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

A richly textured essay film on landscape, art, history, life and loss, Patience (After Sebald) offers a unique exploration of the work and influence of internationally acclaimed writer W.G. Sebald (1944-2001), author of "The Emigrants," "Austerlitz" and "The Rings of Saturn." Featuring contributions from major writers, artists and thinkers, this is the first film on this important writer.

In 1983, Time magazine bestowed its coveted person-of-the-year award to the computer. Since then, technology has advanced at an amazing speed, and people have been replacing their old machines at the same rate, creating a cyclical stream of hazardous e-waste. Terra Blight is an eye-opening documentary that examines the environmental implications of this global problem.

Widely considered one of the most important filmmakers in world cinema, Béla Tarr is the director of such revered films as Satantango and Werckmeister Harmonies. The Turin Horse, which Tarr has said will be his last film, is a breathtaking masterpiece that uses an obsucre Nietzsche anecdote to tell a story about human dignity and survival.

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival - and one of the best reviewed films of the year - Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is the new film from the celebrated director of Distant and Climates. Stunningly photographed, the film follows a murder investigation into the Anatolian countryside that rattles the investigators' own beliefs and truths.

In her Oscar nominated documentary Promises, filmmaker Justine Shapiro took us into the lives of Palestinian and Israeli children in and around Jerusalem. Her new documentary, Our Summer in Tehran, transports us into the seldom seen realm of middle class family life in Iran, transcending overt politics for a perspective Western media has little interest in showing.

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.

Once hailed as a national hero, Robert Mugabe - Zimbabwe's first and only elected political leader - is today widely considered one of Africa's most brutal dictators. What happened? This illuminating documentary offers an in-depth examination of Mugabe's life, policies and staggering transformation.

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.

A landmark documentary trilogy, Sun, Moon, Stars captures the tumultuous changes taking place in Indonesia by following three generations of a single Jakarta family for over a decade. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich, it offers an unparalleled, vibrant portrait of the world's fourth most populous nation; and home to the largest Muslim community.

For over a decade, noted filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich followed the lives of an Indonesian family in Jakarta. In this final film of his acclaimed Sun, Moon, Stars trilogy, Helmrich confronts the most important issues facing the country's fast-changing society: corruption, conflict between religions, gambling addiction, the generation gap, and the widening disparity between rich and poor.