American Studies
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NEVER FAR FROM HOME2017 American Studies Anthropology Children & Young Adult Loud Roar Productions Short Films
This simple vérité film takes viewers on a journey to the backwoods of Southern Georgia. The kids are never far from home and live, like their grandfathers before them, out in the sticks with traditions routed in nature the forefront of their existences.
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BRILLO BOX (3¢ OFF)Family Relations Art History American Studies Media Studies New York City Directed by Women Economics 2017
Brillo Box (3¢ off) follows a beloved Andy Warhol Brillo Box sculpture as it makes its way from a family's living room to a record-breaking Christie's auction, blending a humourous family narrative with Pop Art history, and exploring how we navigate the ephemeral nature of art and value.
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LINEFORKAnthropology American Studies 2017 Music Sensory Ethnography Lab Cinema Studies Aging / Gerontology
Meet Lee and Opal, an elderly couple living in the Appalachian Mountains. Recorded over three years, Linefork is an observational film about marriage, community, resilience, and the raw yet delicate music of an unheralded banjo legend, linked to the past yet immediately present.
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RAT FILM2017 Urban Studies Environmental Studies Political Science Sociology Cultural Studies Cinema Studies Anthropology American Studies Architecture African-American Studies
A documentary that uses the rat to explore the complicated history of Baltimore and how racial segregation, redlining, and environmental racism built the American city we see today.
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FIVE FINGER DISCOUNT: a crooked family historyPacific Street Films Family Relations American History American Studies Criminal & Law 2017 Literature
Based Helene Stapinski’s best selling memoir “Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History.” The book and the film tell the story of Helene’s childhood, of her growing up working-class in Jersey City, New Jersey – in a family nearly overrun with crooks, petty criminals, corrupt politicians, mobster wannabes and murderers – and how she became a journalist and a best-selling author.
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FAREWELL FERRIS WHEELLabor Studies 2017 American Studies Latino Studies Business Cinema Studies
Follow the day-to-day lives of Mexican migrant workers as they travel the United States to work for the struggling carnival industry. They are legally employed through the controversial H-2B work visa program and may be the last hope for the carnivals. Farewell Ferris Wheel takes a good hard look at the crossroads between economic need and human rights through one of the most emblematic symbols of Americana.
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ALMOST THEREKartemquin Films Art History Aging / Gerontology Psychology & Psychiatry Disabilities Cinema Studies Media Studies Family Relations Criminal & Law Health American Studies Photography Human Sexuality 2017
Humorous and candid, Kartemquin Films' documentary Almost There is a fascinating portrait of eccentric "outsider" artist Peter Anton. Living in a home that has been consumed by mold and filth, the octogenarian has produced a startling collection of unseen paintings, drawings, and notebooks. The film’s remarkable journey follows this witty and gifted artist through startling twists and turns.
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RAISING BERTIE2016 African-American Studies American Studies Sociology Criminal & Law Education Family Relations Alcohol & Drug Abuse Directed by Women Kartemquin Films
Recorded over six years, Raising Bertie delivers an authentic and tender portrait of the lives of three young boys as they face a precarious coming of age within Bertie County, a rural African-American community in North Carolina. Another harrowing work from the acclaimed documentary powerhouse Kartemquin Films, the film shows the process of growing up in a place afflicted by generations of economic and educational segregation.
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CITY OF TREES2016 Kartemquin Films Environmental Studies American Studies Labor Studies Criminal & Law African-American Studies Urban Studies Political Science Sociology Health Business
A complex tale of social justice, urban forestry and community politics, City of Trees portrays the struggles of a DC non-profit to challenge the cycle of poverty and violence in blighted urban areas by implementing an ambitious "green jobs" program that hires 150 unemployed residents to plant trees in underserved parks.
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HERE COME THE VIDEOFREEXCinema Studies Women's Studies 2016 Cultural Studies American Studies Media Studies American History Directed by Women
Here Come the Videofreex tells the enthralling story of a pioneering collective of video journalists known as the Videofreex who in the 60s and 70s became the forerunners of public access television and the modern internet news era as they deployed the first handheld video cameras to report and observe the world around them.
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DEEP TIME2016 Environmental Studies Native American Studies Labor Studies American Studies Business Anthropology
A kaleidoscopic study of the recent oil boom in North Dakota, Deep Time is an award winning documentary that focuses on the impact the fossil fuel business has on the environment and on how it affects local landowners, state officials and the Indigenous Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. A complex take on a timely issue by the director of Crude Independence.
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DRESSING AMERICA: tales from the garment centerAmerican Studies Art History Jewish Studies New York City 2015 Business Pacific Street Films
A captivating documentary that depicts the history of New York’s garment center, Dressing America explores how this business grew from humble beginnings into an industry that’s dressed America.
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THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF DORIS PAYNEPsychology & Psychiatry American Studies African-American Studies Women's Studies Criminal & Law 2015
A sensational portrait of a rebel who defied society’s prejudices and pinched her own version of the American Dream, The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne relates the fascinating story of how a poor, single, African-American mother from segregated West Virginia became the world’s most notorious jewel thief.
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SHE'S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE'S ANGRYPolitical Science American History American Studies Women's Studies 2015 Directed by Women
An essential documentary about the birth of the women's liberation movement. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage and new interviews, She's Beautiful When She's Angry tells the story of one of the most important social movements of the 20th century, bringing to light the efforts of lesser-known activists and grassroots organizations from across the country who played a pivotal role in the struggle.
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ALL ABOUT ANN: governor richards of the lone star state2015 Women's Studies Political Science American Studies Alcohol & Drug Abuse
Feisty, fiery, a force of nature, and funny as hell. These are a few of the terms used to describe Ann Richards, one of the most charismatic American political figures of the last 30 years. This compelling portrait tells her remarkable story, from the young girl who grew up poor in rural Texas to the beloved national icon and Democratic leader who rose to power in a conservative stronghold.
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AMERICAN ARABIslamic Studies American Studies Middle Eastern Studies Religion & Spirituality Kartemquin Films 2014 Immigration
A provocative look at the complexities of Arab identity in post 9/11 America, American Arab interweaves filmmaker Usama Alshaibi's own story, and that of his family, as well as other Arab Americans to thoughtfully explore the values, passions, hopes and perceptions of his community, from inside and out.
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PRISON TERMINAL: the last days of private jack hallShort Films 2014 Academy Award Winners & Nominees Psychology & Psychiatry Health Death & Dying Criminal & Law American Studies Aging / Gerontology African-American Studies
2014 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject, Prison Terminal is an extraordinary chronicle of death and dignity behind bars, an incredibly moving story of a terminally ill prisoner's final days and the hospice volunteers (prisoners themselves) who care for him. Issues surrounding America's aging prison population and the profound impact hospice programs can have on the lives of the incarcerated are explored in this remarkable film.
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SUITCASE OF LOVE AND SHAMEAmerican Studies Human Sexuality Media Studies Anthropology Psychology & Psychiatry Sociology Women's Studies 2014 Directed by Women
A forbidden love story played out in a decade that would soon spawn the sexual revolution, Suitcase of Love and Shame reconstructs a mesmerizing and erotic narrative from 60 hours of reel-to-reel audiotape discovered in a suitcase purchased on eBay. A fascinating, one-of-a-kind documentary, it addresses issues of morality, sexism, privacy vs. exhibitionism, and the impact of technology in yesterday's America as well as today's.
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YOUR DAY IS MY NIGHTAsian-American Studies Asian Studies American Studies Urban Studies Women's Studies New York City 2014 Directed by Women Immigration
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.
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ZIPPER: CONEY ISLAND'S LAST WILD RIDEUrban Studies New York City Architecture American Studies Political Science 2013 Directed by Women
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.
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