Cultural Studies

As China continues its unprecedented economic growth, Last House Standing captures the poignant story of an elderly man caught between his country's past and future.

Re-released for 2020. Ever wonder why Jews and Rastafarians both use the Star of David and make references to Zion? This exuberant documentary explores the surprising connections between reggae culture and Judaism.

Earlier this year, Gustav Klimt's "Adele Bloch-Bauer I" was sold for $135 million, the largest amount ever paid for a painting. This wonderful new documentary invites viewers to explore Vienna at the turn-of-the-century and the rich artistic movement that engendered such a work.

A stark and honest look at the explosion of teen pregnancy in Brazil, this award-winning documentary follows four young girls, ages 13 to 15, through the course of their pregnancies and into the early days of motherhood.

An unflinching look inside the contentious recall of an immigrant rights activist in California, and the fierce conflict it sparked within the Latino community, between recent and assimilated immigrants, over what it means to be an American.

The AIDS pandemic in Africa as seen through the eyes of two young girls, an American and South African teenager, featuring the music of the Dave Matthews Band and U2.

Revealing an aspect of Iranian society rarely exposed to the West, filmmaker Ata Hayati brings his cameras to Behesht Zahra, Tehran's biggest cemetery, to witness Iran's distinctive culture of death.

How does an American Indian tribe preserve its heritage while functioning in modern America? Long Journey Home tells the story of walking in two worlds through the family of Dee Ketchum, tribal chief of the Delaware Indians from 1998 through 2002.

This video chronicles the filmmaker’s quest to uncover the mystery of her Slovak identity and heritage. As a young girl growing up during the Cold War, she was curious about the 'strange' language spoken by her grandmother and the enigma that shrouds her past.

This ten-part series examines the history of the North American Indian, exploring their social, political and economic systems, as well as their art, religion, and educational values

This portrait of Margaret Randall—activist, poet, writer, teacher and photographer—comes at a particularly appropriate time, as patriotism is being equated in some quarters with keeping silent about important issues.

This video features an interview with Dr. Alexander lief, a gerontology specialist at Harvard University and the Massachusetts General Hospital, who discusses his on-location study of the people living in the Andean village of Vilcabamba in Ecuador.

Beginning with cultures of prehistory and primitive dance forms, this film depicts the concert forms of native dancing in the works of Katherine Dunham. The second part of the film deals with folk dances of more than fifteen nations.

In this video, artist and art educator Betty LaDuke presents the lives and work of three American women artists of diverse heritages—Lois Mailou Jones, Mine Okubo, and Pablita Velarde.

Surveys the contemporary Chicano art movement by tracing its development during the height of Chicano political activism in the late Sixties and Seventies, blending archival footage with interviews with the artists and samples of their work, including photographs, murals, graphics, films, paintings, and ephemeral art.

Examines the adoption of Chinese children by U.S. parents, profiling six diverse families who share their adoption stories, meeting a parent who worked inside an orphanage before ever planning to adopt, one who lived through China's Cultural Revolution, and another who has spent over twenty years researching adoption in China. It is a video about building families, as well as overcoming cultural myths and misunderstandings.

This documentary examines one of the most significant holidays on the Mexican calendar, showing how it is celebrated today and tracing its historical background, which goes back 3,000 years.

This video profiles Frederick Brown, one of America’s most prolific expressionist painters, whose Soho loft studio in New York served as a gathering place for artists, musicians, writers, dancers and other creative personalities during the Sixties and Seventies.

Portrays the revival of Los Pastores (The Shepherd's Play), an ancient Christmas morality play that has long been part of Hispanic folk traditions in the American Southwest.

This entertaining documentary features a variety of African-American poets from all over America, who have gathered to perform at Kafe Kuumba in Indianapolis, a local cultural center sponsored by the Midtown Writers Association.