Tag Archives: USA

Inside Her Sex

Inside Her Sex is a thought-provoking documentary that explores female sexuality and shame through the eyes and experiences of three women from different walks of life, each brave enough to chart her own course of sexual discovery.

While we live in a highly sexualized society, the messaging around sexuality, particularly female sexuality, is distorted and rife with shame. What we should look like, who we should want, what we should desire…in fact, who we should be, is dictated to us from screens and pages and people. As if there is one correct answer.

Stepping outside the common narrative is never straightforward. Exposing our deeper selves can be terrifying, even risky.

Candice, Elle, and Samantha have little in common. Not their age, not their hometowns, not their family circumstances. But they are all women. They are all sexual. And be it through circumstance or happenstance, they have each faced their sexual selves head on, and chosen to step outside the bounds of what society has dictated they should be, raising some interesting questions:

What happens if we are able to tap into our innate sexuality? To push beyond the bounds of societal structure and expectation? To stand up to powerful messaging and divert from the prescribed course?

Finding Fidel

Finding Fidel tells the remarkable story of war cameraman Erik Durschmied, who in 1958 journeyed to Cuba’s Sierra Maestra mountains to interview a little-known rebel leader named Fidel Castro. A month later, Castro’s band of fighters rolled into Havana, and the world would never be the same.

Intercutting Durschmeid’s reflections on the lost promise of Castro’s Revolution with his rarely seen interview with the young Fidel, award winning filmmaker Bay Weyman explores the hinge of fate, the vagaries of history, and the power of media in both men’s lives.

Durschmied spent weeks in Castro’s guerrilla headquarters, filming fascinating scenes of camp life with the rebels, and conducting the only known English-language interview with Fidel from the period just before he came to power. The interview is a unique time capsule, vividly depicting Castro’s early views, his struggle against the dictator Batista, and his goals for the Revolution.

“There is no Communism or Marxism in our idea,” Fidel insists. “Our political philosophy is representative democracy and social justice in a well-planned economy.”

Finding Fidel follows Durschmied as he returns to Cuba on the 50th Anniversary of the Revolution, retracing his original route to the mountains. Durschmied tells the true story behind his interviews with Fidel, and of the future dictator’s consummate use of the media to control his message and create his image. The daring young cameraman brought Castro’s message to the world just as Havana fell, and as a result his career took off.

Though he has witnessed many of the major events of our times, for Durschmied the interview on a mountaintop in Cuba remains the most meaningful. As he returns to Castro’s camp in the Sierra Maestra, he finds an unexpected touchstone that marks the beginning and end of the journey.

Mad As Hell

The Young Turks, one the most popular online news show in the world, has amassed a YouTube network of over 2.4 million subscribers and 2 billion views. But that wasn’t always the case.

MAD AS HELL documents the tumultuous, at times hilarious and altogether astonishing trajectory of Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks’ main host and founder, as he traverses from unknown Public Access TV host to internet sensation by way of YouTube. When he ventures into national television by landing the 6 PM time slot on MSNBC, Cenk’s uncensored brand of journalism is compromised as he becomes a thorn in the side of traditional news media; his unwavering dedication to speaking the truth puts him at the nexus of the battle between new and old media, and makes MAD AS HELL not only entertaining, but incredibly timely as well.

 

Princes of the Yen

Princes of the Yen reveals how post-war Japanese society was transformed to suit the agenda of powerful interest groups, and how citizens were kept entirely in the dark about this. History is now repeating itself around the world.

Based on a book by Professor Richard Werner, a visiting researcher at the Bank of Japan during the 90s crash, during which the stock market dropped by 80% and house prices by up to 84%. The film uncovers how the Bank of Japan pumped up and then crashed the Japanese economy, with an aim of inducing change. Today, what happened in Japan 25 years ago is repeating itself in Europe, with an aim of centralizing power in the Eurozone.

The film shows why it is important for central banks to be accountable and transparent. It also explains how International Financial Organizations such as the IMF seek to impose conditions on countries that are mainly of benefit to dominant Western interests. For anyone interested in understanding recent developments and the significance of the establishment of institutions such as the AIIB and the BRICS led New Development Bank, Princes of the Yen provides the background.

Princes of the Yen reveals with clarity the control levers that underpin the dominant ideology of the 21st Century. Piece by piece, reality is deconstructed to reveal the world as it is, not as those in power would like us to believe that it is.

“Because only power that is hidden is power that endures.”

Groundswell Rising

Groundswell Rising shows how Fracking – an untested energy extraction process – has contaminated drinking water and jeopardized health. We meet scientists, doctors and farmers across the political spectrum engaged in a David and Goliath struggle against Big Oil and Gas, decrying a process that puts profits over people.

Homeowners near wells suffer from respiratory ailments and property devaluation. A former industry employee shows skin lesions and edema, a result of working on drilling rigs, while others witness mistakes (5% of all wells leak) and explosions, against a back drop of rising ill health, as more and more suffer, from nose bleeds to asthma.

But there is cause for hope.

Local mothers groups unite to win some protections, while lease holders outraged by the corporations strong-arm tactics win local bans. Common Cause uncovers corruption as corporations buy influence to evade environmental protection laws, and the movement begins to gather momentum as actor Mark Ruffalo and singer Natalie Merchant support—and sometimes lead—their efforts.

Grassroots efforts have achieved bans, moratoriums, and referendums on Fracking, giving hope to others worldwide faced with the same nightmare. Transcending the genre of environmental film, Groundswell Rising’s passionate stories inspire and empower.

“Groundswell is ultimately a rousing, convincing rallying cry that the little guys, working in numbers, can triumph” LA Weekly

“But however you stand on the issue, you’re likely to be moved by the film’s portraits of grassroots activists managing to make their voices heard despite the opposition of major corporations and the big money at their disposal.” The Hollywood Reporter

Freedom From Choice

Life is about choice. What we eat, what we read, who we elect; every day we make choices that determine how we want to live.

But what if these choices are just an illusion?

In an era where regulations and red tape rule every industry, where lobby groups and big business wield more influence than ever before, our daily choices have become increasingly limited. And with all our options so deliberately handpicked, are we really making a choice at all?

Freedom From Choice examines the current state of life and personal choice today. Experts from many different fields offer a frank and startling look at the hidden limitations in our daily lives. Focusing on key areas such as food, medicine, finance, and media, Freedom From Choice provides viewers with a glimpse at the myriad of ways their lives are being dictated, and tells us who stands to gain.

America’s Surveillance State

We live in the United States of Surveillance – with cameras positioned on every street corner and much more invisible spying online and on the phone. Anyone paying attention knows that privacy is dead. All of this is not happening by accident – well funded powerful agencies and companies are engaged in the business of keeping tabs on what we do, what we say, and what we think.

To many in the world today, the face of America also has a big nose for sniffing and sifting mountains of data – phone calls, emails and texts. And with many mouths silenced by paranoia to keep what they decide is secret, secret.  America has become a Surveillance-Industrial State where everyone’s business has become its business, and where one huge US intelligence Agency has been given the sanction and unlimited amounts of money to spy on the whole world.

Mass Surveillance is the focus of this new 6 part investigative documentary series examining who is watching whom and why.

J Street: The Art of the Possible

J Street is on the frontlines of the world’s most “intractable” problem. An upstart lobby group in Washington, D.C., J Street dares to assert what to many seems obvious: that a two-state solution is Israel’s only future, and any peace deal will require robust American participation. It sees itself playing David to AIPAC, the Israel Lobby’s Goliath, and, less than five years old, has been making surprising gains.

With full access to the inside workings of a lobby group struggling to represent the centre ground of Jewish American thought, this documentary tracks J Street as it attempts to change what it means to be pro-Israel in America. We see their missteps and their triumphs as they push the Obama administration to take an active role in negotiating a two-state solution, fend off accusations of harbouring ‘anti-Israel’ objectives and gain influence among America’s Jewish population.

In this urgent political story told with the intimacy of cinema vérité, we feel the pulse of an organization, taking viewers to high-level strategy meetings, and long nights on the road. It is here that our characters come to life and the J Street story unfolds. J Street: The Art of the Possible is at once a gripping story about the desperate need for a two-state solution, and a captivating glimpse at the role of Lobbyists in the American political process.

ISIL: Rebranding An Old Story

ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) has undoubtedly become a real, illusive threat to the whole of the Middle East. In spite of what we see on the surface, so many questions have arisen that give pause for reflection about the many factors involved in sustaining this terror group. Who are funding them? Who benefits most from the disorder and chaos across the region? Who are the major players behind the scenes?

This comprehensive documentary answers all of these questions. It takes us to the formation of ISIL explaining the process through which they have been funded, armed, and equipped by countries including the US, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and more, and explores how western interference in the region has led to the chaos in which ISIL are able to thrive.

Killing the Messenger: The Deadly Cost of News

In December 2006, the UN Security Council unanimously passed landmark Resolution 1738 which demanded greater safety for journalists in conflict areas and called for an end to impunity for their killers. Since the UN resolution was passed, over 600 news media workers have been killed, while more have been imprisoned or have simply disappeared while on the job. Countless others have been intimidated into self-censorship or have gone into exile.

If no story is worth a life, then why is murder the number one cause of journalists’ deaths worldwide?

Murder is the leading cause of work related deaths for journalists as censorship increases worldwide. In addition to those who have been killed, dozens have been attacked, kidnapped, or forced into exile in connection with their coverage of crime and corruption.

Journalists reporting from Mexico, Russia and the conflict zones of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria tell their personal stories of kidnapping, intimidation, and beatings. They’ve experienced the loss of colleagues in the field and have been close to death themselves. Their stories are heartfelt, captivating, engaging and at moments – unbelievable.

The targeting of Journalists worldwide affects anyone who believes that information and accurate reporting play a part in healthy societies.

Awards:

2015: The Edward R. Murrow Award, from The Radio Television Digital News Association, recognising excellence in electronic journalism.

2015: National Headliner Award, recognising journalistic merit in the communications industry.

End of the Road

In 2008 the world experienced one of the greatest financial turmoils in modern history.  Markets around the world started crashing, stock prices plummeted, and major financial institutions, once thought to be invincible, started showing signs of collapse.  Governments responded quickly, issuing massive bailouts and stimulus packages in an effort to keep the world economy afloat.

Although we’ve been told that these drastic measures prevented a total collapse of our system, a growing sense of unease fills the population.  In the world of finance, indeed in all facets of modern life, cracks have started to appear.  What lies ahead as a result of these bold money printing measures?  Was the financial crisis solved, or were the problems merely kicked down the road?

U.N. Me

Following the horrors of World War II, there was a strong desire for a better world in which peace would be maintained and human rights respected – the U.N was born. Now, more than 60 years later, the image of the UN has become severely tarnished.

International peace and security is in a perilous state, and scores of stories are flying around demonstrating that the UN and its Security Council could have done more harm than good.

Documentary filmmaker Ami Horowitz takes us on a brutal tour of a number of places where the UN has intervened. Through interviews with those involved — some of whom wish to remain anonymous — and archive footage, we uncover facts about abuses and scandals surrounding UN missions and personnel.

The ‘forgotten’ shooting in Côte d’Ivoire, during which UN soldiers opened fire on unarmed demonstrators, the “Oil for Food” program in Iraq, which resulted in the wrong people reaping the benefits and the harrowing case of the UN soldiers who stood by, powerless, during the genocide in Rwanda. These are just some of the stories uncovered in what the Los Angeles Times has called ‘a scathing take down of the United Nations’.