Nas: Time Is Illmatic (2014)

Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo' goes behind prison walls to follow convict cowgirls on their journey to the 2007 Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo. In 2006, female inmates were allowed to participate for the first time. In a state with the highest female incarceration rate in the country, these women share common experiences such as broken homes, drug abuse and alienation from their children. Since 1940, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary has held an annual 'Prison Rodeo'. Part Wild West show and part coliseum-esque spectacle, it's one of the last of its kind - a relic of the American penal system. Prisoners compete on wild-broncs and bucking bulls, risking life-long injuries. For inmates like Danny Liles, a 14-year veteran of the rodeo, the chance to battle livestock offers a brief respite from prison life. Within this strange arena the prisoners become the heroes while the public and guards applaud

Dawn breaks in La Habana, and as the day advances we follow the simple lives of ten ordinary Cubans, with only sounds and images accompanied by music.

JUMP! is a feature-length character-driven documentary about competitive jump rope that follows kids on five teams from around the country who push physical and psychological limits in pursuit of winning the World Championship. Part extreme sport, part art form, their moves are masterfully choreographed and bursting with rhythm, sweat and originality. These teens sacrifice everything to get where they are and each has his or her own reason to be so driven. After arduous drilling and mind-boggling performances, rivalry and collaboration have dramatic unexpected results.

This is the rare UK Channel 4 documentary about Blade Runner, giving insights into it's history with interviews of Ridley Scott, the writers and nearly all the cast. Interviews with production staff, including Ridley, give details into the creative process and turmoil during preproduction. Stories from Paul M. Sammon and Fancher provide insight into Philip K. Dick and the origins of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Interweaved are cast interviews with the notable exceptions of Harrison Ford and Sean Young. Through these interviews we get a sense of how difficult and frustrating the film was to make as a result of an exacting director without allies and hot, wet, smoggy conditions; which added to the high pressure atmosphere everyone increasingly felt as the film went over budget. There is also a tour of some locations, most notably the Bradbury Building and the Warner Brothers backlot that was the LA 2019 streets, which look very different from Ridley's dark version.

They are some of the biggest pyramids on the planet, millions of tons of stone and earth towering above the landscape in a display of massive wealth and power. But it wasn't the pharaohs that built these pyramids. This is the majestic ancient city of Teotihuacán, Mexico, home to one of the most powerful civilizations of its time. But why, around 750 AD, did the advanced civilization that created Teotihuacán suddenly vanish? The identities of its founders, the language they spoke and even the original name of the city are all unknown. DNA analysis of bodies from Teotihuacán shows they weren't Mayan, Incan or Aztec, but an entirely different civilization. It was assumed to have been a peaceful, utopian society, but the latest discoveries are revealing a much darker scenario. In the depths of Teotihuacán's pyramids, experts have uncovered vault after vault filled with curious human remains.

Documentary telling the compelling story of the 40th Irish Dancing World Championships.

Brooklyn Castle is a documentary about I.S. 318 – an inner-city school where more than 65 percent of students are from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level – that also happens to have the best, most winning junior high school chess team in the country. (If Albert Einstein, who was rated 1800, were to join the team, he’d only rank fifth best.) Chess has transformed the school from one cited in 2003 as a “school in need of improvement” to one of New York City’s best. But a series of recession-driven public school budget cuts now threaten to undermine those hard-won successes.

Chronicles the Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, hosted by The Van Cliburn Foundation. Players from all over the world, ranging from self-taught to classically-trained, aged thirty-five to almost eighty, convene in Fort Worth, Texas for a week of intense competition, music and camaraderie. The film the film provides an intimate look into the lives of these colorful, multi-faceted competitors as they strive to balance the demands of work and family with their love of music. Years of dedicated preparation culminate in critical performances before a professional jury and discerning audience during three nerve-wracking elimination rounds.

In June 2003, the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire came under fire when it became the first to elect an openly gay man, Gene Robinson, as a bishop. Since that flash point, Robinson has been at the center of the contentious battle for LGBT people to receive full acceptance in the faith.

Рэп-энциклопедия из первых уст: постановщиком этого шумного и боевого фильма стал Айс-Ти, киноактер и крестный отец гангста-рэпа. «Рэп спас мою жизнь», — говорит Айс-Ти, и у нас нет причин в этом сомневаться. Горячая искренность, а не только «умение быстро говорить» (как презрительно определяли рэп позднесоветские комсомольцы) — отличительная черта рэпа, искусства из слов и мяса.

1997 год, Нью-Йорк. В нескончаемом потоке событий большого города режиссер-документалист Эрик Ротман знакомится с Полом Люси, красивым молодым человеком, юристом в издательской сфере, ведущим закрытый образ жизни в отношении своей гомосексуальности. И то, что началось как встреча на высоком градусе взаимной симпатии, совсем скоро для обоих становится чем-то большим, связывая их новыми, стремительно развивающимися отношениями. В то время как они начинают совместно обустраивать свой быт и жизнь, каждый продолжает внутреннюю борьбу со своими скрытыми желаниями и зависимостями. Рассказывая о дружбе, близости, сексе, но прежде всего о любви, эта история показывает истинную природу отношений в наше время.

For over a quarter century, KISS has shaped the face of popular music and rock culture. The KISS Alive Worldwide tour saw the rebirth of rock's most incredible band. Witness firsthand the amazing story of how after 17 years, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace frehley and Peter Criss's paths finally crossed, reuniting one of rock and roll's biggest success stories ever. This bombastic behind-the-scenes documentary details the events that led up to KISS's record-breaking Alive Worldwide tour of 1996-97. Come witness the story of how Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter reunited and strove to write a new chapter in the history of rock & roll. This is KISS - The Second Coming.

From the producers of Dogtown & Z-Boys and Riding Giants comes "The Achievers: The Story Of The Lebowski Fans", the long-awaited documentary based on the fans of Joel and Ethan Cohen's THE BIG LEBOWSKI, the first cult film from the digital age.

In this Tribeca Film Festival selection, filmmaker Bruce Broder trains his camera on a crop of talented young jazz musicians as they play their way through the Essentially Ellington high school jazz band competition. Sponsored by the Jazz at Lincoln Center program, the prestigious contest gives the kids the chance to rub shoulders with legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis -- and put their budding improvisational skills to the test.

In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year-old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. Up against much older students, these youngsters have committed the 600 pages of the Koran to memory, and will put their skills to the test before the elite of the world’s Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. In the midst of this intense international competition, the three young competitors –two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and one girl from the Maldives – face uncertain futures at home, as they are caught between fundamentalist and moderate visions of Islam. The children discuss their recitation techniques – with accompanying, completely improvised melodies – and talk about their nerves and excitement as they finally compete before a panel of judges.

A film about kids with little else to offer apart from a well honed body, an overabundance of hormones and a high from their last line. Teenagers Nia and Pulpo hang out at the disco where Nia has sex with a girl he meets there, Foxy. On the way home, Nia and Pulpo are attacked by Spirit, Foxy’s ex. Pulpo is badly beaten up but the police intervene, and Nia ends up in a youth detention centre. He makes plans to escape in order to wreck revenge on Spirit, an eye for an eye, and part of his plan includes meeting Nicole, an attractive young lawyer.

Candyman tells the amazing true story of David Klein, an eccentric candy inventor from LA, who came up with the concept of Jelly Belly® jellybeans. These colorful beans became a pop culture phenomenon, revolutionized the candy industry and were personally endorsed by Ronald Reagen. However, David's eccentric personality and peculiar sense of business led him to leave Jelly Belly just as it was about to explode and grow into a billion dollar enterprise. Is there room for eccentric genius in the modern corporate world? The film tells how Klein may have lost his beans, but kept his soul.

В середине 80-х многие американские производители кино категории Б, ввиду дефецита средств на производство своих картин, освоили привычку ездить на Филиппины и снимать свои ленты (women-in-prison, warsploitation, junglesploitation и пр.) именно там — это было дешевле и выгоднее почти во всех смыслах.

Six teenage members of the performance poetry collective Leeds Young Authors travel to Washington D.C. to compete in poetry contest Brave New Voices, where they must somehow stay true to their own complex, uniquely British poetry whilst grappling the 'he who shouts loudest' mode of the competition. Brimming with ideas and yes, with excellent poetry, each member of Leeds Young Authors has much to tell us all about being young, and living here and now. An inspirational film, and ample proof if it were ever needed that words can indeed uplift and change lives.