Summary: I.S.318 is 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. The film follows the challenges these kids face in their personal lives as well as on the chessboard.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Millennium Entertainment 2013

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: In this documentary, Che Smith (a.k.a. Rhymefest, the Grammy-winning rapper) reunites with his father, an alcoholic living on the streets of Chicago, and struggles to deliver him to safety and an existence that is productive and meaningful, in essence, taking responsibility for the man who had abandoned him as a young child.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2016

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: The Corporation charts the spectacular rise of the corporation as a dramatic, pervasive presence in our everyday lives. With a deft mix of humor, visual panache and seriousness, this documentary is a timely, entertaining critique of global conglomerates.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Zeitgeist Films 2005

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: National headlines blazed the story: Churchgoers Gunned Down During Prayer Service in Charleston. South Carolina. After a 21-year-old white supremacist opened fire in Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, nine African Americans lay dead, leaving their families and the nation to grapple with this senseless act of terror. Featuring intimate interviews with survivors and family members. From...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment 2019

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: A deep dive into the life of Stewart Brand, a legendary pioneer of LSD, cyberspace, futurism, and modern environmentalism. Brand created the revolutionary do-it-yourself publication The Whole Earth Catalog, which Steve Jobs famously called ₃Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google existed.₄

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2022

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: "Within the last half century, our agricultural and food industries have changed more than ... ever before. New technologies and scientific ingenuity have given rise to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and other man-made foods. People have begun to raise concerns about the safety of GMOs in our food supply, given their incredible dominance in a large portion of our diets. Traditional...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: KITG Productions 2015

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Before the arrival of Miami Vice and MTV Spring Break, South Beach was home to the largest cluster of Jewish retirees in the country. Drawn by the apartments, low cost of living, sunny weather, and thriving cultural life, they came by the thousands seeking refuge from the Northeast. By the 1970s, these former New Yorkers had turned from seasonal visitors to year-round residents. The film takes...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2019

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: This documentary chronicles the transformation of The New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk, as the Internet redefines the media industry by surpassing print as the main source of news. At the heart of the film is the burning question on the minds of everyone who cares about a rigorous American press, Times lover or not: what will happen if the fast-moving future of...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Magnolia Pictures 2011

Copies Available at Woodmere

Berman, Ari

Summary: Looks at the fight to end gerrymandering and the influence it has on American elections.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Magnolia Home Entertainment 2020

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: "Dogs on the Inside follows the relationships between abused stray dogs and prison inmates working towards a second chance at a better life. In an attempt to re-build their confidence and prepare for a new life outside, these prisoners must first learn to handle and care for a group of neglected strays. This heart-warming story reconfirms the timeless connection between man and dog, showing the...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2015

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: "Starting on his 62nd birthday, follow Charles Bradley's extraordinary journey from James Brown impersonator to recording artist during the electrifying and transformative months leading up to the release of his debut album 'No time for dreaming'. Despite a life of grinding poverty, despair and often disappointment, Bradley's optimism, perseverance and remarkable talent shine through in this...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Distributed by Madman Entertainment 2013

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Explores the life of Brion Gysin, inventor of a hypnotic light device called the Dreammachine, which was intended to induce hallucinations and transform consciousness. Nik Sheehan interviews some of the '60s counter-culture's most eccentric icons including Iggy Pop, Marianne Faithful and Marcus boon.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Alive Mind. 2008

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Jackson Pollock said, 'He makes the rest of us look academic,' Mark Rothko acknowledged him as a 'myth-maker' and Clement Greenberg called him 'a highly influential maverick and an independent genius.' Clyfford Still, one of the strongest, most original contributors to abstract expressionism, walked away from the commercial art world at the height of his career. Extremely disciplined,...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2020

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Aaron Swartz was a programming prodigy who helped shape the digital landscape of today. He helped develop the internet protocol RSS and was a co-founder of Reddit. Chronicling his pioneering efforts crusading for open access and free speech and the resulting legal nightmare and tragedy that ensued, the documentary is a dynamic and moving portrait of a brilliant tech millionaire who renounced...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2015

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: The Automat recounts the lost history of the iconic restaurant chain Horn & Hardart, which served affordable food to millions of New Yorkers and Philadelphians for more than a century. Founded by Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart in 1888, it revolutionized the nation's restaurant scene with technology that captured the public's imagination like nothing else the customer put nickels into slots, and...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2022

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: "Out of Print is a documentary exploring the importance of revival cinema and 35mm exhibition - seen through the lens of the patrons of the New Beverly Cinema - a unique and independent revival cinema in Los Angeles." -- container.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2016

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Chronicling this capital case from 1984-2004, filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg painstakingly frame the judicial and emotional reponses to a chilling crime, and the implications surrounding Darryl Hunt's wrongful conviction.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Distributed by Thinkfilm 2007

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: A documentary about Flint, Michigan native Michael Moore and his efforts to meet with General Motors' president Roger Smith in order to persuade the executive to visit Flint, a city which is economically depressed due to the closure of a General Motors plant.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Warner Home Video 2003

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Through four extraordinary documentaries, we follow some of Queen Elizabeth II's most defining moments, from her unique coronation to her sympathetic and inspiring speeches. With singular access and painstaking detail, we see how her legend was crafted, and take a peek behind the curtain to get a sense of the woman who was Queen.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2023

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: In February 1972, celebrated jazz musician Lee Morgan was shot dead by his common-law wife Helen during a gig at a club in New York City. The murder sent shockwaves through the jazz community, and the memory of the event still haunts those who knew the Morgans. This feature documentary by filmmaker Kasper Collin is a love letter to two unique personalities and the music that brought them together.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Fisher Klingenstein Ventures, LLC 2016

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Looks at the legacy of the case of Vincent Chin, a young Chinese American man who was attacked and killed at his bachelor's party at a suburban Detroit bar by current and former autoworkers who were unhappy with competition from Japanese auto manufacturers. The case attracted wide attention after Chin's attackers struck a plea bargain and were sentenced to three thousand dollars in fines and...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Asian Pacific Americans for Progress 2013

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: The cameras follow trailblazing comic, Joan Rivers, for a year and cover her entire career from her break on the Carson show, to her heartbreak over the suicide of her husband, and her role on Celebrity Apprentice. Rivers reveals her relentless desire to keep working with humor and empathy. Wickedly funny and surprisingly moving, Rivers is once again returned to the spotlight she so richly...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: IFC Films 2010

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: Join The Beach Boy's Brian Wilson on an intimate journey through his legendary career as he reminisces with Rolling Stone editor and longtime friend, Jason Fine. Featuring a new song written and performed by Wilson and interviews with Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Nick Jonas, Linda Perry, Jim James, Gustavo Dudamel, and Al Jardine.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Screen Media 2022

Copies Available at Kingsley

Summary: Germany's Third Reich made 1,200 feature films. According to experts, some 100 of these were blatant Nazi propaganda. More than 40 of these films remain under lock and key. Director Felix interviews German film historians, archivists and filmgoers in an investigation of the power, and potential danger, of cinema when used for ideological purposes. Moeller shows how contentious these films...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Kino Lorber 2018

Copies Available at Woodmere