Masters of the Pillow

Traces the making of UC-Davis professor Darrell Hamamoto's first-ever Asian American porn movie ("Skin on Skin") from planning to production. Hou interviews filmmakers Justin Lin ("Better Luck Tomorrow") and Eric Byler ("Charlotte Sometimes"), professor Elaine Kim and playwright David Henry Hwang to get at whether Asian America truly needs its own "porno practices" as a way of decolonizing the community's collective sexual imaginations and confronting how sexuality and masculinity are treated in the Asian American community.

2003-11-04 | en

Alaskan Sled Dog

The story of an Eskimo father and son who train and groom a sled dog team. When the father is lost on an ice floe, the son takes the unproven team on the search, and succeeds in finding his father.

1957-07-03 | en

Preschool to Prison

Preschool to Prison is a compelling examination of how the United States public school system is built and operated like prisons. Zero-tolerance policies are used to justify suspension and arrests that set up a pathway to send children of color and children with special needs from school to prison. Children are being suspended, restrained, dragged, physically manhandled, and subsequently arrested for minor offenses such as throwing candy on a school bus. These personal accounts from people affected by the school-to-prison pipeline give riveting tales about the generational impact on society.

2023-07-15 | en

First Among Equals: The Laurie Cunningham Story

Documentary covering the trailblazing career and tragically short life of Laurie Cunningham, the English football star of the '70s and '80s.

2013-02-13 | en

Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris

In 1970, a British film crew set out to make a straightforward literary portrait of James Baldwin set in Paris, insisting on setting aside his political activism. Baldwin bristled at their questions, and the result is a fascinating, confrontational, often uncomfortable butting of heads between the filmmakers and their subject, in which the author visits the Bastille and other Parisian landmarks and reflects on revolution, colonialism, and what it means to be a Black expatriate in Europe.

1971-05-05 | en

Little White Lie

Lacey Schwartz grew up in a typical upper-middle-class Jewish household in Woodstock, NY, with loving parents and a strong sense of her Jewish identity - despite the open questions from those around her about how a white girl could have such dark skin. She believes her family's explanation that her looks were inherited from her dark-skinned Sicilian grandfather. But when her parents abruptly split, her gut starts to tell her something different. At age of 18, she finally confronts her mother and learns the truth: her biological father was not the man who raised her, but a black man named Rodney with whom her mother had had an affair.

2014-11-21 | en

Musher, l'appel de l'Alaska

More than 7,000 km from his home in the Jura Mountains, Sébastien dos Santos Borges is taking seventeen of his dogs on an extraordinary adventure between Yukon and Alaska, following in the footsteps of the adventurers of the Far North. He is one of the most respected mushers in the world and is preparing to set off on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, one of the most difficult dog sled races. An expedition into the heart of the wilderness, where the relationship between man and animal is essential to triumph over the cold.

2023-01-26 | fr

Perfect Image?

Two actresses take us through a series of 'raps' and sketches about what it means to be beautiful and black.

1989-01-02 | en

Lillie & Leander: A Legacy of Violence

Documentarian Jeffrey Morgan set out to the track one woman's search for the truth about her great-great-aunt's 1908 murder. But his film quickly became a fascinating study of racism, revenge and family secrets. In the process of uncovering information about her ancestor's violent death at the hands of an African-American suspect, the woman learns that her family tree might have also produced a few murderers.

2007-04-27 | en

Edward Said On Orientalism: "The Orient" Represented in Mass Media

Edward Said's book Orientalism has been profoundly influential in a diverse range of disciplines since its publication in 1978. In this engaging and lavishly illustrated interview he talks about the context within which the book was conceived, its main themes, and how its original thesis relates to the contemporary understanding of "the Orient" as represented in the mass media. "That's the power of the discourse of Orientalism. If you're thinking about people and Islam, and about that part of the world, those are the words you constantly have to use. To think past it, to go beyond it, not to use it, is virtually impossible, because there is no knowledge that isn't codified in this way about that part of the world." -Edward Said

1998-10-21 | en

Clarkson - Head to Head

Which is faster round a racetrack - a Porsche 911 or the Yamaha R1? Would you rather have a Ferrari 360 Modena or the new Aston Martin DB7 Vantage? Which is the best road-going rocketship - the BMW M5 with Tiff Needell at the wheel or JC’s Jaguar XJR? Which of the new Japanese super tech cars is best? the Evo6 or the 22b? PLUS grimace as JC shows a Hyundai what it’s like to be eaten, marvel at the Lamborghini LM002 as it wreaks havoc on London’s traffic and check out the greatest race Silverstone has ever seen - Johnny Herbert in his Stewart Ford and Colin McRae in his full rally spec Focus...versus JC in a Cougar. (NEVER BEFORE SEEN ON TV)

1999-11-01 | en

I Am Somebody

Madeline Anderson’s documentary brings viewers to the front lines of the civil rights movement during the 1969 Charleston hospital workers’ strike, when 400 poorly paid Black women went on strike to demand union recognition and a wage increase, only to find themselves in confrontation with the National Guard and the state government. Anderson personally participated in the strike, along with such notable figures as Coretta Scott King, Ralph Abernathy and Andrew Young, all affiliated with Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Anderson’s film shows the courage and resiliency of the strikers and the support they received from the local black community. It is an essential filmed record of this important moment in the history of civil and women’s rights. The film is also notable as arguably the first televised documentary on civil rights directed by a woman of color, solidifying its place in American film history.

1970-01-01 | en

James Baldwin Abroad

Showcasing three short films by American writer James Baldwin, wherein he muses about race, sexuality and civil rights, among other topics, in Istanbul, Paris and Great Britain.

2023-02-03 | en

River to the Heart

Eddy L. Harris is the author of the lauded travel book “Mississippi Solo” (1988), which chronicled his canoe trip down the length of the Mississippi River, from its headwaters in Minnesota to its terminus in the Gulf of Mexico. In “River to the Heart,” Harris retraces that journey as a 60-year-old, and the film explores what he discovered about both the country that was and the country that is.

2017-11-04 | en

The Sword of the Lord

This documentary records the extraordinary determination of Jungle Jim Hunter to be the best ski racer in the world. We witness his grueling exercise routines, pre-race tensions, trials and deep religious faith of this dedicated athlete.

1976-01-01 | en

The Save the Children Fund Film

Director Ken Loach explores the politics of race, class and charity in a capitalist society in this documentary funded by the Save the Children foundation.

1971-01-01 | en

Zero to Macao

A raw and intimate portrait of Vivian Siu, an amateur female racing driver with a burning desire to race the world’s greatest street track, the legendary Macau Grand Prix. Notorious amongst drivers for being the ultimate test of skill and courage, it’s terrifying blind corners and relentless high speed straights, present a unique challenge that has been the making of champions for 70 years. Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton and many other famous names all took on the formidable Guia circuit. Self-funded and with almost zero driving experience, Vivian leapt from junior karting to becoming the first female driver in Formula 4 Chinese Championship within just a few months. But the gulf between reality and her dream became evident on every level and most gave her little chance of success.

2024-05-29 | en

Petty Blue

A biography of NASCAR racing legend Richard Petty, with featuring interviews with Petty and his fellow race-car drivers and footage from his past races.

2010-10-08 | en

Snow Dogs

2022-09-01 | en

Swimming to Ferguson

Beneath the fury of Ferguson unrest, an affable professor dedicates his life to actionable, peaceful change while attempting the grueling triple crown of ultra-marathon swimming.

2018-09-14 | en