
America's democracy feels more divided than ever - but what if the problem lies in how we vote? "American Troubles" explores whether proportional representation could break the cycle of dysfunction, drawing comparisons from two striking case studies: Portland, Oregon, where a bold new voting system is reshaping local politics, and Northern Ireland, where proportional elections helped end decades of violent conflict. Blending history, reform, and human stories, the film shows how electoral rules can entrench division - or create space for compromise.
Self
Self
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This short documentary produced by the University of Oregon Multimedia Journalism graduate program explores memories of Portland's Japantown – Nihonmachi – and the thriving Japanese American community in Oregon prior to World War II. The film features Chisao Hata, an artist, teacher and activist, and Jean Matsumoto, who was incarcerated at the Portland Assembly Center and in the Minidoka concentration camp as a child.
7.2The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike during The Troubles in which Irish Republican prisoners tried to win political status.
0.0In 1978 the Undertones released Teenage Kicks, one of the most perfect and enduring pop records of all time - an adolescent anthem that spoke to teenagers all over the globe. It was the first in a string of hits that created a timeless soundtrack to growing up, making the Undertones one of punk rock's most prolific and popular bands.
Belfast-born actor Stephen Rea explores the impact of Brexit and the uncertainty of the future of the Irish border in a short film written by Clare Dwyer Hogg.
7.3The dramatised story of the Irish civil rights protest march on January 30 1972 which ended in a massacre by British troops.
0.0During the winter of 1969, young boys started to disappear off the streets of Belfast, never to be seen again.
5.0An emotive, intimate film on the life and death of acclaimed young Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee, whose murder by the New IRA in April 2019 sent shockwaves across the world. Directed by her close friend Alison Millar, the film seeks answers to her senseless killing through Lyra’s own work and words.
6.3The painful story of Ireland and the Irish people, who struggled for centuries to free themselves from the tyrannical clutches of the British Empire; an epic tale of poverty, hunger, despair, violence and unyielding courage.
7.0Farang, the Thai word for foreigner, is the story of chef Andy Ricker and how he spun a 25-year obsession with Northern Thailand into the hit success that is his Pok Pok restaurant empire.
10.0Evoking a cinema verite feel not found in most sports documentaries, Fast Break examines the 1977 Portland Trailblazers basketball team in a surprisingly personal and compelling fashion. Inter-cutting excerpts from the 1977 playoff / championship season, the film steps outside of the basketball court, and into the everyday lives of the Trailblazers, as well as their coach Jack Ramsey. Whether it’s biking the Oregon coast with star center Bill Walton, hosting a kids basketball camp with Dave Twardzik, or joking with Maurice Lucas at the pool – Fast Break lets the players speak for themselves: about basketball, life and playing in Portland. Fast Break, a film documentary about Bill Walton and the Portland Trail Blazers winning the 1976-77 NBA title and the aftermath of their accomplishment, is the greatest movie I have ever seen on the subject of professional team sports, basketball as a metaphor for life, and the perfect practice of Zen Buddhism in American society.
7.5On the 27th of December 1973, a nightmare began for an entire family. On that night, a German businessman called Thomas Niedermayer was kidnapped from his home in Belfast. He was never seen alive again by his friends or family. He became one of the "disappeared", and it seemed that no-one knew what had happened to him.
Upcoming documentary directed by Adam Smith focusing on Portland Oregon's annual Bridgetown Comedy Festival and the Portland stand-up comedy scene.
6.7Belfast, it's a city that is changing, changing because the people are leaving? But one came back, a 10,000 year old woman who claims that she is the city itself.
0.0On January 30th, 1972, the British Army shot dead thirteen unarmed civilians taking part in a civil rights march in Derry. At the subsequent Tribunal of Inquiry Lord Chief Justice Widgery exonerated the soldiers and blighted the reputations of those who were killed and wounded by describing them as gunmen and bombers. In 1998, in a move that was widely seen as significant in sealing the Northern Ireland peace process, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a new Tribunal of Inquiry to be led by Lord Saville of Newdigate. This highly personal documentary, made by Margo Harkin who was witness to the events, follows the 6-year long search for the truth at the second Inquiry until its momentous conclusion on June 15th 2010 when the report was finally published.'
0.0As Rose City grapples with continued vandalism and homelessness, businesses are hurting and boarded up amid a global pandemic. What can be done to bring Portland back?
6.1Mr. McArevey is a visionary headmaster at a Catholic primary school in one of the toughest neighborhoods of Belfast, Northern Ireland. He loves Elvis and teaches his students to connect with their feelings, while taking on the legacies of the “The Troubles.” In this exceptional portrait of a community still healing from trauma, we follow this educator extraordinaire as he uses Ancient Greek wisdom as an antidote for pessimism, violence, and historical despair.
0.0The women of Belfast played a unique role in holding together their families and communities during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Filmed during the fragile 17-month paramilitary cease-fire, Daughters of the Troubles: Belfast Stories looks at the challenges facing women trying to put their direct experience of grassroots problems on the agenda of the established political parties. Their strength, first exhibited on the community level, started to reach a wider public.
