
Using Cuban cities as the backdrop to personal stories, the renowned documentary maker Vitaly Mansky depicts the complexity of contemporary Cuba. As the regime begins to slightly relax its iron grip, the island begins to slowly open up to the world. Despite the economic hardship, a life full of passion, temperament and energy still pulsates in Cuban cities. Food is rationed and decent living conditions is an illusion for many. The dreams of today’s senior citizens, who believed in Fidel and his communist experiment 50 years ago, have not been fully realized. Children of these revolutionaries still follow the ideals of the revolution but do not seem all that convinced. Instead young people prefer to enjoy small pleasures the regime allows for. While many Cubans look for life outside of Cuba, for tourists the island is for many reasons very special destination. Motherland or Death is the story of real life played out against the picturesque background of today’s Cuba.

Using Cuban cities as the backdrop to personal stories, the renowned documentary maker Vitaly Mansky depicts the complexity of contemporary Cuba. As the regime begins to slightly relax its iron grip, the island begins to slowly open up to the world. Despite the economic hardship, a life full of passion, temperament and energy still pulsates in Cuban cities. Food is rationed and decent living conditions is an illusion for many. The dreams of today’s senior citizens, who believed in Fidel and his communist experiment 50 years ago, have not been fully realized. Children of these revolutionaries still follow the ideals of the revolution but do not seem all that convinced. Instead young people prefer to enjoy small pleasures the regime allows for. While many Cubans look for life outside of Cuba, for tourists the island is for many reasons very special destination. Motherland or Death is the story of real life played out against the picturesque background of today’s Cuba.
2011-08-21
6
6.5Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
7.5This revealing portrait of Cuba follows the lives of Fidel Castro and three Cuban families affected by his policies over the last four decades.
8.0Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
6.0From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
7.2Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to the video journalists who deliver the footage. Though risking torture and life in jail, courageous young citizens of Burma live the essence of journalism as they insist on keeping up the flow of news from their closed country.
7.5Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
7.5With exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen with Brando himself as your guide, the film will fully explore the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely from Marlon's perspective, entirely in his own voice. No talking heads, no interviewees, just Brando on Brando and life.
7.1A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
7.0Photographer Estevan Oriol and artist Mister Cartoon turned their Chicano roots into gritty art, impacting street culture, hip hop and beyond.
6.5Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
6.9Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.
6.8In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.
6.9An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.
6.7A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
7.1Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.
6.8A chef's life is upended when a jet-setting, champagne-sipping, hotel-hopping woman claims to be his long-lost mother. This documentary reveals the untold story.
6.7A behind the scenes look into George Romero's groundbreaking horror classic Night of the Living Dead.
7.1The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
7.9A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.