2016 Movies : Documentary

With Johanna Schwartz

Music is the beating heart of Malian culture, but when Islamic jihadists took control of northern Mali in 2012, they enforced one of the harshest interpretations of sharia law by banning all forms of music. Radio stations were destroyed, instruments burned, and Mali’s musicians faced torture, even death. Overnight, the country’s revered musicians were forced into hiding or exile, where most remain -- even now. But rather than laying down their instruments, these courageous artists fought back, standing up for their freedoms and using music as a weapon against the ongoing violence that has ravaged their homeland.

With Ada Ushpiz • Ina Fichman

The German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt caused an uproar in the 1960s by coining the subversive concept of the "Banality of Evil" when referring to the trial of Adolph Eichmann, which she covered for the New Yorker magazine. Her private life was no less controversial thanks to her early love affair with the renowned German philosopher and Nazi supporter Martin Heidegger. This thought provoking and spirited documentary, with its abundance of archival materials, offers an intimate portrait of the whole of Arendt's life, traveling to places where she lived, worked, loved, and was betrayed, as she wrote about the open wounds of modern times.

With Duff McKagan • Slash • Mike McCready • Christopher Duddy

This authorized music documentary chronicles the incredible life of Duff McKagan – founding member and bass player for Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver and other bands. While Guns N’ Roses became the ultimate icons of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, causing pandemonium in their wake, the lifestyle caught up with Duff, leaving him close to death.

With Andrew Rossi

The First Monday in May follows the creation of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's most attended fashion exhibition in history, "China: Through The Looking Glass," an exploration of Chinese-inspired Western fashions by Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton.

With Alejandra Gutty • German Kral • Johana Copes • Juan Carlos Copes

Our Last Tango tells the life and love story of Argentina’s most famous tango dancers, Maria Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes, who met as teenagers and danced together for nearly fifty years until a painful separation tore them apart. Relaying their story to a group of young tango dancers and choreographers from Buenos Aires, their story of love, hatred and passion is transformed into unforgettable tango choreographies.

With Jennifer Lawrence • Toni Myers

Our world—a magnificent blue planet, dotted with gossamer clouds and gleaming in the brilliant flood of sunlight—is changing. From space, the Earth blazes at night with the electric intensity of human expansion across the globe. But it is within our power to protect the planet. While we continue to explore and gain knowledge of our galaxy, we also develop a deeper connection to the place we all call home.