Documentary Movies 2005 List

With Michael Douglas • Jane Fonda • Mark Wexler • Haskell Wexler • Peter Bart • Robert DeMaio

Filmmaker and award-winning photojournalist Mark S. Wexler's portrays his famous cinematographer father and attempts to reconcil with him. It is clear from the outset that the impatient Haskell Wexler has little confidence in his son, the filmmaker. They become dueling directors as Haskell prods, cajoles and lectures Mark throughout the production, reminding his son that he, Haskell Wexler, is the star of the movie.

With Marilyn Agrelo • Amy Sewell

This is a profile of several New York City's public school kids and their journey into the world of ballroom dancing. The eleven-year-olds go from reluctantly participating in ballroom dancing to preparing to compete in the citywide finals.

With Morgan Freeman • Emperor Penquins • Luc Jacquet • Yves Darondeau • Christophe Lioud • Emmanuel Priou • Michel Fessler

Each winter, alone in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a truly remarkable journey takes place as it has done for millennia. Emperor penguins in their thousands abandon the deep blue security of their ocean home and clamber onto the frozen ice to begin their long journey into a region so bleak, so extreme, it supports no other wildlife at this time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gale force winds. Guided by instinct, by the otherworldly radiance of the Southern Cross, they head unerringly for their traditional breeding ground where--after a ritual courtship of intricate dances and delicate maneuvering, accompanied by a cacophony of ecstatic song--they will pair off into monogamous couples and mate. The females remain long enough only to lay a single egg. Once this is accomplished, exhausted by weeks without nourishment, they begin their return journey across the ice-field to the fish-filled seas. The male emperors are left behind to guard and hatch the precious eggs, which they cradle at all times on top of their feet. After two long months during which the males eat nothing, the eggs begin to hatch. Once they have emerged into their ghostly white new world, the chicks can not survive for long on their fathers' limited food reserves. If their mothers are late returning from the ocean with food, the newly-hatched young will die. Once the families are reunited, the roles reverse, the mothers remaining with their new young while their mates head, exhausted and starved, for the sea, and food. While the adults fish, the chicks face the ever-present threat of attack by prowling giant petrels. As the weather grows warmer and the ice floes finally begin to crack and melt, the adults will repeat their arduous journey countless times, marching many hundreds of miles over some of the most treacherous territory on Earth, until the chicks are ready to take their first faltering dive into the deep blue waters of the Antarctic.

With Marc Hawker • David LaChapelle • Ellen Jacobson-Clarke

A chronicle that reveals a groundbreaking dance phenomenon that's exploding on the streets of South Central, Los Angeles; it is a revolutionary form of artistic expression borne from oppression. The dance, aggressive and visually stunning, modernizes moves indigenous to African tribal rituals and features mind-blowing, athletic movement sped up to impossible speeds. We meet Tommy Johnson (Tommy the Clown), who first created the style as a response to the 1992 Rodney King riots and named it Clowning, as well as the kids who developed the movement into what they now call Krumping. The kids use dance as an alternative to gangs and hustling: they form their own troupe and paint their faces like warriors, meeting to out-perform rival gangs of dancers or just to hone their skills. For the dancers, Krumping becomes a way of life--and, because it's authentic expression (in complete opposition to the bling-bling hip-hop culture), the dance becomes a vital part of who they are.

With Keith Cavill • Joe Soares • Mark Zupan • Dana Adam Shapiro • Henry Alex Rubin

A film about quadriplegics who play full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs - overcoming unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

With Gus Van Sant • Harmony Korine • Michael Pitt • Lukas Haas • Kim Gordon • Asia Argento • Ari Tomais

"Last Days" is filmmaker Gus Van Sant's meditation on the inner turmoil that engulfs a brilliant, but troubled, musician in the final hours of his life. Michael Pitt stars as Blake, an introspective artist who is buckling under the weight of fame, professional obligations, and a mounting feeling of isolation. "Last Days" follows Blake through a handful of hours he spends in and near his wooded home, a fugitive from his own life. It is a period of random moments and fractured consciousness, fused by spontaneous bursts of rock & roll. Expanding on the elliptical style forged in his two previous films, "Gerry" and the Palme d'Or-winning "Elephant", Van Sant layers images and sounds to articulate an emotional landscape, creating a dynamic work about a soul in transition.

With John Mann • Brian Herzlinger • Lily Rains • Jon Gunn • Brett Winn • Kerry David

Brian has been crazy about Drew Barrymore since the second grade when he first saw her in "E.T." Now it's 20 years later, and since Drew hasn't come knocking on his door, Brian decided to make the first move. By documenting his quest to meet Drew on video tape, Brian thought he would represent the "everyman," and his quest will seem noble, instead of just desperate. Armed only with steadfast determination, a video camera and $1,100 that he recently won on a game show, Brian summoned the powers of "Six Degrees of Separation," figuring he must know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who knows Drew. Despite the odds, Brian found encouragement in the words of Drew Barrymore: "If you don't take risks, you'll have a wasted soul." "My Date with Drew" will inspire moviegoers everywhere to follow their dreams.

With Whoopi Goldberg • Chris Rock • George Carlin • Eddie Izzard • Don Rickles • Paul Provenza • Peter Golden

Comedy veterans and co-creators Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza capitalize on their insider status and invite over 100 of their closest friends--who happen to be some of the biggest names in entertainment, from George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Cary to Gilbert Gottfried, Bob Saget, Paul Reiser and Sarah Silverman--to reminisce, analyze, deconstruct and deliver their their own versions of world's dirtiest joke, an old burlesque, too extreme to be performed in public, called "The Aristocrats".

With Werner Herzog • Billy Campbell • Tom Ortenberg • Timothy Treadwell • Amie Huguenard • Warren Queeney • William Fulton • Erik Nelson • Kevin Beggs • Phil Fairclough • Andrea Meditch

In his mesmerizing new film "Grizzly Man", acclaimed director Werner Herzog explores the life and death of amateur grizzly bear expert and wildlife preservationist Timothy Treadwell. Treadwell lived unarmed among the bears for thirteen summers, and filmed his adventures in the wild during his final five seasons. In October 2003, Treadwell's remains, along with those of his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were discovered near their campsite in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Reserve. They had been mauled and devoured by a grizzly, the first known victims of a bear attack in the park. (The bear suspected of the killings was later shot by park officials.) In GRIZZLY MAN, Herzog plumbs not only the mystery of wild nature, but also the mystery of human nature as he chronicles Treadwell's final years in the wilderness. Herzog uses Treadwell's own startling documentary footage to paint a nuanced portrait of a complex and compelling figure while exploring larger questions about the uneasy relationship between man and nature.