2013 Movies : Documentary

With Till Schauder • Kevin Sheppard

When American basketball player Kevin Sheppard accepts a job to play in one of the world’s most feared countries – Iran – he expects the worst. But what he finds is a country brimming with generosity, acceptance, and sensuality. With a charismatic personality that charms everyone he meets, Kevin forms an unlikely friendship with three outspoken Iranian women who share with him their strong opinions on everything from politics to religion to gender roles. Kevin’s season in Iran eventually culminates in something much bigger than basketball: the uprising and subsequent suppression of Iran’s reformist Green Movement – a powerful prelude to the sweeping changes currently unfolding across the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring.

With Daniel A. Miller • Seth Kramer • Jeremy Newberger

A documentary about the seminal talk show host Morton Downey, Jr. The chain smoking Downey exploded onto the scene in the late ‘80s, tearing apart the traditional talk show format by turning debate of current issues into a gladiator pit, earning the title “Father of Trash Television.”

With David Riker • Rick Rowley • Jeremy Scahill

Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill traces the rise of the Joint Special Operations Command, the most secret fighting force in U.S. history, exposing operations carried out by men who do not exist on paper and will never appear before Congress. No target is off-limits for the JSOC “kill list,” even a U.S. citizen.

With Douglas Tirola

Two bartenders try to achieve their dreams through bartending. An injured Marine turns his goals to becoming a principal bartender at the best cocktail bar in the world. A young man leaves his white-collar job to buy the corner bar in his hometown years later he struggles to keep afloat. The bar is three deep, and the bartenders are in the weeds at the greatest cocktail party since before Prohibition. Hey Bartender is the story of the rebirth of the bartender and the comeback of the cocktail.

With Markus Imhoof

Oscar-nominated director Markus Imhoof tackles the vexing issue of why bees, worldwide, are facing extinction. With the tenacity of a man out to solve a world-class mystery, he investigates this global phenomenon from California to Switzerland, China and Australia.

With Robert Stone

The atomic bomb and meltdowns like Fukushima have made nuclear power synonymous with global disaster. But what if we’ve got nuclear power wrong? The documentary explores whether the one technology we fear most could save our planet from a climate catastrophe, while providing the energy needed to lift billions of people in the developing world out of poverty.

With Markus Imhoof

Markus Imhoof tackles the issue of why bees, worldwide, are facing extinction. With the tenacity of a man out to solve a world-class mystery, he investigates this global phenomenon, from California to Switzerland, China and Australia.

With Morgan Neville • Gil Friesen • Cait Rogers

Morgan Neville follows half a dozen diverse and gifted back up singers from throughout music history, each of whom has a story to tell of life in the shadows of superstardom (Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Joe Cocker, Bette Midler to name just a few). These talented artists represent a range of styles that come from all eras of popular music, but each singer belongs to the first family of American voice. Now is their turn for the spotlight.

With Brad Bernstein

Combines traditional documentary storytelling with original animation culled from seven decades worth of art from the renegade children’s book author and illustrator Tomi Ungerer.

With Katherine Fairfax Wright • Malika Zouhali-Worrall

The film documents the daily lives of David Kato - the first openly gay Ugandan man - and three fellow "kuchus", culminating in a murder.

With Denis Leary • Tom Putnam • Brenna Sanchez

The documentary takes audiences to the frontlines of Detroit, a city where some residents seem to think of arson as a sport. Detroit has more fires than any city in the United States: A population drop from 1.85 million in 1950 to near 700,000 today has left 80,000 abandoned structures as kindling. The result is a city with 30,000 fire calls a year — the highest fire-load in America. On average, Detroit sees 30 structure fires daily (firefighters estimate that more than 90% are set intentionally), while Los Angeles, with a population of 4 million, sees only 11 structure fires per day.

With Alex Winter • Henry Rollins • Noel Gallagher • Sean Parker • Shawn Fanning • Chris Blackwell • Hilary Rosen • Mike D

Focuses on the advent of digital media sharing, including the rise of game-changing company Napster and its controversial online pioneers Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. The digital revolution ultimately created a technology paradigm shift and upended both the music industry and music artists, and changed the world.

With Fred Dame • Jason Wise • Bo Barrett • Shayn Bjornholm • Dave Cauble • Andrea Cecci

Somm takes the viewer on a humorous, emotional and illuminating look into a mysterious world—the Court of Master Sommeliers and the massively intimidating Master Sommelier Exam. The Court of Master Sommeliers is one of the world's most prestigious, secretive, and exclusive organizations. Since its inception almost 40 years ago, less than 200 candidates have reached the exalted Master level. The exam covers literally every nuance of the world of wine, spirits and cigars. Those who have passed have put at risk their personal lives, their well-being, and often their sanity to pull it off. Shrouded in secrecy, access to the Court Of Master Sommeliers has always been strictly regulated, and cameras have never been allowed anywhere near the exam, until now. How much do you think you know about wine?

With Toni Collette • Christopher Nelius • Justin McMillan

As we meet best friends and professional surfing legends Tom Carroll and Ross Clarke-Jones, middle age is upon them and their children are getting older - but they can't stop exploring the globe for that elusive rush of adrenaline and thrill of danger, in search of the ultimate wave.

With Woody Harrelson • Susan Sarandon • 50 Cent • Eminem • Matthew Cooke • Bert Marcus • David Simon

A shockingly candid examination of how a street dealer can rise to cartel lord with relative ease, How to Make Money Selling Drugs is an insider's guide to the violent but extremely lucrative drug industry. Told from the perspective of former drug dealers, and featuring interviews with rights advocates Russell Simmons, Susan Sarandon, and David Simon (creator of The Wire), the film gives you the lessons you need to start your own drug empire while exposing the corruption behind the "war on drugs."

With Jamie Kastner • Vince Aletti • Eric Anzalone • Robert Kool Bell • Henri Belolo • Mark Benecke • Gloria Gaynor

Gloria Gaynor, Village People, Kool and the Gang, KC and the Sunshine Band and more appear in the documentary about the birth of disco in the ’70s and the part the music movement played in the liberation of gays, blacks and women.

With Henry Rollins • Jeff Howlett • Mark Covino • Alice Cooper • Bobby Hackney • Dannis Hackney

Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was a band called Death. Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early '70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death's music—and band name—too intimidating, and the group were never given a fair shot, disbanding before they even completed one album. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family love story, A Band Called Death chronicles the incredible fairy-tale journey of what happened almost three decades later, when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of the attic and found an audience several generations younger.