One World Cinema

Controversial Chinese contemporary artist, Ai Weiwei, brings you on the struggling journey to the countries hardest hit by the global refugee and mass migration crisis around the world (Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Kenya, Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Bangladesh, Israel, Myanmar/Rohingya, and Mexico).

The first scene of the film depicts dozens of migrants in a raft boat, on a treacherous sea crossing, in the middle of an azure blue sea with a mountainous skyline in the background.  The film provides astonishing statistics of the number of refugees who have fled their countries to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster, in search of the basic necessities, food, water, and shelter. The film also demonstrates their migration efforts to conflict free nations like Germany and Sweden, their housing situations in tent cities, and feelings of unwantedness.  The average stay for a refugee is 25 years.

Opens in New York at the Angelika Film Center and The Landmark at 57 West, and in Los Angeles, on Friday, October 13, 2017. 

Important film about what life is like for modern day veteran’s after they return home from tours of duty, and their attempts to integrate into society, form bonds with their estranged families, find employment, their battles with physical and mental illnesses like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Depression, and SI, and the long waits at the VA Hospitals to see physicians and counselors.   The movie is very pertinent to society, and sheds light on the heroes who are so often ignored and neglected.  Happy July 4th, 2017!!!

“Thank You For Your Service,” comes out October 2017!!!

FREE!  This 25 minute long documentary is a Must See!

Step onboard the Greek Coast Guard Captain, Kyriakos Papadopoulos’ boat while he and his crew, help rescue hundreds of migrants and refugees from rubber boats, in the “4.1 Mile” stretch of Aegean Sea between Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos. Lesbos, Greece is the E.U. entry point for people fleeing conflict in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

The Captain discusses how he is no longer just a Coast Guard Captain, but a Doctor, without proper training, saving mothers, fathers, and children’s lives from the harsh winds and choppy waters. The hospitals are overwhelmed with children who have lost their parents, those responsible aren’t helping, the world turns a blind eye and closes it’s borders, and the Turkish smugglers are in it for the money.

Between 2015-2016, over one million people made the 4.1 mile crossing from Turkey to Lesbos.

Must see!

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FREE: Now streaming for free on PBS.org Point of View documentary films through July 25, 2017!

“Other Country Films” presents this one hour and fifteen minute documentary by Julia Metzer about, Dalya, a young Muslim teenage girl,  and her mother, Rudanya, who had no choice but to leave war torn Syria to come and live with her son, Mustafa, in Los Angeles in 2012. When both Rudanya’s marriage, and her country fell apart, Rudanya, a US citizen, came to LA, and enrolled, Dalya, in an all girls Catholic school with other young girls from different backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities.

Dalya, and her family discuss their concerns about being Muslim Americans, and what the impact of growing up in a Western country might have on Dalya, as she enrolls in an all female basketball team, learns to dance hip-hop, wears make-up, attends dances and formals, has female friends from varied backgrounds, and has desires and ambitions to attend college, and graduate school.  She discusses her viewpoints on marriage, and her life as a Muslim in the US during the 2016 presidential debates.

Dalya’s mother, Rudanya, discusses her marriage and divorce from a Muslim man, and his desire to marry a second wife, and what it was like to go from being a homemaker in Syria, to being a business woman in Los Angeles.

Dalya’s brother, Mustafa, discusses what it is like to become the head of the household and father-figure to Dalya.

Dalya’s father, Mohammed, discusses his desire to stay in Mersin, Turkey or Syria, rather than living the good life in the US.

“Dalya’s Other Country”

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LA Film Festival from June 14-22 at ArcLight Cinemas

What is the “Skid Row Marathon?”

The documentary, “Skid Row Marathon,” begins with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Craig Mitchell, finishing a run through the city streets, jogging past tarps and tent cities of homeless, and into his courtroom, where he sentences criminals, often, to very long life sentences.  Although the criminals have committed the wrongdoings, the Judge feels an emotional strain from the impact the sentences will have on the rest of their lives.

To offset the toll his daily routine takes on him, the Judge created a running club at the Midnight Mission in LA’s Skid Row area in Downtown, LA, which contains one of the largest populations of homeless in the United States (5,000-8,000). 

Some of the members who joined the running club had served time for their crimes, have battled drug and alcohol addictions, and/or were homeless at one point or another. The long distance, early morning runs, not only trained them for 26.2 mile marathons, but also gave them a sense of purpose, discipline, and an opportunity to meet others with difficult living situations.  By running, they tested their strength and endurance, learned to team build, worked through their demons, and did what they never thought was possible, traveling to places they never thought they would ever have the opportunity to travel to.

Not only do the participants train to run long distances, they also demonstrate their drive to accomplish life goals, for example, continuing education,  building a career in the arts and music, finding employment, and helping others and their families who were in situations similar to theirs.  Observe the Midnight Mission’s running club members take their literal steps in the right direction, and see who will achieve their goals, and who will fall by the wayside.

Very uplifting!

Screening in LA on Saturday, June 17, 2017 at 12:00pm

LA Film Festival Home

If you love all of the fashion documentaries, you will love, “House of Z.”

Go behind the scenes with genius clothing designer, Zac Posen, to see what it takes to survive the harsh realities of the “glamourous” world of fashion design, as almost all runway shows lose money, the competition and pressure are fierce, and as with most of human nature, loves to see people fail.

Zac attended the Saint Ann’s School, a private school in Brooklyn, and in his sophomore year interned with fashion designer, Nicole Miller. He went on to intern at the Metropolitan Costume Institute, enrolled in classes at Parsons, and attended London’s Central Saint Martin’s. Zac’s collections, Zac Posen, ZAC Zac Posen (accessories), have been found in Saks Fifth Avenue, Barney’s New York, Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus, and have been worn by Michelle Obama, and well known Hollywood actresses.

Who will stick by his side through the company’s up’s and downs?  How will the changing of his CEO impact his brand? How hard will he have to work to stay relevant?

8:45 PM – THU 4/27 CINÉPOLIS CHELSEA 4

8:45 PM – SAT 4/29 SVA THEATER 2 BEATRICE

Can the land holders, protectors, and Water Warriors of Mi’kma’ki, New Brunswick, Canada (near Maine), scare off a large energy company (SWN), based out of Houston, Texas, who were awarded a license in 2010 to explore their province for oil and natural gas?

An indiginous female begins the 22 minute short stating, “Water is the gift of life. Nothing in this world can live without water. As women, we have a special relationship with water as we too are life givers, and carry children for nine months beneath our hearts, in water.”

Hydraulic fracturing extracts natural gas from underground shale rock by forcing a mixture of water, toxic chemicals, and sand deep into the Earth. Millions of gallons of this fracking fluid are used to break apart the rock, creating fissures in the Earth, and access to the gas below.

In the Summer of 2013, the thumper and work trucks arrived to bang down on the earth and read the results like an ultrasound to see if there is any shale gas below.

The locals decided to send out an eviction notice to SWN to remove their trucks, and a raid between the protestors, SWN security, and police, broke out. The raid made national news and new supporters to the cause for clean water began to add fuel to the fire.

Will the power of the people, who care deeply about the health of current and future generations, lead to a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, and and eviction of SWN?

4:00 PM – SUN 4/23  REGAL CINEMAS BATTERY PARK 11-11

8:30 PM – TUE 4/25  REGAL CINEMAS BATTERY PARK 11-4

8:00 PM – FRI 4/28  CINÉPOLIS CHELSEA 6

5:00 PM – SAT 4/29  CINÉPOLIS CHELSEA 6

One of the best films at Tribeca Film Festival this year!

The film opens with Vic Edwards, played by Burt Reynolds (Smokey and the Bandit), as a virile actor in his prime being interviewed on a talk show about his latest screen tests and movie roles.   Cut to a gray bearded, elderly Vic Edwards who brings his 15 year old dog to the veterinarian and learns that his dogs kidneys are shutting down, and it is best to put him to sleep.  Vic asks to be alone with his dog in order to say goodbye and pay his last respects.  Depressed Vic drives away in his Mercedes and heads back to his Hollywood mansion reflecting back on his former movie star glory days when he was King of the Box Office. He stops off at a Ralphs grocery store along the way.  He ambulates with a cane, buys prune juice and frozen dinners, and ogles the younger girls, who don’t ogle back.

Without giving the entire storyline away, the film continues on when Vic is sitting at a coffeeshop with his friend, Sonny (Chevy Chase), and opens an invitation to attend a Film Festival in Nashville, Tennessee, where evidently the likes of Robert DeNiro and Clint Eastwood have been previous guests.  Reluctant Vic thinks this is ridiculous and refuses to go, when his friend reminds him it will be fun,  he will be treated like royalty, and how he wished someone would invite him to a festival.

Vic gets coerced into going, however, when he arrives at the airport, he is not seated in first class, instead he is crammed into coach class, and is met by a snarky, tattooed girl on her cell phone, driving a beater car, as his fixer. Needless to say, the weekend does not turn out the way he planned, however, it might just be what the MD ordered.

Director’s Statement: “I wrote ‘Dog Years’ for one actor and one actor alone, Burt Reynolds. I didn’t know him when I wrote the screenplay, yet somehow I felt compelled to create this character and this story just for him. The tale of an older man who once upon a time had been the world’s biggest movie star, but now must face the fact that those halcyon days of fame and fortune are but a foggy memory. But ‘Dog Years’ isn’t just a tale about faded fame, at its core it’s a universal story about growing old.’

4/23/2017  2:45pm at Cinepolis  Chelsea 260 W. 23rd Street, Theater 4

4/25/2017: 9:00pm at Regal Battery Park Stadium 11 at 102 North End Ave, Theater 10

4/26/2017: 4:45pm at Cinepolis Chelsea  260 West 23rd Street (Theater 1)

By far one of the best documentaries you will ever see, from award winning directors, Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin.

Once again, on the National Geographic Channel April 30th at 9/8c!

April 29th through May 4, 2017 will mark the 25th Anniversary of the L.A. Race Riots, which were triggered as a result of three out of the four Caucasian policemen in Los Angeles, who were charged and acquitted of all charges of assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force, on the African American taxi driver, Rodney King. The riots were also a result of the death of the fifteen year old African American honor roll student, Latasha Harlins, who was shot dead by a Korean convenient store cashier, for stealing an orange juice.

Rodney King and two passengers had been pulled over for a traffic violation following a high-speed car chase on March 3, 1991, when he was suspected of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and although, yes, Rodney King did obtain a previous arrest history for robbery and domestic violence, he was clearly a victim of excessive force and police brutality, having been tasered two times, kicked seven times, and beaten with a baton up to 56 times by LA police for continuously trying to get up while being instructed to stay down on the ground.

To look at both sides of the situation, the police are confronted with dangerous situations on a routine basis where they are trying to protect the public and themselves from harm, and are required to restrain unruly, drunk and people who are detoxing off of toxic substances that are deemed a threat to the safety of others. They are uncertain of what someone is capable of carrying out.

In the age before iPhones, George Holliday, filmed and recorded the events from his balcony on a Sony camcorder, and submitted it to the local news station. It soon went global, and changed his life forever.

The documentary demonstrates the events as they unfolded from the frontlines using intense footage of the beatings, interviews of Rodney King shortly after,  the riots and deterioration of race relations between Asian Americans and African Americans in South Central Los Angeles. The six days of unrest, looting, and burning buildings, cost the city over $1 billion dollars in damages, and 50 lives lost.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/la-92/videos/la-92-official-film-trailer/

Sunday 4/23 8:30pm Regal-4

Tuesday 4/25 6:30pm CIN-08

Thursday 4/27 3:45pm CIN-02