Ed Kelly and the Fighting 47th

An investigative documentary that focuses on political activities in the 47th Ward of Chicago and on the relationship between party politics and the park district. Originally aired on local Chicago news station WBBM-TV in 1979, the documentary details machine politics, patronage, clientelism and bribery that ran rife in Chicago's 47th Ward under the helm of Democratic Party Committeeman Ed Kelly. The digitization of this program was made possible by a grant from The Brinson Foundation.

FARANG: The Story of Chef Andy Ricker of Pok Pok Thai Empire

Farang, the Thai word for foreigner, is the story of chef Andy Ricker and how he spun a 25-year obsession with Northern Thailand into the hit success that is his Pok Pok restaurant empire.

Freedom Downtime

A feature-length documentary about the Free Kevin movement and the hacker world.

How We Get Free

In Denver, an intrepid activist runs for office with the aim of eliminating cash bail.

Executing the Insane: The Case of Scott Panetti

Scott Panetti was tried for the capital murder of his parents-in-law on September 8, 1992 in Gillespie County, Texas. He was subsequently sentenced to death on September 22, 1995. Panetti has an extensive history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, manic depression, auditory hallucinations and paranoia. Panetti was hospitalized, both voluntarily and involuntarily for mental illness fourteen times in six different hospitals before his arrest for capital murder in 1992. Following his conviction, Panetti’s former wife, and daughter of the victims, Sonja Alvarado, filed a petition stating that Panetti never should have been tried for the crimes as he was suffering from paranoid delusions at the time of the killings.

In Search of Bass Reeves

By the end of his illustrious career, Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves may well have been the preeminent lawman of the Old West. He brought upwards of 3,000 outlaws to justice and served in law enforcement for 32 years during Reconstruction after the Civil War. His story is one of an escape to freedom and the dangers of the West for a former slave who rose to become a legend of the law. Join us as we go in search of Bass Reeves.

Bike and Old Electric Piano

A documentary that follows two men. One resigned from factory work to study composition because of his love for music. He has more than 100 original songs and once had a music career in Beijing. Eventually he returned to his hometown, Xuzhou, to make a living performing by the roadside because he could no longer afford to eat. The other was born in Taiwan before moving to Xuzhou to stay with his father's family in Xuzhou when he was 15 years old. Soon after his father died he taught himself the piano, music composition, MIDI music production. He had many students, including idols and stars, even as he still lives in a low-rent house, gets by selling e-waste, and educates people who love music for free. They are misfortune, ordinary, dressed in ragged clothes, and sing the most beautiful songs.

To Die For

Frustrated by the liberal left and what he deems the destruction of the country he risked his life for, reclusive veteran Quint North (Schneider) is ordered by the court to keep his distance from the local high school with the American flag on the back of his El Camino or face a fine and jail time. In an ultimate exhibition of patriotism, he sets forth a series of events that just may get him killed in his own front yard.

Spellbound

This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C.

Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball

THE SITUATION facing the pinball designers at Williams Electronic Games in 1998: come up with something new, or see the world's largest pinball manufacturer be shut down forever. And Williams' designers did come up with something amazing: a brand new kind of pinball machine—"Pinball 2000"—that fused video with classic pinball gameplay, preserving what was great about pinball yet opening up all-ne

War Dance

Three children living in a displacement camp in northern Uganda compete in their country's national music and dance festival.

An Argument About a Marriage

An Argument About a Marriage raises questions about the impact of European farms on the economic and the social life of the Ju/'hoansi; about the complexities of marriage rules and bride-service in their traditional kinship system; and about the nature of conflict and its mediation among the Ju/'hoansi. Despite the interpersonal anger, we see how oma's skillful intervention prevents this particular conflict from escalating to violence.

Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson

The life and work of Tove Jansson, mainly known for creating the Moomins but also a writer and painter.

Mars: Pioneering the Planet

Raising Bertie

Raising Bertie is a longitudinal documentary feature following three young African American boys over the course of six years as they grow into adulthood in Bertie County, a rural African American-led community in Eastern North Carolina. Through the intimate portrayal of these boys, this powerful vérité film offers a rare in-depth look at the issues facing America's rural youth and the complex relationships between generational poverty, educational equity, and race. The evocative result is an experience that encourages us to recognize the value and complexity in lives all too often ignored.

The Siege

Sarajevo lived through the longest siege in modern history. The Siege is a film about those who lived through it, about the human experience of the besieged. Through Sarajevo to beyond Sarajevo, it is the story of a surrounded city, of a battle and resistance. It is also the universal story of civilization facing a terrible challenge to its existence, of a struggle for its survival. Sarajevo resisted and survived. The Siege describes a vertiginous descent into war.