Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

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(2010)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Werner Herzog, Dmitry Vasyukov

Writers: Werner Herzog, Rudolph Herzog, Dmitry Vasyukov

Producers: Klaus Badelt, Timur Bekmambetov, Yanko Damboulev, Christoph Fisser, Werner Herzog, Robyn Klein, Thomas Nickel, Vladimir Perepelkin, Nick N. Raslan, Charlie Woebcken

Synopsis: With HAPPY PEOPLE: A YEAR IN THE TAIGA, Werner Herzog and Russian co-director Dmitry Vasyukov takes viewers on yet another unforgettable journey into remote and extreme natural landscapes. The acclaimed filmmaker presents this visually stunning documentary about indigenous people living in the heart of the Siberian Taiga. Deep in the wilderness, far away from civilization, 300 people inhabit the small village of Bakhtia at the river Yenisei. There are only two ways to reach this outpost: by helicopter or boat. There's no telephone, running water or medical aid, The locals, whose daily routines have barely changed over the last centuries, live according to their own values and cultural traditions. With insightful commentary written and narrated by Herzog, HAPPY PEOPLE: A YEAR IN THE TAIGA follows one of the Siberian trappers through all four seasons of the year to tell the story of a culture virtually untouched by modernity. Werner Herzog's distinguished filmography includes documentaries (Grizzly Man, Encounters at the End of the World, Cave of Forgotten Dreams), narratives (Fitzcarraldo, Rescue Dawn), and many shorts. -- (Written by Music Box Films)

IMDb - Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

Samsara

 

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(2011)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Ron Fricke

Writers: Ron Fricke, Mark Magidson

Producers: Salim Amin, Suha Arraf, Keiko Hagihara Bang, Leigh Clarke, Myles Connolly, Bianca Costa, Touré Ousmane Diadié, J.C. Earle, Deborah Gabinetti, Hala Galal, Rasmini Gardiner, Dan Halsted, Kim Hansen, Winifred Hmensa, Genevieve Hofmeyr, Miles Johnson, Ann L. Kalber, Mick Kalber, Richard Kipnis, Ute Leonhardt, Samanna Lui, Mark Magidson, Michael Neale, Maria Polotan, Marco Valerio Pugnini, Christopher Reyna, Ghassan Salti, Zulfikar Shahnawaz, Dileep Singh Rathore, Tim Smythe, Thananath Songchaikul, Sonny Nyunt Thein, Amadou Thiam, Sushil Tyagi, Jean Manuel Vignau, Dylan Voogt, Noah Weinzweig, Aydan Özbalkan

Synopsis: Prepare yourself for an unparalleled sensory experience. Samsara reunites director Ron Fricke and producer Mark Magidson, whose award-winning films Baraka and Chronos were acclaimed for combining visual and musical artistry. Samsara is a Sanskrit word that means "the ever turning wheel of life" and is the point of departure for the filmmakers as they search for the elusive current of interconnection that runs through our lives. Filmed over a period of almost five years and in twenty-five countries, Samsara transports us to sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial sites, and natural wonders. By dispensing with dialogue and descriptive text, Samsara subverts our expectations of a traditional documentary, instead encouraging our own inner interpretations inspired by images and music that infuses the ancient with the modern. -- (Written by Oscilloscope Pictures)

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Woody Allen: A Documentary

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(2012)

Genre: Documentary/Biography

Director: Robert B. Weide

Producers: Erik Gordon, Andrew S. Karsch, Susan Lacy, Michael Peyser, Brett Ratner, Fisher Stevens, Robert B. Weide

Synopsis: Iconic writer, director, actor, comedian, and musician Woody Allen allowed his life and creative process to be documented on-camera for the first time. With this unprecedented access, Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Robert Weide followed the notoriously private film legend over a year and a half to create the ultimate film biography. Including interviews with Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Penélope Cruz, John Cusack, Larry David, Mariel Hemingway, Scarlett Johansson, Julie Kavner, Diane Keaton, Martin Landau, Louise Lasser, Sean Penn, Tony Roberts, Chris Rock, Mira Sorvino and more! -- (Written by IMDb Editors)

IMDb - Woody Allen: A Documentary

Into the Abyss

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(2011)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Werner Herzog

Producers: Randall M. Boyd, Amy Briamonte, Robert Erickson, Dave Harding, Sara Kozak, Erik Nelson, Henry S. Schleiff, Andre Singer, Lucki Stipetic, Werner Herzog

Synopsis: In his fascinating exploration of a triple homicide case in Conroe, Texas, master filmmaker Werner Herzog probes the human psyche to explore why people kill-and why a state kills. In intimate conversations with those involved, including 28-year-old death row inmate Michael Perry (scheduled to die within eight days of appearing on-screen), Herzog achieves what he describes as "a gaze into the abyss of the human soul." Herzog's inquiries also extend to the families of the victims and perpetrators as well as a state executioner and pastor who've been with death row prisoners as they've taken their final breaths. As he's so often done before, Herzog's investigation unveils layers of humanity, making an enlightening trip out of ominous territory. -- (Written by IFC Films)

IMDb - Into the Abyss

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

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(2011)

Genre: Documentary

Director: David Gelb

Producers: Joey Carey, Ross M. Dinerstein, Kevin Iwashina, Chris Kelly, Stefan Nowicki, Ed Ojdana, Tom Pelligrini, Matt Weaver

Synopsis: Jiro Dreams of Sushi is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world's greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro's sushi bar.At the heart of this story is Jiro's relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro's legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father's shadow. -- (Written by Magnolia)

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The Tall Man

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(2011)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Tony Krawitz

Writer: Tony Krawitz, Chloe Hooper

Producers: Darren Dale

Synopsis: This is the story of Palm Island, the tropical paradise where one morning Cameron Doomadgee swore at a policeman and forty-five minutes later lay dead in a watch-house cell. This is also the story of that policeman, the tall enigmatic Christopher Hurley who chose to work in some of the toughest and wildest places in Australia, and of the struggle to bring him to trial. The Tall Man is a story in luminous detail of two worlds clashing - and a haunting moral puzzle that no viewer will forget. (Written by Chloe Hooper)

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Teenage Paparazzo

 

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 (2010)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Adrian Grenier

Synopsis: One night in Los Angeles, Adrian Grenier, star of the HBO series "Entourage," encountered 14-year-old paparazzo Austin Visschedyk. Astounded and inspired by the fast-talking, faster-snapping teen, Grenier decided to turn the cameras on Visschedyk in an effort to better understand this unique teenager's world and gain insight into what motivates people to stalk the famous. (Written by HBO Publicity)

 

IMDb - Teenage Paparazzo 

Restrepo

 

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 (2010)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger

 Nominee

Synopsis:  Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's year dug in with the Second Platoon in one of Afghanistan's most strategically crucial valleys reveals extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of back breaking labor, deadly firefights, and camaraderie as the soldiers painfully push back the Taliban. (Written by Sundance Film Festival)

 

IMDb - Restrepo 

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

 

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 (2003)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill

Synopsis: Nick Broomfield's second documentary on Aileen Carol Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was executed in 2002 for killing seven men in the state of Florida. This second installment includes the filmmaker's testimony at Wournous's trial. (Written by IMDb Editors)

IMDb - Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

Inside Job

 

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 (2010)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Charles Ferguson

Writer: Chad Beck, Adam Bolt

 Nominee

Synopsis: Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China. (Written by Anonymous)

Narrated by Matt Damon 

 

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Grizzly Man

 

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(2005)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Werner Herzog

Writer: Werner Herzog

Synopsis: A docudrama that centers on amateur grizzly bear expert Timothy Treadwell. He periodically journeyed to Alaska to study and live with the bears. He was killed, along with his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, by a rogue bear in October 2003. The films explores their compassionate lives as they found solace among these endangered animals. (Written by Sujit R. Varma)

 

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The Celluloid Closet

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(1995)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

Writer: Vito Russo, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Armistead Maupin

Synopsis: A comprehensive documentary of the history of gays and lesbians in cinema, from negative to positive reflections of gay characters and the troubles of actors and actresses. (Written by R. John Berggren)

Cast:

• Lily Tomlin (narrator)
• Tony Curtis
• Tom Hanks
• Whoopi Goldberg
• Shirlie MacLaine
• Susan Sarandon

 

IMDb - The Celluloid Closet 

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

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(2010)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg

Synopsis: A documentary on the life and career of Joan Rivers, made as the comedienne turns 75 years old.

 

IMDb - Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work 

Encounters At the End of the World

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(2007)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Werner Herzog

Writer: Werner Herzog

Synopsis: Filmmaker Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica to capture its landscape's rarely seen beauty on film.

 

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Oceans

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(2009)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud

Writer: Christophe Cheysson, Jacques Cluzaud, Laurent Debas, Stéphane Durand, Laurent Gaudé, Jacques Perrin, François Sarano

Synopsis: An ecological drama/documentary, filmed throughout the globe. Part thriller, part meditation on the vanishing wonders of the sub-aquatic world. (Written by IMDb Editors)

Narrated by Pierce Brosnan.

 

IMDb - Oceans 

I'm Still Here

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(2010)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Casey Affleck

Writer: Casey Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix

Synopsis: In 2008 while rehearsing for a charity event, actor Joaquin Phoenix, with Casey Affleck's camera watching, tells people he's quitting to pursue a career in rap music. Over the next year, we watch the actor write, rehearse, and perform to an audience. He importunes Sean Combs in hopes he'll produce the record. We see the actor in his home: he parties, smokes, bawls out his two-man entourage, talks philosophy with Affleck, and comments on celebrity. (Written by IMDb Editors)

Cast:

• Joaquin Phoenix

 

IMDb - I'm Still Here