An intimate, arresting portrait of the cursed Appalachian mining town of Ivanhoe, Virginia. The film captures the town as it prepares for the annual Jubilee, a wild 4th of July celebration where families and neighbors let loose and triumph over daily hardships, industrial abandonment, and race.
01 Jan 1970
What happens to two dying coal towns in British Columbia when an American corporation provides a contract for millions of tons of coking coal? The film follows the consequences for the towns of Natal and Michel, suggesting that industrial growth has its price, especially with regard to the environment.
14 Mar 2002
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.
29 May 1997
Bogdan becomes the victim of the corruption in a small town when he loses a court case to a local bank but everyone in the town just covers for their friends.
17 Sep 2021
The meaty saga of Burger Baron, a rogue fast-food chain with mysterious origins and a cult following, run by a loose network of fiercely independent Arab Canadian immigrants.
01 Jan 1940
Documentary profiling an Appalachian farming family struggling to scrape out a living. Linking education and economic development, The Children Must Learn suggests that better schooling, especially in agricultural techniques, would bring improvement.
08 Oct 1981
Early Errol Morris documentary intersplices random chatter he captured on film of the genuinely eccentric residents of Vernon, Florida. A few examples? The preacher giving a sermon on the definition of the word "Therefore," and the obsessive turkey hunter who speaks reverentially of the "gobblers" he likes to track down and kill.
01 Jun 2024
Bandera, Texas (THE COWBOY CAPITAL OF THE WORLD) is a captivating documentary that explores the vibrant history, unique culture, and enduring values of the small town of Bandera, Texas.
14 Oct 2016
A documentary pilgrimage to the annual James Dean Festival in Fairmount, IN as seen through the eyes of the cultural icon's die-hard fans, affectionately known as 'Deaners'.
04 Jul 2020
Over the course of the summer until her graduation, with changes she can't control but also being protected by the mochi which looks over important times, Yuna, a 15-year old student begins to change so that she will not forget.
01 Jan 1984
Mark and Dan Jury document the gradual demise of a community nestled within the Cuyahoga National Recreation Area between Akron and Cleveland, Ohio, as the National Park Service works to acquire the land of ~500 residents in order to establish a National Park. After initially being told only a handful of houses would be taken, residents are shocked by hundreds of homes and businesses being bought up, boarded up, and posted No Trespassing - and by the homes of the politically connected being spared. Significant portions of this film appeared in the PBS FRONTLINE episode For the Good of All.
05 Jun 1997
An insight into life in the small Russian town of Borovichi.
16 Aug 2021
Documentary about the aftermath of the earthquake that shook Juchitán, on the Mexican Pacific coast. It tells the story of Dxani -muxe seamstress- and Jacinto -mason- and how their lives were radically changed by the strongest earthquake that hit this community; and the poor response of the corrupt authorities.
01 Jan 1979
After eighteen years of operating the favourite lunch counter in Manitoba's Interlake region, Ellen and Martin Kihn have retired. A poignant look at the last day, The Kihns, their friends and their customers, demanding rural life and the place the disappearing institution of the country cafe plays in these people's lives. A tribute to the cafes found in small towns.
10 Dec 1969
Part cartoon and part documentary, this film offers a humorous look at birds and the ways people perceive them.
18 Jun 2020
Revisit photographs created by Kentucky school children in the 1970s and the place where their photos were made. Photographer and artist Wendy Ewald, who guided the students in making their visionary photographs, returns to Kentucky and learns how the lives and visions of her former students have changed.
24 Jun 2023
In the heart of the Finnish forest, the long-closed foundry of the little town of Karkkila has come back to life thanks to director Aki Kaurismäki and his creation of the town's first cinema. The peace and calm of the little town of Karkkila, nestled deep in the Finnish forest, is interrupted by unexpected sounds. In the abandoned foundry, noisy building work is taking place. Inside the building, Aki Kaurismäki is both builder and site manager of what is soon to become the Kino Laika cinema. The creation of the cinema is the talk of the town. In the factory still in activity, in a 1960s Cadillac, in a bikers' club, in the local pub, in the woods or in Aki Kaurismäki's former editing room, people start talking about cinema again.
19 May 2018
A documentary that examines the cultural stereotype of the people of Appalachia and how that has affected America's relationship with its rural communities.
09 Sep 2015
In September 2012, the tiny prairie town of Leith, North Dakota, sees its population of 24 grow by one. As the new resident's behavior becomes more threatening, tensions soar, and the residents desperately look for ways to expel their unwanted neighbor.
18 Dec 1991
During World War I, African-Americans worked on the railroad near Corbin, Kentucky. When whites returned from the war, there was conflict. Whites sought their former jobs and positions in the community. In 1919, a race riot occurred. Whites put the African-Americans on railroad cars and ran them out of town. In Trouble Behind, members of the Corbin community speak out on the issue. The filmmakers also interview former members of the Corbin, which at the time of filming had only one black family. Some Corbin residents express confusion as to why African-Americans don't move back. Others openly use racial epithets. Some young adults seem troubled by the racism, past and present. Others don't.
22 Jan 2019
The catastrophic and avoidable coal mining disaster at the Knox Mine is recounted by the people who lived through the tragedy.