I just found this incredible list of documentaries and movies from the International Documentary Association. Just the ideas and stories behind them are so inspiring and worth exploring deeper and if we support them in any way - by donating, watching and/or spreading the word - even better. Enjoy & share!
The Shift
Director: Rochelle Marmorstein, Co-Directors: Christopher Allingham and Stanley Fisher Producer: Rochelle Marmorstein Website: theshiftmovie.com/index2.html
A massive worldwide phenomenon is in progress offering seeds of great hope for the future. Millions of individuals, organizations and corporations around the world are waking up and embracing a new outlook with an emphasis on their responsibility to contribute positively to our collective future. We are in the middle of the biggest social transformation in human history, The SHIFT. At this critical point, it is imperative we make the masses aware of this global movement quickly. This evolutionary phenomenon is broader and deeper than the most visible SHIFT, the environmental movement. It involves our very understanding of who we are as human beings, and our responsibility to the world and to life itself. THE SHIFT film raises awareness to the story of our roles in an evolutionary shift in our collective consciousness. As it chronicles the faces, the stories and leaders assisting in this social transformation, the film reveals its emergence & meaning.
"History is biography writ large." The same is true of health care. Many of the triumphs and advances in health care delivery in the developing world are intimately linked to those personalities making a difference. What are their motivations? This is a unique film essay exploring our responsibility to act in the face of suffering. The film is grounded in the reality of a health center and hospice in Africa, framed by interviews with philosophers, theologians, and leaders in public health.
Birth is a rite of passage through which all human beings pass, but for many mothers the physical realities of labor and birth are confusing and frightening. Why do some women feel deeply empowered by their birth experiences and others feel stripped of their motherhood? Is it safer to give birth in a hospital or at home? Is an elective c-section safe for the mother? The baby? What options are currently available for mothers as to where and how they can labor and give birth? What is the best scientific evidence telling us about the way in which we treat childbirth? The answers might surprise you.
Boys and Men Healing From Child Sexual Abuse
Director: Kathy Barbini Producer: Kathy Barbini & Simon Weinberg
"Boys and Men Healing" is a documentary portraying courageous male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and incest in the process of healing from the devastating effects of this insidious crime. By exploring their intimate lives, our documentary is a powerful witness to the possibilities and hope for victims, those speaking out and ending the cycle of self-abuse, crime, and a life of turmoil and shame. However arduous the healing process, "Boys and Men Healing" illustrates that males can overcome silence and social stigmas related to sexual abuse, while leading fulfilling lives. The documentary is also a bold voice revealing a secret epidemic effecting our families and communities.
A powerful reminder that the Indian Wars are far from over, Broken Promises, follows one woman's fight for justice for 500,000 American Indians. In this modern day, David vs. Goliath story, Elouise Cobell, a Blackfeet Indian, discovers fraud and corruption in Washington, DC and files the largest class action lawsuit ever filed against the federal government. Billions of dollars of royalty payments for some of the poorest people in America are unaccounted for in what many are calling the "Enron of the US government." Throughout the film we meet Indian beneficiaries who own oil rich land but live in abject poverty. We talk to Senators, government officials, lawyers, and whistle blowers to find out what went wrong and how one woman's lone voice in the wilderness is echoing a truth everyone needs to hear.
Burning Man is the definitive American cultural phenomenon of the turn of the century. Defined by active participation, the festival has grown exponentially over its 20-year history, from a handful of spectators to well over 35,000 participants, each with their own sense of what it all means. In 1993, Harrod Blank perceived something revolutionary in the freedom and expression of Burning Man. He embarked upon an extensive inside look and has been at the festival, 16mm camera in hand, every year since. The film loosely follows Blank, as a participant/voyeur who participates with his art cars, and observes through his lens. The film will offer a cumulative look at the event and its growth, focusing on the array of artistic expression. The relationship between exhibitionism and voyeurism, seen so clearly at Burning Man, will be explored in depth. Mirroring the community spirit of the event, the film will be made up of the work and visions of many other photographers and filmmakers as well.
Children of War
Director: Bryan Single Producer: Bryan Single and Farzad Karimi Website: childrenofwarfilm.com
Set in the East African country of Uganda, CHILDREN OF WAR chronicles the daily struggle towards rehabilitation and reconciliation by a group of recently escaped child soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army, one of the world's longest running and most brutal guerilla militia's. To add perspective to the stories of these children, the film also follows the Chief Priest of the Lord's Resistance Army, as well as recipients of the Army's professsed healings and miracles, and victims of its atrocities. Together, these individuals illuminate the pitfalls, challenges, and triumphs of a war-sick society desperately attempting to transition from violence to peace.
Dislecksia: The Movie
Director: Harvey Hubbell V Producer: Andrea Haas Hubbell, Eric Gardner, Jeremy Brecher, Yvonne Reelick Website: www.capturedtimeproductions.com
About one American in seven has some degree of dyslexia. It's a condition that makes it hard to learn to read the same way other people do. With some special techniques, taught or self-invented, most dyslexics can learn to function normally. A lot of dyslexics are brilliant, talented, and successful. In the comic documentary Dislecksia: The Movie, dyslexic director Harvey Hubbell V with assistance from dyslexic writer Jeremy Brecher and several dyslexic crew members - will present the latest scientific knowledge about dyslexia and the experiences of dyslexics. Viewers will come to know dyslexics and those who teach them and study them not just as statistics or talking heads, but as people. And they'll know a lot about dyslexia: its causes, its effects, and what can be done about it.
"Divertissement" is the story of a remarkable group of everyday people who came to the study of classical ballet late in life. Ranging in age from 40 - 61, these non-professional dancers trained for, then took part in, an adult only ballet intensive. Each had their own challenges to overcome. Each has a unique story of how they came to dance late in life, and how having the courage to do so changed their lives. For one year we followed a handful of dancers from all walks of life, from all across the country as they prepared for, then took part in, this grueling, week-long intensive. We continued to follow them afterward, witnessing the changes in their lives. By confronting social, emotional and physical obstacles, these remarkable individuals learned that it is never too late to pursue a dream.
A custodian. A housewife. A pediatrician. A grandmother. Seemingly ordinary individuals. Yet these individuals have a story to tell. It is the story of suffering and death. It is the story of refugees. It is the story of terrified villagers running for cover. Yet, at the same time, it is a story of strength, courage and hope. It is the story of Sudan. Over the last 20 years, millions have died in Sudan. A civil war devastated the South and currently a genocide is occurring in the western region of Darfur. Facing Sudan is the story of ordinary individuals, moved into action by the events in Sudan. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things, even in Sudan.
Fate of the Lhapa
Director: Sarah C. Sifers Producer: Sarah C. Sifers
Fate of the Lhapa is a feature-length documentary about the last three Tibetan shamans living in a refugee camp in Nepal. With no other descendants to carry on their healing practices and a younger generation attending schools and modernizing, these "sucking doctors" are practicing an endangered tradition. Each lhapa requested that their story be filmed. Their fear was that the next heir might not appear until after their own deaths. Subsequently, with no lhapa alive to mentor the heirs, the documentary would be used to transmit their healing knowledge. Their tales of nomadic childhoods, shamanic callings and apprenticeships, cosmologies of disease and treatments, and of their flight from Tibet during the Chinese occupation in the late 1950s will be juxtaposed with images of present-day life in the camp, current healing practices and shared concerns of the future and the fate of their tradition. This is a touching portrayal of life in exile in a refugee camp in Nepal.
Feat
Director: Deborah and Bradley Carr Producer: Deborah and Bradley Carr Website: www.featmovie.com
FEAT chronicles one man's coast-to-coast quest to run 63 marathons in 63 consecutive days, while pushing a jogging stroller. Endurance runner Timothy Borland seeks to raise awareness and research funds for kids battling a rare terminal disease whose own feet lack the strength to run. Ataxia-Telangiectasia or A-T combines the complexities of cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and immune deficiencies. Most kids are in wheelchairs by age ten and few live beyond their teens. We'll reveal the mystery and progression of the disease through personal portraits of A-T families across the country. While the prognosis is grim, one man's inspirational journey revives hope for a cure or life prolonging treatment.
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africa
October 2009 
Joy Bringer
The Shift
Access: Public
