Film Library

GENERATION STARTUP takes us to the front lines of entrepreneurship in America, capturing the struggles and triumphs of six recent college graduates who put everything on the line to build startups in Detroit. Shot over 17 months, it’s an honest, in-the-trenches look at what it takes to launch a startup.

Ilona and Erzsébet are sisters living in the small Hungarian town of Tura. They make “big strudels on small tables” in much the same way their beloved mother did when they were children during the communist era. What starts as an ode to a disappearing way of life quickly becomes a beautifully harmonic anthem to sisterhood, freedom, mothers and, of course, strudel.

Jenny Lutkins, a 40 year-old mom living in Franklin, TN, has struggled with her weight and body image since giving birth to her son.  After endless diets and efforts to get into shape, she found something that clicked for her – CrossFit. She’s now an Olympic weightlifting coach, working with young women to improve not only their bodies and overall health, but their confidence, strength, and ideas of beauty.

Women are the fastest growing segment of the incarcerated population, increasing at nearly double the rate of men since 1985. The IF Project explores the reasons behind these staggering numbers by intimately following a heroic Seattle police officer and the writing workshop she created with a group of inmates at a maximum security women’s prison.

In an investigation that spans the globe, filmmaker Sue Williams investigates the underbelly of the electronics industry and reveals how even the smallest devices have deadly environmental and health costs. From the intensely secretive factories in China, to a ravaged New York community and the high tech corridors of Silicon Valley, DEATH BY DESIGN tells a story of environmental degradation, of health tragedies, and the fast approaching tipping point between consumerism and sustainability.

First Lady of the Revolution is the remarkable story of Henrietta Boggs, who fell in love with a foreign land and the man destined to transform its identity. Her marriage to José Figueres in 1941 led to a decade-long journey through exile, political upheaval and, ultimately, lasting progressive reforms. First Lady of the Revolution is not only a depiction of the momentous struggle to shape Costa Rica’s democratic identity; it’s also a portrayal of how a courageous woman escaped the confines of a sheltered existence to expand her horizons into a new world, and live a life she never imagined.

“Growing Up Coy” is a feature-length documentary that centers around a young Colorado family who engages in a highly publicized legal battle and landmark civil rights case, as they fight for their 6-year-old transgender daughter Coy Mathis’s right to use the girls’ bathroom at her school. The Mathis family’s case in 2013, was the first in the United States to decide in favor of a transgender youth using the bathroom facility that corresponds with their gender identity. The film asks a universal question that any parent could face: “How far would you go to fight for your child’s equal rights?”

In this award-winning documentary short, a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor donates his violin of 70 years to a local instrument drive, changing the life of a 12-year-old school girl from America’s poorest congressional district, and unexpectedly, his own. Joe’s Violin poignantly illuminates how the power of music brings light in the darkest of times, how one violin transcends vast generational and cultural differences and how a small act can have a great impact.

A female-driven road trip comedy about friendship, love and that awkward moment when your dead best friend still gets you to do stuff. Following the death of their friend, two girls in their late twenties embark on a road trip to spread his ashes. Seph and Alex take turns driving. Dan is in the glove compartment, in tupperware, decreasing in volume as the trip progresses.

Let us reflect on the brief existence of Pickle the fish. Although he could not swim, he was lovingly cared for by a couple that kept him propped up in a sponge. Along with an obese chicken, a cat with a heart condition, and a paraplegic possum, his life is a celebration of man’s eternal capacity to care for all creatures. He will be dearly missed.

In the midst of the Egyptian Arab Spring, Bassem Youssef makes a decision that’s every mother’s worst nightmare… He leaves his job as a heart surgeon to become a full-time comedian. Dubbed, “The Egyptian Jon Stewart,” Bassem creates the most viewed television program in the Middle East (30 million viewers per episode compared to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s 2 million viewers). In a country where free speech is not settled law, Bassem endures physical threats, protests, and legal action, all because of jokes.

When thirtysomethings Nick and Téa experience a breakup, they’re thrust into the stages of survival. With any loss, first comes denial, especially when you’ve been blindsided by your boo. After attempting to bury themselves in work, it’s time to face reality- and crash with friends. Of course, these friends have everything Nick and Téa don’t, which is really freaking depressing. After Nick and Téa fail to be rejuvenated by their respective one night stands, they let depression wash right over them. Their well-intentioned friends concoct perfect cyber-versions of Nick and Téa, forcing them into the unnerving world of online dating.