Mexico Past and Present: Hannah Arendt
Mexican intellectuals Carmen Boullosa, Cuauhtemoc Medina and Jean Meyer reflect on a quote by philosopher Hannah Arendt and consider Mexico's history and how it is reflected in the present.
Mexico Past and Present: Chris Marker
Mexican intellectuals Carmen Boullosa, Cuauhtemoc Medina and Jean Meyer reflect on a quote by Chris Marker, considering Mexico's history and how it is reflected in the present.
El General Trailer
Past and present collide as filmmaker Natalia Almada brings to life audio recordings she inherited from her grandmother, daughter of Plutarco Elias Calles, a revolutionary general who became Mexico's president in 1924. "El General" moves between a daughter's memories of her father as she grapples with history's portrayal of him and the weight of that same man's legacy on Mexico today.
Behind the Lens - El General
Filmmaker Natalia Almada talks about "El General," her poetic meditation on history, memory and family. The film brings to life audio recordings she inherited from her grandmother, daughter of Plutarco Elias Calles, a revolutionary general who became Mexico's president in 1924.
Good Fortune: Wangari Maathai, Kenyan Environmentalist
Wangari Maathai is a Kenyan environmental activist who founded the Green Belt Movement, which trains rural women to plant trees, combat deforestation and generate income for impoverished communities. In this 2010 interview, Maathai explains Green Belt's holistic approach to addressing poverty. Maathai passed away on Sept. 25, 2011 at the age of 71 after battling ovarian cancer.
Amartya Sen on Development
Amartya Sen is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in welfare economics. Sen talks about how we can all work to make each others' lives better, and focuses specifically on the organization FXB International, which empowers children affected by AIDS in impoverished communities by strengthening families and communities.
Good Fortune Trailer
"Good Fortune" is a provocative exploration of how massive international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa may be undermining the very communities they aim to benefit. The gripping stories of two Kenyans battling to save their homes from large-scale development present a unique opportunity see foreign aid through eyes of the people it is intended to help.
Behind the Lens - Good Fortune
Filmmakers Landon Van Soest and Jeremy Levine talk about their film, which focuses on two stories of international aid in Kenya where good intentions go wrong. Van Soest and Levine explain how they came to make the film, why the two characters they focused on are emblematic of their respective communities and talk about the paternalism with which the West deals with developing nations.
Behind the Lens: Promised Land
Filmmaker Yoruba Richen talks about the making of "Promised Land," which looks at land reform in South Africa and follows two black communities trying to reclaim land from white owners.
Promised Land Trailer
Though apartheid ended in South Africa in 1994, economic injustices between blacks and whites remain unresolved. As revealed in Yoruba Richen's incisive "Promised Land," the most potentially explosive issue is land.
The Beaches of Agnes Trailer
In this delightful memoir, award-winning French filmmaker Agnes Varda employs all the magic of cinema to juxtapose the real and the imagined, the past and the present, pain and joy. 81-year-old Varda uses film clips, old photos and gorgeous reenactments to revisit her Belgian youth, association with the French New Wave, marriage to director Jacques Demy and the making of her movies.
Behind the Lens - The Beaches of Agnes
Agnes Varda talks about acting for the first time and her process as a filmmaker. She elaborates on the theme of beaches: the beaches in Belgium and her childhood to the beaches of California and France. Varda's personal charm shines through in this delightful companion piece to "The Beaches of Agnes."
Filmmaker Interview: Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker
In this new online-only series, we'll be featuring current and past interviews with some of the most influential documentary filmmakers. First up are Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker, the filmmakers behind "American Tongues," the film that kicked off POV in 1988. They talk about how nonfiction filmmaking has evolved over the past three decades.
Season 23 Preview
Celebrating our 23rd season on PBS in 2010, POV features the work of the best independent documentary filmmakers from America and around the world. Airing Tuesdays at 10 PM, June through September, with primetime specials during the year, POV has brought more than 300 award-winning documentaries to millions nationwide. POV is produced by American Documentary, Inc.
Filmmaker Interview: Emily and Sarah Kunstler
Filmmakers Emily and Sarah Kunstler talk about their film, "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe," which examines the life of their father, a civil rights lawyer who described himself as a "radical" attorney. The filmmakers talk about Kunstler's career, the role he believed that good storytelling plays in the courtroom, and how making the film helped them to understand him better.
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe Trailer
In this intimate biography, Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler seek to recover the real story of what made their late father one of the most beloved, and hated, lawyers in America. Winner of the L'Oreal Paris Women of Worth Vision Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. A co-production of ITVS.
Behind the Lens - Food, Inc.
Filmmaker Robert Kenner talks to POV about why he made "Food, Inc.," the impact of the Oscar nomination for the film, what he wants audiences to remember after watching "Food, Inc." and more.
Food, Inc. Trailer
2010 Oscar Nominee - Best Documentary Feature: In "Food, Inc.", filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA.
POV Announces Project VoiceScape
Project VoiceScape welcomes good ideas, films-in-progress or completed short films made by aspiring filmmakers in grades 7-12. The program provides mentorship to young filmmakers and showcases their work on a variety of PBS/POV related media. Fifteen young people will be selected for Project VoiceScape and will be honored in Fall 2011 at a ceremony in Washington, DC.
Behind the Lens - Patti Smith: Dream of Life
Filmmaker Steven Sebring and Patti Smith talk to music writer Anthony DeCurtis about how they met, their decade-long collaboration, their respect for and trust in each other, and how Steven worked with 12 years of footage during the editing of the film.
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