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Very Important documentaries about water, sustainability, environment and the life of earth. The Truth
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- DirectorMathieu RoyHarold CrooksStarsRonald WrightMark LevineRobert WrightTheorists consider the evolution of human society and question the sustainability of the current paradigm.
- DirectorYann Arthus-BertrandStarsYann Arthus-BertrandGlenn CloseJacques GamblinWith aerial footage from fifty-four countries, 'Home' is a depiction of how Earth's problems are all interlinked.
- DirectorUrs SchnellStarsPeter BrabeckRes GehrigerHanspeter MüllerDo you know how to turn ordinary water into a billion-dollar business? In Switzerland there's a company which has developed the art to perfection - Nestlé. This company dominates the global business in bottled water. Swiss journalist Res Gehringer has investigated this money-making phenomena. Nestlé refused to cooperate, on the pretext that it was "the wrong film at the wrong time". So Gehringer went on a journey of exploration, researching the story in the USA, Nigeria and Pakistan. His journey into the world of bottled water reveals the schemes and strategies of the most powerful food and beverage company on our planet.
- DirectorIrena SalinaDan BergerStarsBill AlexanderMaude BarlowBasil BoldWater is the very essence of life, sustaining every being on the planet. 'Flow' confronts the disturbing reality that our crucial resource is dwindling and greed just may be the cause.
- DirectorStephanie SoechtigJason LindseyStarsSally BetheaEarl BlumenauerAmanda BrownExamines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil.
- DirectorSamuel VartekStarsJim OlsonTony ClarkeMaude BarlowWars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today, as the source of human survival enters the global marketplace and political arena. Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management.
- DirectorAndrew ZuckermanStarsRichard AdamsBuzz AldrinDavid AmramInspired by the idea that one of the greatest gifts one generation can give to another is the wisdom gained from experience, filmmaker and photographer Andrew Zuckerman traveled the globe to interview more than fifty of the world's most prominent writers, artists, designers, actors, politicians, and religious and business leaders - all over the age of sixty-five. WISDOM captures their voices, physical presences, words and ideas, to provide a legacy for the generations that follow and a timeless portrait of the universalities that connect us all.
- DirectorCharles KinnaneStarsJeffrey AzizeClifford AzizeMichael CampoThe story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the burning questions: Who am I? Who is Man? Why do we search for meaning? Their journey brings them into the middle of the lives of the homeless on the streets of New York City, the orphans and disabled children of Peru, and the abandoned lepers in the forests of Ghana, Africa. What the young men discover changes them forever. Through one on one interviews and real life encounters, the brothers are awakened to the beauty of the human person and the resilience of the human spirit.
- DirectorDavid ThomasStarsDarryl AnkaJohn CaliLee CarrollA feature-length documentary exploring, for the very first time and in a very down-to-earth fashion, the phenomenon of channeling.
- DirectorTom ShadyacStarsTom ShadyacDesmond TutuNoam ChomskyDirector Tom Shadyac speaks with intellectual and spiritual leaders about what's wrong with our world and how we can improve both it and the way we live in it.
- DirectorMichael A. GoorjianStarsElon BomaniGregg BradenWayne DyerThis entertaining and inspirational movie based on the best-selling book of the same name is hosted by author and teacher Louise L. Hay. This film gives penetrating insights into Louise's personal story; and shows how her views on the metaphysical causes behind physical ailments were developed. It also reveals how she applied these concepts to her own emotional, spiritual, and professional life
- DirectorEdward A. BurgerA journey exploring the practices of Chinese hermits living in the Zhongnan Mountains.
- StarsGeorge CarlinRichard DawkinsAubrey de GreyFrom The Big Bang to The Monetary System, Religion, Human Behaviour, War or Slavery, to a new Global Social System, TROM Documentary tries to analyze the world we live in.
- DirectorAndrew ShapterStarsThe Dalai LamaMatthew DowdDaniel GilbertThe Declaration of Independence famously grants us the right to pursue happiness. And Americans spend great amounts of time and energy chasing it. But for many people, we're not even sure what it is we're chasing. And so, inspired and intrigued by this "unalienable" right, documentary filmmaker Andrew Shapter set out on a cinematic road trip to explore the myths and the truths of the "pursuit of Happiness" in America. Shapter, Director of the critically acclaimed documentary Before The Music Dies, traveled coast-to-coast, speaking with all sorts of Americans. And the film provides an unequaled view into the hearts and minds of spiritual leaders like the Dalai Lama, philanthropists, authors, scholars, and everyday people, along with a few artists like John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson. So come along as together we explore common ground and navigate the road to happiness!
- DirectorPatrick Takaya SolomonStarsChungliang Al HuangRebecca ArmstrongDeepak ChopraA truly inspirational film, Finding Joe explores the studies of famed mythologist Joseph Campbell. Take a journey through the human psyche and discover the pattern hidden in every story.
- DirectorGus HolwerdaStarsAyaan Hirsi AliWoody AllenRichard DawkinsRenowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss cross the globe as they speak publicly about the importance of science and reason in the modern world.
- DirectorRobert StoneStarsStewart BrandRichard RhodesGwyneth CravensThe atomic bomb and meltdowns like Fukushima have made nuclear power synonymous with global disaster. But what if we've got nuclear power wrong?
- DirectorMark LevinsonStarsDavid KaplanFabiola GianottiSherwood BoehlertAs the Large Hadron Collider is about to be launched for the first time, physicists are on the cusp of the greatest scientific discovery of all time -- or perhaps their greatest failure.
- DirectorChris PaineStarsMartin SheenTom HanksMel GibsonA documentary that investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future.
- DirectorChris PaineStarsTim RobbinsDan NeilDanny DeVitoDirector Chris Paine takes his film crew behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, and the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors to chronicle the story of the global resurgence of electric cars.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsPaul HaggisJason BegheSpanky TaylorA documentary looking at the inner-workings of the Church of Scientology.
- DirectorOliver HockenhullStarsLesley EwenDennis J. McKennaDavid HealyA stylish, in depth look at the renaissance in psychedelic drug research in light of current scientific, medical and cultural knowledge.
- DirectorUsher MorganStarsLucie ArnazDavid FriedmanColleen McGloinThought Exchange is a simple yet profound way of looking at the world, that allows us to understand and experience the truth about who we really are, where we really live, what we really want, and how to have that all the time.
- DirectorPeter JosephStarsChogyam TrungpaJordan MaxwellGeorge CarlinMythology and belief in society today, presenting uncommon perspectives of common cultural issues.
- DirectorDaniel SchmidtStarsPatrick SweeneyThere is one vibratory field that connects all things. It has been called Akasha, Logos, the primordial OM, the music of the spheres, the Higgs field, dark energy, and a thousand other names throughout history.
- DirectorPhie AmboStarsRichard DavidsonEmma SeppalaJohn OsborneIn 1992 Professor Richard Davidson, one of the world's leading neuroscientists, met the Dalai Lama, who encouraged him to apply the same rigorous methods he used to study depression and anxiety to the study of compassion and kindness, those qualities cultivated by Tibetan meditation practice. The results of Davidson's studies at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, are portrayed in Free the Mind as they are applied to treating PTSD in returning Iraqi vets and children with ADHD. The film poses two fundamental questions: What really is consciousness, and how does it manifest in the brain and body? And is it possible to physically change the brain solely through mental practices?
- DirectorAvi LewisStarsNaomi KleinStacey Arwen RaabA look at seven communities around the world with the proposition that we can seize the crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better.
- DirectorJosh del SolStarsChris AndersonJeffrey ArmstrongRobert BatemanTransparency advocate Josh del Sol digs beyond the 2013 NSA spy scandal, investigating current utility and government programs involving mass in-home surveillance, eroding rights and causing harm in the names of "smart" and "green."
- DirectorTonislav HristovStarsAtanas BoevTodor VlaevTuomas NieminenOur modern life is largely designed by engineers. They like to invent and structure things and they are more at ease with figures and natural science than in relations with the opposite sex. Atanas, a Bulgarian computer engineer claims to have hacked love, but can he help lonely and shy engineers find real love and real happiness? As he tries to develop a scientific formula for the perfect relationship, he uses other engineers as his guinea pigs; teaches them his ideas and sends them out to test them in the real world. He guides his subjects with wireless transmitters during their set up meetings with potential candidates: beautiful young women. Are the rules of attraction, sex and love scientific and if they are, do we really want to know them?
- DirectorRobert H. GardnerStarsEsin AtilBen KingsleyMichael SellsIslam: Empire of Faith is a documentary series, made in 2000, that details the history of Islam, from the birth of the Islamic Prophet, Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire. The first episode deals with the life of Muhammad, the second with the early Caliphates, Crusades, and Mongol invasion, and the third with the Ottoman Empire and Safavid dynasty.
- DirectorRick RayRick Ray journeys all across India to discover the heart and soul of this fascinating country. One of the definitive works on India, this film has been enjoyed by audiences across North America and is officially recommended as the film to discover India by the Indian Government.
- DirectorEdward TyndallStarsEustace ConwayPreston Estep IIIS. Waite Rawls IIIReconvergence offers an intriguing exploration of mortality, consciousness and identity in the modern age from the perspectives of four distinct characters: a naturalist, a neuroscientist, a poet and a historian. The combination of their separate journeys creates a rich tapestry that weaves together several complex facets of the existential dilemma.
- DirectorMitch SchultzStarsJoe RoganRalph AbrahamJoel BakstAn investigation into the long-obscured mystery of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a molecule found in nearly every living organism and considered the most potent psychedelic on Earth.
- DirectorBonni CohenJon ShenkStarsAl GoreCory BookerGeorge W. BushA decade after An Inconvenient Truth (2006) brought climate change to the heart of popular culture, the follow-up shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution.
- DirectorCyril DionMélanie LaurentStarsAnthony BarnoskyOlivier De SchutterCyril DionThe world's climate is changing. Instead of showing the worst that can happen, this documentary focuses on the people suggesting solutions and their actions.
- DirectorLesley Ann PattenStarsKhyentse NorbuLuc DierckxLouise RoddIt's a beautiful day today. We'll go for a walk and see some of the city.
- DirectorNati BaratzStarsTenzin ZopaIn Nepal, a venerable monk, Geshe Lama Konchog, dies and one of his disciples, a youthful monk named Tenzin Zopa, searches for his master's reincarnation. The film follows his search to the Tsum Valley where he finds a young boy of the right age who uncannily responds to Konchog's possessions. Is this the reincarnation of the master? After the boy passes several tests, Tenzin takes him to meet the Dalai Lama. Will the parents agree to let the boy go to the monastery, and, if so, how will the child respond? Central to the film is the relationship the child develops with Tenzin.
- DirectorVictress HitchcockAmber BemakWHEN THE IRON BIRD FLIES takes us on an up-close and personal journey, exploring the complex interactions between contemporary Tibetan Buddhism and western culture. The film goes in-depth to portray the experiences and insights of both teachers and practitioners in the US and around the world. Along the way, it illuminates the wide ranging dialogs taking place between Buddhist teachings and science, psychology, gender theory and the arts. The film creates a vivid and entertaining portrait of the world of Tibetan Buddhism, as it is manifesting in the West and asks the vital question - 'In these increasingly chaotic modern times, can these age old teachings help us to find genuine happiness and create a saner, more compassionate 21st century world?'
- DirectorMark VerkerkStarsPhra Khru Bah Neua Chai KosittoKhun EadPan SeanBuddha's Lost Children is a feature-length documentary film about a Thai Buddhist monk who - armed only with his faith and skills and master boxer skills - wages an inspirational battle to help orphaned children, fight drug abuse, and preserve a vanishing way of life.
- DirectorBanmei TakahashiStarsKankurô NakamuraYuki UchidaRyushin Tei'Zen' Buddhist teacher Dogen Zenji is a very important religious person during the Kamakura period, 750 years ago. After his mother died, he decides to move to China and settle as a Buddhist teacher. One bright morning, enlightened, Zenji returns to Japan as a devoted evangelist of the 'new' Buddhism. However, this new form of Buddhism is not accepted in all communities.
- DirectorMark ElliottStarsDilgo Khyentse Yangsi RinpocheShechen Rabjam RinpocheRecognized as the reincarnation ('yangsi') of one of the most revered Tibetan Masters of the 20th century, Ugyen Tenzin Jigme Lhundrup must train to perpetuate this legacy, starting with an enthronement before thousands at age four. 'Yangsi' follows this process, from childhood up to the time he embarks on a world tour at the age of eighteen to fully assume the mantle of his predecessor. Filmed in large part in Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, over a period of 14 years, Yangsi tells a unique coming of age story as it explores the doubts and hesitations along with the unusual strength of character of the 'Yangsi'.
- DirectorGesar MukpoStarsGesar MukpoDylan HendersonAshoka MukpoEnlightened Tibetan masters return as recognized "tulkus" -- reincarnated buddhas. In the 1970s, tulkus began to be born in the West, confusing both the Tibetan system and the lives of the Western children involved.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsTenzin Thuthob TsarongGyurme TethongTulku Jamyang Kunga TenzinFrom childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsBrad PittDavid ThewlisBD WongHeinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, breaks out of prison and travels to the holy city of Lhasa. He is employed as an instructor to the 14th Dalai Lama and soon becomes his close confidante.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsKim Ki-dukOh Yeong-suJong-ho KimA boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsKeanu ReevesBridget FondaRuocheng YingAfter the death of Lama Dorje, Tibetan Buddhist monks find three children - one American and two Nepalese - who may be the rebirth of their great teacher.
- DirectorSasha MeyerowitzStarsAni Pema ChodronArjia RinpocheKhandro RinpocheA documentary film interviewing some of the most famous Buddhist luminaries, such as His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje and Sogyal Rinpoche, author of the best-selling book called "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying", Ani Pema Chodron, the author of such highly acclaimed and successful books as "The Wisdom of No Escape" and "Start Where You Are". Ideally suited for Western viewers interested in knowing more about Milarepa's significance for Buddhism as a whole, these teachings also show how we can incorporate Milarepa's determination, honesty, clarity and compassion into our lives. Some of the best known Buddhist luminaries give commentaries and insights about the life of one of the best known historical Buddhist figures, Milarepa, Tibet's greatest yogi and spiritual warrior.
- DirectorJennifer FoxStarsYeshi Silvano NamkhaiChögyal Namkhai NorbuTibetan Buddhist Master Choogyal Namkhai Norbu watches as his western-born son, Yeshi, who was recognized at birth as the reincarnation of a famous spiritual master, considers departing from tradition to embrace the modern world.
- DirectorNeten ChoklingStarsOrgyen TobgyalKelsang Chukie TethtongJamyang LodroMilarepa is a tale of greed and vengeance - demons, magic, murder and redemption. It is the story of the man who became Tibet's greatest mystic.
- DirectorEdward A. BurgerA journey exploring the practices of Chinese hermits living in the Zhongnan Mountains.
- DirectorEilona ArielAyelet MenahemiStarsKiran BediThis is the story of an ancient meditation technique named Vipassana, which shows people how to take control of their lives and channel them toward their own good.It is the story of a strong woman named Kiran Bedi, the former Inspector General of Prisons in New Delhi, who strove to transform the notorious Tihar Prison and turn it into an oasis of peace. But most of all it is the story of prison inmates who underwent profound change, and who realized that incarceration is not the end but possibly a fresh start toward an improved and more positive life. These people have shown that reform can work if it is self-reform. Their success has been so dramatic that recently the Indian Government decided to apply Vipassana in all the country's prisons. Other countries are becoming interested as well. The filmmakers spent about two weeks inside Tihar Central Prison in New Delhi and Baroda Jail in the Indian state of Gujarat. They interviewed inmates and jail officials, and filmed in places rarely accessible to film crews, whether Indian or foreign.
- DirectorKhyentse NorbuStarsTshewang DendupGup Kado DubaDasho KadoThe two men embark on parallel, if separate, journeys. Their yearning is a common one--for a better and different life. Dondup, delayed by the timeless pace of his village, is forced to hitchhike through the beautiful wild countryside of Bhutan to reach his goal. He shares the road with a monk, an apple seller, a papermaker and his beautiful young daughter, Sonam. Throughout the journey, the perceptive yet mischievous monk relates the story of Tashi. It is a mystical fable of lust, jealousy and murder, that holds up a mirror to the restless Dondup, and his blossoming attraction to the innocent Sonam. The cataclysmic conclusion of the monk's tale leaves Dondup with a dilemma--is the grass truly greener on the other side?
- DirectorKhyentse NorbuStarsOrgyen TobgyalNeten ChoklingJamyang LodroWhile the soccer World Cup is being played in France, two young Tibetan refugees arrive at a monastery/boarding school in exile in India. Its atmosphere of serene contemplation is somewhat disrupted by soccer fever, the chief instigator being a young student, the soccer enthusiast Orgyen. Prevented by various circumstances from seeing the Cup finals on television in a nearby village, Orgyen sets out to organize the rental of a TV set for the monastery. The enterprise becomes a test of solidarity, resourcefulness and friendship for the students, while the Lama, head of the monastery, contemplates the challenges of teaching the word of Buddha in a rapidly changing world.
- DirectorAndrew KukuraJenny PhillipsAnne Marie SteinStarsGrady BankheadRon CavanaughJonathan CrowleyEast meets West in the Deep South. An overcrowded maximum-security prison-the end of the line in Alabama's correctional system-is dramatically changed by the influence of an ancient meditation program. Behind high security towers and a double row of barbed wire and electrical fence dwells a host of convicts who will never see the light of day. But for some of these men, a spark is ignited when it becomes the first maximum-security prison in North America to hold an extended Vipassana retreat, an emotionally and physically demanding course of silent meditation lasting ten days. The Dhamma Brothers tells a dramatic tale of human potential and transformation as it closely follows and documents the stories of the prison inmates at Donaldson Correction Facility who enter into this arduous and intensive program.
- DirectorPan NalinStarsShawn KuChristy ChungNeelesha BarthelA spiritual love-story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh, Himalayas. Samsara is a quest; one man's struggle to find spiritual Enlightenment by renouncing the world. And one woman's struggle to keep her enlightened love and life in the world. But their destiny turns, twists and comes to a surprise ending...
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsBalinese Tari Legong DancersNi Made Megahadi PratiwiPuti Sri Candra DewiFilmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsThe Dalai LamaLama Lhundup WoeserTakna Jigme SangpoWheel of Time is Werner Herzog's photographed look at the largest Buddhist ritual in Bodh Gaya, India.
- DirectorYong-Kyun BaeStarsYi Pan-YongSin Won-SopHae-Jin HuangAbout three monks in a remote monastery; an aging master, a small orphan and a young man who left his city life to seek Enlightenment.
- DirectorMarc RosenbushStarsDuane SharpKim ChanDebra MillerA nameless 'noir' detective, still mourning the loss of his wife, investigates a mysterious death in a Buddhist temple, but his logical, left-brained crime-solving skills are useless in the intuitive, non-linear world of Zen.
- DirectorKhyentse NorbuStarsShahana GoswamiSwaroopa GhoshDevesh RanjanIn rural India, a young woman named LILA and her mother VINATA, a temple dancer wed to a Hindu god, find themselves on the fringes of society, struggling to make ends meet.
- DirectorKhashyar DarvichStarsThe Dalai LamaHarrison Ford'Dalai Lama Awakening,' which was a 15 year realization of a cinematic dream, presents the profound and life-changing journey of innovative Western thinkers who travel to India to meet with the Dalai Lama to solve many of the world's problems. The result was an inner transformation of the participants, as well as what audiences report is a personal transformational experience for those who watch the film. Narrated by Harrison Ford and featuring His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
- DirectorLeon StuparichStarsJoanna LumleyThe Dalai LamaIn a world dominated by violence, how can we create peace in our lives? This award-winning film goes on an extraordinary journey with the Dalai Lama, demonstrating how anyone can create change and transform the world in which we live.