With the coming of the Civil War, and the staggering casualties it ushered in, death entered the experience of the American people as it never had before — permanently altering the character of the republic and the psyche of the American people. Contending with death on an unprecedented scale posed challenges for which there were no ready answers when the war began. Americans worked to improvise new solutions, new institutions, and new ways of coping...

Discover how Rene Perez, AKA RESIDENTE, evolved from struggling art student into the founder of Latin America’s most influential rap group, Calle 13, and became one of Latin America’s most outspoken critics of injustice and corruption. Inspired after mapping out his DNA, RESIDENTE left the group the peak of its success to embark on a new project through Siberia, the Caucasus, China and West Africa in order to trace the footsteps of his ancestors....

The architect, a contemporary master, Renzo Piano. The filmmaker, another contemporary master, Carlos Saura.

Superheroes: a never ending battle is the first documentary to examine the dawn of the comic book genre and its powerful legacy, as well as the evolution of the characters who leapt from the pages over the last 75 years and their ongoing worldwide cultural impact. In this episode: During the Depression, the popularity of dozens of superhero characters opens the door for a new generation of artists and writers. World War II creates a patriotic fervor...

The Palestinian American musician Simon Shaheen's mastery of the Arabic oud and violin has brought him international acclaim. This film, the first in Documentary Arts' Connecting Cultures series, follows Shaheen in his daily life in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn where he lives, and documents his performances at Symphony Space in New York City and the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Shaheen demonstrates his melodic ingenuity...

In 1966, Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, captured, and, down to 85 pounds, escaped. Barefoot, surviving monsoons, leeches, and machete-wielding villagers, he was rescued. Now, near 60, living on Mt. Tamalpais, Dengler tells his story: a German lad surviving Allied bombings in World War II, postwar poverty, apprenticed to a smith, beaten regularly. At 18, he emigrates and peels potatoes in the U.S. Air Force. He leaves for California and college,...

A personal retelling of the infamous Amityville haunting that terrified an American family in 1975 and shocked a nation.

For the past century, Detroit's Cass Corridor was one of the roughest areas in the city. Known as a center of drugs and prostitution, this former red-light district was alternatively known as "Fire Alley," an acknowledgment of its status as the arson capital of Michigan. In 1963, the city's final incarnation of Chinatown was established in the Corridor, but by the end of the 1980s that particular enclave came to its demise. The Cass Corridor is experiencing...

Since 1977, Sam Klemke has filmed his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. Official Selection at the **Sundance Film Festival** and the **Hot Docs Film Festival**. "*Adventuresome, unclassifiable.*" - ***Variety*** "*...a rather interesting tale about a compulsive personality*." - ***Film International***

The diabetes community has been filled with deception for the past 50 years. The typical guidelines for managing diabetes have ultimately caused suffering for millions of people with the disease. Follow a group of families and doctors as they present a solution to managing diabetes that could spare many patients from devastating complications in this seminal documentary about diabetes.