Documentary thread

'The Slow Poisoning of India'

is a short 25 minute documentary about how the use of pesticides created both a health and economic crisis for India's farming villages. It also shows how turning to bio pesticides has helped them turn over the degradation of their crops. I didn't realize that the debt which drove hundreds of farmers to commit suicide was a direct cause of pesticide use. The documentary is short, informative and produced in India:

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-slow-poisoning-of-india/
 
Garbage Dreams (I just put it on my Netflix list)

garbage+dreams+poster.jpg


Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Arabic for "garbage people." Far ahead of any modern "Green" initiatives, the Zaballeen survive by recycling 80 percent of the garbage they collect. When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.
 
A must see!

Gunners Palace. This documentary was not widely released because the MPA (motion picture association) wanted to give it a rating that would have ensured a limited audience. There is a motion picture of the same name but they have nothing to do with this doc.

Gunners Palace is about Iraq where the filmmaker interviews those who serve and follows them around when their on patrol. Its quite interesting. Anyway I found a copy on youtube as I couldn't find one for sale on amazon:

Gunners Palace 1-9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rULxF-PobIQ
 
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I was watching a documentary on the newly-formed Documentary Channel the other day on the explosion of HIV cases in post-Soviet Russia due to a high level of intravenous dug use and prostitution. It was quite compelling to watch.

I feel bad for people that get trapped in the cycle, even though they do it to themselves.

Also, I feel for the people who work diligently day and night to help distribute clean needles and condoms to the people. A necessary evil for the wicked if you will.
I believe the name of the program was: Sex, Needles, and Roubles.
 
I noticed that no one has mentioned Adam Curtis yet. Although all of his work [that I've seen, anyway] has been top-notch, there's one documentary in particular that I would recommend to anyone and everyone.

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-678466363224520614#docid=6718420906413643126[/url]

Curtis seems to enjoy documenting the various elephants in our room. Century of the Self explores the dramatic shifts in our perception of our selves that the 20th century produced. It's one of those rare combinations of a fascinating topic and excellent execution. Check it out.
 
synapse said:
I noticed that no one has mentioned Adam Curtis yet. Although all of his work [that I've seen, anyway] has been top-notch, there's one documentary in particular that I would recommend to anyone and everyone.

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-678466363224520614#docid=6718420906413643126[/url]

Curtis seems to enjoy documenting the various elephants in our room. Century of the Self explores the dramatic shifts in our perception of our selves that the 20th century produced. It's one of those rare combinations of a fascinating topic and excellent execution. Check it out.
Click to expand...

I'll check it out now. Who is Adam Curtis?
 
synapse said:
I noticed that no one has mentioned Adam Curtis yet. Although all of his work [that I've seen, anyway] has been top-notch, there's one documentary in particular that I would recommend to anyone and everyone.

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-678466363224520614#docid=6718420906413643126[/url]

Curtis seems to enjoy documenting the various elephants in our room. Century of the Self explores the dramatic shifts in our perception of our selves that the 20th century produced. It's one of those rare combinations of a fascinating topic and excellent execution. Check it out.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for that link! It's fascinating! The outcome of these ideas are quite self-evident today but its so interesting to see how they were first utilized or rather how psychology was misused. Very 'despite good intentions'. If you have anything else of this caliber please post.

The link wouldn't play the second half of the video but I found it all here:

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-century-of-the-self/
 
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I was about to type up what I think of Adam Curtis but his Wikipedia page basically says everything I'd want to say, and more succinctly.

Glad you enjoyed it! I hope you'll pass it on to other curious and discerning individuals. I've actually only seen a handful of his material (though I intend to change that) but I very much recommend another documentary of his entitled:

The Trap - What Happened to our Dream of Freedom

It explores our modern understanding of 'freedom' and, in doing so, expands on many of the issues brought up in The Century of the Self.

He also did a few segments for the BBC programs 'Screenwipe' and 'Newswipe', which are a critical [and usually hilarious] analysis of the bollocks that is television programming.

Here's a link to a Newswipe episode from the first season, which contains a short film of Curtis'

youtube.com/watch?v=hU4AZdxwzrM
 
I saw this one in the theater last week. Fabulous scenes from all the oceans on earth. Here is the trailer to Oceans. See it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUU-q5GXTU4

Looking forward to seeing this documentary called Babies. It follows the first year of four babies from Tokyo, Mongolia, Namibia and San Francisco.
It will be fun to watch. Here's the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vupEpNjCuY

Water! One hour, 20 min of marvels, experiments, mysteries and wonder.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4947261865733171856&ei=UXN0StzHK4SwrAPTpKGOCg&q=water+apa#

Illustration is one of my own photographs. Spring sunset on the Pacific shore.
I love water!

Oceanside04_15_2010.jpg
 
Hey all,

Just thought I'd drop a link here.

HotDocs has just begun here in Toronto. It's the biggest doc festival in North America.
There's some interesting content on the site:


HotDocs
 
This is a good one:

Travels with my beard

After the 7 July London bombings could growing a beard completely change the way people treated a British Asian? There was only one way to find out. It was a week after 7 July and I'd just got on an east London bus. I was on my way to buy razors as I hadn't shaved for days.

A couple of stops later a middle-aged Rasta guy got on, sat down next to me and asked: "So how's it feel brethren?" "Erm, how's what feel?" I replied. "How's it feel now it's your turn to be bottom of the pile?" he said.
Click to expand...

I know a lot of Asians in the US especially Sikhs who became clean shaven after 9/11. This is the British equivalent
 
Yes, water is important.

Lucysnow said:
I suggest anyone who is interested in the environment watch the award winning documentary 'Blue Gold: World Water Wars'
Click to expand...

Yes, we need water to survive. However we human beings don't seem to know the importance of water. It makes me realize the importance of water.
 
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