Film Snail

History

The People v. Leo Frank

April 30, 2009

In 1913, little Mary Phagan is found dead at the National Pencil Factory in Atlanta. Police quickly decide that the Jewish Superintendent, Leo Frank, should be held responsible. The trial commences with both prosecution and defense lawyers using ad hominen as the base for their arguments. From 1913 to 1915, this murder, trial, and aftermath gained notoriety worldwide. And one hundred years later it has produced books, college and university discussions, a Hollywood-ized movie "They Won't Forget", a TV movie "The Murder of Mary Phagan", a Broadway musical "Parade", a bittersweet folk song "The Ballad of Mary Phagan", and racial controversy.

Rabbit à la Berlin

Rabbit à la Berlin

April 29, 2009

The untold story about wild rabbits which lived between the Berlin Walls. For 28 years Death Zone was their safest home. Full of grass, no predators, guards protecting them from human disturbance. They were closed but happy. When their population grew up to thousands, guards started to remove them. But rabbits survived and stayed there. Unfortunately one day the wall fell down. Rabbits had to abandon comfortable system. They moved to West Berlin and have been living there in a few colonies since then. They are still learning how to live in the free world, same as we - the citizens of Eastern Europe.

The Lord of Sipan

The Lord of Sipan

April 27, 2009

The tombs of the grand lords of Moche civilization - one of Peru's most important pre-Hispanic civilizations -- are in constant danger from grave robbers, but archeologist Walter Alva has managed to find some priceless treasures and recreate the lives of this ancient people of northern Peru.

Skinhead Cross Culture

April 26, 2009

The first American documentary about Traditional (Non-Racist) Skinheads. Focuses on the 'cross of cultures' that came together to form the Skinhead identity: The origins of the Skinhead scene in England, its roots in Jamaican Reggae and Ska (mid-'60s) to its revival and global impact with 2 Tone, Punk, Oi, and Hardcore (late '70s to present day). Features interviews and live concert footage by current bands across these various musical genres in the United States, England and Germany; discussing their viewpoints on Skinhead, its Working Class values, and its continuing relevance around the world.

Broken Promise

Broken Promise

April 30, 2009

Slovakia, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II. The family of the young Jewish Martin Friedmann gathers to celebrate his bar mitzvah and make a solemn promise that they will all meet again a year later around the same table; but the storms of war and anti-Semitic fanaticism will lead each of them down very different paths.

La neve di giugno

La neve di giugno

April 23, 2009

City of Life and Death

City of Life and Death

April 22, 2009

In 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army has just captured Nanjing, then-capital of the Republic of China. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, a six week period wherein tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.

The Horse Trainer

The Horse Trainer

April 21, 2009

Im Herbst kein Lied

Im Herbst kein Lied

April 21, 2009

Shola Cohen - The Pearl

April 21, 2009

Shula Cohen, the true story of a Jewish Lebanese woman living, in the 1940s, in Wadi Abu-Jmil, an area in Beirut that used to gather a big community of Lebanese Jews. In her late thirties, she was a total beauty, with great intelligence; and called: “The Pearl”.

General Orders No. 9

General Orders No. 9

June 24, 2011

One last trip down the rabbit hole before it gets paved over. A deep geography. What is above and what is below. What came before and what will come after. Agrarian fantasies, sacrificial rites, and excavations. A story told with maps, dreams, and prayers. A map lesson in three parts. A history of the State of Georgia - or Anywhere.

Grey Gardens

Grey Gardens

June 21, 2009

Based on the life stories of the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis raised as Park Avenue débutantes but who withdrew from New York society, taking shelter at their Long Island summer home, "Grey Gardens." As their wealth and contact with the outside world dwindled, so did their grasp on reality.

Generał Nil

Generał Nil

April 17, 2009

Generał Nil is a Polish historical film, based on the life of general Emil August Fieldorf, pseudonym "Nil".

An Inaugural Ride to Freedom

An Inaugural Ride to Freedom

April 14, 2009

This heartwarming and at times touching documentary chronicles the preparation, experience, and aftermath of the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Black Studies Department, students, and community persons as they embark upon the inauguration of President Barack Obama. A mixture of cinema verity and interview, this documentary provides an eyewitness accounting of the event through emerging primary stories representative of a broad array of cultural and occupational backgrounds. It is the cinematic documentation of the joy, the laughter, and the tears as 55 passengers board a bus and travel over 2,000 miles for an experience of a lifetime.

L'Affaire Salengro

L'Affaire Salengro

April 13, 2009

July 1936. Leon Blum's (Daniel Mesguich) left-wing coalition government is facing one of the hardest strikes paralyzing the whole country's economy. But one man alone is about to get the French people back to work, and peacefully: Roger Salengro (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu).

Sword of the Stranger Pilot

Sword of the Stranger Pilot

April 11, 2009

The story is set in the Sengoku period. A rounin called Nanashi saves a young boy Kotarou at an abandoned temple. Kotarou has no family, is pursued by a mysterious militia organization from China and hires Nanashi as his bodyguard.

Toyo's Camera

Toyo's Camera

April 11, 2009

Even though bringing in cameras to the internment camps was prohibited, one man managed to smuggle in his own camera lens and build a camera to document life behind barbed wires, with the help of other craftsmen in the camp. That man was Toyo Miyatake, a successful issei (first generation immigrant) photographer and owner of a photo-shop in the Los Angeles Little Tokyo district, and of one of the many Americans who was interned with his family against his will. With his makeshift camera, Miyatake captured the dire conditions of life in the camps during World War II as well as the resilient spirit of his companions, many of whom were American citizens who went on to fight for their country overseas. Miyatake said, "It is my duty to record the facts, as a photographer, so that this kind of thing should never happen again."

Adieu De Gaulle, adieu

Adieu De Gaulle, adieu

April 9, 2009

May 1968. Charles de Gaulle is 77. His great career is behind him. Obsessed by France's prestige, he's looking with distance to the student demonstrations. An intimate portrait of the General through the tale of 68'events.

Jerusalem: Center of the World

Jerusalem: Center of the World

April 7, 2009

Jerusalem: Center of the World tells the epic story of the world s most incredible city, capturing the rich mosaic of the city s Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities. Covering a sweeping history of over 4,000 years, the film explores the founding of the city; the birth and convergence of the world s three major monotheistic religions; and the key events in Jerusalem s history as described in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the Talmud, the Hagaddah, the Koran, and the Hadith. Highlights include: Mount Moriah, the site of the First and Second Temples; the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; the Dome of the Rock; and the Western Wall. Directed by Andrew Goldberg, and hosted by Ray Suarez (The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer), the film includes interviews with locals, top scholars and clergy.

Coco Before Chanel

Coco Before Chanel

April 22, 2009

Several years after leaving the orphanage, to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing.