Ousmane Sow, Le soleil en face

Thousands of royal artifacts of Dahomey, a West African kingdom, were taken by French colonists in the 19th century for collection and display in Paris. Centuries later, a fraction returned to their home in modern-day Benin. This dramatized documentary follows the journey of 26 of the treasures as told by cultural art historians, embattled university students, and one of the repatriated statues himself.

Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.

Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.

The Oscar nominated actor best known for his role of Mr. Miyagi, left behind a painfully revealing autobiographical record of his much-too-brief time here on earth. Tracing his journey from being bed bound as a boy to the bright lights and discrimination in Hollywood. Deep inside that sweet, generous, multi-talented performer seethed an army of demons, that even alcohol and drugs couldn't mask.

The Official Golden Harvest tribute to the Master of the Martial Arts Film, Bruce Lee.

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.

Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.

Photographer Estevan Oriol and artist Mister Cartoon turned their Chicano roots into gritty art, impacting street culture, hip hop and beyond.

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.

Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.

An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.

A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.

This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.

An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.

Drawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions.

20 years after Calvin and Hobbes stopped appearing in daily newspapers, filmmaker Joel Allen Schroeder has set out to explore the reasons behind the comic strip's loyal and devoted following.

Beloved by children of all ages around the world, Elmo is an international icon. Few people know his creator, Kevin Clash, who dreamed of working with his idol, master puppeteer Jim Henson. Displaying his creativity and talent at a young age, Kevin ultimately found a home on Sesame Street. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.

At the age of 34, former New Orleans Saints defensive back Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS and given a life expectancy of two to five years. Weeks later, Gleason found out his wife, Michel, was expecting their first child. A video journal that began as a gift for his unborn son expands to chronicle Steve’s determination to get his relationships in order, build a foundation to provide other ALS patients with purpose, and adapt to his declining physical condition—utilizing medical technologies that offer the means to live as fully as possible.

Two women and two men tell their stories of exile caused by being lesbian, transgender, bisexual and gay.

Following the steps of Oumar Seye, first black African professional surfer, Cherif, Paké, Assane and Mbabou, childhood friends from Ngor village in Dakar, make a living with their passion, surfing. They’ve been qualified to form the Senegalese national team for the first time at the ISA World Surfing Games in Biarritz, France. A crucial stake for these worthy ambassadors of the "Teranga" spirit.

The James Brown Story

A day with the artist Joe Ouakam.

At Ngay Ngay, a village in northern Senegal, there are real natural evaporative basins in which depending on the year large or small quantities of sea salt dry out. Located 15 kilometres from Saint-Louis, the village is living around a complex community organisation: men divide the salt fields into plots, and women are those who harvest. In the end, the men receive a share of the crop, while women are those who took great pains over the harvesting.

Once upon a time there was a morning, noon, evening and night when the inseparable shadows of man told us about memory... Interview with Ousmane Sow, life sculptor, for the first part of a series entitled Black Memory.

A French association joins a Senegalese association to participate in the renovation and rehabilitation of the open-air cinema in the town of Mboro. The duration of the works becomes an opportunity to explore the surroundings and meet the local inhabitants.

Keur Simbara is an intimate, lyrical short documentary that follows a group of women community organizers in a rural Senegalese village as they build and sustain systems of health, finance, agriculture, and domestic infrastructure. Amid water scarcity and environmental challenges, they articulate their hopes for the future and the legacy they wish to leave behind. Keur Simbara is a tribute to communal wisdom and the power of local organizing.

Mère-Bi is a 2008 documentary film about Annette Mbaye d'Erneville by her son, director Ousmane William Mbaye. The first Senegalese female journalist, she was deeply involved in the development of her country. Both an activist and a non-conformist, she fought for the emancipation of women from the beginning.

M'hamed Issiakhem (Kabyle: Mḥemmed Isyaxem; Arabic: محمد إسياخم)—born on June 17, 1928, in Taboudoucht (Aghribs), then part of the Tizi Ouzou Department in Algeria, and who died on December 1, 1985, in Algiers—was an Algerian painter and a leading figure of modern painting in Algeria. In 1943, he handled a grenade stolen from a US military camp, and it exploded; two of his sisters and a nephew were killed. Hospitalized for two years, he underwent the amputation of his left arm. From 1947 to 1951, he studied in Algiers, first at the Société des Beaux-Arts and later at the École des Beaux-Arts. "A country without artists is a dead country... I hope we are alive..." These words were spoken in a film by Fawzi Sahraoui—produced by the RTA in 1985 and shot just months before the painter M'hamed Issiakhem passed away. It is a fascinating docudrama in which Issiakhem opens up with subtlety, passion, and generosity.

Each year, the pilgrimage of the Muslim brotherhood of the Mourides takes place in Touba. From all over Senegal (and even from all over the world) pilgrims flock to take part in this religious event which will last three days and two nights. Grand Magal in Touba evokes the black Islam, promotes peace and tolerance, born of syncretism between Islam and the blackness of the Sufi brotherhoods in Senegal.

The rules are simple in Senegalese wrestling: First man down, loses. The sport derives from ritual manhood trials and has developed into a national sport with packed stadiums and huge prizes. Today, the fight is supplemented with bare knuckle boxing but without any protection. The 22­-year-­old cattle herder Ndoff has been chosen to compete in an annual talent event in Dakar, and faces a possible breakthrough as a pro wrestler. LAAMB is the story of a sport filled with myths and extreme voodoo rituals, and a modern tale about fighting one’s way out of poverty.

When Lena and Ulli start the engine of their old Land Rover, Lady Terés, they have a plan: to drive from Hamburg to South Africa in six months. What they don't know yet is that they won't ever get there. Two totally different characters, jammed together in two square meters of space for almost two years, they experience what it really means to travel: leaving your comfort zone for good.

This is the story of Africa's first Boxing World Champion, Battling Siki. Who was this boxer born in Senegal, decorated for Bravery in World War I? Why do so few know that he fought and won the World Light Heavyweight Title aged 25, only to lose it controversially six months later? And why was his life cut short on a New York Street aged 28?

A short documentary exploring how the ocean is an empowering space for women to connect. Told through the personal story of Deguene, a 17 year old surfer, from Dakar, Senegal. She leads us on a journey through the waves of her familial past which is deeply connected to the spirit of the ocean. This powerful story explores the symbiotic relationship between women, the ocean, community and sport.