oswego film group
Selected Documentaries in
the NCLS (North Country
Library System):
Films Released 2000 – 2012
This list, drawn from browsing the NCLS on-line catalog,
notes (predominately) theatrical releases since 2000 that
we hope will be of interest. Included are films (in italics)
screened by OFG. Many film descriptions are condensed
or modified from IMDb or other on-line sources.
To reserve a copy of a DVD or to search the catalog, please
see the NCLS website: ncls.northcountrylibraries.org/
FEB/MAR 2013
Never Stand Still (2012) The dancers and choreographers at
the legendary Jacob’s Pillow Dance festival
The Queen of Versailles (2012) A billionaire family builds the
US’s largest house but finds challenges with the financial
crisis
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey (2011) Kevin Clash,
formerly the puppeteer playing Elmo on Sesame Street
Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011) Bio of the brilliant,
eccentric chess player
Buck (2011) Buck Brannaman, a cowboy and real-life ‘horse
whisperer’
Dreams of a Life (2011) Explores the life of a London woman
whose body was not found until 3 years after her death
The Elephant in the Living Room (2011) The controversial
subculture raising large, dangerous animals at home.
Forks Over Knives (2011) Examines the claim that plant-based
diet can prevent or reverse chronic disease
Hell and Back Again (2011) A Marine’s readjustment to the
US after serving in Afghanistan
Hot Coffee (2011) The real story behind the much-mocked
legal case brought against McDonald’s
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011)
Daniel McGowan, charged with terrorism for his involvement
with the ELF
Ingredients (2011) “The local food movement takes root”
Into the Abyss (2011) Herzog’s look at a Texas triple
homicide—and the convicted death row inmate
The Last Mountain (2011) Examines the issue of mountain
top removal in WV
Magic Trip (2011) Alex Gibney’s film resurrects and restores
footage from a ’64 Merry Pranksters cross-country trip
Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011) Inside the
paper’s newsroom
Project Nim (2011) Nim, a chimpanzee raised as if he were a
human child in an experiment in the 70s
Rejoice & Shout (2011) The evolution of gospel music to the
present
Saint Misbehavin’ (2011) From Woodstock ’99 on, 10 years in
the life of Wavy Gravy, entertainer and activist
Babies (2010) One year in the life of 4 babies from Mongolia
to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo
Bhutto (2010) The life and assassination of Pakistan’s Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto
Bill Cunningham New York (2010) NY Times photographer
documents the city’s fashion and society circles
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) Herzog’s expedition into
France’s Chauvet caves, with 30,000 year-old artwork
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010) The scandal
that brought down NY’s governor
Exit through the Gift Shop (2010) A shopkeeper and amateur
filmmaker attempt to locate street artist Banksy
Gasland (2010) Josh Fox’s critical look at the business and
effects of hydrofracking
Hey Boo: Harper Lee and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (2010) The
impact of the celebrated book and the life of its author
Inside Job (2010) An examination of the causes and effects of
the global financial crisis in 2008
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story (2010) History of
Jews in the game; focus on Hank Greenberg, Sandy Koufax
Kings of Pastry (2010) Pastry chefs compete to win the title
Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France)
Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the American
City (2010) The life and work of Chicago architect Burnham
Nostalgia for the Light (2010) In the Atacama desert,
astronomers search the sky and Chilean women search for
the disappeared
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2010) Folk singer/activist
Ochs’ life and work in the ‘60s and ‘70s
Restrepo (2010) Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington’s
look at a US platoon’s year in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley
The Tillman Story (2010) Pat Tillman’s family seeks the truth
about the former pro football player’s death in Afghanistan
Waiting for Superman (2010) Davis Guggenheim’s look at the
US education system
Waste Land (2010) Garbage pickers in Rio and artist Vik
Muniz create art out of recycled material
The Art of the Steal (2009) The struggle for control of the
Barnes collection of modern and post-impressionist art
Brothers at War (2009) Director Jake Rademacher probes
why 2 of his brothers enlisted and served in Iraq
Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) Michael Moore’s film
examines the impact of corporate dominance in the US
The Cove (2009) Activists infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to
prevent the scheduled dolphin kill
It Might Get Loud (2009) Davis Guggenheim’s film about 3
guitarists: Jimmy Page, the Edge, and Jack White
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and
the Pentagon Papers (2009) The military analyst who
released the Pentagon’s report on the Vietnam War in 1971
No Greater Love (2009) The life of the nuns in the Carmelite
monastery of Most Holy Trinity in London's Notting Hill
Reel Injun (2009) The past, present, and future of Native
Peoples as portrayed in film
Soundtrack for a Revolution (2009) The US civil rights
movement seen through its music
South of the Border (2009) Oliver Stone explores social and
political movements in South America
Speaking in Code (2009) The world of techno/electronic
music
The People Speak (2009) Inspired by Howard Zinn's A
People's History of the United States
Vanishing of the Bees (2009) Economic, political, ecological
implications of the honeybee’s worldwide disappearance
Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009) The story of Disney and the
art and business of animation
When You're Strange: A Film About the Doors (2009) Tom
DiCillo’s film about the LA rock band the Doors
At the Death House Door (2008) An investigation of the
wrongful death of Carlos DeLuna, executed in Texas in 1989
Bigger Stonger Faster* (2008) Examines how the director’s 2
brothers became members of the steroid-subculture
Blast! (2008) Lives of scientists as they explore space through
a high-altitude balloon with a telescope
Burma VJ (2008) Using smuggled footage, this doc tells the
story of the 2007 protests in Burma by thousands of monks
Critical Condition (2008) What happens to the uninsured in
the US healthcare system when they become sick
The End of Poverty? (2008) Why poverty exists when there is
so much wealth in the world
Enlighten Up! (2008) A filmmaker tracks a skeptic’s journey
into the world of yoga
Every Little Step (2008) The story of the Broadway hit A
Chorus Line
Food, Inc. (2008) Robert Kenner’s look at America's
corporate-controlled food industry
Fuel (2008) Director Josh Tickell’s 11 year journey around the
world to find solutions to America's addiction to oil
Happy Valley (2008) A culture of addiction hides behind the
façade in Happy Valley, Utah
I.O.U.S.A. (2008) A warning of the US’s debt and coming
financial crisis
Man on Wire (2008) Tightrope walker Philippe Petit's 1974
walk between the Twin Towers
Noam Chomsky on the World: The Chomsky Sessions (2008)
Interviews with the linguist, philosopher, and political activist
Religulous (2008) Political humorist and author Bill Maher's
take on the current state of religion worldwide
Shine a Light (2008) Martin Scorsese’s look at the Rolling
Stones’ history w/concert footage of "A Bigger Bang" tour
Soul Power (2008) The legendary soul music concert staged
in Kinshasa, Zaire in 1974
Standard Operating Procedure (2008) Errol Morris examines
abuse and torture by US forces at the Abu Ghraib prison
Trouble the Water (2008) The story and aftermath of Katrina,
through the eyes of survivors
Unmistaken Child (2008) In Nepal, a monk searches for the
reincarnation of his master in a young child
Autism: The Musical (2007) Follows 5 autistic children as
they write and produce their own full-length musical
The Camden 28 (2007) How and why 28 placed themselves at
risk of arrest and imprisonment protesting the Vietnam war
Crazy Sexy Cancer (2007) An irreverent look at cancer and
alternative treatments by a young woman diagnosed in 2003
Cuba: An African Odyssey (Cuba, une odyssée africaine)
(2007) The relationship between Cuba and African nations
from 1961-1991
Darfur Now (2007) Focuses on 6 individuals who worked to
help stop the genocide and bring aid to the area
The Devil Came on Horseback (2007) Darfur’s genocide
through the eyes of a former US marine publicizing the story
Encounters at the End of the World (2007) Werner Herzog:
Antarctica’s beauty and the people living and working there
Garbage Warrior (2007) Architect Michael Reynolds and his
fight to introduce radically sustainable housing worldwide
In the Shadow of the Moon (2007) The history of NASA’s
Apollo space program
Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains (2007) Follows the former
president's tour for his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.
King Corn (2007) On 1 acre, 2 friends grow a bumper crop of
the US’s most-subsidized grain to see how we eat and farm
My Kid Could Paint That (2007) The surprising success of a 4year-old whose paintings have sold for thousands of dollars
No End in Sight (2007) Charles Ferguson’s look at the Bush
Administration's conduct of the Iraq war and its occupation
Note by Note: The Making of the Steinway L1037 (2007)
Creating a Steinway concert grand, #L1037—from forest floor
to concert hall
Planet B-Boy (2007) The evolution of b-boying—or breakdancing
Run Granny Run (2007) Doris "Granny D" Haddock’s run for
the US Senate—when she was 94
Sicko (2007) Michael Moore’s doc comparing the highly
profitable American health care industry to other nations
Surfwise (2007) Surfer Doc Paskowitz and his family: 9 kids,
home-schooled and raised in a small camper on the beach
Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) US torture in Afghanistan, Iraq,
Guantanamo; focus on the ’02 torture, death of a taxi driver
Trumbo (2007) Dalton Trumbo’s life and the effects of
Congress’ pursuit of Hollywood Communists after WW2
Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections (2007)
Examines the question of fraud in US elections in 2004 and
2006
War Dance (2007) Three children from a displacement camp
compete in a national music and dance festival in Uganda
Young @ Heart (2007) A senior citizens’ chorus from MA
cover songs by (among others) Hendrix, Coldplay, Sonic Youth
American Blackout (2006) US Rep Cynthia McKinney (GA)
and the historical suppression of black voters
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (2006) The planet's
dwindling oil resources.
Deliver Us from Evil (2006) US Catholic Church’s cover-up of
sex abuse charges: focuses on case of Father Oliver O'Grady
Encounter Point (2006) Israelis and Palestinians who press for
a grassroots movement for nonviolence and peace
God Grew Tired of Us (2006) Four Sudanese boys head for
the US after years of wandering the sub-Sahara for safety
Hacking Democracy (2006) Investigating allegations of
election fraud during the 2004 US presidential election
An Inconvenient Truth (2006) Al Gore’s campaign to make
climate change a recognized problem worldwide
Jesus Camp (2006) Follows kids who attend an evangelical
Christian summer camp
A Lion in the House (2006) Five families struggle with the ups
and downs of cancer treatment over the course of 6 years
A Man Named Pearl (2006) Self-taught topiary artist Pearl
Fryar and his unlikely journey to national prominence
Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of
Predatory Lenders (2006) The US’s burden of individual and
government debt
Millions: A Lottery Story (2006) The effect of large wins in
the lottery on the lives of 6 individuals
Mr Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater (2006) The
former presidential candidate’s life and political career
The Rape of Europa (2006) The Nazi plundering of Europe's
great art works and Allied efforts to minimize the damage
So Goes the Nation (2006) In Ohio, Bush and Kerry's staffs as
they make the final push in the 2004 presidential race
This Film is Not Yet Rated (2006) Kirby Dick's exposé about
the MPAA movie ratings system
The Trials of Darryl Hunt (2006) Wrongly convicted of rape
and murder, Darryl Hunt spent nearly 20 years in prison
An Unreasonable Man (2006) Consumer advocate and
presidential candidate Ralph Nader
The U.S. vs John Lennon (2006) Focuses on the time in his life
when musician Lennon became an antiwar activist
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) Spike
Le’s look at the causes and responses to Hurricane Katrina
Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everyone Talkin’ About
Him)? (2006) The life and music of the singer/songwriter
Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) The car’s history plus the
role of renewable energy and sustainable living
After Innocence (2005) Focuses on several wrongly convicted
prisoners after they were freed with DNA evidence
The Boys of Baraka (2005) Four 12-year-olds from Baltimore
are taken to an experimental boarding school in Kenya
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) Alex Gibney’s
look at the energy company’s business practices and its fall
Following Sean (2005) Revisits the boy who was 4 when the
filmmaker Ralph Arlyk filmed him in San Francisco in 1969
Giuliani Time (2005) A reconsideration of NYC’s former
mayor Rudy Giuliani, reviewing his record before 9/11
Grizzly Man (2005) The life and death of grizzly bear activist
Timothy Treadwell
The Heart of the Game (2005) A U of WA professor with no
coaching experience heads a Seattle HS girls’ basketball team
The Hole Story (2005) A filmmaker’s trials as he attempts to
make a pilot about a mysterious Black Hole in a MN lake
Into Great Silence (2005) Life inside the Grande Chartreuse, a
monastery of the Carthusian Order in France
Mad Hot Ballroom (2005) Students at NYC schools learn
ballroom dancing and compete in a city-wide competition
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon (2005) The 12
who walked on the moon on the Apollo missions 1969-1972
March of the Penguins (2005) The annual trek of Emperor
penguins to their breeding grounds
McLibel (2005) In the UK, 2 individuals persevere in a
McDonald’s libel suit against their nonprofit organization
Music From the Inside Out (2005) A look at the musicians of
the Philadelphia Orchestra
No Direction Home (2005) Martin Scorsese’s look at
musician Bob Dylan’s life from 1961-1966
Sir! No Sir! (2005) Examines the efforts by US troops to
oppose the Vietnam war
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005) Behind-thescenes look at company employees, managers, and families.
Why We Fight (2005) Questions the military-industrial
complex’s role in shaping US policy
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) Michael Moore’s look at the era of
George W. Bush—the response to 9/11 and the bin Ladens
The Future of Food (2004) An examination of genetically
engineered foods in the world’s agricultural business
The Hobart Shakespeareans (2004) Teacher Rafe Esquith’s
successful work with 5th graders in rough LA neighborhood
Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (2004)
Explores the portrayal of the Holocaust in films and popular
culture
Michael Moore Hates America (2004) Not so much a critique
of Moore’s politics as of his doc style and films’ veracity
Noam Chomsky: Rebel Without a Pause (2004) Focuses on
the activist’s lectures during build-up to 2003 invasion of Iraq
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism (2004)
Robert Greenwald’s look at ‘fair and balanced’ Fox News
Paper Clips (2004) A rural TN school learns about and honors
the loss of the Holocaust dead by building a monument
Riding Giants (2004) The origins and history of surf culture up
to today’s big wave riders
Rush to War (2004) Examines the rationale that led to the
US’s invasion on Iraq
Touching the Void (2004) The drama of 2 mountain climbers’
ascent of a peak in the Andes
Touch the Sound: A Sound Journey with Evelyn Glennie
(2004) The experiences of percussionist Glennie, who is
nearly deaf
Tying the Knot (2004) The debate over same-sex marriage in
the US
The Staircase (2004) Originally a television series, an inside
look at a high-profile murder trial of author Michael Peterson
The Corporation (2003) The concept of the corporation
throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance
Faster (2003) The MotoGP world championship of motorcycle
sport: 16 races on 5 continents with 24 riders
Festival Express (2003) The Dead, Janis Joplin, the Band and
others performed in 1970—travelling by train across Canada
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S.
McNamara (2003) Errol Morris’ film on the former Sec of
Defense’s role in the Vietnam war, his reevaluation of his life
Return to Kandahar (2003) Nelofer Pazira, star of Kandahar,
returns to Afghanistan looking for her childhood friend
The Same River Twice (2003) The lives of a group of young
free spirits in the ‘70s and an update on them years later
Super Size Me (2003) Morgan Spurlock examines the fast
food industry; his 1-month binge documents its effects
To Be and to Have (Être et Avoir) (2003) A year in the lives of
12 kids, ages 4-10, taught every subject by one teacher
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003) A homeless
musician finds meaning, befriending dozens of parrots
The Yes Men (2003) Anticorporate activists at conferences
impersonate members of the World Trade Organization
Bowling for Columbine (2002) Michael Moore’s critique of
guns and violence in US culture
Capturing the Friedmans (2002) Remaining questions about a
‘80s case of a father and son charged with child molestation
The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) Legendary Hollywood
producer and studio chief Robert Evans
The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002) Based on the book Trial
by Christopher Hitchens, an exposé of the statesman
Spellbound (2002) Eight finalists compete in the Scripps
Howard National Spelling Bee
Standing in the Shadow of Motown (2002) The Hitsville
studio band that Berry Gordy put together in ‘59
Stevie (2002) The director, who’d been a Big Brother 10 years
earlier, returns to reconnect with the troubled young boy
Stone Reader (2002) A reader searches for Dow Mossman,
author of a nearly forgotten ‘72 novel, The Stones of Summer
The Party’s Over (2001) Philip Seymour Hoffman at the 2000
presidential conventions; follow-up to The Last Party (1993)
The Ballad of Ramblin’ Jack (2000) Musician Ramblin’ Jack
Elliott’s life, documented by his daughter
Sound and Fury (2000) Controversy over cochlear ear
implants, resisted by some in the deaf community
The Witness (2000) A Brooklyn contractor’s journey to animal
advocate and rescuer of abused animals
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