Films, DVDs & Videos Released in 2001

Fall, 2001 Releases

Click here for the Spring, 2001 releases

Diamonds and Rust

Arab Diaries - A five-part documentary series that presents a fresh, insightful picture of contemporary life across the Arab world. (new September, 2001)

Bethlehem Diary - During the special holiday of Christmas 2000, the town of Bethlehem was expecting around 5 million visitors, but the streets are virtually empty; the town has been closed off by the Israeli army. (new November, 2001)

Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman - A self-portrait by experimental & feminist Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman. (new September, 2001)

Cinema, of Our Time - A collection of films, cinematic profiles really, about some of the great filmmakers of the 20th century. (new September, 2001)

Diamonds and Rust - On a trawler moored off the coast of Namibia, diamond mining goes on around the clock, but their extraction is muddied by politics, and fraught with racial tension. (new November, 2001)

Eric Rohmer: With Supporting Evidence - A portrait of French filmmaker Eric Rohmer, patriarch of the New Wave and fomer editor of Cahiers du Cinema, who discusses his films and his appoach to cinema. (new September, 2001)

Gao Rang (Grilled Rice) - The story of the North Vietnamese combat cameramen who filmed the Indo-Chinese & Vietnam Wars, and founded Vietnamese cinema. (new September, 2001)

Ghosts of Attica - The definitive account of America's most violent prison rebellion, its deadly suppression, the days of torture that ensued, and the almost 30 year legal case that followed. (new November, 2001)

A Grin Without A Cat - Chris Marker's epic film-essay on the worldwide political wars of the 60's and 70's: Vietnam, Che, May '68, Prague, Chile, and the fate of the New Left. (new September, 2001)

History Lessons - Experimenting with the form of historical documentary, an entertaining pastiche of cultural celluloid artifacts, appropriated historical footage, and dramatically composed skits focusing on lesbian life and revelry pre-Stonewall. (new September, 2001)

Human Faces Behind the Rain Forest - Documents the testimonies of peasants and indigenous peoples fighting against the social chaos caused by illicit drugs in Colombia. (new November, 2001)

In the Mind of the Architect - From Modernist ideas through the eccentricities of Postmodernism, this 3-part series from Australia is an investigation into the eclectic world of architects and their creations. (new September, 2001)

Investigation of a Flame - An intimate look at the Catonsville Nine who on May 17, 1968 walked into a Catonsville, Maryland draft board office, grabbed hundreds of selective service records and incinerated them with homemade napalm. (new November, 2001)

John Cassavetes - A portrait of filmaker John Cassavetes, father of the American independent film, shot during the making of "Faces". (new September, 2001)

Living With The Past - Cairo, Egypt is one of the few intact medieval cities that remain in the world. This a portrait of Darb al-Ahmar, a neighborhood in the old city now facing a process of radical change. (new September, 2001)

Naguib Mahfouz: The Passage of the Century - A portrait of Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, the first and still only Arab winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. (new September, 2001)

No Silence in this Court - The story of the Open Court, a popular, alternative legal system in the Indian state of Gujarat. (new September, 2001)

The Origin of Life: What Science Has to Say - This film illustrates the issues faced by modern science as it tries to determine the origin of life on Earth. Written by Dr. Pier Luigi Luisi. (new September, 2001)

The Perfumed Garden - An exploration of the myths and realities of sensuality and sexuality in Arab society. (new September, 2001)

Profit and Nothing But! - A pertinent and impertinent exploration of the profit motive, and its consequences on our daily lives, our history, and our outlook for the future. (new September, 2001)

Scientists at the Rim of Reality - The filmmaker, who used to work at the CERN laboratory, returns for an update on his former colleagues' quest to find the Higgs boson and understand the universal laws. (new September, 2001)

SOS in Tehran - What is on Iran's mind today? To find out the film goes inside an Iranian psychological telephone hotline, government sex education courses, and group psychotherapy sessions for Tehran's elite. (new September, 2001)

Under Construction, or The Place I Was Born No Longer Exists - In Santiago, Chile, a neighbor lives through the demolition of the house next door and the construction of a large building in the same place, over a period of two years. (new September, 2001)

Varan Workshop in Colombia - A series of three documentaries made by young people in Bogota, Colombia, about everyday life in their city of over seven million people. (new September, 2001)

The Women of Hezbollah - A portrait of two women activists in the Hezbollah, and an examination of the personal, social and political factors of their commitment to this Islamic movement in Lebanon. (new September, 2001)

Spring, 2001 Releases

Click here for the Fall, 2001 releases

Swing in Beijing

Derrida's Elsewhere - An exploration of the life and ideas of Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), arguably the most important philosopher of the 20th Century. (new March, 2001)

Dreamland - Takes a sharp but disarming approach to examining the romance of gambling, and reveals the decidedly unromantic reality. (new June, 2001)

Faith and Fortune - The rise and fall of one of the most secretive, wealthy Jewish families. Examines the tensions between their ultra-Orthodox religious beliefs and huge ambitions in the business world. (new January, 2001)

A Female Cabby in Sidi Bel-Abbès - The story of the only woman cab driver in the Algerian city of Sidi Bel-Abbès. (new January, 2001)

Fighter - Two old friends, Holocaust survivors, journey into their past, to retrace one's daring escape through Nazi-occupied Europe. (new February, 2001)

Forging Identity - Recounts the remarkable 'underground' life of Adolfo Kaminsky, a master forger, who helped thousands of Jews escape Nazi persecution. (new February, 2001)

From Opium to Chrysanthemums - The Hmong, in Southeast Asia and America - struggling to preserve essential aspects of their culture, while coping with the enormous changes forced upon them. (new January, 2001)

Killing Time - A provocative documentary that explores the nature of time; with Theoretical Physicist Julian Barbour, author of "The End of Time". (new March, 2001)

Knorosov: The Decipherment of the Mayan Script - The story of the decipherment of the ancient Mayan writing system, and of the little-known Russian linguist who, almost 500 years after their discovery, figured it out. (new April, 2001)

Love Stories - A series of three documentaries about extraordinary love affairs, set in South Africa. (new June, 2001)

The Man Who Bought Mustique - The astonishing and hilarious story of how Lord Glenconner (aka Colin Tennant), bought a tiny Caribbean island in 1956, and turned it into a playground for the rich and famous. (new March, 2001)

Old Enough to Know Better - The remarkable story of the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning, a University whose student body is composed entirely of retired persons. (new January, 2001)

Optimum - The legacies of three 19th century visionaries - Jeremy Bentham, Charles Babbage, and Francis Galton - who helped shaped modern (post) industrial society. (new January, 2001)

Paulina - As a young girl in a small Mexican village Paulina was traded for land by her parents, and raped by the town boss. But today a vital, resilient woman, she returns for a visit ... (new February, 2001)

Prisoners of Conscience - Early film by India's leading documentary filmmaker, Anand Patwardhan, now on video for the first time. Human rights, political prisoners & the State of Emergency in India from 1975 to 1977. (new June, 2001)

Profits of Punishment - A critical look at America's booming private prison industry. (new April, 2001)

Red Hat - Where Are You Going? - An examination of the socio-political role of the Mossi chiefs in the West African nation of Burkina Faso. (new May, 2001)

Robinson Crusoe Island - A journey by Patricio Guzman to the real Robinson Crusoe Island, off the coast of Chile, the setting for Daniel Defoe's famous book. (new January, 2001)

Since the Company Came - In the Solomon Islands extensive logging forces the Haporai people to confront social, cultural and ecological disintegration. (new February, 2001)

States of Terror - Investigates the role played by the Spanish and French governments in a campaign of terrorist acts designed to suppress ETA and the Basque Separatist movement. (new January, 2001)

Swing in Beijing - A comprehensive survey of the contemporary art scene in Beijing, China, by the Academy Award nominated filmmaker Shui-Bo Wang. (new February, 2001)

Thin Ice - "To be Canadian and funny is difficult enough. To do it with the style and wit of Bruce McCall is remarkable." -- Lorne Michaels (new January, 2001)

Thomson of Arnhem Land - The story of Donald Thomson, a young anthropoligist who devoted his life to fighting for Aboriginal rights. (new February, 2001)

Through the Consul's Eye - Films shot by a French Consul in turn-of-the-century China. With a camera lent by the Lumiere brothers, he documented the historic events and everyday life he saw around him. (new February, 2001)

Western Eyes - The search for beauty and self-acceptance of two women of Asian descent contemplating plastic surgery - they believe their appearance, specifically their eyes, affect how they are perceived by others. (new January, 2001)

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Last updated 06/01/2008