1. Carnival! - We Are Positively Wacky (Karneval! - Wir sind positiv bekloppt)
When radio host Milla tells Sharronda, a listener to her new Break-up Show, live that her boyfriend Mufti doesn't want anything more to do with her, Sharronda runs amok, raids the flower shop she used to work in, takes her ex-boss hostage and threatens to kill herself. To calm the situation, psychologist Lisa disguises herself as a chemist and goes to the flower shop with the ransom money, only to learn from Sharronda that her brothers are right-wing radicals. Might they have forced her boyfriend to split up with her? A brand-new episode of Lars Becker's hit series.
2. Kanga
Early 90s London gets a vibrant dose of African culture in this mini odyssey fusing dance, music and fashion.
3. Carnival: Looking for Paulo 'Miller' (Carnaval: à procura de Paulo Moleiro)
A 2008 short made in accompaniment with Our Beloved Month of August, documenting Gomes's and his crew's hapless search, during 2007's carnival, for one of Arganil's most storied and elusive characters . Paulo "Miller" is known for taking a dangerous jump into the Alva from a bridge each year during carnival, but what this film is about is, in keeping with the free-roving feature, much less the subject himself than Gomes and co.'s inability to pin him down; not only does he not do his famous jump during this year's carnival, but an ostensible technical/audio failure during Gomes's initial on-camera meeting with Paulo "Miller" leads to five minutes of lip-readers attempting to decipher their conversation.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
4. Wattstax
A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current-day Watts neighborhood.
It has an average vote of 6.8 on TMDB.
5. Bound by Flesh
Conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton were once the cream of the sideshow crop. Taught to sing and dance at an early age, the winsome duo ascended through the early 20th-century vaudeville circuit as a side attraction before a cascade of unscrupulous management and harsh mistreatment brought their careers tumbling down. This engrossing glimpse into a bygone era is filled with fascinating interviews and rare archival footage.
It has an average vote of 5.9 on TMDB.
6. Dave Chappelle's Block Party
The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.
It has an average vote of 6.759 on TMDB.
7. The Other Side of Carnival
The Other Side of Carnival is a 45-minute award-winning documentary that explores Carnival's social and economic impact on Trinidad & Tobago. With more than 60 interviews from professors, medical staff, police officers, government officials, students, tourists, every day locals and more, The Other Side of Carnival is able to highlight that while Carnival is an exciting occasion, it is a festival that creates turmoil, which is not widely visible...or is it just simply ignored? Known as "The Greatest Show on Earth", this documentary captures the roots of Carnival and how far some go to keep the original idea alive, and how others attempt to integrate change. Consummating over two years of research and interviews and with the coordination of a multi-national crew , The Other Side of Carnival does not pass judgment on Carnival in Trinidad & Tobago, but aims to bring an awareness of the type of influence that Carnival has on the population.
8. Panomundo Part 1: The Evolution of the Steelpan
Slavery may have been the catalyst, but culture and passion formed this sound in Trinidad & Tobago. The steelpan can take the claim of being the only acoustic instrument invented in the 20th century. However, this sound not only moves people today, but it paralleled the island’s history of colonization and the demand for independence. The first section of this two-part film highlights the precursors of the steelpan and the creation of the instrument until it gained international recognition in Britain in 1951. Interviews from steelpan legends, such as Ellie Mannette, Sterling Betancourt, Cliff Alexis and Ray Holman, are included.
9. Sunshine in Soho
1950s Soho beats with far more energy than its 21st century counterpart in this vivid time capsule.
10. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Boogie Man is a comprehensive look at political strategist, racist, and former Republican National Convention Committee chairman, Lee Atwater, who reinvigorated the Republican Party’s Southern Strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. He mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush and played a key role in the elections of Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
It has an average vote of 7.7 on TMDB.
11. Carna (Carna)
Although it was actually an impersonal commissioned film, the director's style is clearly recognizable. Once again he manages to make something that is normal very strange: the dancing people in costumes are filmed in such a way that they look bizarre and absurd. Jan de Bont's camerawork shows a series of color images of dancing people, edited to the rhythm of the music. Halfway through the film, a lonely clown can be seen among the dancing crowd, accompanied by sad music. This clown is played by Ditvoorst himself.
It has an average vote of 5.8 on TMDB.
12. The Other Side of the Atlantic (Do Outro Lado do Atlântico)
The Other Side of the Atlantic is a documentary that builts a bridge in the ocean that separates Brazil and Africa. The film tackles the cultural exchanges, the imaginary created through the mirroring, the prejudice and dreams built in both sides of the atlantic through the life stories of the students of african countries in transit through Brazil.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
13. Steel 'n' Skin
Peter Blackman, founder of Steel 'n' Skin, talks about this pan-African group, which takes African culture to British schools. The film follows the group during a ten day workshop in Liverpool.
14. Alaaf - 200 Jahre Kölner Karneval (Alaaf - 200 Jahre Kölner Karneval)
200 years of Cologne Carnival! The most colourful and loudest festival in Cologne celebrates a big birthday. In February 1823, a few men from Cologne's upper class founded the so-called 'Festordnende Komitee' - the forerunner of today's 'Festkomitee Kölner Karneval'. This 'big bang' was a reaction to the old festival getting out of hand in orgies and violence. Carnival was in danger. A ban by the Prussian rulers was imminent. The new committee wanted to control the wild goings-on, establish rules and organise the celebrations.
15. Eternas (Eternas)
A short documentary film that delves into the life of Eleggua Luna, a karmairi-mokana-motilona Afro-Caribbean trans woman born in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, to delve into the constant struggle that black, trans and indigenous people live in Abya Yala as a result of colonization.
16. Waiting for the Carnival (Estou Me Guardando para Quando o Carnaval Chegar)
A documentary film about the Brazilian town of Toritama, the self-proclaimed capital of jeans. The workers of the city’s self-managed small businesses only get one real break from their self-exploiting lives in the textile business: the annual Carnival.
It has an average vote of 8.3 on TMDB.
17. Dust Devils
A beautifully done video of Burning Man 2001, 2002 & 2003. Lots of people interviews, Center Cafe activity and extensive coverage of artist David Best and the Temple construction and burn. This documentary captures the swirling columns of dust that were created during the intense heat of the 2002 Temple burn.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
18. Ijó Dudu: Memórias da Dança Negra na Bahia (Ijó Dudu: Memórias da Dança Negra na Bahia)
(Ijó Dudu: Memórias da Dança Negra na Bahia)
19. For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots
This High Definition, PBS miniseries uses letters, diaries, speeches, journalistic accounts, historical text and military records to document and acknowledge the sacrifices and accomplishments of African-American service men and women since the earliest days of the republic.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
20. Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
"PUSHOUT" is a feature length film confronting the criminalization and miseducation of African American girls that has led to their alarming high school dropout rate and increase into the juvenile justice system.
It has an average vote of 1 on TMDB.