Take one Muslim advocate for global jihad and put him in a room with one conservative Christian on a mission to evangelize the world's Muslims. Which man will be left standing? A new film from Sundance award-winning director Stephen Marshall, "Holy Wars" touches down in four hotbeds of religious fundamentalism—Pakistan, Lebanon, the U.K., and heartland America—and goes behind the scenes of the 1,400 year old conflict between Islam and Christianity. The film follows a danger-seeking Christia... more

More than 30 years since the first public acknowledgement of AIDS, a great deal of work still needs to be done to provide people living with HIV with the proper care they deserve and find a cure for the disease. Today, every 9.5 minutes someone is infected with HIV in the United States, paralleled with the pandemic across Sub-Saharan Africa. What was initially thought to be a gay white man’s disease is now a Black disease. While African-Americans represent only 12% of the U.S. population, the... more

"Rhythmic Uprising" is a documentary that shows how vibrant Afro-Brazilian performing arts are used to fight racism, social exclusion, and poverty in Bahia, Brazil. The film outlines the transformative power of a large movement of community cultural projects that make up the latest chapter in a creative struggle for racial equality that began four centuries ago. Concepts of citizenship considered in this hour-long film include capoeira, candomblé, blocos afros, theater, circus, and quilombos.

"Will You Ever Forgive me?" is a feature-length film that documents four poignant stories told from children’s perspectives. Each story focuses on a child’s struggle to make adults come face to face with the truth that violence against children degrades everyone, including the perpetrators. As adults struggle to redeem themselves from the guilt of causing so much pain to the children, the children demonstrate that their spirits and imagination are larger than their short years of experience woul... more

As a child, I climbed up on a stool to reach the balcony so as not to lose any of the show displayed in my street in Casablanca. On Saturday, our day of rest, the wandering musicians would come under our windows to collect a few coins. Amongst them the Black Gnawas with their multicolored costumes, their big drum hanging from their neck, and their hat whirling on top of their head, at the same time frightening and fascinating. Later, as a teenager, my ear glued to the radio. I guesse... more

A lonesome middle-aged bachelor, a divorced single mother, and a jovial young mullah are the protagonists of this intimate account of gender relations in Iran. Their stories revolve around the institution of temporary marriage, also called lust-marriage, a Shia practice that allows a man and a woman to legally marry for a fixed period of time ranging from a half-hour to 99 years. Is this religiously sanctified prostitution or a loophole for couples to have a relationship within the rigi... more

At least two years, twelve hours every day, memorizing over 6000 verses from Koran–that is what small kids have to do in Hifz-Khana. Many parents send their children very willingly to this special department of a madrasa, the Islamic orthodox school. Generally, cameras are strictly forbidden; filmmaker Shaheen Dill-Riaz still managed to enter and observe in these madrasas in Bangladesh. The result is a film that approaches very carefully this unique religious practice, which is contradictory to th... more