Sociology

Sociology

PICTURES OF GHOSTS
PICTURES OF GHOSTS
A wondrous ode to movies and movie-going, Pictures of Ghosts, from acclaimed director Kleber Mendonca Filho (Bacurau, Aquarius, Neighboring Sounds), is a multidimensional journey through time, sound, architecture and filmmaking, set in the urban landscape of Recife, Brazil: a historical and human territory, examined through the great movie theatres that served as spaces of conviviality during the 20th century.
DEAR THIRTEEN
DEAR THIRTEEN
An incisive and timely documentary, Dear Thirteen weaves together nine stories of thirteen-year-olds from across the globe. Video diaries and candid interviews reveal how global issues are shaping – and being shaped by – young people: gender identity, rising anti-Semitism, gun violence, and racial divisions. This empathetic portrait of a new generation goes beyond stereotypes of adolescence to capture the complexity of finding a way into adulthood today.
NAKED GARDENS
NAKED GARDENS
Naked Gardens immerses audiences in the complex, unseen world of a family nudist resort in the Florida Everglades. Filmed over one season at this lush tropical campsite, the film follows the stories of individuals – rebellious retirees, LGBTQ loners, exiles from conservative America, and families with young children – all drawn to an unusual community, which promises both non-conformist values, and for some, a cheap place to live. 


DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA
DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA
Five centuries ago, anatomist André Vésale opened up the human body to science for the first time in history. Today, De Humani Corporis Fabrica opens the human body to the cinema. In their thrilling new work of nonfiction exploration, Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor (Leviathan) burrow deeper than ever, using microscopic cameras and specially designed recording devices to survey the wondrous landscape of the human body. 
SEXUAL HEALING
SEXUAL HEALING
A wondrous and important film about the necessity of intimate human contact for every human being. Evelien, spastic from birth, and only knowing disappointing sexual experiences, is taking the first steps on her quest for intimacy. After a lifetime of mostly clinical forms of touch, she sets out to claim sexual pleasure. On her journey, Evelien discovers new parts of her body and self, as she gradually opens to the needs and desires she has been suppressing, having been told sexual touch shouldn’t matter due to her disability. 
STONEBREAKERS
STONEBREAKERS
Stonebreakers chronicles the conflicts around monuments that arose in the United States during the George Floyd protests and the 2020 presidential election and continue to reverbate in towns and cities across the country. As statues of Columbus, Confederates and Founding Fathers fall from their pedestals and triumphalist myths are called into question, this film interrogates the link between history and political action in a nation that must confront its past now more urgently than ever.
AS FAR AS THEY CAN RUN
AS FAR AS THEY CAN RUN
An intimate, unflinching look at children with intellectual disabilities in rural Pakistan who have been deemed "useless" by their communities. A searing "verité" portrait of three young teenagers who manage to find some acceptance and a place in society through sports. As Far As They Can Run is a moving documentary that offers an insightful window into the world of Special Olympics and the impact this event has on a community.
BUNKER
BUNKER
An investigation into the increasing number of American men who have decided to live in decommissioned military bunkers and nuclear missile silos out of fear of an imminent breakdown of society and the destruction of the United States. Considering toxic American myths, including self-reliance, masculinity, home safety and security, and family life in a time of climate crisis, economic upheaval, and political strife, filmmaker Jenny Perlin journeys by herself into the middle of America to meet such men, and the builders and salesmen who cater to them.
SLOW RETURN
SLOW RETURN
Slow Return travels up the Rhône, from one end to the other. Between the fishermen of Salin-de-Giraud and the Rhône glacier, filmmaker Philip Cartelli has numerous encounters and examines the relationship the population maintains with the river. Blending archive images with new technologies, the film composes a sensitive archaeology of the natural environment, while also casting a delicate gaze over a time that seems long gone.
ASCENSION
ASCENSION
2022 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature. Nominated for Best Documentary by the Director's Guild, Producer's Guild, Independent Spirit Awards, and Gotham Awards, and winner of Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, Ascension explores the paradoxical pursuit of wealth and progress in China. This extraordinary documentary follows factory workers, middle class consumers and elites as they chase the elusive "Chinese Dream.”
LYNCHING POSTCARDS: TOKEN OF A GREAT DAY
LYNCHING POSTCARDS: TOKEN OF A GREAT DAY
From 1880 to 1968, over 4000 African Americans were lynched in the United States. Like picnics or parties, lynchings were often carnival-like events commemorated through photos and postcards. This film tells the story of how Black activists subverted these souvenirs, which were celebrations of white supremacy, in the fight against lynching.
R.I.P. T-SHIRTS
R.I.P. T-SHIRTS
Through the lens of a small t-shirt shop outside Washington D.C. and its young customers, R.I.P. T-SHIRTS intimately portrays the current spike in urban gun violence and its effect on Black youth in America.
BREE WAYY: PROMISE WITNESS REMEMBRANCE
BREE WAYY: PROMISE WITNESS REMEMBRANCE
A film by award-winning director Dawn Porter (John Lewis: Good Trouble, Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer) that looks at how the art world responded to the death of Breonna Taylor by using art not only as a form of protest, but as a space to heal.
GOING TO POT: THE HIGH AND LOW OF IT
GOING TO POT: THE HIGH AND LOW OF IT
Going to Pot: The Hight and Low of It is an insightful and amusing documentary that explores this rapidly growing industry through an irreverent approach to the misconceptions and promises of the marijuana explosion.
EACH AND EVERY DAY
EACH AND EVERY DAY
A powerfuly moving and urgent documentary film, Each and Every Day speaks with nine young people who recount what led them to attempt suicide or have suicidal ideation, and how they worked to reclaim their will to live. Shot during COVID-19, the film provides a message of hope and resilience.
HER SOCIALIST SMILE
HER SOCIALIST SMILE
Though her life generated voluminous literature, most people ignore the fact that iconic deaf-blind author Helen Keller (1880–1968) was one of the most passionate socialist advocates of her time. Continuing his work of patient and insightful political filmmaking, director John Gianvito (Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind) resurrects Keller's radical views, which have been largely suppressed or sanitized over the years. 
THE AMERICAN SECTOR
THE AMERICAN SECTOR
Universal Studios in Florida, a Hilton Hotel in Dallas, Museum of World Treasures in Kansas, and private homes in the Hollywood Hills are just some of the places that slabs of the Berlin wall have ended up on display. From coast to coast, The American Sector documents the present remnants of the wall’s architecture while evoking the past with home video footage, offering a new perspective on history, what we ascribe to it, and how easily it is scattered.
FILMFARSI
FILMFARSI
Action, melodrama, car chases, lurid affairs, and flashy musical numbers! They all figured into Iran's pre-1979 cinema known as “filmfarsi.” Featuring a treasure trove of incredible movie clips (painstakingly sourced from surviving VHS tapes) and accompanied by fascinating social commentary, Filmfarsi explores this cinematic period as a mirror for the country during those turbulent times.
THE DIASPORA SUITE
THE DIASPORA SUITE
From the director of The Inheritance, Ephraim Asili's five-part series The Diaspora Suite is a personal and global study of the African diaspora. Made over the course of seven years and shot in Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jamaica, and the United States, this revelatory cycle of five short films collapses time and space to reveal the hidden resonances that connect the black American experience to the greater African diaspora.
THAT WHICH DOES NOT KILL
THAT WHICH DOES NOT KILL
Ada, just 19 years old, went to the house of a young man she knew. She didn’t fight back and it all happened very quickly, but the trauma remains. With humility and frankness, this powerful documentary tackles the delicate and intimate matter of rape. Through a diversity of experiences and perspectives, it examines stubborn prejudices without sanctimony or condescension, provoking the sort of collective introspection - and discussion - the #MeToo movement has necessitated. 
ANGRY WHITE MEN: American Masculinity in the Age of Trump
ANGRY WHITE MEN: American Masculinity in the Age of Trump
Based on the acclaimed book by sociologist Michael Kimmel, Angry White Men offers crucial insights into why so many white American male voters seem to be so full of rage and hell-bent on smashing the political order. Drawing on extensive research, Kimmel elucidates the seismic economic, cultural, and political shifts that have transformed the American social landscape.
LOS REYES
LOS REYES
A magical documentary, Los Reyes presents the world, or more specifically, a skate park in Santiago, Chile, from the perspective of two wise and adorable dogs, Chola and Fútbol. As the camera effortlessly follows them throughout the day and night, the conversations of young skaters are heard in the background; frank talk of drug use, sexuality, economic mobility and social marginalization. 
ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT
ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT
A stirring and beautiful documentary from Academy Award nominated director James Longley (Iraq in Fragments), Angels Are Made of Light traces the lives of young students and their teachers at a school in the old city of Kabul. Interweaving the modern history of Afghanistan with present-day portraits, the film offers an intimate and nuanced vision of a society living in the shadow of war.
INFINITE FOOTBALL
INFINITE FOOTBALL
In his masterful new documentary, Corneliu Porumboiu, a leading figure in the Romanian New Wave, introduces us to a former soccer star and current local bureaucrat whose dream of radically revolutionizing his beloved sport masks an attempt to understand far greater issues: functioning societies, social systems, fate, freedom, individual responsibility and utopianism.   
A WHALE OF A TALE
A WHALE OF A TALE
In 2010, the sleepy fishing town of Taiji found itself in the world’s spotlight when The Cove, a documentary denouncing its whaling traditions, won an Academy Award. Fascinating and thought-provoking, A Whale of Tale revisits this story and discovers a different perspective as it unearths a deep divide in eastern and western thought about nature, wildlife and cultural sensitivity.
THE DEAD NATION
THE DEAD NATION
A work of startling power and originality, acclaimed director Radu Jude’s documentary-essay examines the rise of anti-Semitism in Romania prior to and during World War II almost entirely through the diary of a Jewish doctor in Bucharest juxtaposed with recently unearthed photographs of provincial life in Romania between the years of 1937 and 1944.
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORTS COLLECTION 2017
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORTS COLLECTION 2017
Six innovative, surprising short films selected from the Sundance Film Festival, widely considered to be the premier showcase for shorts, and the launchpad of many now-prominent independent filmmakers. Grasshopper is proud to present the 2017 collection, which includes two Jury Award winners and Come Swim, the directorial debut of actress Kristen Stewart.
DID YOU WONDER WHO FIRED THE GUN?
DID YOU WONDER WHO FIRED THE GUN?
“In 1946, my great-grandfather murdered a black man named Bill Spann and got away with it.” So begins this acclaimed documentary which takes us on a journey through the American South – interweaving scenes from To Kill a Mockingbird and Rosa Parks’ investigation into the Recy Taylor case – to uncover the truth behind a horrific incident and the societal mores that empowered it.
MY COFFEE WITH JEWISH FRIENDS
MY COFFEE WITH JEWISH FRIENDS
A new film from veteran filmmaker Manfred Kirchheimer is always a cause for celebration; with My Coffee, Kirchheimer uses a simple, humorous title as a screen to ask serious questions, from gender inequality to secularism to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, for a deeply thoughtful exploration of contemporary Jewish identity.
CANNERS
CANNERS
Manfred Kirchheimer, director of award-winning films such as Stations of the Elevated and Tall: The American Skyscraper and Louis Sullivan, whom the New York Times recently called "an indispensable New York filmmaker," takes to the streets in an ode to the men and women who earn their daily bread by diligently collecting New York City’s bottles and cans.
SHE STARTED IT
SHE STARTED IT
An essential documentary on women tech entrepreneurs, She Started It upends the popular perception of a male-dominated Silicon Valley. Featuring interviews with leading female CEO's and entrepreneurs, it follows four passionate, trailblazing young women as they strive to launch their companies in the ruthlessly competitive world of high tech start-ups.
ONE DAY IN ALEPPO
ONE DAY IN ALEPPO
Inspired by questions that followed screenings of Sundance winner Last Men in Aleppo, this short documentary (produced by Last Men director Feras Fayyad) is a portrait of ordinary people's lives as they try to live through a normal day in the besieged city of Aleppo.
NIGHT SCHOOL
NIGHT SCHOOL
Emmy-winning director Andrew Cohn’s absorbing documentary observes the individual pursuits of four adult learners seeking a high school diploma, fraught with the challenges of daily life and the broader systemic roadblocks faced by many low income Americans.
RAILWAY SLEEPERS
RAILWAY SLEEPERS
The first railway line in Thailand was inaugurated in 1893 – a sign of progress and prosperity. Shot over eight years on every active line of the railway system, this extraordinary documentary, produced by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, offers an unprecedented immersion into the country’s past and present.
FRAUD
FRAUD
Assembled from over 100 hours of home movies shot by an unknown man of his family over a period of 7 years and uploaded to Youtube, Fraud is a daringly innovative work – a found footage thriller – that reveals one family’s struggle for the American Dream and the nature of truth in the internet age.
THE JOY OF SOUND
THE JOY OF SOUND
What impact does sound have on our lives? From classical music to a hummingbird flapping its wings to the Earth’s natural hum, this is a fantastic exploration of the psychology, sociology and economics of sound.
WORLD WITHOUT END (NO REPORTED INCIDENTS)
WORLD WITHOUT END (NO REPORTED INCIDENTS)
A walk through a quiet waterside town in England yields myriad revelations - from prize-winning Indian curries to a nearly lost world of proto-punk music - in this wondrous new documentary from Jem Cohen, director of Museum Hours and Counting.
HONG KONG TRILOGY
HONG KONG TRILOGY
Renowned cinematographer and artist Christopher Doyle celebrates Hong Kong and its people with this vibrant documentary that focuses on the city's residents in their childhood, youth, and old age.
KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE
KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE
Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Greene's incisive documentary exploring the story of a newswoman who committed a shocking act on live TV in the 1970s is an inquiry into our culture, media, the role of women in society and the workforce.
THE PRISON IN TWELVE LANDSCAPES
THE PRISON IN TWELVE LANDSCAPES
In this remarkable documentary, filmmaker Brett Story excavates the often unseen links and connections that prisons – and our system of mass incarceration – have on communities and industries all around us. Widely acclaimed, The Prison in Twelve Landscapes is an essential documentary, a portrait of our criminal justice system in which we never see a penitentiary.
SYNESTHESIA
SYNESTHESIA
Can one taste a color or see a sound? This fascinating short documentary explores the brain and a neuro-cognitive phenomenon known as synesthesia where multiples senses are blended together.
IMPRESSION OF A WAR
IMPRESSION OF A WAR
An artful meditation on Colombia's 70-year civil war--and the culture of violence that pervaded every aspect of society--through the marks, traces and images it left behind.
IN LIMBO
IN LIMBO
Does the Internet dream with our electric memories? What happens to all those photos and videos we upload? A poetic exploration of time, memory and technology.
VICTORY DAY
VICTORY DAY
A courageous, essential portrait of what its like to be gay in Russia today, from Alina Rudnitskaya, one of the country's most important filmmakers. 
TREND BEACONS
TREND BEACONS
An in-depth look at the secretive world of trend forecasting - how a small group of individuals predict (or in some cases, engineer), the cultural and social trends of tomorrow.
TASKAFA, STORIES OF THE STREET
TASKAFA, STORIES OF THE STREET
With readings by John Berger, Taskafa offers a brilliantly incisive meditation on urban space and city life by investigating the complex history of Istanbul’s street dogs.
ESTATE, A REVERIE
ESTATE, A REVERIE
The utopian dream of public housing is explored in this incandescent, artful documentary.