The Last Debate (1986)

Brink of Disaster!

A student is held up in the library while a riot rages outside. As SDS protesters head to burn the library down, he has to fend them off with his baseball bat. This film opens with actual footage of civil disturbances in the 1960s, and moves on to images of historical American figures.

Woodstock

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

Invisible Beauty

Fashion revolutionary Bethann Hardison looks back on her journey as a pioneering Black model, modeling agent, and activist, shining a light on an untold chapter in the fight for racial diversity.

Chicago 10

Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Putin's Journey

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has established himself as the most impactful world leader of this millennium. To mark his 25th anniversary of being in power, this two-hour CBC News original documentary looks back at his life, from the Cold War to the ongoing war in Ukraine, and examines key turning points in his career to reveal his evolution from an unknown KGB agent to the all-powerful president of the Russian federation. The documentary features dozens of former insiders, political leaders, exiled activists and liberated prisoners - many who have personally met and negotiated with Putin, or been victims of Kremlin policies that have crushed dissent and led to the devastating war in Ukraine. Putin's Journey will take us up to the present day, as the Russian leader confronts a new American president, each bent on curbing the power of the other.

I Am FEMEN

Oxana is a woman, a fighter, an artist. As a teenager, her passion for iconography almost inspires her to join a convent, but in the end she decides to devote her talents to the Femen movement. With Anna, Inna and Sasha, she founds the famous feminist group which protests against the regime and which will see her leave her homeland, Ukraine, and travel all over Europe. Driven by a creative zeal and a desire to change the world, Oxana allows us a glimpse into her world and her personality, which is as unassuming, mesmerising and vibrant as her passionate artworks.

Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire

Mixing archival footage with interviews, this film celebrates one of Los Angeles's most influential painters and Chicano art activists from the 1970s.

Bigger Than Us

For six years, Melati, 18, has been fighting the plastic pollution that is ravaging her country, Indonesia. Like her, a generation is rising up to fix the world. Everywhere, teenagers and young adults are fighting for human rights, the climate, freedom of expression, social justice, access to education or food. Dignity. Alone against all odds, sometimes risking their lives and safety, they protect, denounce and care for others. The earth. And they change everything. Melati goes to meet them across the globe. At a time when everything seems to be or has been falling apart, these young people show us how to live. And what it means to be in the world today.

Town Bloody Hall

Norman Mailer and a panel of feminists — Jacqueline Ceballos, Germaine Greer, Jill Johnston, and Diana Trilling — debate the issue of Women's Liberation.

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

Down the road from Woodstock in the early 1970s, a revolution blossomed in a ramshackle summer camp for disabled teenagers, transforming their young lives and igniting a landmark movement.

The Angry Years

1970 marked the start of a bombing campaign by British urban guerrilla revolutionaries The Angry Brigade. Their targets, a bizarre mix, included the Miss World contest, Ford’s motor factory, the home of a conservative cabinet minister and the Biba department store. Following a two year hunt by the newly formed Special Branch, eight suspects were arrested, and following the longest trial in British criminal history, four young graduates were convicted of the bombings. The Angry Years tells the little known story of the Angry Brigade - contributors include Jake Prescott, ex Angry Brigade member, the journalist Paul Foot and the Special Branch detective credited with tracking the Angry Brigade down.

Vegan: Everyday Stories

A feature-length documentary that explores the lives of four remarkably different people who share a common thread - they're all vegan. The movie traces the personal journeys of an ultramarathon runner who has overcome addiction to compete in one hundred mile races, a cattle rancher's wife who creates the first cattle ranch turned farmed animal sanctuary in Texas, a food truck owner cooking up knee-buckling plant-based foods, and an 8-year-old girl who convinces her family of six to go vegan.

Sea Sorrow

A very personal and dynamic meditation on the current global refugee crisis through the eyes and voices of campaigners, specially children, where past and present establish a dialogue. A reflection on the importance of human rights.

Nin E Tepueian: My Cry

NIN E TEPUEIAN - MY CRY is a documentary tracks the journey of Innu poet, actress and activist, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, at a pivotal time in her career as a committed artist. Santiago Bertolino's camera follows a young Innu poet over the course of a year. A voice rises, inspiration builds; another star finds its place amongst the constellation of contemporary Indigenous literature. A voice of prominent magnitude illuminates the road towards healing and renewal: Natasha Kanapé Fontaine.

Fracking the System: Colorado's Oil and Gas Wars

Fracking the System is a political thriller documentary from the front lines of climate justice activism in Colorado. When a fracking mega-site gets moved from a White neighborhood to a BIPOC neighborhood, a concerned mother fights to try and stop it. This is an investigative exposé about the harms of fracking, the lengths to which the government is complacent with industrial pollution, and the nefarious tactics that the oil and gas industry uses to undermine democratic elections.

Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover

Compulsive Twitterer, Elon Musk bought himself his favorite social network in 2022, and brutally shaped it according to his desires. This punchy investigation relates the stormy relations between the platform and the billionaire, and their impact on the public debate.

Bad River

Wisconsin's tribe's ongoing fight to protect Lake Superior for future generations. "Bad River" shows the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's long history of activism and resistance in the context of continuing legal battles with Enbridge Energy over its Line 5 oil pipeline. The Line 5 pipeline has been operating on 12 miles of the Bad River Band's land with expired easements for more than a decade. The Band and the Canadian company have been locked in a legal battle over the pipeline since 2019.

Show Me Democracy

Amidst the storm of Ferguson, 7 St. Louis college students evolve into advocates and activists as they demand change through policy and protest

Strike or Die

In October 1995, Forbach witnessed one of the most violent strikes in the history of contemporary France. A thousand or so miners took to the streets for a merciless struggle against a reform in their rights. Twenty years after the mines shut down, people’s will to fight is still alive, just hidden away somewhere.

Punk Rock Vegan Movie

The ongoing relationship between the worlds of punk rock and animal rights and how the music became a breeding ground for vegan activism.

Bachar à la ZAD

Plot unavailable

Rebellion

In April 2019, Extinction Rebellion blocks strategic traffic points in London for days, leading to the arrest of hundreds of nonviolent protesters. Rebellion works, responds international climate lawyer Farhana Yamin, seeming almost surprised when the government agrees to their demand to declare a climate emergency.

Oproerkraaiers

Plot unavailable

Morning of the Earth

In the early ‘70s, founding member of Australian surf magazine Tracks, Albert Falzon, began filming off the North Coast of New South Wales, Hawaii, and Indonesia. He set out to make a film “that was a reflection of the spirit of surfing at the time” and the end result, Morning of the Earth, proved its worth as a vital document of surf culture and a powerful nature film.

The Real Nancy Botwin From 'Weeds'

Plot unavailable

We Are One

Activists around the world fight injustice and drive social change in this documentary that follows their participation in the music video "Solidarité."

Just Animals

Activists have been fighting for animal rights for decades. Will they succeed in winning the battle against meat production or will the food industry be unstoppable? The film depicts the structural nature of the animal industry and the systematic abuse of power through three central characters. They fight the battle of David and Goliath against a seemingly invincible industry, ready to achieve their goals at any cost. The brutal undercover photos taken by the activists have caused a series of international scandals, but will they ultimately succeed in making a difference?

How to Fix the World

How to Fix the World? is a comprehensive and informative documentary about direct action in the 1990s and 2000s, directed by Jouko Aaltonen. In the documentary, anarchists, climate activists, and squatters openly describe their experiences and link them to mainstream phenomena in society. A wide range of archive material sheds a light on the history of direct action and activism in the Finnish society.

Bikes vs Cars

Bikes vs Cars depicts a global crisis that we all deep down know we need to talk about: Climate, earth's resources, cities where the entire surface is consumed by the car. An ever-growing, dirty, noisy traffic chaos. The bike is a great tool for change, but the powerful interests who gain from the private car invest billions each year on lobbying and advertising to protect their business. In the film we meet activists and thinkers who are fighting for better cities, who refuse to stop riding despite the increasing number killed in traffic.

At the Edge of the World

At the Edge of the World chronicles the controversial Sea Shepherd Antarctic Campaign against a Japanese whaling fleet. The international volunteer crew, under-trained and under-equipped, develop a combination of bizarre and brilliant tactics with which to stop the whalers. But first they must find the Japanese ships, a far more difficult challenge than ever imagined - long-time activist Paul Watson and first-time captain Alex Cornelissen employ an array of strategies in the hopes of finding an elusive adversary in the vast expanse of the Ross Sea. With one ship (the Farley Mowat) too slow to chase down the whaling fleet, with their second ship (the Robert Hunter) unsuited for Antarctic ice conditions and with no country supporting their efforts to enforce international law, the situation becomes increasingly desperate. Against all odds, however, a real-life pirate tale unfolds - a modern-day "David vs. Goliath" adventure.

The Cigarette Surfboard

Impassioned surfer Taylor Lane builds a functional surfboard with 10,000 cigarette butts collected from California beaches. The Cigarette Surfboard becomes a platform to learn from professional surfers who are working to protect the ocean, and the symbol of a grassroots campaign to hold Big Tobacco accountable for their toxic, plastic waste. Surfing is the medium, but the message is universal.

A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint

Drag Race star Peppermint takes center stage in this up close and personal documentary about her journey with fame, identity, and the art of drag. Sharing her story alongside a close network of trans individuals, one of the world’s favorite drag performers takes you inside her rise from humble beginnings to her current reign as outspoken trailblazer for the trans community.

Best of Enemies

A documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Intended as commentary on the issues of their day, these vitriolic and explosive encounters came to define the modern era of public discourse in the media, marking the big bang moment of our contemporary media landscape when spectacle trumped content and argument replaced substance. Best of Enemies delves into the entangled biographies of these two great thinkers, and luxuriates in the language and the theater of their debates, begging the question, "What has television done to the way we discuss politics in our democracy today?"

Jane Fonda in Five Acts

Girl next door, activist, so-called traitor, fitness tycoon, Oscar winner: Jane Fonda has lived a life of controversy, tragedy and transformation – and she’s done it all in the public eye. An intimate look at one woman’s singular journey.

John Denver: Country Boy

This BBC documentary chronicles the life of folk/soft-rock singer John Denver through his rise with The Chad Mitchell Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, his subsequent stardom, his popularity decline, and his tragic death at age 53.

The Secret Life of Brian

A documentary about the making of the controversial Life of Brian and the surrounding accusations of blasphemy.

Black Power in America: Myth or Reality?

The film questions whether the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s effectively changed the Black community, and American society more widely, and examines the notion of Black power itself. Greaves interviewed major Black leaders, such as Franklin Thomas, Clifton Wharton Jr., Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Lerone Bennett Jr. to present a candid take on issues within the African American community, revealing wider societal problems in America at large.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Christopher Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care.