Bestor Cram Movies

Four decades after the Orangeburg Massacre, this documentary reexamines the events of the night of February 9, 1968. Two nights before, a group of students from a black college tried to go to a bowling alley, but the business's owner wouldn't let them in. A protest turned ugly, leaving dozens injured and three dead at the hands of the local police. ~ Kimber Myers, Rovi

As co-directed by Anne Marie Stein, Andrew Kukura, and Massachusetts-based psychologist-cum-anthropologist Jenny Phillips, the documentary The Dhamma Brothers relays one of the most astounding recent tales of social evolution in contemporary America. The events in question began circa 1999, with several lifetime convicts incarcerated in Alabama's Donaldson Correctional Facility who commenced regular Buddhist meditation sessions in that institution. Deeply intrigued by this unusual sociological development, Phillips traveled to the penitentiary in the fall of 1999 to interview the men, and -- incredibly -- found that the meditation sessions prompted the group to look inward, facing their demons and the direct causes of their criminal activity; the sessions thus inaugurated an authentic, deep-seated healing process in each individual. Phillips interviewed the men one by one -- sessions that brought her face to face with their surprising openness and desire for permanent psychological and social change; the meetings raised serious, penetrating questions in Phillips' mind about the possibility of living a life of inner peace and harmony within the dank rot of the prison environment, and -- more significantly -- the possibility of permanent freedom from rage, violence, and the continued criminal activity to which those phenomena can lead. Deeply inspired, she returned to Massachusetts, contacted the Vipassana Meditation Center in Shelburne Falls, and -- following a year of discussion between that facility and Donaldson -- prompted a 10-day meditation retreat for 36 of the penitentiary inmates. The Stein/Kukura/Phillips film juxtaposes footage from news accounts relaying the convicts' original crimes, alongside candid pre-retreat interviews in which the men look ahead and pontificate on the process and results of deep introspection, expressing their most deep-seated hopes, fears, and concerns. It also depicts the incredible process whereby the prison gymnasium was transformed into a Buddhist monastery, observes the day-to-day experiences of the retreat itself, and follows everything up with interview footage and correspondence demonstratives of the fundamental spiritual and moral changes that took place within the former criminals. In so doing, it sheds light on a group of societal outcasts who learned to achieve personal freedom and harmony even as their geographic and social liberties are severely restricted. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Johnny Cash scored one of his first singles in 1956 with "Folsom Prison Blues", and the song branded Cash with the indelible image of an outlaw who knew the price of living on the wrong side of society. By 1968, Cash was still a star, but he was a man with sometime to prove as he sought to rise from a career slump brought on by a battle with drugs that took a toll on his body and spirit. That year, Cash performed a concert for the inmates of California's Folsom Prison, and the show was recorded for a live album. Cash delivered one of the greatest performances of his life that day, stark and heartfelt and full of empathy for the broken souls listening to his music, and the album that resulted was a surprise hit, reestablishing Cash as one of country music's most powerful and respected artists. Filmmaker Bestor Cram offers an in-depth look at Cash's famous Folsom Prison show and the people who helped to make it possible in the documentary Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison, which combines recordings of the show with rare still photos and interviews with Cash's friends, colleagues and bandmates. Originally created for a bonus DVD included with an expanded reissue of Cash's landmark album, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison also played the film festival circuit, including a screening at the 2009 Cinequest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

After enduring WWII-era brutalization by Hitler's Nazi Party and decades of repressive Soviet dictatorship, the tiny Eastern European nation of Estonia began to declare its independence from Communist rule in the late '80s. Over a five-year period, beginning in 1986, hundreds of thousands of Estonians began to systematically and repeatedly gather in public venues to collectively sing illegal patriotic songs, declaring their desire for national independence but never resorting to violence amid their protests. It was no coincidence that Estonia subsequently became one of the first nations to break away from the Soviet Union in the events leading up to the fall of the Iron Curtain. The documentary The Singing Revolution chronicles this extraordinary yet seldom-told chain of events. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

No Regrets opens as architect Alex Wheeler (Robert Merrill) is reunited with his college sweetheart Suzanne (Lari White) at the same time that Alex's wife, Cheryl (Janine Turner), is reunited with her college love Phil. But wait a minute! That isn't the real Cheryl, nor the real Suzanne, nor the real Phil. The real Alex (Edward Albert) is a movie director, trying to work out his personal and romantic problems by making a movie about his situation, with actors portraying the people in his life. As the "love story with two happy endings" progresses, reality and fantasy alternately merge and intersect with breathless rapidity -- and few are more confused by the piling on of fact and fiction than Alex's real-life wife Cheryl (Jennifer Hetrick), and actual mistress, Suzanne (Kate Jackson). Initially filmed for theatrical release and test-shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May of 2004, writer/director Curt Hahn's No Regrets received only minimal exposure before it was picked up for cable TV play by Lifetime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With the advent of DNA evidence, a number of convicted criminals have been able to finally be exonerated of crimes they'd never committed in the first place. Naturally, this has added a good deal of fuel to the debates surrounding the American judicial system and capital punishment. In this documentary, Academy Award-nominated director Jessica Sanders takes a look at not only the process of freeing the wrongly convicted but the obstacles that face the prisoners once they are finally freed and attempt return to mainstream society. After Innocence premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Oscar-nominated documentarian Amy Sommer (Waco: The Rules of Engagement) turns her attentions toward family matters in this in-depth look at the bizarre and sometimes deadly phenomenon of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP). In this outlandish form of supposed child abuse, mentally unstable mothers attempt to gain the attention and sympathy of the medical community by allegedly faking their child's illness or intentionally making their own healthy children sick. Though the founder of this supposed medical phenomenon has been discredited, doctors across the globe have still seen cases of child illness that they believe to be a direct result of MSbP. In this documentary, Sommer explores instances in which MSbP may have been used to punish mothers seeking medical assistance for their ailing children. The prospect of doctors prescribing drugs never approved for pediatric use to infants is also explored, as are cases in which medical professionals diagnose cases of MSbP without even meeting the mother of the child in question. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This documentary examines the evidence on both sides, of the guilt or innocence of Abu Jamal, a black man who was convicted in the 1981 murder of a white Philadelphia police officer. Now serving time on death row, Abu Jamal has always maintained his innocence, and his cause has been taken up by many activists and celebrities. Others remain skeptical of his innocence. The film presents the evidence, much of which is contradictory in nature. The ensuing controversy makes for an engrossing documentary on the nature of the judicial system in America. While in prison, Abu Jamal has become an author and NPR journalist. The documentary was taken from HBO's America Undercover series, but contains much new information, film footage, and interviews never before seen. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi