Best Special Interest Movies

Dive into the sordid history of American exploitation films in this documentary narrated by Academy Award-nominee Robert Forster, and featuring interviews with John Landis, William Lustig, Larry Cohen, Jack Hill, and Herschell Gordon Lewis. This is the story of the movies that kept audiences coming back to the cinema for more, and the filmmakers who helped turn bad taste into fine art. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Filmmaker David Bond explores the practical issues of privacy in a world of prying electronic eyes in this documentary. As the public and private sectors stockpile more data on ordinary citizens and a growing number of people are willing to share the details of their lives on line, how secure is an average individual? Bond decided to find out -- he opted to "disappear" for a month, and hired a detective firm to find him. The detectives had nothing to go on but Bond's name, but before long they knew where he lived, where his father lived, that his wife was pregnant and could easily track Bond to most of his hiding places as he struggled to outsmart them. Erasing David exposes the realities of our culture of surveillance as well as Bond's mounting anxieties as he learns how few secrets he (and most people like him) truly have. Erasing David received its North American premiere at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The land-mass of the title, of course, refers to Antarctica, and in referencing the finality of it, the directors are referring to its status as the last "unconquered" continent, and the last to be receive full exploration. The crew at the heart of this film - a cadre of scientists, documentarists and boatmen - hit the Antarctic waters in a seabound vessel for 430 days, to evaluate the impact of global warming on the ecosphere. As the voyage unfolds, danger and risk abound; at one point flattening winds surface and threaten to end the lives of all aboard by breaking the ship apart on nearby rocks. Meanwhile, the stated impact of gradual warming on local fauna becomes utterly and readily apparent as the voyagers note that ice floes typically used by seals as a locale to birth calves are now absent, the warm temperatures unable to sustain them. As winter sets in, the film hones in on fabulous, breathtaking marine life thriving beneath the subthermal ice - which provides yet another reflection on the devastation that will occur if the drastic climate change continues to transpire. This film represents an unofficial companion piece to director Jean Lemire's documentary The White Planet, in which he films the environment and its inhabitants in the area ensconcing the South Pole. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

This documentary from NOVA takes a look at the project known as ANDRILL - an effort by leading scientists and engineers to drill into unprecedented depths in the Arctic Peninsula following a massive ice collapse in 2002, to determine whether more melting was in store, indicating that sea levels must be poised to rise to disastrous levels. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

In this documentary viewers learn the harrowing risks that Central American migrants take in order to reach America and start a new life. From the moment they reach the southern border of Mexico, it's a constant struggle for survival. By following a group of migrants atop a Mexican cargo train for two weeks, we witness their intense journey -- and their incredible determination to seek out a better future for their loved ones - firsthand. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This documentary charts the history of crime dramas on television. The filmmakers discuss some of the classic programs like Mannix, Dragnet, and the Angie Dickenson series Police Woman. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Filmmakers Miller Bargerton, Jr. and Arcelious J. Daniels work to sort fact from fiction in regards to U.S. history, and weigh in on the topic of reparations for African-Americans while offering an eye-opening look at the injustices inflicted upon our black brothers and sisters during America's rise to power. An unflinching look at some of the most controversial chapters in American history reveal the deceptions now accepted as fact as such prominent intellectuals as Dr. Na'Im Akbar, Dr. Preston T. King, and Dr. Cornel West weigh in with their thoughts and opinions on a variety of related topics. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This inclusive documentary brings together Christians, Jews, and Muslims, to examine what calls certain people to a life of religious devotion in the clergy. Profiling the members of the different religions intimately, the film finds common threads about the way that men and women of the cloth embrace both joy and sacrifice in order to answer their callings. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

It's no great surprise that making your way into the United States as an illegal alien can be a dangerous business, but for many getting close enough to the border to make the jump is one of the riskiest parts of the journey. A significant number of undocumented immigrants are from Central America and they must cross through Mexico in order to reach the American border. Filmmaker Rebecca Cammisa follows a handful of youngsters as they make their way across the continent with the United States as their ultimate goal in the documentary Which Way Home. Many of the kids travel by train, hopping rides on a rattletrap line known to locals as "The Beast." This is dangerous enough, with the youngsters riding on top of the cars or holding onto the sides when they can't find an open boxcar, but that's hardly the only risk they face, as violence and criminal predators lay in wait for them along the load road into Mexico and the land of their dreams. Which Way Home was an official selection at Toronto's 2009 Hot Docs Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Filmmaker Johan Grimonprez draws a surprising parallel between the anxieties of the Cold War and the Master of Suspense in this fusion of documentary and dark comedy. In Double Take, Grimonprez explores the paranoia of America during the Cold War while using clips of the classic television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents as a commentary on America's mood during the 1950s and '60s. As Grimonprez ponders the symbiotic nature of politics and popular culture, he also presents a fictional narrative (inspired by a short story by Jorge Luis Borges) in which Hitchcock (played by Ron Burrage and voiced by Mark Perry), while on a studio lot, encounters a man who looks exactly like him, a situation that popped up more than once in the great director's films. Hitchcock once said, "If you meet your double, you should kill him," but is that advice the great man takes himself? And how do these doubles reflect a world in which fear and nationalism have taken center stage? Double Take was an official selection at the 2009 BFI London Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Theodore Thomas, son of the late Walt Disney Studios animator Frank Thomas (1912-2004) and director of the acclaimed 1995 documentary Frank and Ollie, helms this second foray into Disney history, Walt & El Grupo (2007). The subject this time lies somewhat outside the boundaries of Disney animation and rests on an unusual footnote: in 1941, Walt Disney personally led a "goodwill tour" and research expedition of South America, with a team of animators in tow whom he collectively christened "El Grupo." The voyage transcended passing personal interest on the part of the animators; its residual effects can be seen in several Latin-themed Disney projects -- notably, Saludos Amigos (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1945), both of which won Oscars, and other efforts designed to support the Good Neighbor Policy of the United States. With Walt & El Grupo, Theodore Thomas and his wife, Kuniko Okubo, combine rare, unseen 16 mm home movie footage of the original trip (held in the Disney vaults for years) with footage from their own trip through South America that retraces the Disney animators' original journey -- contrasting 1941 footage with glimpses of the same locales, shot 60 years later. On the soundtrack, Thomas and Okubo overlay reminiscences by the original travelers, taken from journals and letters and read by family members. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

This guided travel program takes viewers on a trip through some of the most emphasized locations in the Christian faith, visiting Jerusalem, Nazareth, the Mount of Beatitudes, Bethsaida, and more, all captured with intense aerial photography for a one-of-a-kind view of each landscape. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

This hard-hitting news program investigates the disturbing charges levied against the New Orleans Police Department by citizens who believe they attempted to cover up the use of lethal force upon members of the community in the chaos of Hurricane Katrina. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi