Lisa Heller Movies

The events that transpired at Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957 not only set a key and vital precedent for civil rights in the United States, but permanently altered the sociocultural landscape of postwar America. Late that month, Governor Orval Faubus unsuccessfully attempted to block the entrance of several African American students into the school, only to meet an unstoppable tide of resistance from President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. But what subsequently became of Little Rock Central High? For the 2007 documentary Little Rock High: 50 Years Later, documentarists Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud hearken back to the pivotal institution and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock Crisis, by cross sectioning the school's current racial makeup, student attitudes, administration and policies. The filmmakers thus reveal the outstanding social progress eked out by the school, even as they unveil related challenges that still confront students and faculty members. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

In this documentary, celebrated journalist and filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi (daughter of congresswoman Nancy Pelosi) hits the road, camera-in-tow, and takes a long, penetrating tour of 'Evangelical America' - interviewing at length the key evangelicals who qualify as movers and shakers on the political scene, such as Rev. Ted Haggard, the late televangelist Jerry Falwell, and Rev. Joel Osteen. From subject to subject, Pelosi sheds a light on the individuals who sit at the intersection between evangelical Christianity and right-wing politics and asks what their doings may entail for the sociocultural (and political) landscape of Middle America. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

When documentary filmmaker Doug Block's mother dies unexpectedly and his eighty-three year old father reveals plans to move to Florida with his one-time secretary shortly thereafter, the confused son travels to his childhood time to seek out the secrets of his parent's presumably happy fifty-five year marriage in a film that explores just what happens when everything you think you knew about your family is suddenly thrown into question. As a child Block always assume that his parents were content in their relationship, but as close as he was to his mother growing up, his father remained a constant mystery. Now the home he grew up in is suddenly on the market, and in order to seek out the secrets of his family history Block will travel to Long Island, camera in hand, to peel away decades of secrecy. As sixty-years and three generations of carefully guarded secrets finally come into focus with the discovery of his mother's detailed diary, Block's fundamental assumptions about the lives of his parents gradually give way to a poignant meditation on the themes of fidelity, love, and marriage while revealing that the relationship shared between his mother and father was much more complicated than he ever imagined. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Actress Lisa Gay Hamilton makes her directorial debut with the documentary Beah: A Black Woman Speaks, a biography of actress and writer Beah Richards, whom Hamilton had worked with on The Practice and Beloved. The production of this project spanned many years; Hamilton realized, early on, that Richards was dying, and thus secured her participation during the actress's final year - though the picture wasn't realized until after three her death. Born in Mississippi, Richards moved to New York City in 1950 to begin acting in off-Broadway productions. In addition to her distinguished acting career, she was also an accomplished poet, playwright, teacher, and social activist. In 1967, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Shortly before her death in 2000, she won an Emmy for her guest starring role on The Practice. The original musical score is provided by Bernice Johnson Reagon from Sweet Honey in the Rock. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Most nuns are not like Sister Helen -- she's tough as nails, can curse like a sailor, and woe be unto anyone who gets on her bad side. But most nuns probably haven't had a past like Sister Helen's, either; a longtime alcoholic, Helen gave up drinking only after the death of both of her children (one of whom was murdered) and her husband (whose death was related to his own drinking problem). After getting clean and sober, Helen became a Benedictine Nun, and she now runs a halfway house for recovering drug and alcohol abusers in a rough neighborhood in the South Bronx. Sister Helen is a documentary that looks at her often difficult life and her current crusade to help addicts get clean, as she shares her home with 21 men struggling with sobriety. Taking no guff and offering compassion only to those who deserve it, Sister Helen's attitude redefines the phrase "tough love," and among her charges are men who are grateful for her help, and a few who are resentful of her methods and distrustful of her motivations. Sister Helen received the Director's Award for Best Documentary at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide