Dana Heinz Perry
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, one veteran dies by suicide in America every 80 minutes. While only 1% of Americans has served in the military, former service members account for 20% of all suicides in the U.S. Based in Canandaigua, NY and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Veterans Crisis Line receives more than 22,000 calls each month from veterans of all conflicts who are struggling or contemplating suicide. This timely documentary spotlights the traumas endured by America’s veterans, as seen through the work of the hotline’s trained responders. CRISIS HOTLINE captures extremely private moments, where the professionals, many of whom are themselves veterans or veterans’ spouses, can often interrupt the thoughts and plans of suicidal callers to steer them out of crisis.
The Cistercian monks of Austria are holy men who rise at 4:30 a.m., pray for more than four hours a day and have devoted their lives to God. They're also pop stars. This documentary offers a glimpse at the daily life of the joyous monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz Abbey whose recordings of their ethereal Gregorian chants have turned them into chart-topping music sensations.
On the night of Oct. 2, 2005, Hart and Dana Perry's 15-year-old son Evan jumped to his death from his New York City bedroom window. This moving film is the story, told by his filmmaker parents and others who knew him, of Evan’s life and death, and his life-long struggle with bipolar disorder. It delves into the complexity of Evan's disease, sharing his family's journey through the maze of mental illness. In showing how one family deals with generations of loss and grief, the film defies the stigma related to mental illness and suicide and tells a human story that touches everyone.
The film documents the development of hip hop culture since its inception in the 1970s. With interviews from various figures in the community such as Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Fab 5 Freddy, KRS-One, MC Hammer and Busy Bee.
