David Grubin
FREE RENTY tells the story of Tamara Lanier, an African American woman determined to force Harvard University to cede possession of daguerreotypes of her great-great-great grandfather, an enslaved man named Renty. The daguerreotypes were commissioned in 1850 by a Harvard professor to "prove" the superiority of the white race. The images remain emblematic of America’s failure to acknowledge the cruelty of slavery, the racist science that supported it and the white supremacy that continues to infect our society today. The film focuses on Lanier and tracks her lawsuit against Harvard, and features attorney Benjamin Crump, author Ta-Nehisi Coates and scholars Ariella Azoulay and Tina Campt.
Writer and artist, James Stevenson was one of The New Yorker Magazine’s most prolific cartoonists. Revered for its weighty commentary on world affairs, The New Yorker found its sweet side in the wit, whimsy and sheer joie de vivre of Jim’s illustrations and articles. Opening as the artist celebrates his 85th birthday, STEVENSON - LOST AND FOUND is a bitter-sweet romp through the stellar, 67-year career of a remarkable artist. An odyssey of discovery and loss the film unearths a truly dazzling volume of work while facing, head-on, the dark and tragic struggles of the artist and those who loved him
Meet Nikola Tesla, the genius engineer and tireless inventor whose technology revolutionized the electrical age of the 20th century. Although eclipsed in fame by Edison and Marconi, it was Tesla's vision that paved the way for today's wireless world. His fertile but undisciplined imagination was the source of his genius but also his downfall, as the image of Tesla as a mad scientist came to overshadow his reputation as a brilliant innovator.
There are over 6,000 languages in the world. We lose one every two weeks. Hundreds will be lost within the next generation. By the end of this century, half of the world's languages will have vanished. Language Matters with Bob Holman is a two hour documentary that asks: What do we lose when a language dies? What does it take to save a language?
Sasha is a young Russian violinist on a scholarship to Juilliard, living with his affectionate but overbearing father, a cellist determined to manage his son's career. While Sasha prepares for a critical recital that will launch him on a path to a glittering future, he is increasingly drawn to the rhythms he hears on the streets of New York. When he meets Ramona, a bohemian singer/songwriter, he joins her band, and falls in love with her and her music. He begins to lead a double life, careening frantically between two worlds.
William Kurelek's The Maze is a documentary film about the life of celebrated Canadian artist William Kurelek, "dramatically told through his paintings and his on-camera revelations." The film documents the artist's struggles with attempted suicide and what he called a "spiritual crisis."
This documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world’s greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha’s life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddha’s teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life.
J. Robert Oppenheimer was a national hero, the brilliant scientist who during WWII led the scientific team that created the atomic bomb. But after the bomb brought the war to an end, in spite of his renown and his enormous achievement, America turned on him - humiliated and cast him aside. The question the film asks is, "Why?"
The Jewish Americans was a three-part miniseries that originally aired on PBS during the month of January 2008. It was written and directed by David Grubin. The series focused on the traditions and styles of American Jews, as well as their contribution to American culture and subsequent impact on American society at large. The series was narrated by Liev Schreiber, and featured many well-known American Jews, including Louis D. Brandeis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Henry Morgenthau, Hank Greenberg, Betty Friedan, Molly Goldberg, Carl Reiner, Sid Caesar, and Tony Kushner.
Showcasing the best in international documentaries, Storyville has developed an enviable reputation since its inception more than a decade ago. Screening over 340 films, from some 70 different countries, the strand has garnered a staggering array of awards: five Oscars, 15 Griersons, three Peabodys and two International Emmys. In true, unique, Storyville style, the new series promises to deliver the strand's usual eclectic mix of compelling stories from across the globe.
This was a very human account of the lives and deaths of Marie Antoinette and Louis the XVI focusing primarily on Marie. It is an account of their lives from birth to death and the circumstances leading to the downfall of the French monarchy.
An overview of the Lincoln's life with emphasis on the role played by his wife, Mary.
David Grubin's probing and perceptive biography reassesses the remarkable and tragic life of Bobby Kennedy, whose early life was spent in the shadow of his elder brother John. After JFK's assassination, he discovered his own identity in the forefront of American politics before his career was also tragically curtailed by an assassin's bullet. (Storyville)
This documentary follows the life of Kofi Annan, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and Secretary General of the United Nations. With unprecedented access, filmmakers follow Annan as he accepts the Nobel Prize, struggles to get food to Afghans threatened with starvation, travels to Tokyo and Thailand to raise funds and garner support for the interim government in Afghanistan, and celebrates East Timor's new independence.
This documentary retraces the life of the famous Austrian psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud, from his birth to the publication of his landmark book on dream interpretation. Dr. Freud revolutionary theories spawned the psychoanalytic school of psychology.
In David Grubin's NAPOLEON watch Napoleon's rise from obscurity to victories that made him a hero to the French people and convinced him he was destined for greatness. Learn of his love for Josephine Beauharnais, and his rise to Emperor. Witness his extraordinary achievements and ultimately his fall, his final battles, his exile to Elba, and his defeat at Waterloo. For nearly two decades he strode the world stage like a colossus -- loved and despised, venerated and feared. From his birth on the rugged island of Corsica to his final exile on the godforsaken island of St. Helena, NAPOLEON brings this extraordinary figure to life.
A champion of the strenuous life, Teddy Roosevelt embodied the notion of an expanded presidency. Stamping the presidency with his own colorful personality, Roosevelt's enormous popularity gave him political clout that matched his celebrity status. "Get action, do things," sums up his attitude toward all endeavors, political and otherwise.
Bill Moyers and filmmaker David Grubin give viewers a rare glimpse into dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones’s highly acclaimed dance, Still/Here. At workshops around the country, people facing life-threatening illnesses are asked to remember the highs and lows of their lives, and even imagine their own deaths. They then transform their feelings into expressive movement, which Jones incorporates into the dance performed later in the program. Jones demonstrates for Moyers the movements of his own life story — his first encounter with white people, confusion over his sexuality, his partner Arnie Zane’s untimely death from AIDS, and Jones’s own HIV status.
Polio at age 39, president at age 50. Explore the public and private life of a determined man who steered this country through two monumental crises: the Depression and World War II. FDR served as president longer than any other, and his legacy still shapes our understanding of the role of government and the presidency. A film by award winning filmmaker David Grubin. This is the second of four parts.
Lyndon Johnson exploited his mastery of the legislative process to shepherd a collection of progressive programs, rivaling those of FDR's New Deal, through Congress with astounding success. However, visions of a Great Society were swallowed up in the quagmire of Vietnam: the unpopular and costly war eroded his political base and left him an exile within his own White House.
TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.
The life of the famed illustrator NC Wyeth as told by his children: Andrew Wyeth, Henriette Wyeth Hurd, Caroline Wyeth, Nat Wyeth, and Ann Wyeth McCoy.
An interview with playwright and screenwriter Samson Raphaelson. First aired on PBS's "Creativity with Bill Moyers".
For three days in 1971, former US soldiers who were in Vietnam testify in Detroit about their war experiences. Nearly 30 speak, describing atrocities personally committed or witnessed, telling of inaccurate body counts, and recounting the process of destroying a village.
