Jessica Yu
She's savagely upbeat. Lovably awkward. And full of surprises. A wildly funny trip through a one-of-a-kind comic mind.
Single mother Jane Sadler's life is turned upside down when her young daughter goes missing in the middle of the night. And just like in the controversial police TV show she produces, everything is a mystery, everyone has a secret and no one can be trusted.
Follows the lives and families of three adults living and growing up in the United States of America in present and past times. As their paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways, we find that several of them share the same birthday - and so much more than anyone would expect.
Foreveryone.net connects the future of the web with the little-known story of its birth. In 1989, 33-year-old computer programmer Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web and his visionary decision to make it a free and accessible resource sparked a global revolution in communication. Tim has declared internet access a human right and has called for an “online Magna Carta” to protect privacy and free speech, extend connectivity to populations without access and maintain “One Web” for all. Tim’s dramatic story poses the question: will we fight for the web we want or let it be taken away?
For almost 50 years, the world's population has grown at an alarming rate, raising fears about strains on the Earth's resources. But how true are these claims? Taking cues from statistics guru Hans Rosling, Misconception offers a provocative glimpse at how the world—and women in particular— are tackling a subject at once personal and global. Following three individuals, director Jessica Yu focuses on the human implications of this highly charged political issue, inspiring a fresh look at the consequences of population growth. In English, Hindi, Mandarin, and Russian with subtitles.
Participant Media’s Last Call at the Oasis is a new documentary from Jessica Yu & Elise Pearlstein. Think water is an infinite resource? Think again.
From cinema-verite; pioneers Albert Maysles and Joan Churchill to maverick movie makers like Errol Morris, Werner Herzog and Nick Broomfield, the world's best documentarians reflect upon the unique power of their genre. Capturing Reality explores the complex creative process that goes into making non-fiction films. Deftly charting the documentarian's journey, it poses the question: can film capture reality?
Jessica Yu's documentary explores the relationship between human life and Euripidean dramatic structure by weaving together the stories of four men: German terrorist, a bank robber, an "ex-gay" evangelist, and a martial arts student.
Streetwise swaggering Christopher "C-Dub" Wang is a suburban guy who waxes political on all things Asian American and clings to pro basketball pipe dreams. But when misfortune strikes his family, C-dub must overcome living at home, working a dead-end job and his worldly older brother, to run his Mom's ping pong classes and defend the family's athletic dynasty.
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
At the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens, New York, Dr. Janos Martin helps treat patients with severe mental illness by encouraging them to express themselves through art, whether in paint, sculpture, or collage. In vivid imagery, brilliant close-ups, and delicate conversations, director Jessica Yu presents the intricate, often visionary, work of these nontraditional artists, allowing the patients to describe their approaches and processes in their own, sometimes tangled, words. With patience and calm resilience, Dr. Martin offers feedback and ideas for best methods to the individual artists, who sometimes scream or are in tears, as he helps them displace their frustrations, and demons, onto canvas. Seen as a collective, these works illustrate the fine line between creativity and distress and illuminate the healing power of expression.
Portrait of writer Mark O'Brien, who contracted polio as a child and spent much of his life in an iron lung.
A middle-aged man sets the table for two. His sister drops by to give him their late mother's wedding ring, and flowers for the table for this special night. He changes his clothes several times and tries out various ways to propose marriage.
People (mostly children) try to keep a very nasty candy in their mouths for as long as possible. For some it's simply an interesting experience; for others, it's THE worst thing they've EVER tasted.
An exploration of addictive love and the repercussions that a relationship has on the families in a small New England town.
