Pai Hsien-yung has lent Chinese-language literature some of its most colorful and most memorable characters, and served as the inspiration of multiple generations of artists working in mediums as different as television, film, and theatre. From the youthful air of the Modern Literature magazine, which he helped launch at the age of 22, to the humanistic sincerity in his recent works My Father and the Republic and Healing the Pain, Pai looks back on his 29 years teaching at Santa Barbara, a four-decade relishing of Guilin rice noodles, and a return visit to the gardens of Suzhou after 10 years. Through the darkened realm of the stage, to the countless lectures and courses he taught, Pai has been at the forefront of literature for multiple generations, with his unique blend of resilience and tenderness reverberating through the film, and bringing audiences closer to his warmth as a novelist.
How have one poet and his single book of poetry from the last century continued to inspire people today? A Life That Sings follows the legendary poet Ya Hsien from Vancouver to Nanyan, to the mobile library from his childhood and to the basement of his current home.
James Baldwin was at once a major 20th century American author, a Civil Rights activist and, for two crucial decades, a prophetic voice calling Americans, black and white, to confront their shared racial tragedy.
The man who invented James Bond: The story of Ian Fleming, real-life spy, ladies' man and sportsman, who was there at the birth of MI-5 and the CIA, and gave the world one of its most enduring and iconic heroes: Bond.
The views and thoughts of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood have never been more relevant than today. Readers turn to her work for answers as they confront the rise of authoritarian leaders, deal with increasingly intrusive technologies, and discuss climate change.
Recorded readings of Swiss writer Robert Walser's late texts and micrographs join with documentary tableaux of his long array of residences, leaving behind a disembodied image.
Euritan is a review of the narrative 'Klara eta biok', written by Itxaro Borda in 1985. Putting the author against the words of her past, it updates her view on the peripheral relationship around the Basque character.
Who needs school, who needs baseball, and who needs friends? That's the attitude of high school delinquent, Taishi Fura, who became a loner after falling out with his peers.
This documentary feature pulls back the curtain on the world of ‘working class’ rappers. The film spotlights independent artists struggling to find a balance between making a living and pursuing their art alongside the never-ending saga of age and relevance.
In Matt Braunger's stand-up special, he reveals why single men are so creepy, describes the drunken antics he observed as a bartender and details a surprisingly stressful Bingo victory.
Itso, about 35, drives a special ambulance called a 'corpse-van'. His job is to pick up the bodies of the recently deceased and transport them to the morgue.
When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been called a geological scandal due to its mineral rich soil. Unfortunately, those minerals, necessary to sustain today's technology, are funding the deadliest war since WWII.
Humpback Whales takes audiences to Alaska, Hawaii and the Kingdom of Tonga for a close-up look at how these whales communicate, sing, feed, play and take care of their young.
A people's struggle to save the animal at the heart of their culture. For centuries the Bunong indigenous people on the Cambodian-Vietnamese border lived with elephants, believing they shared the same destiny.
