Current Concerns

2010-01-12T14:11:00.003-05:00

The Case for Europe

Paul Krugman, professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University and Nobel Prize in Economics, makes a convincing case for the European economic and social model in The New York Times, opposing the conservatives' view that the old continent is not competitive and has lost its economic dynamism. Read his column here.

With America's version of capitalism seemingly heading for bankruptcy, is there a crisis-proof economic model that can shape the 21st century?

In THE WORLD'S NEXT SUPERMODEL, three prominent thinkers argue for competing economic models, including Europe, Asia and Brazil. The proposals for these models are discussed by expert "judges," in a lively debate, examining them on the basis of issues such as social stability, environmental sustainability, government and market relationship, and their crisis-proof nature.

2009-11-09T17:14:00.002-05:00

A book on Heidegger reignites the debate over his political views

As reported in The New York Times, a soon-to-be published book in English has revived the long-running debate about whether the man can be separated from his philosophy. Heidegger's critique of Western thought and technology has penetrated deeply into architecture, psychology and literary theory and inspired some of the most influential intellectual movements of the 20th century. Yet he was also a fervent Nazi.

Coincidentally, we are releasing on Home Video on November 17th our title THE ISTER, a film that takes up some of the most challenging paths in Heidegger's thought.

2009-11-09T16:37:00.003-05:00

Classic works are allowed to rise to their full erotic potential...

An article in the Washington Post about eroticism in art is a very relevant companion to our new release SECRET MUSEUMS. The article includes Marcel Duchamp's work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art currently in exhibition.

2009-10-29T14:52:00.004-04:00

Roy DeCarava, Harlem Insider Who Photographed Ordinary Life, Dies at 89

"It starts before you snap the shutter... It starts with your sense of what's important." These are the words of Roy DeCarava, one of the foremost photographic artists of the twentieth century, contributor to the Family of Man exhibit and the first black photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Mr. DeCarava Passed away on Tuesday in Manhattan as reported in The New York Times.

CONVERSATIONS WITH ROY DECARAVA examines his life and work, and deftly interweaves 108 of DeCarava's black and white stills with a portrait of the artist discussing his life, past struggles, his efforts to foster young black photographers, and the relationship of his work to the black experience in America.

2009-10-23T15:01:00.003-04:00

Food experts worry as hunger grows

An article in The New York Times explains some of the concerns and challenges linked to the developing food crisis.

For more details and some examples on this very timely issue, see our new release SEEDS OF HUNGER.

2009-09-11T17:32:00.003-04:00

Psychological Repercussions of September 11th Attacks

The New York Times reports on the work of therapists and mental health specialists who dealt with the trauma and the methods of treatments that followed the terrorist attacks.

THE HIDDEN FACE OF FEAR tells us the stories of several New Yorkers who were treated after September 11th, and how scientists can now link memory, fear and trauma to particular parts of the brain in order to cure patients.

2009-09-09T10:27:00.004-04:00

September 9, 2009, 8:40 am New York Times
A 'Nuclear Renaissance' Stumbles Forward

Interesting update in the Times today on new projects to expand use of nuclear power, click HERE to read it. This is an issue well explored in our recent (and well reviewed, too) release THE NUCLEAR COMEBACK.

2009-09-08T18:19:00.002-04:00

Our first documentary on Afghanistan now available.

As the war in Afghanistan continues on (for almost 8 years now) we have just recently secured the rights to and are now releasing an intimate new film called WAR AND LOVE IN AFGHANISTAN, by the noted German director, Helga Reidemeister.

2009-08-25T11:56:00.004-04:00

Celebrating the 400 years of Galileo's Telescope

Google made it its homepage graphic for the day and all the news outlets, including The New York Times, are running articles on the revolution that took place 400 years ago and shaped the world as we know it.

Our new Fall release THE MOVING EARTH chronicles these events through the innovative and radical discoveries made by Galileo, Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Newton. Stay tuned for more information on this title coming soon!

2009-08-25T11:27:00.004-04:00

Independent Dairy Farmers' Struggle

NPR reports on a major concern related to a staple of the American diet, milk. With the price of raw milk at historic lows, dairy farms are going under across the United States. As the crisis deepens, many blame two dairy giants that they say are trying to monopolize the industry, to the detriment of independent farmers and consumers.

If you are interested in the milk and dairy business issues, you should also see our release MILK IN THE LAND about the history of America's favorite beverage (and how it became such)!

2009-08-21T15:36:00.004-04:00

New York Times special issue on Saving the World's Women

NY Times recent article explores rights of women in the global south, suggesting that aid efforts aimed specifically at improving the lives of women are the most effective in producing positive results both economically and in poltical stability.

Our film, Dishonored, tells the story of Mukhtar Mai, whose demands for justice after being raped, led to an historic series of legal proceedings in Pakistan, and media coverage worldwide.

2009-06-10T17:05:00.004-04:00

Extreme-right British National Party wins two seats at the European Parliament

As European countries are voting to elect their European Parliament representatives, Great Britain is shaken by the victory of far right party BNP, gaining two seats for the first time, as reported by the AFP. The BNP is known for its anti-immigration stance and has been referred to as a racist and fascist organization, even though its leaders deny these accusations.

ALL WHITE IN BARKING offers a snap shot of the current situation in a working class suburb of London where older white residents, including a supporter of the BNP with a mixed-race grandson, learn to live with their new neighbors, immigrants from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Balkans.

2009-04-06T12:48:00.004-04:00

Brain research and memory

The New York Times reports that scientists in Brooklyn, NY are experimenting with a drug that will have the ability to erase specific memories such as traumas and chronic fears.

For an accessible, yet very informative, introduction to the circuitry of the brain and how memory and fear work, THE HIDDEN FACE OF FEAR studies the traumatic impact of 9/ll on New Yorkers featuring interviews with leading researchers, including neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux and Nobel Prize-winning neurobiologist Eric R. Kandel.

2009-04-06T12:14:00.003-04:00

Malls featured in the New York Times

Accompanying an article on the ways malls are trying to stay in business and relevant, The New York Times also features a discussion on deserted malls and their future with, among other contributors, Helene Klodawsky, director of MALLS R US, and Peter Blackbird, founder of deadmall.com, featured in the film.

2009-03-09T14:27:00.005-04:00

A new and timely acquisition

As the words "foreclosure" and "credit crunch" are on everyone's mind and in every other news report, Icarus Films has acquired the documentary WE ALL FALL DOWN: THE AMERICAN MORTGAGE CRISIS, a clear and accessible explanation of what led to the current downfall.

Twelve months in the making, this film documents the evolution of America's mortgage finance from its origins in the 1930s to its recent degeneration into a nationwide pyramid scheme that sparked a global financial collapse.

The DVD is scheduled to be released by April 1, but you can pre-order your copy now!

2009-03-03T15:59:00.004-05:00

Obama and Clinton renew dialogue with Syria

The New York Times reports that the Obama administration is sending two senior officials to Syria to begin discussions with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Experts consider Syria to be the key to unlock some of the major challenges in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear threat.

SYRIA: CHESS MATCH AT THE BORDERS offers a close look at the country's history, geography and politics, and what led to its position as a major player and stake in the Middle East.

2009-01-26T17:10:00.003-05:00

Director Ilan Ziv on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Ilan Ziv, director of JESUS POLITICS, released an article with journalist Daoud Kuttab on the conflict between Israel and Palestine and how the region could be saved by an international tribunal.

Click here to read this insightful article.

2008-12-22T17:54:00.004-05:00

Iranian Nobel Winner's Office Shut Down

The Associated Press reports that Iranian authorities shut down the office of a human rights group led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi on Sunday as the group was preparing to honor a political activist who spent 17 years in prison in the Islamic republic.

Learn more about Ebadi and her endeavors in the documentary SHIRIN EBADI, A SIMPLE LAWYER as it features an in-depth interview conducted in her Tehran office, speeches at numerous international conferences, and a visit to the children's center she founded.

2008-12-11T14:22:00.003-05:00

Anand Patwardhan's Statement on the Tragedy in Mumbai

Award-winning Indian filmmaker Anand Patwardhan released a statement on the recent terror attacks in Mumbai.

Patwardhan has been making political documentaries for nearly three decades. He has relentlessly pursued diverse and controversial issues that are at the crux of social and political life in India.

Read the statement here.

Learn more about Anand Patwardhan's films here.

2008-12-08T17:13:00.005-05:00

An infectious laugh!

The Washington Post reports that scientists have found that happiness is contagious and can spread like a virus. The study was conducted over 20 years on more than 4,700 people and demonstrates that people who are happy or become happy boost the chances that someone they know will be happy.

In HOW HAPPY CAN YOU BE?, filmmaker Line Hatland, who admits to not being as happy as she'd like to be, seeks answers to this question by interviewing and showing the work of some of the world's leading researchers on happiness, or "objective well being," including psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and neuroscientists.

2008-10-10T13:54:00.003-04:00

New findings in DNA and forensic science

Reuters reports that DNA fingerprinting could be used to uncover the last name of male suspects or victims in forensic investigations, as men with the same patronym are highly likely to be genetically linked.

TRACKED DOWN BY OUR GENES examines the breakthrough of DNA mapping and how it has ushered in a new age of genetic awareness, with hundreds of companies offering tests to determine ancestry, paternity, and hereditary diseases.

2008-09-02T16:30:00.003-04:00

2008 Presidential Campaign

This month Icarus Films is releasing the film JESUS POLITICS by Ilan Ziv. A very timely and compelling documentary about the prominent role of religion in the 2008 American presidential campaign. Rather than follow the candidates, Ziv decided to meet with religious activists supporting the Democratic and Republican candidates, hence offering a different point of view on the race for the White House.

2008-08-18T19:29:00.002-04:00

INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE August 17, 2008
A Push to Increase Icebreakers in the Arctic
By ANDREW C. REVKIN A growing array of military leaders, Arctic experts and lawmakers say the United States is losing its ability to patrol and safeguard Arctic waters.

We will be releasing a new documentary film STRAIT THROUGH THE ICE on September 2nd which investigates how climate change, and modern icebreakers, are making it possible to open the long-frozen Northwest Passage to international shipping, and what the ecological and geopolitical ramifications might be. Check back in September for more information on this timely film!

2008-05-19T14:26:00.003-04:00

Anniversary of the Catonsville Nine action

NPR remembers the anti Vietnam war protest that took place 40 years ago. On March 17th, 1968, in Catonsville, MD, nine members of the Catholic Church stole hundreds of draft records and set them on fire with homemade napalm. The group came to be known as the Catonsville Nine and later that year was prosecuted and convicted.

INVESTIGATION OF A FLAME is an intimate look at this unlikely, disparate band of resisters who broke the law in a poetic act of civil disobedience.

2008-05-16T14:20:00.005-04:00

Women in Saudi Arabia

A recent article in The New York Times, "Love on Girls' Side of the Saudi Divide", examines the lives of young Saudi women under the strict Islamic laws of their country. With attitudes ranging from rebellious pranks such as dressing as men to venture outside, to an outspoken admiration for their devout brothers and the religious police, these young women offer an interesting portrait of women's place in Saudi society and the effects of the segregation between male and female populations.

In SAUDI SOLUTIONS, filmmaker Bregtje van der Haak, the first Western filmmaker ever granted permission to film the lives of Saudi women, takes us inside this closed society where fewer than five percent of women work. She profiles several women with professional careers and asks them to explain what it means to be a modern woman in a fundamentalist Islamic society.