Film Diary

CJR The Movie: Fight You... Bastian resignation caused Iqbaal, Aldi, and Kiki feel lost. Patrick invites them to Australia and meet with Emmanuel Kelly, an X-Factor Australia contestant. They face the real test while performing a concert

The Place That Makes Us Although a portrait of the troubled Rust Belt city of Youngstown, Ohio, “The Place That Makes Us” offers a gratifyingly hopeful look at efforts to restore a town ravaged by the prolonged economic distress caused by the closure of its iconic steel mills and related industries.

Our Gorongosa The film tells this hopeful story through Dominique Gonçalves, a young African elephant ecologist who strives to empower and inspire Africans, especially women, to become responsible stewards of the environment.

The Oratorio In “The Oratorio,” filmmaker Martin Scorsese helps tell the story of an 1826 performance that forever changed America’s cultural landscape with the introduction of Italian opera to New York City.

We "We" is a visual essay on the state of being connected – a metaphorical study of interpersonal relationships and social constraints. Personal experiences and current social contexts are portrayed through a series of abstract analogies reflecting the essence of our everyday social interactions.

Lights of Baltimore “Lights of Baltimore” tells the story of the war of images surrounding Baltimore in the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death at the hands of the police in 2015 — images produced by factions fighting for the heart of one of America’s greatest and most troubled cities.

The Lesson German schools mandate that students learn about National Socialism and its devastating impact on the country and the world, and this hour-long vérité doc follows four students over five years as they engage with lessons about the Nazi era and the Holocaust.

Chiaroscuro: Capturing M... “Chiaroscuro” begins as an intimate portrait of one of Iran’s most influential artists, Aydin Aghdashloo, but becomes a search for a father’s heart.

The Black Artists' Group... The Black Artists’ Group of St. Louis (BAG) formed in the late 1960s as an arts collective devoted to raising Black consciousness, battling social injustice, and exploring the far reaches of experimental performance.

The Ballad of John Henry This ambitious documentary by St. Louis-based filmmaker Matthew Rice analyzes how an ex-slave became one of America’s greatest tall-tale heroes: John Henry. Based on Scott Reynolds Nelson’s book “Steel Drivin’ Man,” the film provides a fresh perspective on the song and folk tale by exploring a myriad of related subjects, including the convict-lease program, an unjust legal system developed after the Civil War as a replacement for slavery.