This documentary profiles the controversial world-renown violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenburg. An enormously funny, fearless and irreverent individual, Nadja has played on every major stage and with every major orchestra in the world. Her unorthodox, passionate delivery, her swagger and unconventional attire earned her the nickname "...the bad girl of the violin..." Described as "possessed," "frightening" and "brilliant," her unique interpretations...

In post-Apartheid South Africa there's a small group of working Zulu men who every Saturday night leave their grimy overalls behind and wear their best Carducci or Pierre Cardin suits to impress the weekly selected judge. The men are called the Swenkas, and they have run this fashion show for so many years that no one remembers exactly when - or even why - it all began. The youngest Swenka, Sabelo, is in the most turbulent time of his life. He has...

"Word Wars" follows the lives of four of the top-rated Scrabble players in the country as they crisscross the United States in heated competitions culminating in their ultimate quest - the twenty-five-thousand-dollar top prize awarded at the national tournament in San Diego. Defending champ Joe Edley, known as the Jack Nicklaus of professional Scrabble, has memorized the dictionary many times over. Matt Graham, a stand-up comic, takes a lot of 'natural...

Trapeze, Spartacus, Sweet Smell of Success, The Boston Strangler, Some Like It Hot. Tony Curtis, the man who influenced Elvis Presley and James Dean, was one of the very first teen idols and one of the last real movie stars. From his difficult upbringing in the Bronx, where he was born Bernie Schwartz, to his unprecedented fame and infamous way with women, TONY CURTIS: DRIVEN TO STARDOM presents Mr. Curtis's life in all its rags to riches glory. Interviews...

Before World War Two, Poland’s 3.5 million Jews made the country the epicenter of the Jewish world. Today less than 20,000 Jews live there. Due to the Holocaust and ensuing Soviet era, Poland’s remaining Jews hid their identity from their children. With the fall of Communism in 1989 a young generation of Jews began learning their long-buried ancestry. The Return focuses on four women in their 20’s who face the unique challenge of trying to create...

The story of Sharif El-Gamal, developer of the 'Ground Zero Mosque' in Lower Manhattan. With unfettered and exclusive access to Sharif's life and family over the course of two years, the film tracks Sharif's struggle to bring his project, a controversial Muslim community center two blocks from the site of Ground Zero, to fruition. Told in observational style, Building Babel is a portrait of American identity ten years on from September 11th - who...

Albert Einstein once wrote, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." The product of 95 years' worth of additions, subtractions, deductions, and exclusions, it has become such a headache that many are calling for it to be drastically simplified or even removed all together. With a looming fiscal crisis on the horizon, April 15th seems more like a scene from a B-Horror movie than a day to contribute to the common good of the...

Four generations of a Jewish immigrant family create Russ and Daughters, a Lower East Side lox and herring emporium that survives and thrives. Produced to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the store, this documentary features an extensive interview with two of the original daughters for whom the store was named, now 100 and 92 years old, and interviews with prominent enthusiasts of the store including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,...