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The world of Sister Helen Travis has unfolded in a manner which most nun's are totally unaccustomed to. Based in New York City, Sister Helen works within the South Bronx as a councillor for recovering drug addicts. But that's really only the tip of the iceberg in the Sister Helen story, as filmmakers Rob Fruchtman and Rebecca Cammisa highlight in this absorbing documentary. Her husband and sons all passed away due to their drug habits, and Helen herself is a recovering addict. Straight-talking and unafraid of using coarse language, this miraculous survivor is not afraid to tell it like it is. Taking a tough love approach to her patients, Sister Helen inspires both awe and fear in the people she works with, but her impressive recovery record speaks for itself. This candid portrait of her life paints a startling picture of a strong woman capable of delivering a single-minded vision on how life should be lived, with the intimidating figure of Sister Helen lingering in the memory long after the credits have rolled.DVD Features:Region (unknown)Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33Additional Release Material: Filmaker Commentary: 1. Rob Fruchtman















2. Rebecca Cammisa Additional Scenes Additional Interviews Sundance Awards Live Filmaker BiographiesInteractive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Access
Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
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Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
For personal use only.
All rights reserved.

In the late 1930s thousands of German Jews, fearing for their lives under Nazi rule and unable to secure entrance visas to other countries, found refuge in the Japanese-occupied city of Shanghai. Destitute, hungry, and thrust into a strange environment, they made the best of their situation as they waited to return to Europe, little realizing the horrific toll that the ravages of war, and Nazi-orchestrated genocide, were taking on their people. This engrossing documentary from Amir Mann and Dana Janklowicz-Mann tells the tale through use of concurrently running narrative interviews with several of the men and women who grew up in the Shanghai ghetto, including Dana's father, Harold, whose dinner table reminiscences sparked the genesis of the film. From persecution and escape from Europe, through the length of the war and eventual migration to the U.S, the riveting, moving saga of these survivors comes alive through family photos, archival footage, and, most touchingly, their return visits to Shanghai and the one-room tenements they shared with their families. Narrated by Martin Landau, SHANGHAI GHETTO won the audience choice award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where it premiered in 2002.DVD Features;Region (unknown)Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33Additional Release Material: Filmaker Commentary Deleted Interviews Theatrical Trailer BiographiesInteractive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Access
Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
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In these times of international strife and a pervasive fear of disaster, it is vital to remember that much of the trepidation that colors our culture has been cultivated by the government itself. To this end, TARGET YOU! collects nine propaganda films dating from the early days of the Cold War. Containing a great deal of important history that is often overlooked, much of the imagery presented here seems bizarre, and the ideas appear outright ludicrous with the passage of time. DUCK AND COVER heads up the collection with its advice on what to do in case of a nuclear attack by the Russians, with a plan for survival that falls incredibly short of its goal. Other titles include TOWN OF THE TIMES, WHAT IS COMMUNISM (with Herbert Philbrick, author of I LED THREE LIVES), WARNING RED, and OCCUPYING A PUBLIC SHELTER.
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Documentary film AMERICA'S HEART AND SOUL is a series of shorts about people who live in the United States and who are--in a kooky, brave, inventive, or otherwise offbeat way--outstanding Americans. The portraits are unrelated, but they are linked by a romantic patriotism, as if the film is rhetorically asking, aren't Americans something else? Director Louis Schwartzberg combines his own color-saturated aerial footage (taken in locations from the Continental Divide to the Vermont countryside) with wonderful vignettes about people who live extraordinary livesthat add to the richness of our national identity.Take, for example, John Yac Yacobellis, a legendary bike messenger from New York, revered by his colleagues, who earns $200 a day narrowly avoiding car doors swinging into his path. Or the fledgling rock band Waltham, who work blue collar jobs in Massachusetts by day to support their hard-rocking nights. Patty Wagstaff, the three-time aerobatic flyer champion, describes the sensation of aerial loops, and tells how the dangers of her job keep her focused. Also featured in this long lineup of characters is Michael Bennett, who served time for armed robbery, turned his life around, and ended up on the Olympic boxing team. Even Ben Cohen (co-owner of the Ben& Jerry's ice cream enterprise) offers his two cents about growing a business from a small mom-and-pop shop a major brand.Schwartzberg's film, illustrated by inspirational sayings and uplifting majestic music, leaves one with the sensation of being cheered into a bubble of stalwart national pride. Schwartzberg formerly directed commercials, and his project has all the sparkle of a Coca-Cola ad. But audiences will nonetheless be struck by the film's essential truth: America is filled with complex, talented, and unusual folks--and that's something to feel good about.
Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
For personal use only.
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