documentary

Most every American is familiar with the famous anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom’s Cabin," but few people know about Josiah Henson, the man whose life story inspired author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Enslaved for more than 40 years, Henson eventually escaped to Canada, building a settlement for fellow escapees called Dawn.

Local organization Impact Changes Society is teaming with documentarian Jerry Buck to get his latest film, The War We Ignore, about the growing opioid epidemic, into schools this fall. 

While the majority of individuals who don’t have access to safe and secure housing are in their situations due to economic reasons, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20 to 25 percent of the homeless population in the United States suffers from some form of severe mental illness.

The water crisis in Flint, Michigan last year raised awareness of the severe health damage caused by the lack of clean water. And while most communities in the Unites States take clean water for granted, according to a government Indian Health Service report, about 7.5 percent of Native American and Alaska Native homes did not have safe drinking water or basic sanitation as of 2013.

Commentary: Rick Pender, Around Cincinnati contributor and executive editor/publisher of the Everything Sondheim online community, talks about the documentary Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, about the original Broadway staging of Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along. The documentary will be shown on Sunday, January 29 at the Esquire Theatre (1pm) and Dayton's Neon Movies (7pm.)

This summer, many Americans heard the phrases Gold Star Families and Gold Star Mothers for the first time. The terms come from the Service Flag that originated during World War I. 

Local puppeteer Terrence Burke of Wump Mucket Puppets is in the studio (along with Coleman, star of his summer shows) to talk about his upcoming performances and new documentary.

As we have all seen with the recent problems uncovered in Flint, Michigan, it’s easy for most of us to take clean water for granted. Until we can’t easily get it. In many parts of the world, such as Nairobi, it’s a rare commodity. “The Intimate Realities of Water,” a documentary by University of Cincinnati professors, follows the lives of the people in two of Nairobi’'s slums, Kibera —- the largest urban slum in the city and all of Africa -— and Dagoretti.

Price Hill-based MYCincinnati (Music for Youth in Cincinnati) is a renowned free youth orchestra program for urban children. They learn violin, viola, cello or bass through a system that seeks social change. El Sistema, Venezuela’'s revolutionary youth orchestra program, inspired MYCincinnati. Composer-performer, teacher and violinist Eddy Kwon directs the program.

Letterpress printing, which uses moveable type, was the everyday printing technique for centuries. And although it is time-consuming and labor-intensive, especially compared to digital print technologies, it is not only still in use today, it’'s making a comeback. “Pressing On, The Letterpress Film will be a feature-length documentary that explores letterpress printing, and who and what has kept it alive.

The documentary OYLER: One School One Year follows Craig Hockenberry, the school’'s principal when the film was produced, through a year at the school, focusing on Hockenberry's mission to transform a community battered by crime and poverty, and on then-senior Raven Gribbins’ quest to become the first in her family to finish high school and go to college.

  “Dreamers & Doers: VOICES of Kentucky Women” is a film documentary inspired by the women in the Commonwealth who boldly opened doors in politics, science, education, entertainment, literature, athletics, religion and the military. Joining us to discuss film and the achievements of some of the more than 40 women portrayed in the documentary are Eleanor Jordan, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on Women; Dr.

  The film documentary “Making IT” takes an in-depth look at what it means to have a successful career as an artist. The film explores the path to success through the eyes of students, working professionals and artists who are at the top of their fields.

  On March 30, CET, KET and other PBS stations will begin airing a new 6-hour Ken Burns production, Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies. The documentary, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, takes a detailed look at one of our most dreaded diseases. Joining us for a preview of the film and to discuss what we know, and don'’t know, about cancer, are physicians with the University of Cincinnati Cancer Institute, Dr. Rebecca Cornelius, Dr. John Morris, and Dr. Thomas Herzog.

  Since its premiere, the film documentary Hate Crimes in the Heartland has been used to spark awareness of and discussions about diversity, inclusion and justice, issues communities across the country are grappling with. Joining us to explore the film’'s messages and to discuss relations within and injustices faced by the Jewish and Arab communities are Hate Crimes in the Heartland’'s creator, filmmaker Rachel Lyon, and Shakila Ahmad, president of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati.

Maestro is the new documentary featuring a look at the life of a classical music conductor, former Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Paavo Järvi. Director David Donnelly joins Brian O’Donnell with an overview of the project and the ongoing Kickstarter campaign to finance the release of the film.

A really good documentary film is at its best when it chronicles the life, times and works of a truly exceptional individual. Such is the case with Life Itself, based on the autobiography of arguably the most famous film critic of all time, Roger Ebert. Oscar-nominated director Steve James, most famous for his basketball epic Hoop Dreams, was given an all access pass to Ebert during his final months before he died of cancer. It didn’t help his condition that a botched surgery left him with no lower jaw, unable to speak or eat.

Cincinnati filmmaker Melissa Godoy and Cincinnati World Cinema’s Tim Swallow are in the studio with our film expert, Larry Thomas, to talk about the premiere of her short documentary, The Art Carvers of Music Hall, which will take place during the Cincinnati World Cinema’s annual presentation of this year’s Oscar-nominated short docs on Saturday, February 22 at The Carnegie.

Local author Gary Williams has co-produced a moving documentary about the first American to receive the Medal of Honor for his service in Afghanistan. MURPH: The Protector tells the story of Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy who in 2005 gave his life for his men during a gun battle with the Taliban in the remote mountains of Eastern Afghanistan. Our film expert, Larry Thomas, talks with Gary Williams about his book about Murphy, Seal of Honor, and how he became involved in the documentary project.

Our film critic, Larry Thomas, interviews documentarian Davy Rothbart about Medora, his newest film about this small-town Indiana’s basketball team and how it mirrors the struggle of the town itself. Medora will be screened at the Contemporary Arts Center on Monday, December 9.

  The radio documentary, The Long Game: Texas' Ongoing Battle for the Direction of the Classroom, explores the intense, long-term fight over what children should be taught in the Lone Star State’s public schools.