Knock Down the House

A triumphant political underdog story, Knock Down the House profiles four Democratic candidates as they run for office during the 2018 U.S. mid-term elections. Each are outsiders who lack the sharply honed savvy of the professional politicians they're running against. Each are fighting to gain momentum by building formidable grassroot movements. And each are female. The film benefits from its uncanny sense of foresight. While not all of the profiled candidates enjoy victories on election night, each is a vital player in a blossoming political revolution. Their drive, ambition, and common folk demeanor transcend the results of a single election; they speak to a growing activism that could redefine the establishment. Early in the film, it becomes clear that the obvious star is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year old Bronx-born bartender who feels compelled to place herself on the high wire of mainstream politics to fight for her beliefs. A democratic socialistic who was an early and impassioned supporter of Bernie Sanders, she ultimately became the youngest person elected to Congress. As the filmmakers follow her every move on the campaign trail - while she shakes hands and shares her gift of comforting relatability - it's easy to see why. The other candidates featured in the film include Paula Jean Swearengin, a single mother from West Virginia who ran against incumbent Senator Joe Manchin, Amy Vilela, a Medicare for All enthusiast who runs for a congressional seat, and Cori Bush, a nurse who campaigns for the U.S. Congress in Missouri. Political unknowns who are initially underfunded and under resourced, these women are clearly poised for a David and Goliath battle to win their states. Each were motivated into politics by the failings of their predecessors to enact meaningful change in the arenas of health care, gun violence and the environment. Knock Down the House shows viewers where their passions originated, their struggles to maintain sanity in a vicious election cycle, and the real-life consequences their families have suffered from their broken government. But it also revives faith in the power and promise of a political system that should and can be a function of the people and for the people.

Silicon Valley's Online Slave Market

Up to 90% of households in Kuwait employ domestic workers. A government law passed in 2015 guaranteed these workers new rights, including one day off from work each week. In the aftermath of this new legislation, their employers became disgruntled by the limitations that were now imposed upon them. This marked the birth of a new industry boom – an online community where domestic workers are sold and exploited like slaves. In Silicon Valley's Online Slave Market, BBC News Africa goes undercover to explore the inner workings of this criminal enterprise. This new form of human trafficking is made possible with the use of popular apps endorsed by major companies like Google, Facebook, Instagram and Apple. Under this black market system, a domestic employee is susceptible to repulsive abuses. If they dare to quit their jobs, they can be imprisoned. In order to expose this corrupt network hiding in plain sight, the documentary crew launches an ambitious undercover sting operation. Two reporters take to these apps and pose as a couple in need of a full-time domestic servant. They browse internet listings for human beings which run alongside apartment rentals and used car sales. Candidates are not presented as merely providers of professional services; once hired, they essentially become the buyer's property. The undercover team meets with a seller who offers up a 16-year old girl who has been taken from her home in Guinea, West Africa. Much of the film consists of their quest to save this vulnerable underaged girl from a horrendous fate. They enlist the assistance of local authorities and social workers, capture the nefarious activities of the slave trade with their hidden cameras, speak with additional victims who have barely escaped years of abuse, and work to hold the world's most popular social media providers accountable for their role in this crisis. Silicon Valley's Online Slave Market is a sobering account of the indignities suffered by those who are helpless in the whirl of this popular online slave trade. The documentary crew's mission to save one girl from these perils injects the film with a tremendous sense of urgency.

Effortless Action: The Art of Spontaneity

You often hear athletes and other artists discussing those singular moments when they find themselves "in the zone". It's a state of being where you are at one with your surroundings and purposeful in your intentions. Achieving this level of synergy with the world around you requires a deep understanding of your mind and body, and of the mini universe that exists within you. Effortless Action: The Art of Spontaneity outlines the principles of the Wu wei concept that can help us all achieve this plateau of elevated consciousness and being. The martial arts embrace these principles in their truest iteration, though they have been frequently muddied by concepts of victory and accomplishment. The ultimate goal is to achieve the art of living effortlessly without ego. It isn't about a flagrant display of power, physical strength, and brute force. Instead, it is concerned with the blunting of one's sharpness; that is, the softening of a personality in order to achieve humility, compassion, respect and honor. The film focuses primarily on the imbalances between our yin and yang. Yin deficiencies lead us on a path of stress and anxiety in our constant need to prove ourselves. The film urges us all to overcome our intellect, rethink our criteria for personal success, and eliminate our foolish desires to control life and time. Discussions of diet come into play, especially the role that sugar plays in squandering our innermost spiritual energies. Filmmaker Jason Gregory advocates for a kind of psychic detoxification - a starving of one's mind from all internal and external stimulation - as found in his book Fasting the Mind. We must learn to embrace the power of inertia. Essentially, the film argues that the act of "being in the zone" should not be considered a momentary pursuit; it is, in fact, our natural state. The film attempts to teach us the methods for destroying the intellectual and societal vices that keep us from achieving this state of being. A sequel to the similarly intriguing The Art of Effortless Living, Effortless Action: The Art of Spontaneity makes complicated concepts digestible for a general audience, and offers a series of lessons and practices that can greatly enhance our quality of life.

George Washington Carver: An Uncommon Life

Raised in slavery, George Washington Carver persevered to become one of America's most renowned scientists and environmentalists. That extraordinary arc is explored in the informative and inspiring documentary George Washington Carver: An Uncommon Life. The film touches upon the highlights and challenges of Carver's life with great compassion and perceptiveness. With the help of noted scholars across a variety of fields, viewers not only gain a sense of Carver's titanic accomplishments, but of the personal obsessions that drove them into existence. Following his freedom from slavery as a young man, Carver grew up as "the orphaned child of a despised race". He developed an early and deep love of nature that would define his later life. He recognized a feeling of divinity in his natural surroundings and made it his mission to harvest the elements to create a better life for others. Treasuring mindfulness and wastefulness, he found his ultimate freedom when he indulged his insatiable sense of wonder and curiosity. He was enlisted by Booker T. Washington to serve as a Professor of Agriculture at Tuskegee University in Alabama, a position he maintained with great pride for nearly a half a century. His arrival in the South forced him to question his preconceptions of the region, instilled in him a renewed sense of purpose, and opened his eyes to exploring new dimensions in farming. Through his work, he revolutionized the field of agriculture and, in the process, improved the lives of lower-income African American farming families. He lived by the motto that "service defines success". At his center, he was a conservationist whose ideas were ahead of their time.

Breathtaking K2: The World's Most Dangerous Mountain

It stands ominously before its challengers at over 28,000 feet. The warriors who dare to scale its paralyzing crevasses want to touch the same clouds that hover slightly above its peak. Itќs an obsession that borderlines on the spiritual. The odds are stacked against them - in the past century, only 400 hundred souls have managed to reach the top. The distance between their ambitions and desired success is vast. They could run out of breathable air, reach the point of no return, and perish before they have a chance to secure safe ground. The gorgeously photographed Breathtaking K2: The World's Most Dangerous Mountain captures each moment of their perilous quest. Located on the border between China and Pakistan, the K2 mountain has become a mythical symbol of humankind's desire to reach the heavens, challenge their mettle and prove themselves worthy of any obstacle. The ability to overcome the potential for death makes these climbers feel more alive than ever before. But the challenges are substantial as one out of every four people who reach the mountain top die. The film follows a large group of explorers as they set up camp for their journey up the mountain. The figure at the center of the film is seasoned climber Adrian Ballinger. Ballinger and his trusted companions have their work cut out for them. Altitude sickness can strike anytime. The severity of the weather can be unpredictable. The threat of the elements can inspire flared tempers and profound self-doubts. Accompanied by highly trained Eddie Bauer mountain guides, the climbers have set an additional challenge for themselves. They're attempting the climb without the use of supplemental oxygen. Achieving their goals with the security of oxygen tanks is rare, but nearly unheard of without them. They exist on a razor's edge between victory and doom with each passing minute. The higher they climb, the greater their uncertainty for success. Breathtaking K2: The World's Most Dangerous Mountain is a lavish feast for the eyes as the cameras ascend across the pristine white slopes and deepest blue skies. With every painful stride, we share the unique perspective of each climber and - by extension - their breathless desire to rise above the insurmountable.