The End of Poverty? is a daring, thought-provoking and very timely documentary by award-winning filmmaker, Philippe Diaz, revealing that poverty is not an accident. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, global poverty has reached new levels because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies -- in other words, wealthy countries exploiting the weaknesses of poor, developing countries.

The End of Poverty? asks why today 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate?

The film has been selected to over 25 international film festivals and will be released in US theatres starting November 13, 2009. Directed by Philippe Diaz, produced by Cinema Libre Studio with the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, 104mins, 2008, USA, documentary in English, Spanish, and French with English Subtitles.
www.theendofpoverty.com

Special features: Extended Interviews, Stawi Profile, Interview with Philippe Diaz, DVD-ROM Content

BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES! Speaking Freely, Vol. 1: John Perkins on Globalization and "Changes in Venezuela" - short documentary

Sex, politics and American culture are mixed into a combustible combination in Now & Later. Angela (Shari Solanis) is an illegal Latina immigrant living in Los Angeles who stumbles across Bill (James Wortham), a disgraced banker on the run. She takes him in. Through passionate sex, soul-searching conversations ranging from politics to philosophy, and other worldly pleasures, Angela introduces Bill to another worldview. As their affair heats up, the course of Bill's life begins to take an abrupt and unexpected turn.

The film was conceived by the director in reaction to American's penchant for violence in our culture and our puritanical censoring of anything involving sex. Familiar with philosopher Wilhelm Reich's notion that a sexually repressed society turns into a violent one, Diaz makes an unabashedly sexual yet cerebral film that challenges the perception that sex in media is harmful.

What caused America to go from being a leading exporter of oil to the world's largest importer? What are the economic and sociological forces that have contributed to that change and impede its solution?

Gas Hole is an eye-opening documentary about the history of oil prices and sheds light on a secret that the big oil companies don't want you to know – that there are viable and affordable alternatives to fuel! It also provides a detailed examination of our continued dependence on foreign oil and examines various potential solutions -- starting with claims of buried technology that dramatically improves gas mileage, to navigating bureaucratic governmental roadblocks, to evaluating different alternative fuels that are technologically available now, to questioning the American Consumers' reluctance to embrace alternatives.

Narrated by Peter Gallagher, hear from a wide range of opinions from representatives of the US Department of Energy Officials, Congressional leaders both Democrat and Republican, Alternative Fuel Producers, Alternative Fuel Consumers (including actor Joshua Jackson), Professors of Economics and Psychology and more.

Anyone who buys gas should see this film!

In 2006, when Israel sealed off the borders into the region, that ended the free-flow of people and goods. Shortly thereafter, it emerged that a small group of young men were surfing in Gaza, sharing battered surfboards and used gear.

From first-time director, Alexander Klein, comes an inspirational film that charts the difficulties and dangers encountered by surfers in Gaza and how a non-profit group would attempt to deliver 23 surfboards into the region. Along the way, Israelis, Arab-Israelis and Palestinians who are affected by the violence, speak candidly about their daily struggle to supersede the conflict through the pure joy of surfing.

Set against the backdrop of the July 7th terrorist attacks in 2005, LONDON RIVER follows Elizabeth (BAFTA winner, Academy Award® nominee Brenda Blethyn) from a small farming community in Guernsey as she travels to London in the immediate aftermath of the bombings after failing to hear from her daughter. Elizabeth is disturbed by the confusion of the metropolis and above all, by the predominantly Muslim neighborhood where her daughter lived. Her fear and prejudice escalate when she discovers her daughter was converting to Islam as she keeps crossing paths with Ousmane (Berlin's Silver Bear winner, Sotigui Kouyaté), a West African who has come from France to find his missing son. Although they come from very different backgrounds, Elizabeth and Ousmane share the same hope of finding their children alive. Putting aside their cultural differences, they give each other the strength to continue the search and maintain their faith in humanity.