Ricky Jay is a world-renowned magician, author, historian and actor (often a mischievous presence in the films of David Mamet and Paul Thomas Anderson) -- and a performer who regularly provokes astonishment from even the most jaded audiences. Deceptive practice traces Jay's achievements and influences, from his apprenticeship at age 4 with his grandfather, to such now-forgotten legends as Al Flosso, Slydini, Cardini and his primary mentors, Dai Vernon...

One of the few women to lead a large church of any denomination, Unitarian minister Marilyn Sewell is a respected writer and sought-after speaker known for her progressive social vision; beneath the surface, she is lonely and yearns for change. This open, affectionate documentary follows her over two years as she considers leaving the ministry and her only social network as she questions her past, her relationship with God, and her ability to love....

British actor Sir Derek Jacobi narrates this portrait of author Graham Greene: a British spy, doubting Catholic, and manic-depressive who wrote critically acclaimed best-sellers including The quiet American, Brighton Rock, The end of the affair and The third man. Weaving Greene's novels and movies into the story of his life, Dangerous edge reveals an extraordinary and enigmatic man who traveled the globe to escape the boredom of ordinary existence....

"I am armed with madness for a long voyage," states British born, prolific painter, sculptor, writer and visionary Leonora Carrington. Perhaps the last surviving artist of the original Surrealist artist movement, as well as the famously former lover of Max Ernst, Carrington's life and work is arguably not "surreal" at all, nor is it classifiable in any sense of the word. Indebted to Surrealism, Carrington is nonetheless possessed of unique personal...

Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement documents the birth of a new theatre out of the Civil Rights activism of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. It is a veritable video encyclopedia of the leading figures, institutions and events of a movement that transformed the American stage. Amiri Baraka, Ossie Davis, James Earl Jones and Ntozake Shange describe their aspirations for a theatre serving the Black community. Excerpts of A Raisin in the Sun, Black Girl,...

Loving and revealing documentary about Afro-Brazilian scholar/writer/activist/politician Abdias do Nascimento (1914-2011), a significant figure in and leader of Brazil's Black movement who founded the Black Experimental Theater in 1944 and was very active in the international Pan-African Movement.

Pauline Koner is the recipient of the American Dance Festival's 1998 Balasaraswati/Joy Ann Dewey Beinecke Chair for Distinguished Teaching. Dancer, teacher, choreographer, and author, Ms. Koner studied with Michel Fokine, Michio Ito, and Angel Cansino and performed her own solo concerts from 1930-1945. In 1935 Ms. Koner became the first American dancer officially engaged to appear in the U.S.S.R. She was a pioneer in dance for television, creating...

James Baldwin (1924-1987) was at once a major twentieth century American author, a Civil Rights activist and, for two crucial decades, a prophetic voice calling Americans, Black and white, to confront their shared racial tragedy. James Baldwin: the price of the ticket captures on film the passionate intellect and courageous writing of a man who was born black, impoverished, gay and gifted. James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket uses striking archival...