First-Run Features (Firm)

In 2003, the ambitious renovation of one of the world's greatest museums began. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, home to a glorious collection including masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer, was supposed to reopen its doors in 2008 after five years of construction. But from the start, the project was opposed by unyielding bureaucrats and public resistance. The museum directors battled politicians, designers, curators and even the Dutch Cyclists Union...

What makes a great short story? Nancy Evans and Walter Clemens interview Raymond Carver, the master of the American short story and renowned poet. Carver discusses his 1981 collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and reads his poem, "Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-Second Year.”.Carver describes, in his perfect prose, what he looks for when selecting pieces for his annual anthology, The Best American Short Story:.I want a story...

James Thurber: The Life and Hard Times is the first major documentary on the life and work of one of America's greatest humorists. Known for his classic short story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Thurber was a legendary contributor of prose and cartoons to The New Yorker magazine where he worked for many years. Narrated by George Plimpton, this documentary includes interviews with Edward Albee, John Updike, Alistair Cooke, Roy Blount Jr., Fran...

"Jews of Cracow Await US Bar Mitzvah Boy,"read the New York Times headline, as Eric Strom, a 13-year-old Connecticut boy, stood at the center of a complex human drama that attracted world-wide attention. Cracow’s handful of Jews, survivors of one of the largest Jewish communities prior to World War II, were eager to participate in the first bar mitzvah in their synagogues since the War. In following the emotional journey of Eric and his family to...

Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant looms just 35 miles from Times Square. With over 50 million people living in close proximity to the aging facility, its continued operation has the support of the plant's operators and the NRC -- Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- yet has stoked a great deal of controversy in the surrounding community, including a vocal anti-nuclear contingent concerned that what happened at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant could happen...

Jacques Doillon, director of the widely loved Ponette, has crafted a wonderful follow-up, the gritty and authentic, yet also unexpectedly lyrical and buoyant Petits Freres. Talia, a 13-year old girl who is already battle weary from fighting with her mean stepfather, runs away from home with her beloved dog Kim. She meets up with a group of four boys her own age who take a grudging liking to her - which doesn't stop them from secretly stealing and...

Enter the dark and foreboding world of Chet Zar, where apocalyptic industrial landscapes are inhabited by disturbing, yet beautiful monstrosities. Sometimes gruesome, periodically funny, but always thought-provoking, Zar’s art is as enigmatic as it is frightening. But what about the man behind the paintbrush? Who is Chet Zar, and why does he like to paint monsters? These are the questions at the heart of this documentary.. Chet Zar PhantomThis is...

Like the stolen car he is driving in circles, Cherif's life is going nowhere in a hurry. When he is arrested for the umpteenth time, Cherif's exasperated mother strikes a last-chance deal with a judge to send the troubled juvenile to live quietly with his aunt and uncle and attend vocational school. Cherif's earnest attempt to go straight is sending him directly to the doldrums, until he discovers that his even straighter-laced cousin Thomas is actually...

When Hitler’s Army marched into Czechoslovakia, a young Czech army captain joined the Resistance. But he had a secret no one knew...until now. In March 1939, Hitler’s army marched into Prague, Czechoslovakia. Jan Bodon, a young captain in the Czech Army - who also happened to be blond-haired, blue-eyed and fluent in German - was "asked"to join the Nazis. He promptly fled and joined the Czech Resistance Movement instead, and was selected to help...

The result of McElwee turning his camera on his family and their neighbors, the film is a humorous and poignant look at odd moments in a genteel Southern town.