Pines and Plains Libraries

In 2009, filmmaker Josh Fox learned his land was on top of the Marcellus Shale, a giant reservoir of natural gas that stretches across huge stretches of the northeast United States, and that he would be paid to lease his land for natural gas extraction. Fox documented his cross-country trek to find out if the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) is actually safe. What he unearthed was a discovery about a practice that is understudied...

Young at Heart Chorus is based in Northampton, MA. See the final weeks of rehearsal for the group, whose average age is 81, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music is unexpected, going against the stereotype of their age group, performing songs that range from James Brown to Coldplay. Although the group has toured in Europe and sang for royalty, they are now focusing on preparing new songs, not an easy endeavor,...

An exploration of Amish faith and life in the early twenty-first century.

True stories of crimes of passion.

When Idaho legislator Curtis Bowers wrote a "letter to the editor" about the drastic changes in America's culture, it became the feature story on the evening news, people protested at the capitol, and for weeks the local newspapers were filled with responses. He realized then that he'd hit on something. Ask almost anyone and you'll hear, "Communism is dead! The Berlin Wall came down." Though the word communism isn't used anymore, this film will show...

Steeped in authenticity, this is an opportunity to ride alongside modern working cowboys on some of America's largest and most remote cattle ranches. Meet the men and women working on these ₁big outfit₂ ranches, some of which are over one million acres, and still require full crews of horseback mounted workers to tend large herds of cattle. Explore the rewards and hardships of a celebrated but misunderstood way of life, including the challenges...

An avid fan of the actor, and owner of a replica of McQueen's car in the classic film Bullitt, Pastor Greg Laurie hits the road in his mint Mustang, traveling the country in search of the true, untold story of McQueen's redemption-filled final chapters.

A documentary about the stray dogs of Athens and the people who take care of them. Filmmaker Mary Zournazi explores life on the streets through the eyes of the dogs and people's experience. Shot on location in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, the documentary is about how Greece has become the 1stray dogs of Europe,2 and how the dogs have become a symbol of hope for the people and for the anti-austerity movement.

A month after receiving a fatal diagnosis in January 2015, Oliver Sacks sat down for a series of filmed interviews in his apartment in New York City. For eighty hours, surrounded by family, friends, and notebooks from six decades of thinking and writing about the brain, he talked about his life and work, his abiding sense of wonder at the natural world, and the place of human beings within it. Drawing on these deeply personal reflections, as well...

A look at the high-wire walk made by Philippe Petit in 1974 between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City, and how it is still considered one of history's most artistic crimes.