First Run Features (Firm)

You beat the weight or the weight beats you – it’s the test every powerlifter faces when approaching the bar. But the weight that’s been pressing down on coach and gym owner Paul Steinman is something far more challenging than sport. Bombing out on his squats at the 2012 American Open was just one more failure for Paul. It had been a bad stretch both in and out of the gym but it was nobody’s business and so Paul didn’t talk about it. But...

Carmo would do anything to escape the hellhole of a Brazilian border town where she lives. So when a lonesome, wheelchair-bound low-life named Marco arrives on the scene, she jumps at the chance to help him transport a shipment of smuggled goods. An unlikely romance unfolds as the two are chased through a lush and jagged South American landscape by bandidos, the police and their own passions alike. A lawless, reckless journey of self-discovery, this...

A story of awakening humanity in the midst of violence, told with intimacy and elegance by writer/director Zaza Urushadze, Tangerines is the spare, yet haunting tale of an older Estonian man who cares for two wounded soldiers from opposite sides of the 1990s-era war in Georgia. The film reveals compassion to be the ultimate response to centuries of political, cultural and ethnic conflict, a compelling and relevant message for contemporary audiences....

First-class pool shark and all-around hustler Jaeckie Zucker is up to his ears in debt, again. He faces jail, divorce and general ruin. When word comes that his mother has died, leaving an inheritance, it's a stroke of luck. But according to his mother's will, before he can cash in Zucker must first reconcile with his long-estranged, Orthodox brother Samuel, who is arriving the next day, family in tow, expecting to sit shiva for seven days. Can Zucker,...

For the 19th century, the world beneath the sea played much the same role that outer space played for the 20th. The ocean depths were both the ultimate scientific frontier and the home of imagination and the fantastic...Twenty years in the making and based on images of 19th century painters, photographers and scientific illustrators, Proteus brings these undersea worlds to life in a wonderfully unique film...The central figure of PROTEUS is biologist...

America's 50-million strong Evangelical community is convinced that the world's future is foretold in Biblical prophecy - from the Rapture to the Battle of Armageddon. This astonishing documentary explores their world - in their homes, at conferences, and on a wide-ranging tour of Israel. By interweaving Christian, Zionist, Jewish and critical perspectives along with telling archival materials, the filmmakers probe the politically powerful - and potentially...

What does a single, working woman have to go through to have a child of her own, without a husband, boyfriend or lover? Following a group of eight New York City women for over two years, And Baby Makes Two tells their provocative and emotionally loaded story; a story of women who, earlier in life, had taken every precaution to prevent pregnancy, and who now actively pursue it - without the help of a partner. What emerges is a complex, emotional and...

Enjoying life in their mid-thirties, Kira and her husband Mads have a large house and two wonderful children. Their world is perfectly secure and comfortable until Kira develops a psychiatric disorder, which eventually commits her to a hospital. On being discharged, Kira's sole desire is to return to the normality of her previous life and fulfill her role as a good wife and mother. But, as she struggles to maintain equilibrium, she discovers Mads...

Released in Japan on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa, OKINAWA: THE AFTERBURN is the first documentary to provide a comprehensive look at the battle and the ensuing 70-year occupation of Okinawa by the United States military..On April 1, 1945, American troops landed on Okinawa, beginning a battle that lasted 12 weeks and claimed the lives of some 240,000 people. The film depicts the Battle through the eyes of Japanese and American soldiers...

What would it be like to grow up and become president of the United States?. In I Can Be President: A Kid’s Eye View, a diverse group of children candidly share their thoughts on the subject, affirming the importance of having dreams at any age.. I Can Be President features interviews with elementary schoolers whose hopes and dreams - both hilarious and touching - come to life in animated sequences created by the award-winning animator Michael Sporn.....