Blog

German astronaut Alex Gerst looks out of the window of a space station.
Behind the Films
April, 29, 2024

What Extreme Outer Space Isolation Can Teach Humans

Filmmaker Ido Mizrahy was fascinated by space travel isolation from a young age, inspired and awed by science fiction films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, and the original Solaris. And he eventually turned that fascination into the documentary Space:…
A cartoon panel depicting a man with light skin, glasses, and brown hair holding his arm that is shaking from Parkinson's disease.
Beyond the Films
April, 8, 2024

A Cartoonist Talks About How to Be an Artist with Parkinson’s

Cartoonist Peter Dunlap-Shohl was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) at the age of 43. In the documentary Matter of Mind: My Parkinson's, he remarks, "To lose the ability to draw would be a catastrophic loss of myself in a sense." …
A man with light skin tone, a red beard, beanie, and glasses drives a tractor through a filed of corn that has been lightly dusted with snow.
Beyond the Films
March, 25, 2024

“A Stoic Group”: Midwestern Farmers Talk Frankly About Mental Health

Filmmaker Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian was inspired to make Greener Pastures after hearing a report on NPR’s All Things Considered that farmers had the highest rate of suicide by any profession, by more than 30 percent. Thus began his five-year, 60,000-mile journey to…
The Roh family trek through the jungle at night.
Beyond the Films
January, 5, 2024

What Happens to Your Family When You Escape North Korea, and Other Harrowing Tales from Beyond Utopia

The harrowing, riveting documentary Beyond Utopia, captures what life is like for refugees after escaping North Korea. What happens to the family you left behind? How hard is it to adjust to life in a modern, alien land? Emmy Award-nominated…