Deborah Hoffmann

When Harvard PhD student Jennifer Brea is struck down at 28 by a fever that leaves her bedridden, doctors tell her it’s "all in her head." Determined to live, she sets out on a virtual journey to document her story—and four other families' stories—fighting a disease medicine forgot.

Documentary on water usage, money, politics, the transformation of nature, and the growth of the American west, shown on PBS as a four-part miniseries.

From Amos 'n' Andy to Nat King Cole, from Roots to The Cosby Show, black people have played many roles on primetime television. Brilliantly weaving clips from classic TV shows with commentary from TV producers, black actors and scholars, Marlon Riggs blends humor, insight, and thoughtful analysis to explore the evolution of black/white relations as reflected by America's favorite addiction.

Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.

This documentary traces the deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled anti-black prejudice.

Discusses the squatters movement, made up of people who live in abandoned houses through necessity and in order to force change in housing policy. Focuses on Philadelphia, where Gloria Giles becomes a leader and gains a national reputation.

A multi-racial group of college students in a weekend racial sensitivity workshop discuss affirmative action, self-segregation, internalized racism and cultural identity. The film continues as they return to their campuses (University of Massachusetts, Texas A&M, Chico State, and U.C. Berkeley) and visit home.

This documentary tells four stories of Apartheid in South Africa, as seen through the eyes of the Truth and Reconciliation commission

With its four operas, seventeen-hour running time and months of rehearsal, Wagner's "Ring Cycle" is a daunting undertaking for any opera company. Jon Else goes backstage to show this rare event entirely from the point of view of union stagehands at the San Francisco Opera.

Parents talk about their gay and lesbian children, and how they came to accept their lifestyle.

This Academy Award-nominated film takes a moving personal story, illuminates it with insight and humor, and makes it universal. In recounting her attempts to come to terms with her mother's advancing Alzheimer's disease, Deborah Hoffmann explores the relationship between mother and daughter, parent and child, and the tenacity of love.

Details the impact of television on people and social institutions.

These film clips tell the story of the human experience of living with HIV/AIDS. People with HIV/AIDS, their husbands and wives, their families, their doctors and health workers talk about how HIV/AIDS has affected their lives. These are the personal video stories from Cameroon and Zimbabwe in which people speak out about their hopes and fears, their struggle against pain and abandonment and their fight for greater awareness and understanding. The film challenges stereotypes and calls for a concerted effort to face up to the epidemic.

This documentary chronicles the growing nuclear-free zone movement of the 1980s, in which cities and regions around the world voted to oppose nuclear weapons production and deployment. Through interviews, campaign footage, and examples from local initiatives, the film examines how grassroots activism transformed anti-nuclear sentiment into political action.