Filmmaker Judith Helfand's searing investigation into the politics of “disaster” – by way of the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave, in which 739 residents perished (mostly Black and living in the city’s poorest neighborhoods).
Casts Michelle Landis Dauber, Judith Helfand, John W. Heltzel, Colleen Scott
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
The 11th Hour
Chicago at the Crossroad
The Lumineers - Live from Wrigley Field
Trouble the Water
Life After People
Disney: Through the Looking Glass
The Great San Francisco Earthquake
A Global Warning?
Burn Motherfucker, Burn!
Kesh
I Was a Contestant at Mother's Wet T-Shirt Contest
CIRILO, A Legacy Untold
Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days
Chicago 10
Fire Front
'85: The Greatest Team in Football History
Tornado! Hurricane! Flood!: Wonders of the Weather
Encounter with Disaster
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults
SIMILAR MOVIES
The 11th Hour
IMDB 6.7 | Aug , 2007
A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James WoolseChicago at the Crossroad
IMDB 4 | Jun , 2019
While gun violence was on the decline in most major US cities, why did it continue to increase in Chicago's segregated communities? What is known about the systems that created the problem, the laws that isolated it, and the policies that abandoned it? Using dramatic footage, including interviews with residents on the front lines over the last 15 years, this documentary opens a rare historical window into the systematic creation of poverty stricken communities plagued by gun violence.The Lumineers - Live from Wrigley Field
IMDB 10 | Sep , 2024
In September of 2022, with over 41,000 fans in attendance, The Lumineers took fans on an anthemic, foot-stomping journey with the BRIGHTSIDE World Tour, ending their largest worldwide tour to date at Chicago's historic Wrigley Field.Trouble the Water
IMDB 6.9 | Jan , 2008
"Trouble the Water" takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall--just blocks away from the French Quarter but far from the New Orleans that most tourists knew. Kimberly Rivers Roberts, an aspiring rap artist, is turning her new video camera on herself and her Ninth Ward neighbors trapped in the city. Weaving an insider's view of Katrina with a mix of verité and in-your-face filmmaking, it is a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes--two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.Life After People
IMDB 7 | Jan , 2008
In this special documentary that inspired a two-season television series, scientists and other experts speculate about what the Earth, animal life, and plant life might be like if, suddenly, humanity no longer existed, as well as the effect humanity's disappearance might have on the artificial aspects of civilization.Disney: Through the Looking Glass
IMDB 10 | Jan , 2010
Tito del Amo, a passionate 72-year-old researcher, takes the final step to unravel the enigma about the alleged Spanish origin of the American cartoonist Walt Disney, making the same journey that his supposed mother made to give him up for adoption in Chicago. A journey that begins in Mojácar, Almería, Spain, and ends in New York. An exciting adventure, like Alicia's through the looking glass, to discover what is truth and what is not, with an unexpected result.The Great San Francisco Earthquake
IMDB 0 | Oct , 1988
An account of the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the subsequent effort to rebuild.A Global Warning?
IMDB 4 | Nov , 2007
Global warming in context. What the climate of the past tells us about the climate of the future.Burn Motherfucker, Burn!
IMDB 6.5 | Apr , 2017
An in-depth and provocative look at the 1992 Los Angeles riots exploring the roots of civil unrest in California and the relationship between African Americans and LAPD.Kesh
IMDB 0 | May , 2026
A short documentary about one man’s sacrifice to survive in America.I Was a Contestant at Mother's Wet T-Shirt Contest
IMDB 9 | Jan , 1978
A short documentary on wet t-shirt contests at a Chicago bar.CIRILO, A Legacy Untold
IMDB 10 | Feb , 2025
Born into poverty in Panama, Cirilo McSween’s journey is one of defiance, resilience, and triumph over systemic barriers. Against the backdrop of Jim Crow America, he confronts racism while pursuing the American Dream. From his arrival in the U.S. as an ambitious immigrant to his rise as a trailblazing entrepreneur and civil rights activist, McSween’s life stands as a testament to determination and community. Through tireless advocacy for equality and opportunity, he helped shape both Panama’s identity and Chicago’s civil rights movement. A confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a pioneering insurance executive, and a philanthropist empowering underserved communities, McSween’s story bridges nations and generations. CIRILO, A Legacy Untold illuminates a transformative figure whose legacy continues to inspire across the Americas.Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days
IMDB 6.5 | Apr , 2021
For more than a half-century, Sesame Street has addressed and explained diversity, equity, and inclusion around the globe by using the universal tools of music, empathy and celebrity. Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days reflects upon the efforts that have earned the show respect and qualification around the globe. The special also chronicles the creation and introduction of a Black family of Sesame Street Muppets, Wes and Elijah Walker, a father-and-son duo who are at the heart of Sesame Workshop’s new racial justice initiative Coming Together.Chicago 10
IMDB 5.8 | Feb , 2008
Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.Fire Front
IMDB 10 | Nov , 2022
Leading Australian documentarian Eddie Martin puts viewers on the frontlines of the deadly 2019–2020 bushfires, capturing the catastrophe with a perspective and scale never before seen. 24 million hectares were burnt, 3000 homes were destroyed, 33 people died, and nearly three billion animals perished or were displaced. Fire Front is a powerful account of that calamitous antipodean summer, told from the ground where climate change took on the face of hell.'85: The Greatest Team in Football History
IMDB 8.2 | Oct , 2016
Through never-been-seen-before footage and fascinating interviews with key members of the 1985 Chicago Bears -- Mike Ditka, Jim McMahon, Mike Singletary, and others -- you will hear the inside story of their historic season.Tornado! Hurricane! Flood!: Wonders of the Weather
IMDB 0 | Nov , 1996
This video presents a look at the forces of nature in their most devastating mode: lightning storms, tornadoes, flash floods, tidal waves, and hurricanes. The film, made for The Discovery Channel, accompanies professional storm chasers as they ride into the eye of a category five hurricane to gather data and get a close-up view. There is footage of a tornado with 300-mile-per-hour winds, as well as 100-foot tidal waves hurtling towards shore at 500 miles per hour. The viewer witnesses a flash flood and hears an interview with a lightning strike survivor.Encounter with Disaster
IMDB 6 | Mar , 1979
Depicts assorted natural and human disasters, including the crash of the Hindenburg (1937), earthquakes in Alaska (1964) and Long Beach (1933), the LeMans auto racing crash at which 82 people were killed (1955), Hurrican Camille (1964), the eruption of the Mt. Etna volcano (1971), a tornado (1974), the collapse of Idaho's Teton Dam (1976), the sinking of the Andrea Doria (1956) and the Texas City explosion which devastated Galveston (1947).The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
IMDB 7.2 | Nov , 2022
A close examination of the Whakaari / White Island volcanic eruption of 2019 in which 22 lives were lost, the film viscerally recounts a day when ordinary people were called upon to do extraordinary things, placing this tragic event within the larger context of nature, resilience, and the power of our shared humanity.The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults
IMDB 0 | Apr , 1986
The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults is a two-hour live American television special that was broadcast in syndication on April 21, 1986, and hosted by Geraldo Rivera. It centered on the live opening of a secret vault in the Lexington Hotel in Chicago once owned by noted crime lord Al Capone.