Virgil Films is proud to announce that six OWN Documentary Club titles recently went live on iTunes…
Becoming Chaz – Chaz Bono was a male trapped in a female shell for as long as he can remember. Growing up as Sonny and Cher’s adorable golden-haired daughter in a body he felt wasn’t his own was a crucible it took years to transcend. Now, as he undertakes gender reassignment, he’s bravely decided to share the process on camera. Becoming Chaz invites us along on Chaz’s remarkable journey of transformation. As hormone shots give way to top surgery, down-to-earth, unflappable Chaz beams with a sense of liberation and goes public with his story to put a face on a misunderstood issue. Meanwhile, his gregarious girlfriend grapples with the realities of suddenly living with a man, and it’s clear sex change isn’t solely a physical transition. Intimate and nakedly honest, the film reveals the humanity and courage it takes for Chaz to ultimately embrace his true self. His moving struggle will reverberate profoundly for anyone to whom authenticity matters. Available on iTunes here
Sons of Perdition – “Sons of Perdition” is a term used by some Latter Day Saint denominations, including the FLDS Church, to describe former members who have apostatized from their religion and faith. The term is derogatory and intended to convey unholiness, sin and “evil.” This film tells the story of three teenaged boys banished from their southern Utah polygamous community by Warren Jeffs, the sect’s self-proclaimed prophet. Part of a growing group of exiles, the boys are condemned to hell by their community and denied further contact with their families. The boys must now survive on their own in mainstream America, which for them, is a whole new country. Available on iTunes here
Life 2.0 – Life 2.0 follows a group of people whose lives are dramatically transformed by the virtual world, Second Life. They enter a new reality, whose inhabitants assume alternate personas in the form of avatars – digital alter egos that can be sculpted and manipulated to the heart’s desire. The film is foremost an intimate, character-based drama about people who look to a virtual world in search of something they are missing in their real lives. The results are unexpected and often disturbing: reshaping relationships, identities, and ultimately the very notion of reality. Mixing high drama and quirky humor, the film uniquely explores the promise, perils, and implications of virtual worlds for society at large. Available on iTunes here
Serving Life – Serving Life is the first OWN original documentary and is executive produced by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker. The film takes viewers inside Louisiana’s maximum security prison at Angola, where the average sentence is more than 90 years. The prisoners within its walls are the worst of the worst – rapists, kidnappers and murderers. With prison sentences so long, 85 percent will never again live in the outside world. Instead, they will grow old and die in Angola. Serving Life documents an extraordinary hospice program where hardened criminals care for their dying fellow inmates. In doing so, they embark on a journey that may end in personal rehabilitation. Available on iTunes here
No Woman No Cry – In her gripping directorial debut, Christy Turlington Burns shares the powerful stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of the world, including a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania, a slum of Bangladesh, a post-abortion care ward in Guatemala, and a prenatal clinic in the United States. Available on iTunes here
Most Valuable Players – Across the USA, high school sports are regularly lavished with funding, publicity and scholarships, while theater departments struggle to put on the school musical hoping for some attention of their own. It’s no different in the sports crazy Lehigh Valley, PA, except for the “Freddy Awards,” a live television event that recognizes excellence in local high school musical theater. Illustrating that arts education encourages the same teamwork, camaraderie and confidence as sports, MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS follows three theater troupes on their creative journey to the elaborate award ceremony – the “Super Bowl” of high school musical theater. Available on iTunes here
