HBO Documentary Films

In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world's most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. As the competition reaches its climax, Koran By Heart offers a compelling and nuanced glimpse into some of the pressures faced by the next generation of Muslims. "110 kids from the Islamic world are chosen and...

The story of three women; a Southern artist redefining herself through her art; a high school senior struggling to gain independence; and a Brazilian living in NY, navigating first-time motherhood, all of whom lost their mothers during adolescence. Structured around a series of "dialogues" featuring Rosie O'Donnell, Molly Shannon and Jane Fonda that focus on various themes threading their stories together.

Between 1967 and 1971, Ford's assembly plant in Mahwah, NJ (the country's largest auto factory when it was opened in 1955) dumped "paint sludge" and other industrial waste in the Ramapough Mountain Indians' backyard. The Ramapo and their legal counsel maintain that the result was a deadly mix of toxic chemicals, including PCBs, Freon, heavy metals, lead and arsenic that saturated the soil and traveled through the air when the highly combustible chemicals...

"An Apology to Elephants explores the beauty and intelligence of elephants as well as threats to their survival. Focusing on the lives of elephants in captivity, the documentary tells the troubling story of what happens to elephants in the name of entertainment. An Apology to Elephants is an eye-opening film about the exploitation of elephants. It features beautiful footage from nature juxtaposed with disturbing behind-the-scenes video of the training...

A "quinceanera" is a coming-of-age celebration for a Latina girl's fifteenth birthday, marking her transition from girl to woman. For many American Latina teenagers, it is an event that means much more, allowing the girls to embrace their chosen identities while still honoring their cultures, traditions and, most of all, the families who have sacrificed so much to give them a good life in the U.S.

Told through the lens of a love story, this Oscar-nominated documentary examines the tensions between modernism and tradition in Pakistan. The film follows Saba, a young Pakistani woman, who has survived her attempted honor killing by her own family.

From his beloved summer home in Kennebunkport, ME, where he has come nearly every year since childhood, George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States, tells the story of his life. Capturing the president while driving around the property in a golf cart as he shares the history of the house and its surrounding structures and sitting for one-on-one interviews, 41 offers a rare glimpse at the life and times of a living former president....

The Garment District is the heart and soul of Midtown Manhattan and the backbone of the fashion industry. It was the gateway for many immigrants to the American Dream. Now, it is in danger of disappearing. This HBO feature documentary explores the rise and fall of New York's fabled schmatta (rag) trade as a microcosm of the economic realities of the present.

Today, more military members are lost to suicide than on the battlefield. After serving their country overseas, many veterans in their darkest moments turn to the unique services of the Veterans Crisis Line to help with traumas like post-traumatic stress, depression, homelessness and drug dependence. The 40-minute documentary is an intimate look at the vital work of several responders who provide life-saving intervention and desperately needed referrals...

95-year-old Carl Reiner engages other nonagenarians and some folks over 100 in discussions of personal experiences and insights into aging and living a happy and rewarding life.