DOCUMENTARY
Documentary
When I started filming, I never realized the power of stories that are all around us, the hidden essence that lies beneath. Discovering, exploring, investigating are just the beginning of this journey. Welcome and may we continue to explore this hidden essence together.
- Eric Mann
STORYTELLERS
Created & Filmed by Eric Mann
STORYTELLERS is a docu-series featuring actors, directors, writers, choreographers, musicians, therapists, yogis, and more that asks the questions - why do we devote our lives to telling and sharing stories? Why are these stories more important now than ever before or have they always been foundational to the growth of the human species? Can individual stories bring healing, understanding, and recognition?
STORYTELLERS | Ep. 19 is the recipient of The Telly Awards.
Watch the full series HERE.
FEATURED EPISODES
WITHOUT A MIRROR
A Short Documentary by Eric Mann
Starring Elizabeth Whitaker & Lauren McCarty Horak
Filmed by Eric Mann, Pedro Estevez, Gina Duci, James Bashman, & Kaia Rose
Edited by Kaia Rose & Michele Zarbafian
Music by Anne Qian Wang
WITHOUT A MIRROR is the story of Elizabeth Whitaker who has been blind since birth. Through sheer curiosity and determination she learns to dance ballet from her teacher Lauren McCarty Horak.
WITHOUT A MIRROR has been screened at festivals all over the US and the world, but the most inspiring part of this film was when director Eric Mann screened the film at the Arkansas School for the Deaf and Blind, and an 11-year blind girl kept quoting the movie: “Blindness doesn’t define me.”
Watch the full documentary HERE
JUST GO
Directed, Produced, & Filmed by Eric Mann, Andrew Redlawsk, Greg Redlawsk
Starring Billy Czerwionka, Eric Mann, Andrew Redlawsk, Greg Redlawsk
Edited by Kaia Rose, Chris McNiff, Jeffrey Nuñez, Eric Mann, Andrew Redlawsk, Greg Redlawsk, & Tim Rousseau
JUST GO is a feature-length documentary film about four guys from the city taking a chance on themselves (and a 30-year-old Subaru GL) in an effort to see if a modern day adventure can still be had without breaking the bank.
With no GPS, no cell phones, & about $20 a day (for food, fuel, camping, and more) they set out to cross the country and drive over 6,000 miles to prove that adventure can still be accessible today.
Watch the full documentary HERE
FUGETSU-DO
Directed, Produced, & Edited by Kaia Rose
Director of Photography - Eric Mann
"We had to live the American Dream twice."
This short documentary is an intimate portrait of the sweet shop Fugetsu-Do, which for 120 years has been a subtle landmark at the heart of Downtown LA and whose story of survival runs through the heart of the Japanese-American experience.
Directed and produced by Kaia Rose, FUGETSU-DO is an award-winning short documentary (12mins 31 secs) that premiered at Boston Asian-American Film Festival in October 2020 and has screened at over 70 festivals globally. The film features Brian Kito, 3rd generation owner of the Fugetsu-Do sweet shop, and was filmed on location in Little Tokyo and at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center in Wyoming. Shot on a RED camera with cinematography by Eric Mann, it was edited by Kaia Rose, colored by Michele Zarbafian, composited by Dominic Pitt, with sound design and mixing by Jasmin Klinger. With big thanks to our fiscal sponsor Craft Film Society, the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, and the Japanese American National Museum, whose archive collection was invaluable. Find out more at the official Facebook page; online distribution currently managed by EST Media and Global Cinema Online.
Find out more info on Kaia Rose’s website
“This documentary is crafted with impeccable skill and the story it tells has long-lasting power. On all technical levels, this documentary is perfect.”
— Oregon Documentary Film Festival (Best Picture Winner)
“Just wow. This film incorporates so much so well in 12 minutes - mochi, family owned business & succession, and Japanese internment. The cinematography juxtaposing old film footage with current day scenes is outstandingly done.”
— Boston Asian-American Film Festival (World Premiere)
GENERATION 25
Directed by Eric Mann
Produced by The Peace Studio & Thomas West
Filmed by Eric Mann & Pedro Estevez
Edited by Michele Zarbafian
Generation 25 – The Humanity Project is a cross-cultural theater exchange between young American and Rwandan artists in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and a call for an end to violence worldwide.
The piece was created and premiered at the Ubumuntu Arts Festival at the Kigali Genocide Memorial on July 14 to a lengthy standing ovation.
Directed by filmmaker Eric Mann, this short film takes a deeper look at how Hope Azeda, founder of the Mashirika Performing Arts and Media Company and the Ubumuntu Arts Festival used the arts to bring healing to Rwanda post-genocide and celebrates this beautiful interdisciplinary collaboration across cultures in acknowledgment of shared humanity.
Watch the film HERE
CLIMATE COUNTDOWN
Directed & Edited by Kaia Rose
Director of Photography for Season 1 - Eric Mann
Focused on mapping out what scientists, activists, policy makers and citizens are actually doing to tackle this shared problem. We examine different facets of the complex issue and break it down into bite-sized bits.
Climate Countdown is an award-winning documentary web-series that maps out the ecology of climate solutions.
Watch the series HERE
FEATURED EPISODES
THE TEACHINGS
Filmed & Created by Eric Mann
A docu-series exploring the teachings of great teachers from various traditions - transmitting their knowledge and wisdom down the generational stream.
Watch the series HERE
CENTENARIANS
Filmed & Created by Eric Mann
A docu-series discovering the insights of centenarians and their zest for life.
Featuring Mattie Byrd Upton
Filmed by Eric Mann, Alicia Albright, Sue Gregory, & Michelle Mann
FIRST TRY
Produced by Dance Lab NY
Directed by Josh Prince
Filmed by Eric Mann, Matt Cerisano, Brian Alberth, Shoccara Marcus
Edited by Unreel Films - Michele Zarbafian & Eric Mann
Music by Michael Shaieb & Brent Lord
Directed by Broadway choreographer, Josh Prince, First Try invites audiences to lean in to the art form of choreography by sharing the hopes and dreams of the intrepid artists who make dance. Prince reflects on his days founding the unique Manhattan-based dance incubator, Dance Lab New York, and we meet three choreographers on their individual journeys through the Lab as they each confront the challenges of choreographing while in quarantine. Buttressed by footage and interviews with Dance Lab alumni, the film serves as an inspiring love letter to dance makers and an invitation for everyone to consider the people behind the dances we see.
First Try has been honored with the 2022 Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Direction of a Documentary Release as well as Best Documentary Finalist and Best 1st Time Director Winner for New York International Film Awards!
Watch the film HERE