This probing documentary shines a light on what it means to be male in American society, where the definition of masculinity can be extremely narrow. Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom suggests that by expecting our males to behave in very specific ways, we are not only harming our boys and men but also society at large.

The film brings to light the untold story of thirty-eight Ukrainian Jews who survived World War II by living in caves for eighteen months, the longest-recorded sustained underground survival. Built upon interviews with former cave inhabitants, as well as Chris Nicola, the caving enthusiast who unearthed the story, No Place on Earth is an extraordinary testament to ingenuity, willpower and endurance against all odds.

A haven for Black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries — and path of promise toward the American dream — Black colleges and universities have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field. They have been unapologetically Black for more than 150 years. For the first time ever, their story is told.

NR, 2013, 88 min.

Nominated for four Australian Academy Awards including Best Documentary and Best Director, this inspirational documentary paints a clear picture of the reality of what it means to be a girl in the 21st century — that you are more likely to be subjected to violence, disease, poverty and disadvantage than any other group on Earth. The film introduces five girls coming of age in the way their culture dictates, whose remarkable heart-warming stories are full of resilience, bravery and humor.

• Read more about La Donna Harris: Indian 101

Like many public schools across the country during the 1960s and 70s, those in Denton, Texas, faced the challenges of integration during a time of social and cultural turmoil.

A poignant, thought-provoking account of friendship and the toll of inherited guilt, this film explores the relationship between two men, each of whom are the children of very high-ranking Nazi officials and possess starkly contrasting attitudes toward their fathers. Eminent human rights lawyer Philippe Sands investigates the complicated connection between the two, and even delves into the story of his own grandfather who escaped the same town where their fathers carried out mass killings.

This film is a powerful portrayal of how perceptions and politics have divided two towns in southeast Georgia along racial lines for years. In 2009, The New York Times Magazine published filmmaker and acclaimed photographer Gillian Laub’s controversial images of Montgomery County High School’s racially segregated proms. A media furor ensued and under extreme pressure, the Georgian town was forced to finally integrate the proms in 2010.

Atomic Mom is a feature-length documentary film about two women, both mothers, who have very different experiences of the atom bomb. One is the filmmaker’s mother, Pauline Silvia, who was a biologist in the Navy in the early 1950's and was sent to the Nevada Test Site where she participated in five detonations. At 23 years old, she was one of the few women scientists on an elite team of researchers. After decades of silence, Pauline is in a crisis of conscience about the work she did, work that involved animal testing.

Blessed is the Match (NR, 2010, 90 minutes) — She was only 22 years old when she parachuted into Nazi-occupied Europe in an effort to save the Jews of Hungary, but when poet and diarist Hannah Senesh was executed by the Nazis a year later, the modern-day Joan of Arc had already left behind a body of work and a legacy of bravery that would inspire generations to come.