(2008 / 95 mins / US) During Vietnam War, the U.S. government conducted a secret war in the neighboring country of Laos. When the U.S. withdrew, thousands of Laotians who fought alongside American forces were left behind to face imprisonment or execution. One family, the Phrasavaths, made the courageous decision to escape to America. There, they discovered a different kind of war. Filmed over 23 years, The Betrayal is the directorial debut of renowned cinematographer Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) in a remarkable collaboration with the film's subject and co-director Thavisouk Phrasavath (pictured below, center). Epic in scope yet devastatingly intimate, featuring a score by Academy Award winning composer Howard Shore, The Betrayal is a testament to the resilient bonds of family and an astonishing tale of survival. Photo: Thavisouk Phrasavath (center) with his mother and brother.

(2008 / 72 mins / US) The extraordinary story of a small band of Liberian women who came together in the midst of a bloody civil war, took on the violent warlords and corrupt Charles Taylor regime, and won a long-awaited peace for their shattered country in 2003. As the rebel noose tightened upon Monrovia, and peace talks faced collapse, the women of Liberia --Christian and Muslims united--formed a thin but unshakable white line between the opposing forces, and successfully demanded an end to the fighting– armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions. In one remarkable scene, the women barricaded the site of stalled peace talks in Ghana, and announced they would not move until a deal was done. Faced with eviction, they invoked the most powerful weapon in their arsenal--threatening to remove their clothes. It worked.

The women of Liberia are living proof that moral courage and non-violent resistance can succeed, even where the best efforts of traditional diplomacy have failed. Their demonstrations culminated in the exile of Charles Taylor and the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first female head of state, and marked the vanguard of a new wave of women taking control of their political destiny around the world. This remarkable chapter of world history was on its way to being lost forever. The Liberian war and peace movement were largely ignored as the international press focused on Iraq. Moreover, the women's own modesty helped obscure this great accomplishment. Pray the Devil Back to Hell reconstructs the moment through interviews, archival footage and striking images of contemporary Liberia. It is compelling testimony to the potential of women worldwide to alter the history of nations.

Ms. Disney is currently producing a number of other documentaries with social themes, and is developing a four-hour project for WNET/Wide Angle called Women, War & Peace. Along with her husband, Pierre Hauser, she is co-Founder and co-President of the Daphne Foundation, a progressive, social change foundation that makes grants to grassroots, community-based organizations working with low-income communities in New York City. Since 1991, the Daphne Foundation has made millions of dollars in grants in areas ranging from women’s rights to AIDS advocacy, children’s health, labor conditions, incarceration and community organizing. Abigail has spoken internationally to a wide variety of audiences on the changing face of philanthropy, women’s leadership and the importance of living a life of engaged and intelligent volunteerism.

Over the years Abigail has played a critical role in a number of different social and political organizations, including the New York Women’s Foundation, the Global Fund for Women, and the Fund for the City of New York. Ms. Disney, received her BA from Yale, her Masters degree from Stanford, and her Doctorate from Columbia University. While pursuing her Ph.D., Abigail taught English and American Literature at Iona College.

(2008 / 96 mins / US / Rated PG-13) Eerily echoing the story of the musical it is about, Every Little Step follows the casting of Bob Avian's 2006 revival of one of the most widely produced Broadway shows ever, A Chorus Line. But this hugely entertaining documentary adds another layer, examining the genesis of the show through the recorded workshop interviews with Broadway dancers that creator-choreographer Michael Bennett used as the basis of that startlingly original work. A treat for anyone who loves musical theater, the film is cause for hip-swaying, high-kicking celebration. The filmmakers are granted extraordinary behind-the-scenes access, and the performers give everything they’ve got. Featuring some of the original cast as well as the aspiring dancers who hope to revive those roles—as aspiring dancers—the film mesmerizes with the various interpretations of each character from different generational perspectives. Directors Sony Stern and Adam Del Deo deftly follow the process from the heartbreak of rejection to the exhilaration of being chosen. Cutting gracefully between Avian’s high-pressure auditions and the archive material, Stern and Del Deo have created a film of nail-biting intensity that matches its subject step for step. “Life imitating art imitating life,” as Variety so aptly put it. Photos: (left) A Chorus Line creator Michael Bennett with the orginal cast in 1975; (right) The 2006 revival.

(2008 / 72 mins / US) Trouble the Water takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. It's a redemptive tale of two self-described street hustlers who become heroes-two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.

The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall-twenty-four year old aspiring rap artist Kimberly Rivers Roberts is turning her new video camera on herself and her 9th Ward neighbors trapped in the city. "It's going to be a day to remember," Kim declares. With no means to leave the city and equipped with just a few supplies and her hi 8 camera, she and her husband Scott tape their harrowing ordeal as the storm rages, the nearby levee breaches, and floodwaters fill their home and their community. Seamlessly weaving 15 minutes of this home movie footage shot the day before and the day of the storm, with archival news segments and verite footage shot over two years, directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal document a journey of remarkable people surviving not only failed levees, bungling bureaucrats and armed soldiers, but also their own past. Pictured: Kim and Scott Rivers