Julia Meltzer

Desperate for a good story, a sex-addicted journalist throws himself into the world of high-class escorts when he starts following a Stanford-educated prostitute.

Steven Bassem spends his evenings at an upscale restaurant among the nouveau riche elite. But he's not there to dine; he's there to park cars. An all-but-invisible valet, Steven is acutely aware of his dead-end situation and begins to act out erratically.

Jacob is stuck in a rut. Fogged out and depressed after a break up, he seeks a spiritual reset: trying DMT. His search leads him to South Pasadena, where he enlists the help of a spiritual healer named Laura. After being invited into her sacred temple it becomes clear that Jacob’s case of the blues may be a symptom of a bigger problem. Laura cleanses him with bells, sananga and other holistic divine healings. But, it is not enough. She discovers a great darkness in Jacob’s aura and urgently pleads for him to partake in a taboo ritual. Could this cure what ails him? Reluctant yet desperate, Jacob agrees to a ceremony that will leave him changed forever.

In 1966, the Syrian government's Ministry of Endowments solicited plans for a building to replace a 14th-century Mamluk mosque in Martyr's Square in the center of Damascus. A young architect proposed a design for a 5-star hotel and new mosque. In 1971, his plans were scrapped. In 1982, a building began to be built. Hospital? Parking garage? Military housing? The project--now called the Basel al-Asad Center--has been the subject of much rumor and speculation. As of 2007, the building remains unfinished. In this documentary video, an architect recounts the chronicle of the building and considers its possible future.