New Documentary Movies on Hoopla - Page 48

Steel Song

2021

Steel Song

2021
Night falls on an arena in Colorado Springs as two combatants, dressed in 15th century armor, beat each other to a pulp with battle axes. Exhausted and elated, the two women remove their helmets and warmly embrace. This traditionally European sport was brought to present day America by way of a few traveling hobbyists who fell in love with its history and athleticism. Though very much male dominated, a group of female fighters joined the fray and the concept of a knight was reborn. Steel Song follows the lives of three of these women; Shoshana Shellans, a teacher and military veteran, Bridgette Parkison, a writer with autism and essential tremors, and Julee Slovacek-Peterson, a mother and domestic abuse survivor. Together they discover not just the fight but beauty in the fight itself. STEEL SONG tells the story of everyday people who find hope, family and strength in Medieval Armored Combat.
Blob Blob Fish

2021

Blob Blob Fish

2021
Blob Blob Fish, arguably the ugliest and most bloated creature on earth, becomes the nickname for young James who struggles with obesity.
The Found Footage Phenomenon

2021

The Found Footage Phenomenon

2021
5.8
The documentary tracks the origins of the found footage technique and how it transformed with technological changes throughout the last few decades.
How I Became a Partisan

2021

How I Became a Partisan

2021
This documentary film reveals how the lives of the descendants of a partisan fighter in the Second World War are still impacted by the events of that period, 75 years after the end of hostilities. In making her case, Lacková provides glimpses into her private surroundings. Over the course of her film, she also points out frightening parallels between the reign of the Nazi terror regime and the resurgence of racist currents throughout today's Europe.
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life

2021

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life

2021
7.4
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life explores the life and work of the legendary neurologist and storyteller, as he shares intimate details of his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that accepted his work only decades after the fact. Sacks was a fearless explorer of unknown mental worlds who helped redefine our understanding of the brain and mind, the diversity of human experience, and our shared humanity.
Count Me In

2021

Count Me In

2021
6.9
An exhilarating celebration of the art of rock drumming, featuring some of the best drummers ever to have graced the drumkit. The viewer is taken on a uplifting journey through some of the most iconic music ever created, focusing on the women and men with the sticks, their passions, culture and awe-inspiring energy.
Reconstruction of Occupation

2021

Reconstruction of Occupation

2021
Documentary filmmaker Jan Sikl came across several hours of footage showing the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in private film archives. 53 years later, historical memory awakens from a long slumber with this reconstruction of the occupation, a cinematic adventure of a truly archeological nature.
Moments Like This Never Last

2021

Moments Like This Never Last

2021
6.1
Dash Snow rejected a life of privilege to make his own way as an artist on the streets of downtown New York City in the late 1990s. Developing from a notorious graffiti tagger into an international art star, he documented his drug- and alcohol-fueled nights with the surrogate family he formed with friends and fellow artists Ryan McGinley and Dan Colen before his death by heroin overdose in 2009. Drawing from Snow’s unforgettable body of work and involving archival footage, Cheryl Dunn’s exceptional portrait captures his all-too-brief life of reckless excess and creativity.
This is Jessica

2021

This is Jessica

2021
Jessica Bair, a longtime LGBTQIA+ rights advocate with Human Rights Campaign, shares her struggle to remain in her Mormon faith despite coming out as transgender.
The Gig Is Up

2021

The Gig Is Up

2021
7.2
A very human tech doc, uncovers the real costs of the platform economy through the lives of workers from around the world for companies including Uber, Amazon and Deliveroo. From delivering food and driving ride shares to tagging images for AI, millions of people around the world are finding work task by task online. The gig economy is worth over 5 trillion USD globally, and growing. And yet the stories of the workers behind this tech revolution have gone largely neglected. Who are the people in this shadow workforce? It brings their stories into the light. Lured by the promise of flexible work hours, independence, and control over time and money, workers from around the world have found a very different reality. Work conditions are often dangerous, pay often changes without notice, and workers can effectively be fired through deactivation or a bad rating. Through an engaging global cast of characters, it reveals how the magic of technology we are being sold might not be magic at all.
Assassins

2021

Assassins

2021
6.8
True crime meets global spy thriller in this gripping account of the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of the North Korean leader. The film follows the trial of the two female assassins, probing the question: were the women trained killers or innocent pawns of North Korea?
Dear Rodeo: The Cody Johnson Story

2021

Dear Rodeo: The Cody Johnson Story

2021
Dear Rodeo: The Cody Johnson Story, a brand-new cinematic feature-length documentary, is the much bigger picture, recounting Johnson’s real-life journey from the dusty rodeo arenas of rural Texas to some of the biggest musical stages in America. Every emotion Johnson felt over the past 20 years – whether he was standing in the back of the chute at the rodeo or singing about it in front of 75,000 fans – is captured vividly in this big screen experience, with all the highs and lows that come from the dreams you cling to and the dreams you ultimately let go of. Featuring interviews with Reba McEntire, Taya Kyle (the widow of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle), and more, this evocative and celebratory film is a love letter to everyone who has had to abandon a dream in order to find true purpose.
Rampart

2021

Rampart

2021
6.5
Marko spends time in the abandoned apartment of his childhood in Belgrade. Traces of the past are being drawn and memories, both idyllic and traumatic, are combined. The family VHS archive shows his universe during 1998 and 1999: gatherings, pets, videogames, and moments of uncertainty reveal a common life embraced by an historical event.
Barely Legal

2021

Barely Legal

2021
Stephen Dorff and director Casey Tebo take us on a journey into the vast and confusing world of legal cannabis and hemp in the United States where things are not exactly what they seem. A plant, a medicine, a drug? Illegal for decades for many confusing reasons, the most glaring being systematic racism, we're still stuck in that rut today in many states. It's almost as if everyone has a different take, which is why even in these forward thinking times, Cannabis and Hemp still remain - BARELY LEGAL.
Rommel: The Soldier, the Son, and Hitler

2021

Rommel: The Soldier, the Son, and Hitler

2021
A rare insight into the military career and personal life of Germany's most famous Second World War commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Told from the perspective of his son Manfred, it tells what happens when a career soldier runs afoul of a dictator. Highly decorated and one of Hitler's favourite commanders in the early years of World War II, the 'Desert Fox' was something of an enigma. Never a member of the Nazi party, Rommel detested the blending of politics and war. He would quickly discover that both were always in play in Hitler's Germany. Greg Kinnear narrates.
Trek IT!

2021

Trek IT!

2021
7.2
Observations at 65° South

2021

Observations at 65° South

2021
7
A team of nine "rogue" scientists embark on a journey to Antarctica. Their choice of transport: a small sailboat. An intimately human account of what it means to live and work alongside one another under relentless conditions, set within the wider context of rapidly advancing global change, impending habitat destruction and the current zeitgeist of environmentalism.
For the Left Hand

2021

For the Left Hand

2021
At age 10, aspiring pianist Norman Malone is paralyzed on his right side after being attacked by his father. Over the next several decades he masters the left-hand repertoire in secret, before a chance discovery of his talent leads him towards making his concert debut. Aged 78, he will perform the greatest work in the canon: Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.
Finding Kendrick Johnson

2021

Finding Kendrick Johnson

2021
7.8
A filmmaker cracks a major case dealing with the racially charged murder of a teen.
39 Seconds

2021

39 Seconds

2021
The story of John Donaldson, a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues and "the greatest baseball player you've never heard of."