New Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 237

Home from the Eastern Sea

1990

Home from the Eastern Sea

1990
This documentary covers the story of Chinese-, Japanese-, and Filipino-Americans in Washington state, from their first arrivals, to the discrimination they've faced, to the modern families and communities that thrive today.
The Song of Harmonics

1990

The Song of Harmonics

1990
In the practice of overtone singing (called also bi-phonic singing), whose best-known examples can be found in Mongolia and with the Tuva people of Southern Siberia, a single person sings what the audience perceives as two voices at the same time: a low pitch with his vocal cords, and in addition, a high-pitched melody using harmonics (overtones) selected by modifying the volume of the mouth cavity. This documentary is not an ethnography filmed in location. It is partly an illustration of the results of former research, partly the very actual investigation on overtone singing carried out in Paris, in the Ethnomusicology Department of the Musée de l'Homme, during a workshop, during a concert of the Mongolian National Ensemble, and in the medical visualization department of a hospital.
The Cave of Hercules

1990

The Cave of Hercules

1990
Despite seeing his film project HERCULES rejected by DEFA Studios in 1983-84, Dammbeck remained fascinated by the Hercules story. He started experimenting with different media combinations, using overpainting, photography, film clips, collage, painting, and movement. These experiments resulted in groundbreaking multimedia collaborations, as well as the film THE CAVE OF HERCULES, in which Dammbeck explores a series of questions inspired by this classical figure. Who was the legendary hero Hercules? Is there a new Hercules today? How are heroes created in a totalitarian society? What are the virtues of heroes? This multi-layered experimental film combines projections of collected film clips, quotations from “The Willful Child” by the Brothers Grimm, and “Hercules 2 or the Hydra” by Heiner Müller, as well as dance scenes with Eva Schmale that were performed – at Kampnagel in Hamburg – specifically for the film.
The Spirit of TV

1990

The Spirit of TV

1990
5
Beginning with the arrival by canoe of a TV and VCR in their village, The Spirit of TV documents the emotions and thoughts of the Waiãpi as they first encounter their own recorded images and those of others. Viewing news broadcasts and videos of other Brazilian native peoples, the Waiãpi see the power of images to facilitate memory preservation and political awareness. Some people worry, though about the invasive spirits of outsiders that can come through the TV. Another concern is the negative exposure that might result from the Waiãpi broadcasting their own images.
The Other Side of the Moon

1990

The Other Side of the Moon

1990
The Other Side of the Moon features eight Apollo astronauts who intimately share their experience of going to the moon, describing what happened to them while they were there, and how their lives have been shaped by the experience in the 20 years after.
Handmaidens and Battleaxes

1990

Handmaidens and Battleaxes

1990
Throughout history, the perception of nurses has ranged from wise women to witches, sots to ministering angels, handmaidens to battleaxes. The professional role of the nurse has changed dramatically. Originally the nurse held an independent, curative position in healing the sick. Most of this responsibility has since been lost. In its place, a profession has developed which, while demanding altruism and dedication, is locked into a supportive and secondary role to that of the medical profession.
Man without Pigs

1990

Man without Pigs

1990
6.4
John Waiko is the first Papua New Guinea man to graduate with a PhD and be appointed a professor. He returns to the Binandere clan and his small village of Tabara in the Northern Province of PNG. Once there, he has to organise a celebration for his achievements with his family’s help. Since he has been away for most of his life, he has no recognised wealth in the village (the pigs used for gift giving), nor a network of supporters or knowledge of the preparation and rituals for having such a celebration. He wants the event to happen quickly but that’s not the way it works in Tabara. Man without pigs focuses on the antagonism aroused by the clash between traditional customs and Western values in this remote PNG community.
Through the Wire

1990

Through the Wire

1990
Documentary - A secret political prison unit in the USA? In 1986, a controversial high security unit was opened in an underground chamber of Kentucky's federal prison. Its three female prisoners received sentences of unprecedented length for nonviolent crimes. - Susan Sarandon, Dean Irby
The Burning Times

1990

The Burning Times

1990
6.6
This documentary takes an in-depth look at the witch hunts that swept Europe just a few hundred years ago. False accusations and trials led to massive torture and burnings at the stake and ultimately to the destruction of an organic way of life. The film questions whether the widespread violence against women and the neglect of our environment today can be traced back to those times.
William Holden: The Golden Boy

1989

William Holden: The Golden Boy

1989
It was said of him that in more than 70 films, he never once gave a bad performance.
Strand, Under the Dark Cloth

1989

Strand, Under the Dark Cloth

1989
6.2
This documentary studies the life and artwork of photographer Paul Strand, using his own compelling photography as well as interviews with his friends, acquaintances and third wife. Documentarian John Walker explores the various influences Strand encountered throughout his life that helped him to develop as an artist. His personal life and relationships are examined and shed light on the inner working of this man who achieved great renown while hiding "under the dark cloth."
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt

1989

Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt

1989
7.2
On the eve of 1987's Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, surviving families and friends of people who have died of AIDS prepare panels to be added to a large-scale memorial quilt project. Drawing from the sea of names memorialized, director Robert Epstein focuses on the lives of six people. Alongside the intimate profiles offered, through news footage and interviews, Epstein puts the AIDS crisis in the larger context of social and government response to the disease.
Kamala and Raji

1989

Kamala and Raji

1989
The textures and complexities of everyday life in India unfold in Michael Camerini's richly observed story of two poor women and their efforts to improve their lives.
Our Children

1989

Our Children

1989
10
From an official perspective, marginal youth culture did not exist in East Germany. The topic of subcultures was taboo in the GDR, and groups such as goths, skinheads, anti-skins, punks and neo-Nazis were dismissed as social deviations promoted by western countries. Director Roland Steiner had access to such young East Germans in the late 1980s. Over the course of four years, he brought them before the camera in an attempt to understand what drew them to these groups.
Who's Afraid of the Bogeyman

1989

Who's Afraid of the Bogeyman

1989
Portrait of a private coal company in East Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district in 1988/89. The feisty woman boss runs the business with humour and understanding. Her seven male employees respect her. To the outside world, they are all tough guys, but as they describe their jobs and personal situations, above and beyond the hard manual labour, their vulnerability starts to come to light.
Thomas Hart Benton

1989

Thomas Hart Benton

1989
8.3
Thomas Hart Benton's paintings were energetic and uncompromising. Today his works are in museums, but Benton hung them in saloons for ordinary people to appreciate.
Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice

1989

Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice

1989
Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice documents the dramatic life and turbulent times of the pioneering African American journalist, activist, suffragist and anti-lynching crusader of the post-Reconstruction period. Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison reads selections from Wells' memoirs and other writings in this winner of more than 20 film festival awards.
I Went to the Dance

1989

I Went to the Dance

1989
7.5
The definitive film on the history of the toe-tapping, foot-stomping music of French Southwest Louisiana. Includes many Cajun and Zydeco greats, featuring Michael Doucet and Beausoleil, Clifton Chenier, Marc and Ann Savoy, D.L. Menard, and many others.
Near Death

1989

Near Death

1989
7
NEAR DEATH is a film about the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital. The film is concerned with how people face death. More specifically the film presents the complex interrelationships among patients, families, doctors, nurses, hospital staff and religious advisors as they confront the personal, ethical, medical, psychological, religious and legal issues involved in making decisions about whether or not to give life-sustaining treatment to dying patients.
China in Revolution: 1911-1949

1989

China in Revolution: 1911-1949

1989
8
CHINA: A CENTURY OF REVOLUTION is a six-hour tour de force journey through the country's most tumultuous period. First televised on PBS, this award-winning documentary series presents an astonishingly candid view of a once-secret nation with rare archival footage, insightful historical commentary and stunning eyewitness accounts from citizens who struggled through China's most decisive century. CHINA IN REVOLUTION charts the country's most violent era where decades of civil war and foreign invasions led to the bloody battle for power between Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek.