Popular Documentary Movies on Hoopla - Page 14

Erasing Family

2020

Erasing Family

2020
This documentary exposes the failure of family courts to keep children from being used as a weapon after separation. Courts decision ends up completely erasing one parent, causing severe emotional trauma to children. Psychologist refer to extreme cases as parental alienation, which is a form of Child Psychological Abuse. Essentially brainwashing and manipulating children by one parent to hate or despise the other parent. This results in severe psychological damage based on scientific findings, including depression, low self esteem, drug abuse, being alienated from own children and suicide. Family court reform is badly needed, as this is preventable pandemic affecting over 20 million children in the United States (Harman et al).
The China Hustle

2018

The China Hustle

2018
7.2
An unsettling and eye-opening Wall Street horror story about Chinese companies, the American stock market, and the opportunistic greed behind the biggest heist you've never heard of.
Another Day of Life

2018

Another Day of Life

2018
7.4
In 1975, Ryszard Kapuściński, a veteran Polish journalist, embarked on a seemingly suicidal road trip into the heart of the Angola's civil war. There, he witnessed once again the dirty reality of war and discovered a sense of helplessness previously unknown to him. Angola changed him forever: it was a reporter who left Poland, but it was a writer who returned…
Claydream

2022

Claydream

2022
6.4
A modern day Walt Disney, Will Vinton picked up a ball of clay and saw a world of potential. Known as the “Father of Claymation,” Vinton revolutionized the animation business during the 80s and 90s. But after 30 years of being the unheralded king of clay, Will Vinton’s carefully sculpted American dream came crumbling down. Structured around interviews with this charismatic pioneer and his close collaborators, the film charts the rise and fall of the Academy Award and Emmy winning Will Vinton Studios.
Radicalized

2015

Radicalized

2015
7.2
This film documents a three-year period of political resistance in Los Anglels starting with the tent encampment at City Hall in October 2011. Fueled by Occupy Wall Street, people form a collective to jump-start governmental change.
Friedkin Uncut

2018

Friedkin Uncut

2018
7
An introspective insight into the life and artistic journey of William Friedkin, an extraordinary and offbeat director of cult films such as The French Connection, The Exorcist, Sorcerer, Cruising, To Live and Die in L.A. and Killer Joe. For the first time Friedkin opens up, guiding the audience on a fascinating journey through the themes and the stories that have influenced his life and his artistic career.
My Father, the Spy

2019

My Father, the Spy

2019
5
As a young Soviet student in 1978, Ieva could not have predicted that a holiday visit to her father, Imants Lesinskis, then working in the Soviet mission at the United Nations in New York City, would irreversibly split her life in two. Entangled in a dark spy game, Ieva is forced to leave her former life behind, never to see her mother or her homeland of Latvia again. Pulling back the curtain on the shady behind-the-scenes world of the Cold War, this film tells a daughter's dramatic story of her double-agent father, exploring their relationship against the backdrop of events which have their roots over four decades ago. In order to find herself and understand the game she was part of, Ieva sets out on a journey to the past, confronting family secrets, lies and betrayal.
Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy

2021

Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy

2021
7.7
A joyful, cinematic celebration of this singular musical artist, who remains as vital and relevant today as when he exploded on the scene with his group, Brasil '66. With a rich, multi-layered approach to storytelling, the film digs deep to reveal the forces that shaped his incredible journey.
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.
Butch Jamie

2008

Butch Jamie

2008
3.4
The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.
I Called Him Morgan

2016

I Called Him Morgan

2016
7.2
Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.
Horror Able

2024

Horror Able

2024
"Horror Able" is an educational piece that focuses and raises awareness on disabilities and inclusion. It aims to stress the importance of diversity, representation and accessibility in the industry.
George Carlin: Again!

1978

George Carlin: Again!

1978
7.4
Performing at the Celebrity Star Theater in Phoenix on July 23, 1978, Carlin mesmerizes his audience in the second of his 12 HBO specials. The show was originally planned as part of a concert/sketch movie, The Illustrated George Carlin, that never came to fruition.The routines include: Death, Kids & Parents, Newscast #2, Time and Al Sleet, the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman. -- From Amazon.com
Alive and Kicking

2017

Alive and Kicking

2017
6.9
Alive and Kicking gives the audience an intimate, insider’s view into the culture of the current swing dance world while shedding light on issues facing modern American society.
Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters

2019

Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters

2019
7.5
An in-depth, sad, and beautiful documentary about the stop motion and VFX artist Phil Tippett, a man who changed the landscape of visual effects in film.
The Tinderbox

2020

The Tinderbox

2020
Israel and Palestine: time to call time on the conflict? This Doc Feature is an extraordinary, balanced and heart-wrenching examination of the Isreali-Palestinian conflict - never before presented. Ancient and recent history, geopolitical issues, psychology and a deeply personal journey challenge what we think we know.
Taxi to the Dark Side

2008

Taxi to the Dark Side

2008
6.9
An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

2011

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

2011
7.2
Beloved by children of all ages around the world, Elmo is an international icon. Few people know his creator, Kevin Clash, who dreamed of working with his idol, master puppeteer Jim Henson. Displaying his creativity and talent at a young age, Kevin ultimately found a home on Sesame Street. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.
David Cross: I'm From The Future

2022

David Cross: I'm From The Future

2022
7.3
Shot in Brooklyn, NY in November of 2021, comedian David Cross tackles Covid-19, anti-vaxxers and more.
Casa Susanna

2022

Casa Susanna

2022
8
In the 50s and 60s, deep in the American countryside at the foot of the Catskills, a small wooden house with a barn behind it was home to the first clandestine network of cross-dressers. Diane and Kate are now 80 years old. At the time, they were men and part of this secret organization. Today, they relate this forgotten but essential chapter of the early days of trans-identity. It is a story full of noise and fury, rich in extraordinary characters, including the famous Susanna, who had the courage to create this refuge that came to be known as Casa Susanna.