Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 132

Nollywood

2020

Nollywood

2020
5
This documentary explores the diverse key players contributing to the success of the second-largest film industry in the world: Nigeria's Nollywood.
Admission Impossible

1992

Admission Impossible

1992
For much of the 20th century, successive Australian governments pursued a policy of deporting and barring entry to any race of people they considered undesirable. This was known as the White Australia policy. Admission Impossible is the true story of the behind-the-scenes political forces and the propaganda campaigns that attempted to populate Australia with “pure white” migrants.
Iris

2014

Iris

2014
7.3
IRIS pairs legendary 87-year-old documentarian Albert Maysles with Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades. More than a fashion film, the documentary is a story about creativity and how, even in Iris’ dotage, a soaring free spirit continues to inspire. IRIS portrays a singular woman whose enthusiasm for fashion, art and people are life’s sustenance and reminds us that dressing, and indeed life, is nothing but an experiment.
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

1988

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

1988
7.6
This documentary offers a rare glimpse of the legendary Soviet filmmaker, Andrei Tarkosvky, at work. Tarkovsky made only seven films in his brief, but brilliant, career; Michal Leszczylowski's respectful movie chronicles him at work on his last film, The Sacrifice. Offering insight into Tarkovsky's working methods and transcendental aesthetics, the movie is a compelling account of the difficulties of film production. In the case of an uncompromising and visionary filmmaker like Tarkovsky, the practical problems of filmmaking are only magnified, as cast and crew struggle to realize the ambitious concepts in Tarkovsky's mind.
Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind

2019

Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind

2019
6.6
From the song he refuses to perform to his admiration for Drake, a songwriting legend reflects on his lyrics and longevity with candour and humour. At 80 years young (and currently recording another album), Gordon Lightfoot continues to entertain and enlighten. Personal archive materials and studio sessions paint an intimate picture of an artist in his element, candidly revisiting his idealistic years in Yorkville's coffeehouses, up through stadium tours and the hedonistic '70s.
Sons of Shiva

1985

Sons of Shiva

1985
Sons of Shiva is a sustained attempt to film a four-day ceremony concerned with the worship of Shiva. Devotees of the God Shiva are shown from the initial taking of the Sacred Thread through gradually intensifying action to a culmination in a variety of ascetic and self denying practices.
Intersexion

2012

Intersexion

2012
9
Director Grant Lahood follows Mani Bruce Mitchell, NZ’s first “out” intersex person, as he/she travels to meet other intersex people living in America, Ireland, Germany, South Africa and Australia. Expatriate Kiwi sexologist Dr John Money of the world renowned Johns Hopkins Medical School believed that gender was the product of “nurture not nature.” His studies into intersex people led to a particular surgical treatment model for babies born with ambiguous genitalia – the idea being that doctors could produce healthy and happy men and women by intervening early in an intersex child’s life. Usually that meant a family secret that had to be kept at all costs. But as the film shows, human sexual development is never that straight forward. This is a heart-warming story told with a mix of laughter and tears in the most frank and revealing way.
The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story

2010

The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story

2010
4.7
The Greatest Ears in Town is an insightful documentary and testimonial to Arif Mardin; the producer, arranger, musician and multi Grammy award winner.
Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.

2021

Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.

2021
7.8
The American indie rock band “Dinosaur Jr.” is a radical group with an unmistakeable sound. The film tells the story the three charismatic guys in the band: J. Mascis (vocals, guitar), Lou Barlow (bass) and Murph (drums).
Objector

2019

Objector

2019
8.5
Like all Israeli youth, Atalya is obligated to become a soldier. Unlike most, she questions the practices of her country's military, and becomes determined to challenge this rite of passage. Despite her family's political disagreements and personal concerns, she refuses military duty and is imprisoned for her dissent. Her courage moves those around her to reconsider their own moral positions and personal power. OBJECTOR follows Atalya to prison and beyond, offering a unique window into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspective of a young woman who seeks truth and takes a stand for justice.
My Name Is Gulpilil

2021

My Name Is Gulpilil

2021
6.2
Diagnosed with lung cancer, legendary Australian actor David Gulpilil boldly explains the journey that is his extraordinary, culture-clashing life.
A Sloth Named Velcro

2014

A Sloth Named Velcro

2014
In 2000 in the jungles of Panama, a young journalist, named Ana, has a chance encounter with a tiny orphaned sloth, which she names Velcro. For nearly two years, the pair is inseparable until finally Ana travels up a remote river to reintroduce Velcro back to the wild. This is the story Ana’s return to Central and South America to see how much has changed since Velcro came into her life.
Puccini

1984

Puccini

1984
1
In Torre del Lago, by Lake Massaciuccoli, Puccini is writing "The Girl of the Golden West" when his wife Elvira accuses him of a dalliance with their maid, Doria Manfredi, a young women from town. Although the maestro is frequently unfaithful, he denies the affair; Elvira insists she's right and publicly hounds Doria. Between scenes in this domestic drama that turns tragic, we watch a Scottish company rehearse and stage "Turandot," Puccini's last opera. The film finds parallels between the two stories and suggests that in the opera, Puccini expresses love for his wife and guilt in Doria's fate. Three local gentlemen provide a spoken chorus as Puccini's score plays throughout.
Small Wonders

1996

Small Wonders

1996
7.4
A dedicated music teacher in East Harlem instructs a gaggle of underprivileged children in the art of the violin. In the climax, they play Carnegie Hall with some of the world's foremost fiddlers.
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.
Conrad Veidt: My Life

2019

Conrad Veidt: My Life

2019
1
German actor Conrad Veidt is best remembered for playing Nazi Major Strasser in Casablanca. In reality, he was an ardent anti-fascist who left Nazi Germany for Britain, falsely claiming to be Jewish in solidarity with his Jewish wife. Using clips from Veidt’s films, acclaimed director Mark Rappaport imagines the actor narrating his life and career from the silent era—including his leading roles in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and The Man Who Laughs through to his Hollywood years where he often played a Nazi.
Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life

2023

Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life

2023
5
Deeply thoughtful and illuminating, DRAWING A LIFE reveals the details of artist Geoff McFetridge’s life and work while delving further into the universal questions of what makes a fulfilling life and how to live with intention in the limited time we all have.
The Perfect Human Diet

2012

The Perfect Human Diet

2012
5.8
"The Perfect Human Diet" is an unprecedented global exploration to find a solution to our epidemic of overweight obesity and diet-related disease - the #1 killer in America. The film bypasses current dietary group-think by exploring modern dietary science, previous historical findings, ancestral native diets and the emerging field of human dietary evolution; revealing for the first time, the authentic human diet. Film audiences finally have the opportunity to see what our species really needs for optimal health and are introduced to a practical template based on these breakthrough scientific facts.
Stranger Fruit

2017

Stranger Fruit

2017
6.4
What happened on August 9th, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri? On that hot summer day, Officer Darren Wilson killed 18-year-old Michael Brown. Stranger Fruit is the unraveling of what took place that day, told through the eyes of Mike Brown’s family.
Music for Black Pigeons

2023

Music for Black Pigeons

2023
6.8
Music for Black Pigeons is the first collaboration between Jørgen Leth and Andreas Koefoed. The film poses existential questions to influential jazz players such as Bill Frisell, Lee Konitz, Midori Takada and many others: How does it feel to play, and what does it mean to listen? What is it like to be a human being and spending your whole life trying to express something through sounds? The characters wake up, rehearse, record, perform and talk about music. In some moments they are on the edge, the edge of existence, constantly challenging themselves. They listen. They devote themselves to finding a space to create a connection to something bigger than themselves. Something that will outlast all of us.