Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 134

Apollo's Daring Mission

2018

Apollo's Daring Mission

2018
5.5
Apollo astronauts and engineers tell the inside story of Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon. The U.S. space program suffered a bitter setback when Apollo 1 ended in a deadly fire during a pre-launch run-through. In disarray, and threatened by the prospect of a Soviet Union victory in the space race, NASA decided upon a radical and risky change of plan: turn Apollo 8 from an earth-orbit mission into a daring sprint to the moon while relying on untried new technologies. Fifty years after the historic mission, the Apollo 8 astronauts and engineers recount the feats of engineering that paved the way to the moon.
Critical Condition: Health in Black America

2025

Critical Condition: Health in Black America

2025
Black Americans are nearly twice as likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease than White Americans, and their life expectancy is about five years shorter. Why? In this special feature-length documentary, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stanley Nelson investigates the dramatic health disparities in the US, even as scientists confirm that there are no meaningful genetic differences between races. From the deep history of pseudoscientific beliefs about race that still permeate modern medicine, to the latest research on how experiencing discrimination can directly damage the body’s DNA and biology, Critical Condition reveals the factors behind the health crisis facing Black Americans.
Growing Native Oklahoma: Red People

2018

Growing Native Oklahoma: Red People

2018
Oklahoma is home to thirty-nine federally recognized tribes. Nowhere in North America will you find such diversity among Native Peoples, and nowhere will you find a more tragic history. Host Moses Brings Plenty (Oglala Lakota) guides this episode of Growing Native on a journey through Oklahoma’s past and present.
Shadows of a Leader: Qaddafi's Female Bodyguards

2004

Shadows of a Leader: Qaddafi's Female Bodyguards

2004
7
The documentary investigates the phenomenon of Qaddafi's elite female bodyguard corps and the tensions these women embody: tensions between Islam, modernisation in a nomadic society, a militarist feminism and an urban dictatorship.
Dream Boat

2017

Dream Boat

2017
5.5
A cruise ship and 3,000 men – it is a universe without heteros and women that usually remains a mystery to the outside world. Once a year the Dream Boat sets sail for a cruise exclusively for gay men where most passengers are united by the wish to live life authentically as themselves in a protected place.
Go Through the Dark

2021

Go Through the Dark

2021
Guanglin is a blind boy in China who displays great skill at the ancient board game called Go, in which two players place black and white pieces on a grid in an attempt to dominate their opponent. Raised by a single father with limited means, Guanglin faces deep societal prejudice against the blind. First-time filmmaker Yunhong Pu, supported by veteran producer Jean Tsien (76 Days), follows the father and son trying to make a better future for themselves.
Seize the Summit

2024

Seize the Summit

2024
4 young strangers, all war refugees, unite to take on the challenge of summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, one of the seven summits and the highest peak in Africa. They have been brought together by the charity INARA to shed light on the impact of war on children. The mountain always has a lesson, and often not what we think or expect it to be. Not all will make it to the summit, some will be forced to face dormant personal demons. This is a story of physical and emotional adventure, the rollercoaster of life, and the possibilities that emerge when we stand together.
Cinerama Holiday

1955

Cinerama Holiday

1955
7.7
Two couples, one from St. Louis and one from Switzerland, each go to the other's country and travel around.
B. F. Skinner: A Fresh Appraisal

1999

B. F. Skinner: A Fresh Appraisal

1999
Other than Freud, no psychologist has been so discussed, critiqued and, at times, maligned as B.F. Skinner. Using both archival and new film, this video takes a new look at who the man was, and what he really said in his twenty books. Like other thinkers who broke new ground, Skinner had to invent his own vocabulary to describe the phenomena he was studying. In this film, his terms are introduced in context so the student understands how they were intended to be used and the research that produced them. The film lays to rest some myths and credits Skinner with contributions not often attributed to him. Understanding the complex man behind his work enables students to better evaluate the importance and relevance of the work he inspired. Murray Sidman, Ph.D., colleague and thoughtful practitioner of behavioral analysis, narrates.
A Murder in the Park

2015

A Murder in the Park

2015
7.2
Documentary filmmakers assert that Anthony Porter - a former death-row inmate who was spared the death penalty thanks to the efforts of a college journalism program - was actually guilty, and an innocent man was sent to prison.
The Wobblies

1979

The Wobblies

1979
6.7
"Solidarity! All for One and One for All!" With that slogan, the Industrial Workers of the World, aka the Wobblies, took to organizing unskilled workers into one big union and changing the course of history. This award-winning film airs a provocative look at the forgotten American history of this most radical of unions, screening the unforgettable and still-fiery voices of Wobbly members--lumberjacks, migratory workers, and silk weavers--in their 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Rudy Burckhardt: Man in the Woods

2003

Rudy Burckhardt: Man in the Woods

2003
A detailed look at a remarkable artist who died in 1999 at age 85. Aspects of Burckhardt's work in photography, film, and painting are examined in interviews with Rudy Burckhardt, painter Yvonne Jacquette, and curators Robert Storr (former Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture, Museum of Modern Art, New York) and Brian Wallis (Chief Curator, International Center of Photography, New York). In his studio in New York, Burckhardt discusses his photography and its significance within its historical framework. In the woods near his summer home in Maine, the viewer sees Burckhardt's easel and painting in front of the scene he is depicting. Whether in city or country, Burckhardt appreciated and transformed the chaos he discovered.
Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women

1989

Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women

1989
1
This profile of storied trumpeter of jazz, Tiny Davis, and her cohort pianist-drummer, Ruby Lucas, is an amalgam of artifacts about the two women, accompanied with poetry by Cheryl Clarke.
Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds

2012

Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds

2012
7.7
There is one vibratory field that connects all things. It has been called Akasha, Logos, the primordial OM, the music of the spheres, the Higgs field, dark energy, and a thousand other names throughout history. The vibratory field is at the root of all true spiritual experience and scientific investigation. It is the same field of energy that saints, Buddhas, yogis, mystics, priests, shamans and seers, have observed by looking within themselves. Many of history's monumental thinkers, such a Pythagoras, Kepler, Leonardo DaVinci, Tesla, and Einstein, have come to the threshold of this great mystery. It is the common link between all religions, all sciences, and the link between our inner worlds and our outer worlds.
Living for 32

2010

Living for 32

2010
Living for 32 is the inspirational story of Colin Goddard, a survivor of the tragic gun shooting massacre which occurred on the Virginia Tech campus, April 16th, 2007. The winning combination of Colin's passion, charisma and optimism has commanded the attention of the American public and media since the devastating incident which left 32 dead and 17 injured. In Living for 32, Colin shares an intimate account of terror he and his classmates endured and the courageous journey of renewal and hope he chose to pursue.
Coming of Age in Cherry Grove: The Invasion

2014

Coming of Age in Cherry Grove: The Invasion

2014
1
Cherry Grove (Fire Island, NY) is the first openly LGBTQ community in the United States. One of the most accepting resort communities in the world, it is a place where everyone can discover who they really and enjoy being a free spirit.
One Note at a Time

2016

One Note at a Time

2016
6
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, music can save the soul of the city, but can the musicians save themselves?
Sand Wars

2013

Sand Wars

2013
8.7
Is sand an infinite resource? Can the existing supply satisfy a gigantic demand fueled by construction booms? What are the consequences of intensive beach sand mining for the environment and the neighboring populations?
Irwin & Fran

2013

Irwin & Fran

2013
8
Professor Irwin Corey is now 101 years old and he is a well known comedian, entertainer and political satirist. Fran is 95 and his wife of 71 years. Dick Gregory shares Irwin's contribution and family friend Susan Sarandon narrates.
Foreign Puzzle

2019

Foreign Puzzle

2019
Foreign Puzzle is an intimate documentary that captures the journey of an inspiring Mexican American dancer as she communicates the impermanence of life through dance while juggling the roles of a recently divorced parent of a 6-year-old, a choreographer and a primary school teacher amidst intensive treatments for breast cancer.