Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 139

The First Year

2001

The First Year

2001
7
This fascinating documentary chronicles the emotional turmoil of five Los Angeles schoolteachers charged with educating inner-city youth, making it clear that the teachers helping these disadvantaged children are real heroes.
InnSæi

2016

InnSæi

2016
6.8
A story of soul searching, science, nature and creativity, InnSæi takes us on a global journey to uncover the art of connecting within today's world of distraction and stress.
Blossoms From Ash

2021

Blossoms From Ash

2021
In the Ukhiya refugee camp, the scars of the ongoing genocide are visible on each and every face of the Rohingya refugees.
Carlos Ghosn - The Last Flight

2021

Carlos Ghosn - The Last Flight

2021
6.4
Carlos Ghosn – the former CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, charged with financial crimes – stunned the world with his escape from Japan to Lebanon. What triggered Ghosn’s spectacular downfall from industry leader to international fugitive? Is there any truth to Ghosn’s claims of a corporate conspiracy? Nick Green’s documentary sheds light on this multilayered story, drawing out a portrait of a fascinating character.
Harvest Season

2018

Harvest Season

2018
8
Harvest Season delves into the lives of people who work behind the scenes of the premium California wine industry, during one of the most dramatic grape harvests in recent memory. The film follows the stories of Mexican-American winemakers and migrant workers who are essential to the wine business, yet are rarely recognized for their contributions. Their stories unfold as wildfires ignite in Napa and Sonoma counties, threatening the livelihoods of small farmers and winemakers who are already grappling with a growing labor shortage, shifting immigration policies, and the impacts of a rapidly changing climate.
Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig

2006

Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig

2006
6.6
One record producer, the creators of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and top indie rock artists come together to create a tribute album benefiting the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk School- the first accredited high school in the country for LGBTQ youth. "Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig" weaves the compelling, courageous stories of four students at this controversial school with a unique chronicle of the yearlong creation of "Wig in a Box," the album whose songs poignantly echo these teens' struggles and aspirations. Through a dramatic and vibrant combination of verite documentation, student video diaries and rare in-studio scenes of artists recording tracks, "Follow My Voice" offers a powerful and poignant look at this unlikely intersection of youth, gender and rock. Includes studio sessions from Yoko Ono, Rufus Wainwright, The Bens, The Breeders, Yo La Tengo, John Cameron Mitchell, They Might Be Giants and more.
Butch Jamie

2008

Butch Jamie

2008
3.8
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.
Cree Hunters of Mistassini

1974

Cree Hunters of Mistassini

1974
7
An NFB crew filmed a group of three families, Cree hunters from Mistassini. Since times predating agriculture, this First Nations people have gone to the bush of the James Bay and Ungava Bay area to hunt. We see the building of the winter camp, the hunting and the rhythms of Cree family life.
Seven Songs for a Long Life

2016

Seven Songs for a Long Life

2016
The intimate story behind our changing relationship with death. A terminal diagnosis used to mean death within months. Modern medicine allows patients to live on for years. A passionate and touching film about uncertainty, about the future that faces all of us, following five patients who choose to sing their way through life, with a score by Mark Orton.
Sergio Herman, Fucking Perfect

2015

Sergio Herman, Fucking Perfect

2015
7.9
Master chef Sergio Herman feels he needs to let go of his 3-star restaurant Oud Sluis in order to fulfill his dreams. A revealing story about perfection, ambition and sacrifices.
Pigeon Kings

2019

Pigeon Kings

2019
Pigeons do somersaults in mid-flight, and there is a tight-knit community of pigeon breeders and trainers in South Central L.A. devoted to this phenomenon as a competitive sport.
Day the Dinosaurs Died

2017

Day the Dinosaurs Died

2017
8.7
Investigate how an asteroid vanquished the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Join scientists as they drill into the impact crater and, for the first time, reconstruct the hell on earth that unfolded in the minutes, hours and months after the impact.
Approaching the Elephant

2015

Approaching the Elephant

2015
7
APPROACHING THE ELEPHANT is a feature-length documentary about The Teddy McArdle Free School, where classes are optional and rules are made by democratic vote. Summerhill, founded 90 years ago by A. S. Neill, was the first free school - now there are more than 200 worldwide. Approaching the Elephant chronicles a free school in the making - spanning two years, from Teddy McArdle's first day when there were no rules or classes, through the changing of the school's director and the expulsion of a student by democratic vote, to the last day of the second year, APPROACHING THE ELEPHANT is an intimate portrait of a small group of people from a range of educational backgrounds, come together to forge a place where children are treated as equals, at liberty to spend their days however they please.
Soros

2019

Soros

2019
6.3
Billionaire activist George Soros is one of the most influential and controversial figures of our time. He is maligned by ideologues on both the left and the right for daring to tackle the world’s problems. With unprecedented access to the man and his inner circle, director Jesse Dylan follows Soros and pulls back the curtain on his personal history, private wealth, and public activism.
Dangerous Edge: A Life of Graham Greene

2013

Dangerous Edge: A Life of Graham Greene

2013
1
The documentary uses Graham Greene's own words from his books and recordings, as well as photographs and clips from his many films, to reveal the fascinating life of one of the great writers of the twentieth century.
American Trial: The Eric Garner Story

2020

American Trial: The Eric Garner Story

2020
By depicting real-life witnesses and actual evidence in a courtroom setting, American Trial will tell the story of the trial that may have occurred had NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo been indicted for the killing of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. Using the trial as a conduit, this documentary will examine accountability, race and police/civilian relations in New York City and beyond.
Aspen

1991

Aspen

1991
6.1
A film about a town famous in the 19th century for silver mining and now known for its scenic splendor, mountains, skiing, hiking, music, intellectual activity and fashionable people. The film documents the daily life and activities of the people who live, work, visit and play in Aspen in the winter.
Burn the Ships

2017

Burn the Ships

2017
5.7
The NPF, a women's professional softball league that few know exists, has spent decades struggling for survival in a male-dominated sports world. Its players are forced to choose between their livelihood and their dreams, and this year they've been given another chance.
Artifishal

2019

Artifishal

2019
7.3
Narratives of ecologists and conservationists are pitted against the human tendency to engineer and control in this probing documentary on the lucrative salmon-hatchery industry.
The Thick Dark Fog

2011

The Thick Dark Fog

2011
8
Walter Littlemoon attended a federal Indian boarding school in South Dakota sixty years ago. The mission of many of these schools in 1950, was still to “kill the Indian and save the man.” The children were beaten, humiliated or abused if they spoke their language or expressed their culture or native identity in any way. The trauma led many to alcoholism and violence in adulthood. At age 58, Walter began writing his memoirs as a way to explain his own abusive behaviors to his estranged children, but he could not complete the project without confronting the “thick dark fog” of his past so he could heal.