Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 159

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me

2013

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me

2013
7.1
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is a feature-length documentary film about the dismal commercial failure, subsequent massive critical acclaim, and enduring legacy of pop music's greatest cult phenomenon, Big Star.
Drowning Letters

2020

Drowning Letters

2020
6.3
Thousands of people have crossed the Mediterranean Sea these years trying to reach Europe. Through a mysterious voice from the bottom of the sea, Drowning Letters tells the most tragic years of the European contemporary history.
Chely Wright: Wish Me Away

2012

Chely Wright: Wish Me Away

2012
4.5
After a lifetime of hiding, Chely Wright becomes the first commercial country music singer to come out as gay, shattering cultural stereotypes within Nashville, per conservative heartland family and, most importantly, within herself. With unprecedented access over a two-year period, including her private video diaries, the film layers Chely's rise to fame while hiding in the late 90's with the execution of her coming out plan, culminating in the exciting moment when she steps into the media glare to reveal she is gay. The film shows both the devastation of internalized homophobia and the transformational power of living an authentic life. The film also documents the conflicting responses from Nashville, the heartland and the LGBT community as Chely Wright prepares for an unknown future.
Slim & I

2020

Slim & I

2020
7
Documentary portrait of Joy McKean, Australia’s Queen of country music. Follows her performance and songwriting career, decades of touring around Australia, and her marriage of more than 50 years to fellow musician Slim Dusty.
From Nothing, Something: A Documentary on the Creative Process

2012

From Nothing, Something: A Documentary on the Creative Process

2012
Everyone has ideas. But what where do they come from? And what ensures they keep coming? How do you sort the genius ideas from the useless ones? Why invest all this hope and energy into making things in the first place? From Nothing, Something profiles creative thinkers across a variety of disciplines and finds common methods, habits, mindsets and neuroses that help bring breakthrough ideas into being. This is a thoughtful, intimate, often funny look at the creative process—straight from the brains of some of our culture's most accomplished and inspiring talents.
The Codebreaker

2021

The Codebreaker

2021
7
Discover the fascinating story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst who helped bring down gangsters and break up a Nazi spy ring in South America. Her work helped lay the foundation for modern codebreaking today.
Racing the Rez

2012

Racing the Rez

2012
Racing the Rez reveals the transformative potential of cross-country running at the team level. The story follows two rival high school teams focusing on five teens growing up on the Navajo and Hopi reservations — two distinct cultures but both richly steeped in the legacy of running as a powerful cultural tradition and a sport. Unfolding over two years of careful, patient observation, this documentary offers a rare view into the surprising complexity and diversity of contemporary reservation life, from the point of view of the young runners.
The Dilemma of Desire

2020

The Dilemma of Desire

2020
6.5
The Dilemma of Desire explores the work of four women who are shattering myths and lies that women are being told about their sexual desire and their bodies. Coined by artist Sophia Wallace, “Cliteracy” is the understanding that the clitoris is fundamental to the female orgasm. Through her art, Wallace is changing culture. Dr. Stacey Dutton, a neuroscientist, studies the biology of the clitoris; Dr. Lisa Diamond is dismantling outdated notions about women’s arousal; and Ti Chang, an industrial designer, creates elegant vibrators for women. Providing the embodiment of their work are the real life stories of Umnia, Becca, Jasmine, Sunny, and Coriama.
A Hole in a Fence

2008

A Hole in a Fence

2008
The changing face of Red Hook -- a one-of-a-kind neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y. -- is the subject of this rich examination of city living by filmmaker D.W. Young. The documentary peeks in on an urban farm run by local kids; an uphill struggle to save a portion of the waterfront; the infamous arrival of an IKEA store; and more. The film was an official selection at the 2008 San Francisco International Documentary Film Festival.
Cuba's Wild Revolution

2019

Cuba's Wild Revolution

2019
7.7
As the largest island in the Caribbean, Cuba is host to spectacular wildlife found nowhere else on the planet: from the jumping crocodiles of the Zapata swamp to the world's tiniest hummingbird, from thousands of migrating crabs to giant, bat-eating boas that lie in wait for easy prey. Decades of a socialist, conservation-minded government, American embargoes and minimal development have left the island virtually unchanged for 50 years. As international relations ease, what will become of this wildlife sanctuary?
From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China

1981

From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China

1981
5.7
A beautiful expression of two differing cultures brought together by the warmth and dedication of a great musician and humanitarian. In 1979, as China re-opened its doors to the West, virtuoso Isaac Stern received an unprecedented government invitation to tour the country. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.
Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinémathèque

2005

Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinémathèque

2005
6.8
Life and work of the founder of the Cinémathèque Française.
Boulevard! A Hollywood Story

2021

Boulevard! A Hollywood Story

2021
6.2
In the mid-1950s, Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley, young composers and romantic partners, are hired by legendary silent film star Gloria Swanson to write a musical based on her film Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder in 1950.
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan

2020

Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan

2020
8.1
A celebration of the Irish punk/poet Shane MacGowan, lead singer and songwriter of The Pogues, that combines unseen archive footage from the band and MacGowan’s family with original animations.
Please Hold The Line

2020

Please Hold The Line

2020
8.3
An audiovisual allegory on communication – this film follows cable technicians in four different countries (Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova) as they visit their customers. Each client they call on provides a glimpse into their own individual universe. With so many tools for communication, we still inhabit a modern-day Tower of Babel; an ordered discordance of personalities and perspectives.
Robin's Wish

2021

Robin's Wish

2021
6.9
The final word in the story of what really happened to Robin Williams at the end of his life, focusing on his fight against a deadly neurodegenerative disorder known as Lewy body dementia.
Waking the Green Tiger

2011

Waking the Green Tiger

2011
Seen through the eyes of activist, farmers and journalists, Waking the Green Tiger follows an extraordinary campaign to stop a huge dam project on the Upper Yangtze river in southwestern China. Featuring astonishing archival footage never seen outside China, and interviews with a government insider and witnesses, the documentary also tell the history of Chairman Mao's campaigns to conquer nature in the name of progress. An environmental movement takes root when a new environmental law is passed, and for the first time in China's history, ordinary citizens have the democratic right to speak out and take part in government decisions. Activist test this new freedom and save a river. The movement they trigger has the potential to transform China.
Target: Philadelphia

2019

Target: Philadelphia

2019
The history of police militarization and black militancy are explored through the 1985 MOVE bombing.
A Steam Train Passes

1974

A Steam Train Passes

1974
Generally regarded as Australia's finest railway film and winner of many awards the world over, A Steam Train Passes is a nostalgic, imaginative essay on one of the majestic C38 class steam locomotives, 3801. The locomotive has recently returned to service and is currently operating out of the NSW Rail Museum at Thirlmere, south of Sydney.
Dancing in A-Yard

2023

Dancing in A-Yard

2023
8
In prisons ruled by toxic masculinity, dancing is an absolute taboo. But at Lancaster’s A-Yard, near Los Angeles, a group of young men, willing to take a chance to be mocked in the yard, start a dance class led by French choreographer Dimitri Chamblas. This class quickly becomes an intoxicating escape from their grim reality so they decide to create a dance show. In this exceptional context, the inmates engage with overwhelming sincerity, evoking their childhood, ganglife, the crimes, the prison, and their desire for transformation. Beyond damaged lives and a prison system on the edge of the abyss, DANCING IN A-YARD explores redemption and the capacity of human beings to reinvent themselves, when given a chance. And more importantly, how art and introspection can help see the light.