Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 194

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement

2011

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement

2011
5
The film features 85-year-old Mr. Armstrong, an African American barber in Birmingham, Alabama, as he experiences the manifestation of an unimaginable dream: the election of the first African American president. This colorful and courageous activist of the Civil Rights era casts his vote, celebrates Obama's victory and proudly unfurls the American flag as he is inducted into the Foot Soldiers Hall of Fame. Mr. Armstrong links the magnitude of the present paradigm shift with challenges he faced in the past: from his sons' integration into an all white school to the Bloody Sunday march for voting rights. The documentary raises questions about democracy and patriotism in the face of adversity, and the vigilance and action required to ensure continued forward movement to end racial injustice.
Escape from Room 18

2017

Escape from Room 18

2017
2
John Daly, an ex-Neo Nazi, fled to Israel when his gang tried to kill him for being Jewish. An old Skinhead friend finds John 25 years later and suggests they visit concentration camps in an effort to make amends for their past.
The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom

2010

The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom

2010
6
Fifty years after the fall of his country, can the Dalai Lama make a breakthrough in his efforts to find a solution to the Tibet question?
Raw Faith

2011

Raw Faith

2011
This surprisingly open and revealing documentary follows two years in the private life of a minister. Marilyn Sewell is successful and beloved in the pulpit, but behind the scenes she is lonely and yearning for change. As she considers leaving the ministry, she realizes she will be leaving her only social network. Yet when she falls in love for the first time, she realizes she does not trust intimacy. A study in contrasts, Marilyn must rely on raw faith as she questions her future, her difficult past, her God, and most importantly... her ability to love.
Antietam: A Documentary Film

2000

Antietam: A Documentary Film

2000
Re-enactments illustrate the details of the three principle stages of the battle of Antietam, fought November 17th, 1862. Also features animated tactical maps, dramatic readings of personal papers, and expert narrative commentary.
The Student Body

2016

The Student Body

2016
4
When a brave high school student takes a stand against state-mandated BMI tests of her peers, she finds herself in the middle of a heated national controversy, sparking a battle of wills between herself and government officials.
Weed & Wine

2020

Weed & Wine

2020
Continents apart from one another, two farming families aim to reinvent themselves on their land. One family-a strong-willed French matriarch and the son she raised among her vines-tends a centuries-old, biodynamic vineyard in the Southern Rhône. Across the ocean in Humboldt, California, another family-a brash father and his more reserved son-carefully manage a state-recognized, organic cannabis farm. The feature documentary WEED and WINE interweaves their stories, urging comparisons and teasing out contradictions between France's revered winemaking traditions and the artisan culture emerging alongside the legal cannabis industry.
The Price of Free

2018

The Price of Free

2018
7.3
As a young man, Kailash Satyarthi promised himself that he would end child slavery in his lifetime. In the decades since, he has rescued more than eighty thousand children and built a global movement. This intimate and suspenseful film follows one man’s journey to do what many believed was impossible.
A Scary Movie

2025

A Scary Movie

2025
During the summer holidays, a documentary-maker and his 12 year-old son stay at an abandoned hotel in Lisbon: an empty hotel like the one in the film The Shining.
16 Bars

2018

16 Bars

2018
5
Todd “Speech” Thomas, a member of the iconic hip-hop group Arrested Development, spends 10 days working as part of a unique rehabilitation program in Richmond, VA, working to allow prisoners to write and record their own songs.
Mighty Uke

2011

Mighty Uke

2011
8
Mighty Uke travels the world to discover why so many people of different nations, cultures, ages and musical tastes are turning to the ukulele to express themselves, connect with the past, and with each other.
Nothing Without Us: The Women Who Will End AIDS

2018

Nothing Without Us: The Women Who Will End AIDS

2018
The first and only documentary telling the story of the inspiring women at the forefront of the global AIDS movement. Combining archival footage and interviews with female activists, scientists and scholars in the US and Africa, this documentary reveals how women not only shaped grassroots groups like ACT-UP in the U.S., but have also played essential roles in HIV prevention and the treatment access movement throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
The Grammar of Happiness

2012

The Grammar of Happiness

2012
8
The Grammar Of Happiness follows the story of Daniel Everett among the extraordinary 'nonconvertible' Amazonian Pirah tribe, a group of indigenous hunter- gatherers whose culture and outlook on life has taken the world of linguistics by storm. As a young ambitious missionary three decades ago, Dan, a red-bearded towering American, decamped to the Amazon rain forest to save indigenous souls. His assignment was to translate the book of Mark into the tongue of the Pirah, a people whose puzzling speech seemed unrelated to any other on Earth. What he learned during his time with the Pirah led him to question the very foundations of his own deep beliefs. As a 'born again' atheist, Dan divorced his devout Christian wife and became estranged from his children. Having lost faith and family, his new life is dominated by the desire to leave behind his legacy. Everett's most controversial claim is that the Pirah language lacks 'recursion' - the ability to build an infinite number of sentences.
Haiti Untold

2012

Haiti Untold

2012
Documentary from Isabelle DePelteau and Dan Shannon
Carry Me Home

2009

Carry Me Home

2009
For over two centuries, African-American funeral homes have passed down an untold, elaborate tradition of burying the dead in grand flair. Carry Me Home, a short documentary, witnesses this tradition touch one widow's life and transforms her grief into celebration. After the loss of her husband, Lessie Thompson surrounds herself with her family and prepares for the funeral, opening a window into the rich, vivid history of African-American funeral traditions that span from segregation and slavery all the way back to West Africa. Horse drawn carriages carrying the coffin, brightly colored funeral garments and open expressions of grief and celebration color many African-American funeral services. These stylish and celebratory ceremonies have been passed down through generations old family-run funeral homes, and continue today.
Chau, Beyond the Lines

2015

Chau, Beyond the Lines

2015
6.1
A man disabled by Agent Orange dares to dream.
The Harrisville Haunting: The Real Conjuring House

2022

The Harrisville Haunting: The Real Conjuring House

2022
3.5
Four paranormal researchers and YouTubers document the paranormal claims of the Harrisville Farmhouse. The inspiration for the well known movie "The Conjuring". Is it truly haunted?
Calendar Girls

2022

Calendar Girls

2022
8.2
Whether they’re performing at an animal rescue center benefit, a church fundraiser, or a shrimp parade, the Calendar Girls give it all they’ve got. And they have a lot to give — impressive makeup; handmade costumes; elaborate dance routines; and, most notably, their unparalleled enthusiasm and sparkling personalities. They are a group of hardworking senior volunteer dancers in Florida, determined to prove that age is just a number.
Jamaica y Tamarindo: Afro Tradition in the Heart of Mexico

2020

Jamaica y Tamarindo: Afro Tradition in the Heart of Mexico

2020
The Jamaica flower and tamarind are iconic ingredients in Mexico, but their history comes from a place much further away. In Jamaica & Tamarindo: Afro Tradition in the Heart of Mexico, we meet five people who explore African heritage in Mexico City, an identity that goes beyond the color of one's skin.
When the Bough Breaks: A Documentary About Postpartum Depression

2017

When the Bough Breaks: A Documentary About Postpartum Depression

2017
8.5
When The Bough Breaks is a feature length documentary about postpartum depression and perinatal mood disorders. When actress Tanya Newbould experienced PPD with her daughter she did not understand what was wrong with her or how to go about getting help. Tanya teamed up with Director Jamielyn Lippman to uncover this illness that affects one in five new mothers. One of the women they interviewed was Lindsay Gerszt who was currently suffering from postpartum depression. Lindsay agreed to let the cameras document her and give us an in depth look at her path to recovery. Babies are dying, women aren't speaking out and the signs are being missed. Together these three women take us on a journey to find answers and break the silence.