Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 2

Playing Unfair

2002

Playing Unfair

2002
4
Sports media scholars look at the persistence of heterosexism and homophobia in perpetuating gender stereotypes. They argue for new media images which fairly and accurately depict the strength and competence of female athletes.
Teenage

2013

Teenage

2013
6.2
Teenagers did not exist before the 20th century. Not until the early 1950s did the term gain widespread recognition, but "Teenage" offers compelling evidence that teenagers had a tumultuous effect on the previous half-decade.
Sicko

2007

Sicko

2007
7.4
A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.
Tokyo Idols

2017

Tokyo Idols

2017
6.7
This exploration of Japan's fascination with girl bands and their music follows an aspiring pop singer and her fans, delving into the cultural obsession with young female sexuality and the growing disconnect between men and women in hypermodern societies.
Cat Daddies

2022

Cat Daddies

2022
6.3
Man has a new best friend in this heartwarming portrait of nine men whose lives have been forever changed by their proud love of cats.
Night Mail

1936

Night Mail

1936
6.1
This documentary short examines the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland on the overnight run from Euston, London to Glasgow.
Claydream

2022

Claydream

2022
6.8
A modern day Walt Disney, Will Vinton picked up a ball of clay and saw a world of potential. Known as the “Father of Claymation,” Vinton revolutionized the animation business during the 80s and 90s. But after 30 years of being the unheralded king of clay, Will Vinton’s carefully sculpted American dream came crumbling down. Structured around interviews with this charismatic pioneer and his close collaborators, the film charts the rise and fall of the Academy Award and Emmy winning Will Vinton Studios.
American Swing

2009

American Swing

2009
4.9
Chronicles the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat.
All Boys

2009

All Boys

2009
3.9
A look behind the scenes of the Czech gay porn boom.
Vito

2011

Vito

2011
6.9
In the aftermath of Stonewall, a newly politicized Vito Russo found his voice as a gay activist and critic of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. He went on to write "The Celluloid Closet", the first book to critique Hollywood's portrayals of gays on screen. During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Vito became a passionate advocate for justice via the newly formed ACT UP, before his death in 1990.
Moana

1926

Moana

1926
6.6
Robert J. Flaherty’s follow-up to Nanook of the North shifts from the Arctic to the South Seas, portraying Samoan village life with a painterly eye. Blending ethnographic detail with a romanticized “Gauguin idyll,” the film celebrates daily rituals, communal traditions, and the passage into adulthood, suffused with what Flaherty called “pride of beauty, pride of strength.”
Tread

2020

Tread

2020
6.6
Pushed to his breaking point, a master welder in a small town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains quietly fortifies a bulldozer with 30 tons of concrete and steel and seeks to destroy those he believes have wronged him.
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer

2022

Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer

2022
7.7
With exclusive behind-the-scenes access into Herzog’s everyday life, rare archive material and in-depth interviews with celebrated collaborators – including Christian Bale, Nicole Kidman, and Robert Pattinson, we are given an exciting glimpse into the work and personal life of the iconic artist.
Half the Picture

2018

Half the Picture

2018
6.6
At a pivotal moment for gender equality in Hollywood, successful women directors talk about their art, lives and careers.
Extranjeras

2003

Extranjeras

2003
Subject

2023

Subject

2023
6.5
In the golden age of documentaries, who benefits? SUBJECT reveals the unintended consequences – good, bad, and complicated – of having your life shared on screen. Featuring the protagonists of acclaimed documentaries The Staircase, Hoop Dreams, The Wolfpack, Capturing the Friedmans, and The Square, as well as the filmmakers of Minding the Gap, Cameraperson, An Inconvenient Truth, and more.
Khodorkovsky

2011

Khodorkovsky

2011
5
Khodorkovsky, the richest Russian, challenges President Putin. A fight of the titans begins. Putin warns him. But Khodorkovsky comes back to Russia knowing that he will be imprisoned, once he returns. When I heard about it, I asked myself: why didn't he stay in exile with a couple of billions? Why did he do that? A personal journey to Khodorkovsky.
Mystic Mass

2014

Mystic Mass

2014
Every year, thousands of Shia Muslims meet in the village of Nabatiyyeh in Lebanon to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, assassinated in 680 A.D. It is by far the most important religious event in the Shia cult, and leads to the formation of immense mass movements all around the world. Mystic Mass describes extensively this 24h ceremony, and deconstructs its indivisible, ever united, mystic mass, since its formation early in the morning of Ashoura, up to its dissolution in the afternoon of the same day.
Mountain

2017

Mountain

2017
6.9
An epic cinematic and musical collaboration between SHERPA filmmaker Jennifer Peedom and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, that explores humankind's fascination with high places.
Generation Like

2014

Generation Like

2014
7
Thanks to social media, teens are able to directly interact with their culture - celebrities, movies, brands - in ways never before possible. But is that real empowerment? Or do marketers hold the upper hand? Douglas Rushkoff explores how the teen quest for identity has migrated to the web – and exposes the game of cat-and-mouse that corporations are playing with them.