Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 237

J. Pierpont Morgan: Emperor of Wall Street

1996

J. Pierpont Morgan: Emperor of Wall Street

1996
He single-handedly saved the United States from bankruptcy on two occasions, but was often accused of being a monopolist. He wielded as much power as the president and turned Wall Street into his personal playground. John Pierpont Morgan had an aptitude for acquisition. He assembled one of America's largest fortunes and purchased an art collection to rival any in the world. BIOGRAPHY tells the complete, compelling story of the celebrated deal maker and money man. See rare footage of the financier in his element on Wall Street, and trace his rise to power and prominence through interviews with biographers and historians. Hear how he brokered an agreement between two competing railroads by inviting both presidents for a cruise on his yacht and refusing to let them off until they came to terms! And get a privileged look at his private life.
What is Minimalism? : The American Perspective 1958-1968

2004

What is Minimalism? : The American Perspective 1958-1968

2004
Featuring notable Minimalist artists such as Bride Marden, Claes Oldenburg, and Donald Judd, What is Minimalism: The American Perspective 1958-1968 explores the movement during an explorative exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Los Angeles. Exhibition curator, Ann Goldstein, walks us through multiple rooms of the exhibit and offers her insight on Minimalism and its role in our society, stating that "It marked a fundamental, and critical and pivotal and irrevocable change in the course of art history," (Ann Goldstein). This film observes and analyzes the compelling creative choices behind some of the featured artists most applauded works of art.
Art of the Japanese Sword

2010

Art of the Japanese Sword

2010
The Japanese sword ... prized as much for its exceptional beauty as for it's deadly cutting ability. It has endured for a thousand years as the pinnacle of Japanese culture. Now you can enter a world rarely seen by outsiders. To experience the true story of the Art of the Samurai Sword. A story told in the swordsmiths own words that separate the myth from the fact. Follow the swordsmiths dream of creating a masterpiece. From the quest to making an ancient steel to forging a blade equal to those of the Kamakura, a medieval period that produced the greatest swords in history.
Arrieros

2010

Arrieros

2010
Over the years they herded their animals up the mountain. But that custom had to be adapted to the economic proposals of the present. His world is extremely simple for the dizzying gaze of the city. They work day by day to generate a plate of food and in no way do they contemplate another place to live other than their mountain. There they were born, there they will die. Only two hours by car unites them with Santiago de Chile. So close so far.
Soy Huao

2009

Soy Huao

2009
“Soy Huao” is a film that is installed in the Toca family to watch from them and through the contemplation of a camera -which manages to become invisible-, a world organized by its own values and rules that far from any idea of consumption and urban well-being, it moves with very different customs in the midst of nature and survival in the face of vegetation loaded with a dense forest, the tropical humidity of the climate, and the variety of species of small animals. A plane that visits them every so often, connects the Huao community with the world. How long can a community that has struggled so hard to preserve its freedom resist the influence of the world as we know it?
Hopi: Songs of the Fourth World

1983

Hopi: Songs of the Fourth World

1983
A compelling study of the Hopi that captures their deep spirituality and reveals their integration of art and daily life. Amidst beautiful images of Hopi land and life, a variety of Hopi — a farmer, a religious elder, a grandmother, a painter, a potter, and a weaver — speak about the preservation of the Hopi way. Their philosophy of living in balance and harmony with nature is a model to the Western world of an environmental ethic in action.
Stories of Change

2008

Stories of Change

2008
Stories of Change is a 2008 documentary film by BRAC Pathways of Women Empowerment. The documentary focuses on the lives of five women aging from 16 to 60, coming from different walks of life, from different professions, religions and regions of Bangladesh.
Waila! Making the People Happy

2009

Waila! Making the People Happy

2009
Waila, the contemporary dance music of southern Arizona's tribal communities, is often called "chicken scratch." Played at tribal functions, this fun, lively music offers relief from the hardships of reservation life. Waila! Making the People Happy explores the history of the music and looks at the Joaquin's, a family of musicians, and their journey from a remote tribal village to performing at Carnegie Hall.
Crossing Midnight

2009

Crossing Midnight

2009
One million on the run in the jungles of Eastern Burma. One visionary community fighting to save their own. The award winning documentary, Crossing Midnight, is set on the border of Thailand and Eastern Burma. Crossing Midnight tells the story of a remarkable community of refugees from Burma working against incredible odds to help their own.
Hot Flash

2009

Hot Flash

2009
The inspiring story of award-winning band Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women -- how they left their day jobs in mid-life and realized their dreams. With their potent combination of sassy lyrics and fierce playing styles, the trio Ann Rabson, Gaye Adegbalola, and Andra Faye have entertained audiences for over 25 years. HOT FLASH chronicles how the trio overcame personal struggles and industry stereotypes to emerge as one of the most well-known blues bands playing today. A true insider's look into the band featuring original footage and photographs from the band's personal collection, interviews with current and former band members, as well as with record company executives and music critics, and concert footage of their performance at the historic Ram's Head in Maryland and the Wolf Trap in Virgina.
The Manuscripts of Timbuktu

2009

The Manuscripts of Timbuktu

2009
This documentary demonstrates that Timbuktu was a leading cultural, economic, scientific and religious center that made a significant and lasting impact on Africa and the entire world.
Mah-Jongg: The Tiles that Bind

1998

Mah-Jongg: The Tiles that Bind

1998
A light-hearted yet deeply moving portrait of the Asian- and Jewish-American women who play this centuries-old Chinese game, shedding light on the common and uncommon experiences of the players that simultaneously define and transcend cultural boundaries. Along the way, it proves again and again to be a bridge connecting seemingly unlike individuals, spanning generations, continents and cultures, and transcending classification as merely a game.
Gary Numan: Reinvention

2011

Gary Numan: Reinvention

2011
First shown on TV in 2011, this film is the fascinating story of British Rock Star Gary Numan. From his early meteoric success through mid career crisis and near catastrophe to his renaissance and subsequent evolution into industrial overload. Includes contributions from Trent Reznor, Phil Oakey, Little Boots, Andy McCluskey, Noel Fielding & Martin Mills. This is the story of Reinvention. This DVD edition includes over 45 minutes of extra previously unseen footage. The 45 minutes extra are a mixture of new interviews with Gary and extended footage from sections on the original (longer versions of guest interviews for example), plus scenes that didn't appear on the original at all.
The Rising Sun

2011

The Rising Sun

2011
Becoming 13

2006

Becoming 13

2006
Explores the intimidating terrain of girlhood by following three 12-year-olds over the period of one year. As these girls move from childhood to maturity, it's clear that peer pressure is an important influence, but as the films shows, the greatest influence in a young girl's life is family.
The Downtown Project

2011

The Downtown Project

2011
Just a stone’s throw from downtown Montreal is the largest social housing complex in Quebec. Built in 1959 where the red-light district used to be, Les Habitations Jeanne-Mance have retained something of the area’s seedy reputation for poverty, prostitution, drugs and violence. But who really knows the projects and the people who live there? Delving beneath the prejudices and stereotypes, director Isabelle Longtin ventured inside the buildings and met the residents.
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.
Making Dances: Seven Post-Modern Choreographers

1980

Making Dances: Seven Post-Modern Choreographers

1980
Made in 1980, this film explores the contemporary dance scene through the work of seven New York-based choreographers. They discuss the nature of dance and the evolution of their own work. Filmed at rehearsals, performances, and during interviews, the film is a unique primary source. The artistic roots of these seven artists can be found in Martha Graham's concern with modern life as a subject for dance and in Merce Cunningham's emphasis on the nature of movement. In the 1960s, the interaction of art forms generated choreographic innovations. Especially influential was John Cage, whose radical ideas served as a point of departure for much of the new choreography. Each of the choreographers in Making Dances draws inspiration from the Graham/Cunningham tradition, yet each makes a highly distinctive statement. Structure, movement in non-fictive time and space, and the nature of movement itself are recurring themes.
Everybody's Children

2008

Everybody's Children

2008
Monika Delmos's documentary captures a year in the life of two teenage refugees, Joyce and Sallieu, who have left their own countries to make a new life in Ontario. Joyce, 17, left the Democratic Republic of Congo to avoid being forced into prostitution by her family. Sallieu, 16, had witnessed the murder of his mother as a young boy in wartorn Sierra Leone.
Standing Silent Nation

2007

Standing Silent Nation

2007
When the Oglala Sioux Tribe passed an ordinance separating industrial hemp from its illegal cousin, marijuana, Alex White Plume and his family glimpsed a brighter future. Having researched hemp as a sustainable crop that would grow in the inhospitable soil of the South Dakota Badlands, the White Plumes envisioned a new economy that would shrink the 85% unemployment rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation. They never dreamed they would find themselves swept up in a struggle over tribal sovereignty, economic rights, and common sense.