Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 275

James Hemings: Ghost in America's Kitchen

2021

James Hemings: Ghost in America's Kitchen

2021
If you've ever eaten macaroni and cheese, French fries or ice cream, you've enjoyed the contributions of America's unknown culinary founding father, James Hemings. James Hemings was the first American trained as a master chef; he was also the brother-in-law and enslaved property of Thomas Jefferson.
Above and Beyond

2014

Above and Beyond

2014
6
Above and Beyond highlights one of the most compelling escape and survival stories from World War II. On December 1, 1943, Bruce Sundlun's bomber drew fire from German fighter planes and crashed in Nazi-occupied Belgium. With help from an underground network, Bruce fled to occupied France, where he joined the Resistance. He would go on to spy for the OSS, the precursor to the CIA.
Sky Burial: A Tibetan Death Ritual

2005

Sky Burial: A Tibetan Death Ritual

2005
Sky Burial follows the ritual of "jha-tor", the giving of alms to birds in a northern Tibetan monastery - where the bodies of the dead are offered to the vultures as a final act of kindness to living beings. At the Drigung Monastery lamas chant to call the consciousness from the body. Juniper incense is burned to summon the vultures. Special body breakers, or "rogyapas", unwrap the bodies and cut away the flesh. The bones are crushed and mixed with tsampa, roasted barley flour. The entire body is consumed by the birds, assuring the ascent of the soul. The sky, or the universe, is where the sacred world lies. To merge with the sky after death is a holy event, one that replaces the sufferings of this world with peace.
The Big Banana

2011

The Big Banana

2011
Banned in Cameroon, The Big Banana illustrates the poor working conditions in banana plantations and exposes the adverse impact on the people of a corporatocracy government that affords super profits for corporations at the expense of the local population. The Big Banana outlines land grabbing tactics by company Plantation du Haut Penja (PHP) and the ensuing devastation for communities: poverty, pollution, and sickness from pesticides. Bieleu, who spent two years filming residents in the remote countryside of Cameroon also features local cooperatives resisting the devastation through business alliances with fair trade organizations.
Forever Majestic

2021

Forever Majestic

2021
Two activists race to save a once-bustling historic landmark struck by a mysterious fire.
The Unnatural History of the Kakapo

2009

The Unnatural History of the Kakapo

2009
6
The world's last kakapo population is plagued by a deadly curse. Without a cure, it could be the end of the world's rarest and strangest wild parrot.
The Chairman and the Lions

2012

The Chairman and the Lions

2012
As recently as forty years ago, most sections of the Maasai were semi-nomadic and relatively independent of the nation-state. However, political, social and economic changes in East Africa have forced many herders to adopt a sedentary lifestyle. The Chairman and the Lions introduces Frank Kaipai Ikoyo, a charismatic Ilparakuyo Maasai who, at thirty-three, is the leader of a Tanzanian village called Lesoit. Ikoyo was elected to his post at the age of twenty-six in part because he had completed primary school. That someone so young would be accorded such authority would have been without precedent not long ago. Yet this ethnography of Ikoyo's duties as village chairman shows how literacy and insight into the workings of the nation-state are essential for Maasai to combat the many lions, both real and figurative, that beset them: land grabbers, "bush" lawyers, unemployment, out-migration and poverty.
New York Dance States of Performance

2010

New York Dance States of Performance

2010
Seven choreographers work tirelessly to both question and embrace their chosen form, producing work that celebrates the strange, startling and poetic beauty of dance and performance. Curated by Gia Kourlas. Narrated by the choreographers.
The Silent Monologue

2008

The Silent Monologue

2008
We hear the thoughts of Amy, a girl from a rural area of Senegal who works as a domestic for a well-to-do family in Dakar. She complains about her employer, who continuously criticizes her and gets on her case, and she talks about her dream of one day opening her own eatery. In Dakar, some 150,000 young women work as housekeepers for rich families to survive and help their families instead of going to school.
Buffalo Soldiers Fighting On Two Fronts

2022

Buffalo Soldiers Fighting On Two Fronts

2022
6
Interviews, reenactments, animations, and more tell the story of the Black army regiments, formed after the Civil War, who played vital roles (from railroad builders to park rangers) in the American settling of the West.
A Closer Walk

2003

A Closer Walk

2003
6
This documentary examines the world AIDS crisis. The camera travels to Africa, where infections overwhelm the public health system and orphans face their own deaths, central Europe, where drug users spread the disease via shared needles, India, where husbands infect wives, and to the U.S., where grass-roots efforts in places like Kansas City confront cultural stereotypes. Interviews include patients, doctors, nurses, the Dalai Lama, and Kofi Annan. The film's tone is compassionate and urgent, and the statistics overwhelming.
A História do Maior Best-Seller de Todos os Tempos

2021

A História do Maior Best-Seller de Todos os Tempos

2021
The Architecture Of Mud

1999

The Architecture Of Mud

1999
The Hadhramaut region in the south east of Yemen is well known for its mud brick architecture. Throughout the centuries, the population has developed very sophisticated building techniques and created a unique architectural environment. Spectacular structures such as ten-story mud brick tower houses rise up from the valley's floor. In interviews throughout the documentary, the masons describe their working techniques and the challenges they face with the introduction of new, imported building materials. The Architecture of Mud documents the vernacular architecture, the building craft and the society they belong to.
Dear Lisa: A Letter to My Sister

1991

Dear Lisa: A Letter to My Sister

1991
8
The filmmaker questions her sister, herself and others about the dreams and hopes they had growing up as girls in contrast to the reality they face as women.
Of Mothers and Daughters

2012

Of Mothers and Daughters

2012
There are more than 2,500 pensioners living in a large private retirement home located in a suburb of Canton (Guangzhou), China. As we discover the daily lives of these people, the film focuses on the lives of two elderly ladies: Ms. Kuang and Ms Xie. The documentary reveals how today's urban China can be reflected by the story of these two women, who find themselves away from their families, in a retirement home. Here, in the wake of serious health considerations, they have to build new relationships, define a new rhythm to their daily life and invent new ways to be with others.
Instructions for Survival

2021

Instructions for Survival

2021
6
Alexander’s transgender identity means he is obliged to lead a life of secrecy in his home country. Being identified as “female” in his passport means he cannot legally find work, either. Since even a visit to the doctor is a risk for him, he has begun hormone therapy to transition on his own with support from internet forums and the local transgender community. Desperate to escape their hopeless situation and leave the country, Alexander’s wife Mari decides to become a surrogate mother for 12,000 dollars. But their ostensibly pragmatic plan backfires when Alex and Mari gradually develop an emotional bond with the unborn child.
L'île aux loutres, une affaire de famille

2019

L'île aux loutres, une affaire de famille

2019
10
We follow three young otters from the moment they are born in the incredibly wild and remote Shetland Islands, north of Scotland. We will witness how their mother teaches them to swim, fish, catch crabs, face storms, and wash their precious fur in fresh water.
O Grande Circo Místico

1977

O Grande Circo Místico

1977
The world of Alagoas poet Jorge de Lima, author of unforgettable verses, is in O Grande Circo Místico, from 1977, directed by João Carlos Horta.
Jamesie, King of Scratch

2007

Jamesie, King of Scratch

2007
An engaging and spirited musical journey to the Caribbean, this documentary focuses on Scratch band music, an indigenous, grass-roots form of folk music from the Virgin Islands. 79-year old James Brewster was an uncompromising, humorous, and provocative musician known for his playful compositions and lively performances and is the legendary 'King of Scratch'.
Separated: Children at the Border

2018

Separated: Children at the Border

2018
The inside story of what happened to immigrant children separated from their parents at the border. The film explores the impact of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, and how both Trump and Obama dealt with minors at the border.