Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 296

The Yangtze River's Green Sailors

2012

The Yangtze River's Green Sailors

2012
Descending from a long line of fishermen on the Yangtze River, Liu Gujun had to redefine his professional activity when the construction of the famous Three Gorges Dam began. His father, who has recently passed away, had to stop fishing the river due the growing pollution that the dam has created and asked his son to start cleaning the river. In the Chinese tradition of respect for the elder, Lui Gujon took the last wishes of his father very seriously. As such, he puts all his energy and invests every penny of his personal wealth into the ambitious project of cleaning up the river. For lack of sufficient grants from the government, Liu even contracts heavy loans to build a small flotilla of cleaning boats.
The Dope Years: The Story of Latasha Harlins

2020

The Dope Years: The Story of Latasha Harlins

2020
A personal retelling of the life and death of Latasha Harlins, the forgotten spark igniting the Los Angeles uprising of 1992, popularly known as the LA riots.
Terror and Hope: The Science of Resilience

2020

Terror and Hope: The Science of Resilience

2020
A close examination of the effect of toxic stress on children living in war zones.
After Munich

2019

After Munich

2019
10
Yesterday the television showed pictures of a peaceful sporting event – today the focus is on an apartment in the Olympic village where terrorists have taken Israeli athletes hostage. A chronicle of the events in Munich in 1972 and their aftermath. After Munich is about the aftermath of the Munich Olympic massacre of eleven Israeli athletes in 1972 and how four women's lives have been changed forever.
Nightingale, Not the Only Voice

2000

Nightingale, Not the Only Voice

2000
Nightingale, Not the Only Voice follows the lives of three artists, including the film’s director, on their shared journey through real and psychological oppression to self-discovery. Tang Danhong examines her past—particularly her relationship with her parents—and looks at the painful, formative moments that inform her current psychological state, her life, and her art.
TV Family

2015

TV Family

2015
A Texas family reflects on the forgotten television documentary produced about them in 1960, describing how the program both mirrored and distorted the reality of their lives. Combining rare footage with new interviews, TV FAMILY opens a window onto the limitations of television and representations of family in midcentury America.
The Art of Listening

2016

The Art of Listening

2016
6.8
The Art of Listening is a documentary film about the journey music takes to reach a listener’s ear, from the intent of an instrument maker and composer, to the producers and engineers who capture and preserve an artist’s voice. This journey is narrated by intimate conversations with artists, engineers and producers about the philosophy of their work and the intent behind each musical note they create.
The Vanity Tables of Douglas Sirk

2015

The Vanity Tables of Douglas Sirk

2015
5.6
A video essay exploring the frequency and meaning of that particular prop in a wide variety of Sirk movies. Is it a device that traps and keeps women in an artificial world with a limited point of view? Or is it a gateway to the past and the future, and a distorted but nevertheless real vision of the roles that woman are forced to play in society? It's an exploration of the texts and subtexts of commercial films and the subterranean and complicated ways that they affect us and can be read.
Something Like a War

1991

Something Like a War

1991
An examination of India’s family planning program from the point of view of the women who are its primary targets. It traces the history of the family planning program and exposes the cynicism, corruption and brutality which characterizes its implementation. As the women themselves discuss their status, sexuality, fertility control and health, it is clear that their perceptions are in conflict with those of the program.
Daughters of Dolma

2013

Daughters of Dolma

2013
Dolma is the Tibetan name of Tara, a Buddhist female deity, and means 'she who saves'. Dolma is regarded as a Bodhisattva of compassion and action. She is known as the mother of all buddhas. Our team felt that Dolma relates to the message we would like to convey via our movie and used her name in the documentary title. One of the main legends about her origin as a bodhisattva tells a story of a young princess who lived in a different world millions of years ago. Her name is Jnanachandra.
The Hidden Art of Islam

2012

The Hidden Art of Islam

2012
Explore the tradition of figurative art at the heart of Islam with host Rageh Omaar. Muslim belief and tradition specifies that there should be no depictions of God or the Prophet Muhammad. In religious contexts, this constraint on what artists can depict extends to human figures and other living creatures as well. These prohibitions have inspired a rich visual culture based on calligraphy, Arabesque floral designs, and geometry, all of which feature strongly in the art and design found throughout Islam, including in mosques and the Koran. With the help of fine art and religion experts, host Rageh Omaar (The Life of Muhammad) traces the effect of these beliefs over the centuries on the art and artists of the Islamic world and considers why depictions of pilgrims taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage have become part of the accepted tradition of Islamic art, including in work exhibited at the British Museum.
Wagner's Jews

2013

Wagner's Jews

2013
9
Who were they? What brought them to Wagner, and what brought him to them? These questions are at the heart of Hilan Warshaw's documentary "Wagner's Jews," the first film to focus on Wagner's complex personal relationships with Jews.
Sons of Haji Omar

1978

Sons of Haji Omar

1978
Haji Omar and his three sons belong to the Lakankhel, a Pashtoon tribal group in northeastern Afghanistan. The film focuses on his family: Haji Omar, the patriarch; Anwar, the eldest, his father's favorite, a pastoralist and expert horseman; Jannat Gul, cultivator and ambitious rebel; and Ismail, the youngest, attending school with a view to a job as a government official.
H.O.T. Human Organ Traffic

2009

H.O.T. Human Organ Traffic

2009
Roberto Orazi turns the camera on the lives of some of those involved in the scourge of the global traffic in human organs: lives united by a momentary hope and separated by that abstract yet insurmountable border called the North-South divide. This shocking documentary exposes the players who claim they know nothing of the crimes they commit.
Backyard

1984

Backyard

1984
6
Documentary film maker Ross McElwee returns to his family home in Charlotte NC. In filming his family, he captures a microcosm of Southern society.
Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela

2004

Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela

2004
Every 12 years over 70 million pilgrims gather at the meeting of India's holiest rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna, for a spectacular spiritual festival: the Kumbh Mela. This documentary takes a voyage of discovery through this colorful event through the eyes of several Westerners and an ebullient young Hindu monk, Swami Krishnanand. Featuring encounters with some of India's most respected holy men and exclusive footage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Out Late

2011

Out Late

2011
2.9
This feature film looks at five individuals who made a decisive change later in life-to come out as lesbian, gay, or trans gender, after the age of 55. Why did they wait until their 50's, 60's, or 70's to come out? And what was the turning point that caused each of these people finally to openly declare their sexuality? From Canada to Florida, to Kansas, we find out what ultimately led these dynamic individuals to make the liberating choice to pursue fully integrated lives.
A Dream in the Making

2012

A Dream in the Making

2012
Rothenburg ob der Tauber

1916

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

1916
A peek into the Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a treasure trove of medieval beauty.
Surf Film Tour

2024

Surf Film Tour

2024
A curated program featuring some of the best surf films from around the world, showcasing a variety of surfing. Includes: TO BE FRANK, a short exploring the authentic and positive spirit of 73-year-old Frank Paine, a legend in the Hermosa Beach surf scene… CHASING THE UNICORN, a 34-minute film tracing surfing history in post-war Mozambique, centered on the search for a mythical wave known as the African Kirra.