Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 49

Ruben Blades Is Not My Name

2018

Ruben Blades Is Not My Name

2018
6.4
The story of one of Latin America's most beloved singer-songwriters in a journey across his 50-year career. In an intimate way, the film gives us a chance to get to know the artist, his music, and the stories behind them.
Boston

2017

Boston

2017
7.6
The history of the Boston Marathon from its humble origins starting with only 15 runners, to the first female runners, through the tragedy in 2013, and ultimately the triumph of 2014.
The Milky Way

2014

The Milky Way

2014
7
What 'Food, Inc.' did for the food industry in America, this film will do for breastfeeding in our country. It will make every viewer rethink motherhood and how we treat mothers. It is a film that will empower each woman to trust her body, her baby, and herself in her journey as a mother. It will make her laugh, cry, nod fiercely in agreement, get angry, and then get so inspired it will be impossible not to take action.
Little Dieter Needs to Fly

1997

Little Dieter Needs to Fly

1997
7.5
Three decades after German-American pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, he returns to the places where he was held prisoner during the early years of the Vietnam War. Accompanied by director Werner Herzog, Dengler describes in unusually candid detail his captivity, the friendships he made, and his daring escape. Not willing to stop there, Herzog even persuades his subject to re-enact certain tortures, with the help of some willing local villagers.
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star

1991

Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star

1991
7.5
A retrospective on the career of Robert Mitchum through interviews with friends and co-workers, scenes from his films and the actor himself.
Something Ventured

2011

Something Ventured

2011
6.4
Apple. Intel. Genentech. Atari. Google. Cisco. Stratospheric successes with high stakes all around. Behind some of the world's most revolutionary companies are a handful of men who (through timing, foresight, a keen ability to size up other people, and a lot of luck) saw opportunity where others did not: these are the original venture capitalists. All were backing and building companies before the term 'venture capital' had been coined: companies that led to the birth of biotechnology and the spectacular growth in microprocessors, personal computers and the web. SOMETHING VENTURED uncovers the ups and downs of the building of some of the greatest companies of the twentieth century, and the hidden dramas behind some of the most famous names in business.
Roger Moore: A Matter of Class

1995

Roger Moore: A Matter of Class

1995
6
The story of actor Roger Moore, including clips from his movies, television shows and interviews with the actor, his family and acquaintances.
Brother Orange

2025

Brother Orange

2025
"Brother Orange" follows the story of Matt Stopera, a BuzzFeed founding editor, whose life takes an unexpected turn when his stolen phone, lost in a New York City bar, becomes the catalyst for a viral BuzzFeed article a year later. The article launched a viral feel-good story about a lasting friendship that transcends language and culture and has captivated the world with over 100 million views on social media, including over 70 million shares on Weibo, and traditional media such as NPR, Rachel Maddow, and Ellen while propelling Matt into instant celebrity status. As their 10-year friendship anniversary nears, this extraordinary true story showcases the power of personal connection between two ordinary people-one American and one Chinese-who look beyond political tensions to form a profound bond.
The University

2016

The University

2016
On a NASA research base in Silicon Valley, there's an organization that's changing the world ... Singularity University (SU). Created by renowned futurist Ray Kurzweil and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, with support from NASA, Google, and others, the university brings in some of the smartest students from around the world, and gives them a crash course in the most powerful exponential technologies on the planet. The students are then given a challenge: create companies that will impact a billion people within ten years. The film follows the students and their companies over five years, as they use the support of scientists, astronauts and billionaires in their attempt to make a dent in the universe.
General Magic

2019

General Magic

2019
7.3
A tale of how the great vision and epic failure of General Magic, the "greatest dead company in Silicon Valley", changed the lives of billions.
Grace Kelly: The American Princess

1987

Grace Kelly: The American Princess

1987
6.5
A biography of American actress Grace Kelly from her early days as an aspiring actress to her death as Princess of Monaco.
Glitterbug

1994

Glitterbug

1994
5.9
A collage of Derek Jarman's super 8 footage spanning over 20 years.
A Journey to Sundance

2023

A Journey to Sundance

2023
'A JOURNEY TO SUNDANCE' is about the spirit, dreams and struggles of independent filmmakers from all over the world, as well as my own struggles to finish this enormous undertaking.
Genghis Blues

1999

Genghis Blues

1999
6.9
Blind blues musician Paul Pena is perhaps best known for his song "Jet Airliner". In 1993, Pena heard Tuvan throat singing over his shortwave radio and subsequently taught himself how to reproduce these extraordinary sounds. This documentary follows him to Tuva, where he takes part in a throat singing competition. Languages featured in the film include English, Russian and Tuvan.
Dying Green

2012

Dying Green

2012
A doctor's efforts to live a green life near the Appalachian Mountains lead to the development of a radical idea to use green burials to conserve one million acres of land and to create wildlife reserves.
Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema

1998

Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema

1998
4.9
An exploration of Chinese cinema and its relationships with gender and sexuality, which the film argues has been more frankly and provocatively explored than in any other national cinema. Utilizing both film excerpts and interviews with many leading directors and academics, the film examines topics such as male bonding in kung fu movies, depictions of same-sex bonding and physical intimacy, the emphasis on women's grievances in melodramas, and the career of Yam Kim-Fai, a Hong Kong actress who spent her life portraying men on and off the screen.
Sharp Edges

1986

Sharp Edges

1986
6.3
Filmmaker Sandra Luckow follows a 15 year old, then unknown, Tonya Harding to her first National Figure Skating competition in 1986.
Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer

2013

Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer

2013
6.4
Documentary following the career of Brooklyn-born photographer Jamel Shabazz, who captured hip-hop in its infancy long before it became a worldwide phenomenon. His iconic images of kids sporting sneakers and savvy street style caught the essence of hip-hop as it exploded onto the streets of New York. Intimate interviews with Shabazz and hip hop pioneers explore the hundreds of individual stories and urban history behind a revolutionary cultural movement.
Woman

2020

Woman

2020
7.7
The film is based on interviews with 2,000 women from 50 countries, and covers the status of women all over the world. The topics covered include forced marriages, sexual assault, female genital mutilation, acid attacks, motherhood, sexuality, menstruation, education and the professional success of women.
Project Nim

2011

Project Nim

2011
6.8
From the team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child. Following Nim's extraordinary journey through human society, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way, the film is an unflinching and unsentimental biography of an animal we tried to make human. What we learn about his true nature - and indeed our own - is comic, revealing and profoundly unsettling.