Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 57

Flex Is Kings

2013

Flex Is Kings

2013
5.5
Journey to the edge of Brooklyn and of street performance itself in this sparkling portrait of the freeing power of art. Reem is the savvy promoter, Flizzo the undefeated local legend, Jay Donn the innovator with the talent to carry him far away from home. Uniting them is a competitive dance form of dramatic contortions, simulated violence, flowing footsteps and the occasional humorous touch. Welcome to the world of Flex.
Brave Miss World

2013

Brave Miss World

2013
5.9
Linor Abargil, an Israeli beauty queen, was raped two months before being crowned Miss World in 1998. Ten years later, she’s ready to talk about it – and to encourage others to speak out.
Only the Young

2012

Only the Young

2012
6.6
Kevin and Garrison are boyhood friends in a sleepy California suburb. They share a love of skateboarding, an evangelical Christian faith and a sense of confusion about romantic relationships.
Chely Wright: Wish Me Away

2012

Chely Wright: Wish Me Away

2012
4.8
After a lifetime of hiding, Chely Wright becomes the first commercial country music singer to come out as gay, shattering cultural stereotypes within Nashville, per conservative heartland family and, most importantly, within herself. With unprecedented access over a two-year period, including her private video diaries, the film layers Chely's rise to fame while hiding in the late 90's with the execution of her coming out plan, culminating in the exciting moment when she steps into the media glare to reveal she is gay. The film shows both the devastation of internalized homophobia and the transformational power of living an authentic life. The film also documents the conflicting responses from Nashville, the heartland and the LGBT community as Chely Wright prepares for an unknown future.
Pink Ribbons, Inc.

2011

Pink Ribbons, Inc.

2011
6.5
Breast cancer has become the poster child of corporate cause-related marketing campaigns. Countless women and men walk, bike, climb and shop for the cure. Each year, millions of dollars are raised in the name of breast cancer, but where does this money go and what does it actually achieve? Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a feature documentary that shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause," becomes obfuscated by a shiny, pink story of success.
The Island President

2012

The Island President

2012
6.2
Follows the globe-trotting journey of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, the lowest-lying country in the world, who, after bringing democracy to his country, takes up the fight to keep it from disappearing under the sea.
Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film

2011

Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film

2011
6.7
Experimental filmmaker Pip Chodorov traces the course of experimental film in America, taking the very personal point of view of someone who grew up as part of the experimental film community.
Bag It

2011

Bag It

2011
6.5
An average guy makes a resolution to stop using plastic bags at the grocery store. Little does he know that this simple decision will change his life completely. He comes to the conclusion that our consumptive use of plastic has finally caught up to us, and looks at what we can do about it. Today. Right now.
Windfall

2012

Windfall

2012
4.2
Wind power... It's green... It's good... It reduces our dependency on foreign oil... That's what the people of Meredith, in upstate New York first thought when a wind developer looked to supplement this farm town's failing economy with a farm of their own — that of 40 industrial wind turbines. Attracted at first to the financial incentives, residents grow increasingly alarmed as they discover side effects they never dreamed of, as well as the potential for disturbing financial scams. With wind development growing rapidly at 39% annually in the US, WINDFALL is an eye-opener for anyone concerned about the future of renewable energy.
El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

2011

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

2011
5
For six months of the year, renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adria closes his restaurant El Bulli -- repeatedly voted the world's best -- and works with his culinary team to prepare the menu for the next season. An elegant, detailed study of food as avant-garde art, EL BULLI: COOKING IN PROGRESS is a rare inside look at some of the world's most innovative and exciting cooking; as Adria himself puts it, "the more bewilderment, the better!"
Limelight

2011

Limelight

2011
5.8
A film about Peter Gatien, the owner of legendary New York nightclubs like Limelight, The Tunnel and the Palladium. The film documents his rise and fall from the 1980s through the 1990s.
Just Do It: A Tale of Modern-day Outlaws

2011

Just Do It: A Tale of Modern-day Outlaws

2011
5.9
The world of environmental direct action has been a secretive one, until now. With unprecedented access, Emily James spent over a year embedded in activist groups such as Climate Camp and Plane Stupid, documenting their clandestine activities. Torpedoing the tired cliches of the environmental movement, Just Do It introduces you to a powerful cast of mischievous and inspiring characters who put their bodies in the way. They super-glue themselves to bank trading floors, blockade factories and attack coal power stations en-masse all despite the very real threat of arrest. Their adventures will entertain, illuminate and inspire.
Stonehenge: Decoded

2008

Stonehenge: Decoded

2008
6.2
Stonehenge Decoded presents world renowned archaeologists as they reveal a revolutionary new theory about who built Stonehenge and why.
Men for Sale

2008

Men for Sale

2008
6
An intimate and unflinching look over 12 months at the hardscrabble lives of hustlers in downtown Montreal.
The Flaw

2011

The Flaw

2011
6.5
The story of the credit bubble that caused the financial crash. Through interviews with some of the world's leading economists, including housing expert Robert Shiller, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, and economic historian Louis Hyman, as well as Wall Street insiders and victims of the crash including Ed Andrews - a former economics correspondent for The New York Times who found himself facing foreclosure - and Andrew Luan, once a bond trader at Deutsche Bank now running his own Wall Street tour guide business, the film presents an original and compelling account of the toxic combination of forces that nearly destroyed the world economy.
Marimbas from Hell

2010

Marimbas from Hell

2010
5.5
Don Alfonso plays marimbas, the traditional Guatemalan instrument. Facing extortion and without work due to the population's lack of interest for his instrument, he seeks refuge with his godson Chiquilín. Blacko is a pioneer of the Heavy Metal Guatemalan underground stage. He is also a doctor in the public hospital but nobody wants to be treated by him because of his long hair and his tattoos. Chiquilín makes connections for Don Alfonso and Blacko to combine their talents and create a brand new band called Marimbas from Hell.
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos

2009

No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos

2009
6.3
The artistry, triumph and lifelong friendship of the great cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond. With film school equipment, they shoot the Soviet crackdown of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. As refugees they struggle in Hollywood, finally breaking into the mainstream with their pivotal contribution to the "American New Wave."
How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster?

2010

How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster?

2010
7.6
The film traces the rise of one of the world's premier architects, Norman Foster, and his unending quest to improve the quality of life through design.
Double Take

2009

Double Take

2009
5.8
Director Johan Grimonprez casts Alfred Hitchcock as a paranoid history professor, unwittingly caught up in a double take on the cold war period. Subverting a meticulous array of TV footage and using 'The Birds' as an essential metaphor, DOUBLE TAKE traces catastrophe culture's relentless assault on the home, from moving images' inception to the present day.
The Singing Revolution

2006

The Singing Revolution

2006
6
Most people don't think about singing when they think about revolutions. But song was the weapon of choice when, between 1986 and 1991, Estonians sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. During those years, hundreds of thousands gathered in public to sing forbidden patriotic songs and to rally for independence. "The young people, without any political party, and without any politicians, just came together ... not only tens of thousands but hundreds of thousands ... to gather and to sing and to give this nation a new spirit," remarks Mart Laar, a Singing Revolution leader featured in the film and the first post-Soviet Prime Minister of Estonia. "This was the idea of the Singing Revolution." James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty's "The Singing Revolution" tells the moving story of how the Estonian people peacefully regained their freedom--and helped topple an empire along the way.