Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 80

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life

2021

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life

2021
7.4
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life explores the life and work of the legendary neurologist and storyteller, as he shares intimate details of his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that accepted his work only decades after the fact. Sacks was a fearless explorer of unknown mental worlds who helped redefine our understanding of the brain and mind, the diversity of human experience, and our shared humanity.
Meanwhile in Mamelodi

2011

Meanwhile in Mamelodi

2011
5.1
Set against the raucous backdrop of the 2010 World Cup, MEANWHILE IN MAMELODI is a beautifully crafted portrait of a place and one family’s daily life inside it. The Mtsweni family lives in the Pretoria Township of the title, in the district known as Extension 11. Their world is a ramshackle collection of corrugated tin dwellings and makeshift shops, open sewers littered with debris and red-earth rectangles filled with soccer-playing children and teens. Seventeen-year-old Mosquito is one of those kids. As she studies for math tests, flirts with boys and shops with her best friend, her father Steven prepares his "tuck shop" for the promise of cash-flush tourists. Meanwhile, his wife struggles with mental illness. The Mtswenis' lives unfold as the Cup brings new hope to the ravaged town. Despite the poverty around her, Mosquito insists this is not her parents' country. She is the face of South Africa's future - part of "a new generation free to do all things."
Women Behind the Camera

2007

Women Behind the Camera

2007
3
Reveals the courageous lives of pioneer camerawomen from Hollywood to Bollywood, from war zones to children’s laughter, in a way that has never been seen before. Based on a book by Alexis Krasilovsky, the film tells the stories of camerawomen surviving the odds in Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Mexico, the U.S. and other countries, as well as exploring their individual visions.
Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams

2019

Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams

2019
7
Baseball is life for the die-hard competitors in Koshien, Japan’s national high school baseball championship, whose alumni include US baseball stars Shohei Ohtani and former Yankee Hideki Matsui. As popular as America’s World Series, the stakes are beyond high in this single-elimination tournament. For Coach Mizutani, cleaning the grounds and greeting guests are equally important as honing baseball skills, however, demonstrating discipline, sacrifice and unwavering dedication. Director Ema Ryan Yamazaki follows Mizutani and his team on their quest to win the 100th annual Koshien, and, in the process, goes beyond baseball to reveal the heart of the Japanese national character.
To the Arctic 3D

2012

To the Arctic 3D

2012
6.5
A journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her two seven-month-old cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home.
Children in Crisis: The Story of CHIP

2024

Children in Crisis: The Story of CHIP

2024
In the midst of a catastrophic steel industry collapse, a remarkable grassroots community effort leads to a national healthcare program that helps more than 200 million children...and counting.
NOVA: Bird Brain

2017

NOVA: Bird Brain

2017
10
Call somebody a “bird brain,” and you’re not delivering them a compliment. But as NOVA shows, birds turn out to have advanced problem-solving skills that we usually assume are unique to humans. Watch astonishing tests of avian aptitude: parrots that can plan for the future, jackdaws that can “read” human faces, and crows that can solve multi-step puzzles with tools like pebbles, sticks, and hooks. Could these just be clever tricks based on instinct or triggered by subtle cues from their human handlers? To rule out any doubts, NOVA puts feathered Einsteins through their paces and reveals skills that even three- or four-year-old children have a hard time mastering—such as putting off one reward now to get a bigger one later. From this revolution in thinking about our feathered friends, the conclusion seems irresistible that bird brains see the world in ways that aren’t so different from our own.
Caravaggio: The Soul and the Blood

2018

Caravaggio: The Soul and the Blood

2018
6.7
An exciting and unsettling cinematic journey through the life, work and torments of Caravaggio.
Beauty Queens: Helena Rubinstein

1988

Beauty Queens: Helena Rubinstein

1988
Helena Rubinstein is rightly seen as one of the pioneers of a market worth millions - the female beauty market. Born in Krakow, Rubinstein started her career in the early years of the twentieth century in Australia, from where she quickly went on to conquer Europe and the United States. What began with twelve jars of her mother's beauty cream was to develop into a company with 100 branches in 14 countries and a workforce of 30,000 employees.
Louis Kahn: Silence and Light

1996

Louis Kahn: Silence and Light

1996
As an architect, educator, and philosopher, Louis Kahn played a prominent role in the history of 20th century architecture. An examination of six of his most significant buildings: The Salk Institute; the Kimbell Art Museum; the Center for British Art; the library at Philips Exeter Academy; the Indian Institute of Management; and the Parliament Buildings of Bangladesh.
London

1994

London

1994
6.6
A psycho-geographic journey through London and its history, as undertaken by an unseen narrator and his companion, Robinson, at the time of the 1992 general election.
Blurred Lines: Inside the Art World

2017

Blurred Lines: Inside the Art World

2017
5.6
As one art scene insider proclaims, the contemporary art world can be summed up as “rich people trying to prove how rich they are,” but is that all there is to this billion dollar industry? Well-researched and expertly constructed, Barry Avrich’s eye-opening documentary peels back the layers of the art world economy- from production to circulation, and delineates every integral player in the game of art-making, including curators, gallerists, collectors, donors, auction houses, and … artists. In the process, he unpacks the complex and surprising ecosystem that supports the art world superstars and million-dollar deals that make front-page news. Featuring extraordinary access to industry players and candid statements from prominent artists like Damien Hirst, Julian Schnabel, Taryn Simon, and Marina Abramovic, Blurred Lines collides the two narratives of the art world as both above and beholden to market forces.
Dust to Dust

2024

Dust to Dust

2024
The future of fashion is here and it’s being ushered in by Yuima Nakazato, currently the only active haute couture designer in Japan. Embracing innovative scientific technologies and meshing them with older material techniques, Yuima is determined to move clothing away from mass production and toward respect for the individual and our environment. While designing sculptural haute couture for the runway, Yuima dreams up his visionary and socially-aware practice through research and experience of environmental and production issues happening all across the world — this time in Kenya, where the scale of textile waste is a harbinger of the urgent need for conservation and social change.
Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow

2011

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow

2011
6.6
The film bears witness to German artist Anselm Kiefer's alchemical creative processes and renders in film, as a cinematic journey, the personal universe he has built at his hill-studio estate in the South of France.
Just Like You: Anxiety + Depression

2022

Just Like You: Anxiety + Depression

2022
10 brave kids, 2 Emmy award winning journalists, 1 clinical psychologist at Columbia University and 1 determined mother take on the fear and stigma plaguing the mental health community, leaving us enlightened, empowered and equipped to either live life or lift up life with these challenging and even life threatening conditions.
Narco Cultura

2013

Narco Cultura

2013
7
To a growing number of Mexicans and Latinos in the Americas, narco-traffickers have become iconic outlaws and the new models of fame and success. They represent a pathway out of the ghetto, nurturing a new American dream fueled by the war on drugs. Narco Cultura looks at this explosive phenomenon from within, exposing cycles of addiction to money, drugs, and violence that are rapidly gaining strength on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border
Every Child is Born a Poet

2002

Every Child is Born a Poet

2002
Before acclaimed author Piri Thomas could write his famous novel "Down These Mean Streets", he had to live on them. This biopic shows how his childhood in Spanish Harlem, a six-year prison stint and other key events shaped his artistic development. The film combines rarely seen footage, still photos and mixed-media images to illustrate Thomas's life and an influential career that focused on revealing the injustices of poverty and racism.
London Orbital

2002

London Orbital

2002
6
A filmmaker sets out to make a voyage of discovery on London's orbital motorway, the M25. He enlists the help of several others to film the motorway from several points, drive endlessly around it and dig up stories and potential beauty behind the motorway.
Yoga Is: A Transformational Journey

2012

Yoga Is: A Transformational Journey

2012
1
This is the story of a woman who thought she had it all until she lost her beloved mother to cancer. Trying to process and understand her profound grief, Suzanne embarked on a journey and turned to a deeper practice of yoga. Along the way, she discovers what YOGA IS.
Antarctica: Ice & Sky

2015

Antarctica: Ice & Sky

2015
6.2
Documentary about the work of Claude Lorius, who began studying Antarctic ice in 1957, and, in 1965, was the first scientist to be concerned about global warming.