Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 88

Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre

2018

Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre

2018
7
The story of four women in Jim Jones’ inner circle who helped plan the 1978 Jonestown Massacre, one of the largest murder-suicide events in modern history which left 918 men, women and children dead.
Sacro GRA

2013

Sacro GRA

2013
6
After the India of Varanasi’s boatmen, the American desert of the dropouts, and the Mexico of the killers of drugtrade, Gianfranco Rosi has decided to tell the tale of a part of his own country, roaming and filming for over two years in a minivan on Rome’s giant ring road—the Grande Raccordo Anulare, or GRA—to discover the invisible worlds and possible futures harbored in this area of constant turmoil. Elusive characters and fleeting apparitions emerge from the background of the winding zone: a nobleman from the Piemonte region and his college student daughter sharing a one-room efficiency in a modern apartment building along the GRA.
Dig!

2004

Dig!

2004
6.7
A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.
Breath of the Gods

2012

Breath of the Gods

2012
7
A Journey to the Origins of Modern Yoga. Yoga is known to go back to God Shiva, who perfected 8,4 million postures, according to Indian tradition. Far less known is the fact that yoga is at the same time an early 20th century-creation of Indian savant T. Krishnamacharya, which is what this film is about. Krishnamacharya's life and teachings are seen through the eyes of the director on his search for authentic yoga. His journey leads him from students and relatives of Krishnamacharya's such as the legendary teachers Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois to the source of modern yoga: the palace of the Maharaja of Mysore, where Krishnamacharya founded the first ever yoga school. A feature-length documentary including rare historical footage as well as lavish reenactments.
My Letter to the World: A Journey Through the Life of Emily Dickinson

2017

My Letter to the World: A Journey Through the Life of Emily Dickinson

2017
7.5
Poet Emily Dickinson, pigeonholed as the strange recluse since her death, takes you on a journey through the seasons of her life amid 1800s New England.
3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets

2015

3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets

2015
7.3
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving November 2012, four boys in a red SUV pull into a gas station after spending time at the mall buying sneakers and talking to girls. With music blaring, one boy exits the car and enters the store, a quick stop for a soda and a pack of gum. A man and a woman pull up next to the boys in the station, making a stop for a bottle of wine. The woman enters the store and an argument breaks out when the driver of the second car asks the boys to turn the music down. 3½ minutes and ten bullets later, one of the boys is dead. 3½ MINUTES dissects the aftermath of this fatal encounter.
Underground Chinese Hip-Hop - The Rap Pioneers of China

2012

Underground Chinese Hip-Hop - The Rap Pioneers of China

2012
'Chinese Hip-Hop Underground' is an insider documentary following the story of Weber - one of Mainland China's first rappers. Weber's uncanny musical talents allow him to spearhead the creation of Chinese rap music - a free form of creative self-expression that spreads like wildfire amongst those struggling the most; young working class students and grassroots migrants left out of the country's meteoric rise. Even while Weber's music electrifies China's youth and gains a huge following, he is challenged by enemies posing a threat to his musical existence: state censors, on the one hand, and armies of state-backed pop stars seeking to steal the name of hip-hop for their own gain, on the other. Can Weber and underground musicians like him survive this assault? Will Underground Chinese hip-hop survive?
The Story of Lassie

1994

The Story of Lassie

1994
Documentary about canine superstar Lassie, combining film clips, still photographs, home movies, archival footage and on-camera interviews with many figures involved with the Lassie films or television series.
Char·ac·ter

2012

Char·ac·ter

2012
4
A raw and candid dialogue about the life and craft of acting between longtime colleagues and friends Dabney Coleman, Peter Falk, Charles Grodin, Mark Rydell, Harry Dean Stanton and Sydney Pollack. Drago Sumonja's document takes us into the hearts, minds, and living rooms of some of America's greatest storytellers.
The Lord is Not On Trial Here Today

2011

The Lord is Not On Trial Here Today

2011
7.6
THE LORD IS NOT ON TRIAL HERE TODAY tells the compelling personal story behind one of the most important and landmark First Amendment cases in U.S. Supreme Court history, the case that set the foundation for the separation of church and state in public schools.
Two Towns of Jasper

2002

Two Towns of Jasper

2002
7
Using two separate filmmaking teams (an all-white crew filming white residents and an all-black camera crew filming black residents), TWO TOWNS OF JASPER captures very different racial views by townsfolk in Jasper, Texas, the location for a racially motivated murder of an African American man in 1998.
The Buddha

2010

The Buddha

2010
6.6
This documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world’s greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha’s life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddha’s teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life.
Coded Bias

2020

Coded Bias

2020
6.9
Exploring the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini's startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her journey to push for the first-ever legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all.
Noble Sissle's Syncopated Ragtime

2018

Noble Sissle's Syncopated Ragtime

2018
Combining footage unseen since WWI with original scores from the era, this film tells the story of Noble Sissle's incredible journey that spans "The Harlem Hellfighters" of World War I, Broadway Theatre, the Civil Rights movement, and decades of Black cultural development.
All This Panic

2017

All This Panic

2017
5.9
Shot over a three-year period with unparalleled intimacy and access, ALL THIS PANIC is a feature length documentary that takes an intimate look at the interior lives of a group of teenage girls as they come of age in Brooklyn. A potent mix of vivid portraiture and vérité, we follow the girls as they navigate the ephemeral and fleeting transition between childhood and adulthood.
Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser

2021

Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser

2021
The V&A presents Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser, an exclusive private view of the ‘hugely enjoyable and thought-provoking exhibition’ (★★★★★ The Guardian) at the V&A in London, filmed especially for the big screen. Take a guided tour ‘down the rabbit hole’ with the V&A Curator Kate Bailey and presenter Andi Oliver as the documentary explores how Alice has become an enduring icon, influencing successive generations and inspiring creativity in fashion, film, photography and on the stage. This special cinema event will bring to life the magical world of a landmark exhibition that charts the evolution of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from manuscript to a global phenomenon beloved by all ages.
Dear President Obama

2016

Dear President Obama

2016
7.5
During President Obama's terms extreme energy extraction grew faster than anyone could have predicted, putting the 17 million people in America who live within one mile of a new gas or oil rig in harm's way.
Sorokin Trip

2019

Sorokin Trip

2019
5.8
Documentary about Vladimir Sorokin, one of the most prominent Russian writers.
Secrets of the Tribe

2010

Secrets of the Tribe

2010
6.9
What happens when western anthropologists descend on the Amazon and make one of the last unacculturated tribes in existence, the Yanomami, the most exhaustively filmed and studied tribe on the planet? Despite their "do no harm" creed and scientific aims, the small army of anthropologists that has studied the Yanomami since the 1960s has wreaked havoc among the tribe – and sparked a war within the anthropology community itself.
A Composer’s Notes: Philip Glass and the Making of an Opera

1986

A Composer’s Notes: Philip Glass and the Making of an Opera

1986
This documentary by Michael Blackwood looks at the development and production of Glass' opera Akhnaten. The film follows two productions by the Württemberg State Theater, Stuttgart, and the Houston Grand Opera.