Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 95

James Thurber: The Life and Hard Times

2014

James Thurber: The Life and Hard Times

2014
The first major documentary film on James Thurber's life and work includes a look at the humorist's accomplishments as a journalist, playwright, cartoonist and social critic.
Born in Syria

2016

Born in Syria

2016
7.2
This intimate documentary follows a group of Syrian children refugees who narrowly escape a life of torment and integrate into a foreign land.
Britney Spears: Breaking Free

2021

Britney Spears: Breaking Free

2021
10
Almost four decades as the Princess of Pop, superstar Britney Spears, continues to be in the public eye on the brink of winning a legal battle with her father that would end a conservatorship and at long last give her control of her life.
Somm III

2018

Somm III

2018
6.8
Three legends in the world of wine—Fred Dame, Steven Spurrier and Jancis Robinson—sit down in Paris to taste the rarest bottles of their careers. Dustin Wilson gathers the greatest blind tasters of today in New York City for a secret tasting similar to the original Judgment of Paris, with the goal to see if any of the world’s Pinot Noirs can stand up to the greatest Burgundies of France. In the end, both tastings cross with results that could change the world of wine forever.
The Space in Between: Marina Abramović and Brazil

2016

The Space in Between: Marina Abramović and Brazil

2016
7.7
Marina Abramović travels through Brazil, in search of personal healing and artistic inspiration, experiencing sacred rituals and revealing her creative process. The route is comprised of poignant encounters with healers and sages from the Brazilian countryside, exploring the limits between art and spirituality. This external trip triggers in Marina a profound introspective journey through memories, pain and past experiences.
Easy Lessons

2018

Easy Lessons

2018
7.5
Kafia, a young girl on the brink of adulthood, has to leave behind a lot of what defined her Somalian life as she tries to adapt to her new existence in Hungary. As the family’s cultural values and taboos start to fall apart, Kafia tries to explain and make sense of all these changes to her mother left behind.
Dear Governor Cuomo

2012

Dear Governor Cuomo

2012
'Dear Governor Cuomo' is a concert protest film aimed at influencing New York state's decision to ban hydraulic fracturing - fracking - or adopt it. Featuring local activists including Mark Ruffalo, 'Melissa Leo' , 'Natalie Merchant' , Pete Seeger, Citizen Cope and scientists like Sandra Steingraber, the film - a blend of 'The Last Waltz' and 'An Inconvenient Truth' lays out the science and facts behind the decision and encourages the governor to join the anti-fracking majority in his state. Though focused on the issue in New York, the education, and incredible music, are relevant in the 34 states that already allow fracking.
Ray Kappe: California Modern Master - Forty Years of Modular Evolution

2009

Ray Kappe: California Modern Master - Forty Years of Modular Evolution

2009
Explorations in 21st Century American Architecture Series: Ray Kappe has long been a cult figure in the architectural scene in and around Los Angeles. In 1972, he founded the influential, avant garde Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC), where many of the younger-generation architects have studied or taught.
BOSS: The Black Experience in Business

2019

BOSS: The Black Experience in Business

2019
6
The history of business and entrepreneurship lies at the heart of the American story, but often absent are the names and experiences of African Americans who, from the country’s earliest days, have embodied the qualities of innovation, risk-taking and determination to forge a path toward a better life – which is at the heart of the American entrepreneurial spirit.
Eternal You

2024

Eternal You

2024
6.3
Startups are using AI to create avatars that allow relatives to talk with their loved ones after they have died. An exploration of a profound human desire and the consequences of turning the dream of immortality into a product.
On The Wings of Brancusi

2018

On The Wings of Brancusi

2018
Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), the most important sculptor of the first half of the 20th century, has been a fascinating and enduring influence on a generation of contemporary American artists. Insights into Brancusi’s legacy are presented by Carl Andre, Lynda Benglis, Ellsworth Kelly, Martin Puryear, Richard Serra, and Joel Shapiro, with additional commentary on Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Roy Lichtenstein, Isamu Noguchi,and Claes Oldenburg. In 1995, Anne d’Harnoncourt, Director Emeritus of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, asked Checkerboard to document the PMA’s acclaimed retrospective on Brancusi for the Museum’s archive. The resulting footage became the genesis of the documentary.
Frames of Reference

1960

Frames of Reference

1960
9.5
An educational physics film utilizing a fascinating set consisting of a rotating table and furniture occupying surprisingly unpredictable spots within the viewing area, Leacock’s Frames of Reference (1960), features fine cinematography by Abraham Morochnik, and funny narration by University of Toronto professors Donald Ivey and Patterson Hume, in a wonderful example of the fun a creative team of filmmakers can have with a subject other, less imaginative types might find pedestrian.
The Story of Plastic

2019

The Story of Plastic

2019
8.1
The Story of Plastic is a seething expose uncovering the ugly truth behind the current global plastic pollution crisis. Striking footage shot over three continents illustrates the ongoing catastrophe: fields full of garbage, veritable mountains of trash; rivers and seas clogged with waste; and skies choked with the poisonous runoff from plastic production and recycling processes with no end in sight. Original animations, interviews with experts and activists, and never-before-filmed scenes reveal the disastrous consequences of the flood of plastic smothering ecosystems and poisoning communities around the world – and the global movement rising up in response.
The New Medicine

2006

The New Medicine

2006
Before her death in 2006 from lung cancer, Dana Reeve filmed this thought-provoking program exploring the use of holistic remedies in modern medicine. Moving beyond traditional treatments and examining more lifestyle factors, an increasing number of doctors are supplementing their work with a host of healing alternatives -- including meditation, hypnosis and acupuncture -- to treat the whole body and restore their patients' health.
Current Sea

2020

Current Sea

2020
A feature-length, environmental thriller that follows investigative journalist, Matt Blomberg, and ocean activist, Paul Ferber, in their dangerous efforts to create a marine conservation area and combat the relentless tide of illegal fishing. Along the way a new generation of Cambodian environmentalists are inspired to create a better life for their people.
Finding Fela

2014

Finding Fela

2014
6.9
Fela Anikulapo Kuti created the musical movement Afrobeat and used it as a political forum to oppose the Nigerian dictatorship and advocate for the rights of oppressed people. This is the story of his life, music, and political importance.
SELANDIA: The ship That Changed the World

2012

SELANDIA: The ship That Changed the World

2012
8
The Ship that Changed the World is a historical drama about the birth of the world's first ocean-going diesel-powered ship Selandia. A groundbreaking invention that changed the world forever. The film shows Selandia and the creators receiving worldwide acclaim. But for two of them success was short-lived. They died under mysterious circumstances shortly after the maiden voyage of Selandia. On the brink of the World War, and with Germany and England showing great interest in this invention, is it too farfetched to believe that these deaths were more than coincidental. - Written by Michael Schmidt-Olsen
56 Up

2012

56 Up

2012
7.2
When a cross-section of seven-year-olds were interviewed for 7 Up in 1964 it was immediately evident that their social backgrounds influenced their attitudes towards life. While the upper class children were confident and self-assured, those from middle and working class backgrounds were resigned to a challenging life of hard work. This premise was put to the test every seven years when the same group were interviewed about the progression of their lives. 49 years in the making, the changes that occurred to the original 14 make for fascinating television and are in many ways the stories of all our lives. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life has been captured on film. Now, at the age of 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.
Something to Do with the Wall

1991

Something to Do with the Wall

1991
7
In 1986, Ross McElwee (Sherman's March) and Marilyn Levine were making a film about the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall, when the imposing structure was still very much intact as the world’s most visible symbol of hardline Communism and Cold War lore. They thought they were making a documentary on the community of tourists, soldiers, and West Berliners who lived in the seemingly eternal presence of the graffiti emblazoned eyesore. But in 1989, as the original film neared completion, the Wall came down, and McElwee and Levine returned to Berlin, this time to capture the radically different atmosphere of the reunified city.
The Flat

2011

The Flat

2011
6.5
The flat on the third floor of a Bauhaus building in Tel Aviv was where my grandparents lived since they immigrated to Palestine in the 1930s. Were it not for the view from the windows, one might have thought that the flat was in Berlin. When my grandmother passed away at the age of 98 we were called to the flat to clear out what was left. Objects, pictures, letters and documents awaited us, revealing traces of a troubled and unknown past. The film begins with the emptying out of a flat and develops into a riveting adventure, involving unexpected national interests, a friendship that crosses enemy lines, and deeply repressed family emotions. And even reveals some secrets that should have probably remained untold...