Popular Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 97

Bombardier Blood

2020

Bombardier Blood

2020
1.5
In an attempt to complete the Seven Summits, a do-or-die mountaineer with a severe bleeding disorder risks his life in order to shine a light upon the disturbing lack of access to life-sustaining medicine around the world.
Awake: The Life of Yogananda

2014

Awake: The Life of Yogananda

2014
6.7
An unconventional biography by Oscar nominee Paola di Florio and Sundance winner Lisa Leeman about Hindu mystic Paramahansa Yogananda who brought yoga and meditation to the West in 1920 and authored the spiritual classic "Autobiography of a Yogi," which became the go-to book for seekers from George Harrison to Steve Jobs.
Born Hungry

2024

Born Hungry

2024
In this inspiring story of grit and determination, a runaway child from the streets of India is adopted by a family and becomes one of the top chefs in the world.
The Russian Woodpecker

2015

The Russian Woodpecker

2015
6.3
As his country is gripped by revolution and war, a Ukrainian victim of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life and play his part in the revolution by revealing it.
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes

2023

Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes

2023
The Drum Waltzes explores the life and music of legendary drummer, activist Max Roach, his creative peaks, personal struggles and re-inventions from the Jim Crow to Civil Rights eras, from heady days of post-war jazz to hip hop and beyond.
Soul of the Ocean

2023

Soul of the Ocean

2023
2
The undersea world has often been depicted as a dangerous place filled with lethal predators. A world where sharks are mindless eating machines. A world where the only relationship between species is that big fish eat little fish. Of course, stories of sensational danger and violent predation are seductive to wildlife film audiences. But is that what the ocean is really like?
Not My Life

2011

Not My Life

2011
Not My Life comprehensively depicts the cruel and dehumanizing practices of human trafficking and modern slavery on a global scale. Filmed on five continents, in a dozen countries, Not My Life takes viewers into a world where millions of children are exploited through an astonishing array of practices including forced labor, sex tourism, sexual exploitation, and child soldiering.
Hobbyhorse Revolution

2017

Hobbyhorse Revolution

2017
6.5
A film about teenagers with growing pains, who discover their own voice and talent through riding and grooming toy horses.
The Net

2003

The Net

2003
6
Explores the incredibly complex backstory of Ted Kaczynski, the infamous Unabomber. This exquisitely crafted inquiry into the rationale of this mythic figure situates him within a late 20th century web of technology—a system that he grew to oppose. A marvelously subversive approach to the history of the Internet, this insightful documentary combines speculative travelogue and investigative journalism to trace contrasting countercultural responses to the cybernetic revolution.
The Middle Passage

1997

The Middle Passage

1997
"Explores the 400-year era of the transatlantic slave trade, when millions of Africans were kidnapped and shipped to the Americas. Features interviews with scholars, oral histories and a dramatic recreation of the Middle Passage" (The History Channel).
The Horse Boy

2009

The Horse Boy

2009
6.5
Filmmaker Michel Orion Scott captures a magical journey into a little-known world, in a documentary which chronicles Rupert Isaacson and Kristin Neff's personal odyssey to make sense of their child's autism, and find healing for him and themselves in the unlikeliest of places.
Neurotypical

2013

Neurotypical

2013
Neurotypical is an unprecedented exploration of autism from the point of view of autistic people themselves. Four-year-old Violet, teenaged Nicholas and adult Paula occupy different positions on the autism spectrum, but they are all at pivotal moments in their lives. How they and the people around them work out their perceptual and behavioral differences becomes a remarkable reflection of the "neurotypical" world — the world of the non-autistic — revealing inventive adaptations on each side and an emerging critique of both what it means to be normal and what it means to be human.
Dancing in A-Yard

2023

Dancing in A-Yard

2023
8
In prisons ruled by toxic masculinity, dancing is an absolute taboo. But at Lancaster’s A-Yard, near Los Angeles, a group of young men, willing to take a chance to be mocked in the yard, start a dance class led by French choreographer Dimitri Chamblas. This class quickly becomes an intoxicating escape from their grim reality so they decide to create a dance show. In this exceptional context, the inmates engage with overwhelming sincerity, evoking their childhood, ganglife, the crimes, the prison, and their desire for transformation. Beyond damaged lives and a prison system on the edge of the abyss, DANCING IN A-YARD explores redemption and the capacity of human beings to reinvent themselves, when given a chance. And more importantly, how art and introspection can help see the light.
Born to Fly

2022

Born to Fly

2022
7.3
A child prodigy from Louisiana, who shares his father's passion for the unique sport of pole vaulting, must overcome his difficulty with handling failure in order to achieve his dream of becoming the greatest in history.
Making Utu

1983

Making Utu

1983
Making of documentary on the set of New Zealand's first epic Utu (1983), working with little money and dealing respectfully with matters of cultural protocol. Merata Mita discusses complex issues of inter-cultural conflict.
The Witness

2015

The Witness

2015
6.6
A brother's journey to unravel the truth about the mythic death and little known life of Kitty Genovese, who was reportedly murdered in front of 38 witnesses and has become the face of urban apathy.
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

2011

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

2011
6.5
Filmmaker Marshall Curry explores the inner workings of the Earth Liberation Front, a revolutionary movement devoted to crippling facilities involved in deforestation, while simultaneously offering a profile of Oregon ELF member Daniel McGowan, who was brought up on terrorism charges for his involvement with the radical group.
Waiting for "Superman"

2010

Waiting for "Superman"

2010
6.9
Gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, Waiting for Superman is an impassioned indictment of the American school system from An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim.
The Gig Is Up

2021

The Gig Is Up

2021
7.2
A very human tech doc, uncovers the real costs of the platform economy through the lives of workers from around the world for companies including Uber, Amazon and Deliveroo. From delivering food and driving ride shares to tagging images for AI, millions of people around the world are finding work task by task online. The gig economy is worth over 5 trillion USD globally, and growing. And yet the stories of the workers behind this tech revolution have gone largely neglected. Who are the people in this shadow workforce? It brings their stories into the light. Lured by the promise of flexible work hours, independence, and control over time and money, workers from around the world have found a very different reality. Work conditions are often dangerous, pay often changes without notice, and workers can effectively be fired through deactivation or a bad rating. Through an engaging global cast of characters, it reveals how the magic of technology we are being sold might not be magic at all.
Great Barrier Reef 3D

2018

Great Barrier Reef 3D

2018
8
What comes to mind when you think of the largest structure built by living creatures? China's sprawling Great Wall? Or maybe the skyscrapers of New York and Dubai? The truth is, no human feat of construction can compare to the sheer size and majesty of the Great Barrier Reef--spanning more than 1,400 miles off the coast of Australia and home to countless unique species of aquatic life. Narrated by acclaimed Australian actor Eric Bana, Great Barrier Reef lets us experience the awe of this natural cityscape and introduces us to the visionaries and "citizen scientists" who are helping us better understand and protect the reef. Grab your mask and snorkel and come on an unforgettable adventure with sea turtles and manta rays, witness the birth of baby seahorses, participate in a coral watch expedition, and discover the exotic splendor of fluorescent corals at night as Great Barrier Reef captures the natural beauty and exquisite strangeness of this awesome, bizarre, and vibrant living world.