Top Rated Documentary Movies on Hoopla - Page 115

Remember the Sultana

2018

Remember the Sultana

2018
6.5
Over 2000 Union soldiers, passengers and crew were crammed aboard the steamboat Sultana, licensed to carry 376. Graft, greed, overcrowding, a poorly maintained boat, and the Mississippi River was swollen with spring snowmelt conspired together to create a disaster. On April 27, 1865, the boat’s boilers exploded, causing the worst maritime disaster in US history.
Part One: China in Revolution 1911–1949

1989

Part One: China in Revolution 1911–1949

1989
8
The first film, China in Revolution, describes the epic upheaval that began in China with the fall of the last emperor in 1911. Over the next four decades, the Chinese people were caught up in struggles with warlords, foreign invasion and a bitter rivalry between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party. The film highlights the two figures who came to shape events, Chang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong. First they worked as allies to unite the country and then they fought a bloody civil war that was won by the Communists in 1949.
The Walrus and the Whistleblower

2020

The Walrus and the Whistleblower

2020
7.5
A documentary following the legal battles between Phil Demers and Marineland, and exposing the mistreatment of animals in theme parks.
Amir Hetsroni: Case Study

2020

Amir Hetsroni: Case Study

2020
9.5
A fascinating journey with Israel’s notorious provocateur, Prof. Amir Hetsroni, into the depth of his romantic and interpersonal relationships, alienated childhood, and public persona versus his self-identity.
After Munich

2019

After Munich

2019
10
Yesterday the television showed pictures of a peaceful sporting event – today the focus is on an apartment in the Olympic village where terrorists have taken Israeli athletes hostage. A chronicle of the events in Munich in 1972 and their aftermath. After Munich is about the aftermath of the Munich Olympic massacre of eleven Israeli athletes in 1972 and how four women's lives have been changed forever.
Lifeline: Clyfford Still

2019

Lifeline: Clyfford Still

2019
8
Jackson Pollock said, “he makes the rest of us look academic,” Mark Rothko acknowledged him as a “myth-maker” and Clement Greenberg called him “a highly influential maverick and an independent genius.” Clyfford Still, one of the strongest, most original contributors to abstract expressionism, walked away from the commercial art world at the height of his career. Extremely disciplined, principled, and prolific, Still left behind a treasure trove of works like no other major artist in history. With a wonderful mosaic of archival material, found footage and audio recorded by the artist himself, Lifeline paints a picture of a modern icon, his uncompromising creative journey and the price of independence.
March for Dignity

2020

March for Dignity

2020
1
A small group of LGBTQI+ activists in Tbilisi, Georgia attempt to conduct the first Pride march in the country. They face overwhelming opposition from far-right groups, the government, and the Georgian Orthodox Church who have a history of inciting violent attacks on the community. With membership of the European Union, and anti-Russian sentiment firmly on the political agenda, Georgians are at a turning point in history where they must choose to fight for progress and human rights, or concede to greater Russian influence.
The Next Pompeii?

2019

The Next Pompeii?

2019
7
Assessing the risk of a potential eruption of an ancient supervolcano under the Italian city of Naples.
#BLESSED

2020

#BLESSED

2020
3
C3 is an Evangelical church that opened in Toronto in 2013, quickly amassing a large following amongst the city’s young, hip and tattooed. #BLESSED offers an intimate look inside this fast-growing millennial church and follows the process of selling salvation in the 21st century as Pastor Sam and his team grow the church from two locations to three, living out their mission to save as many Torontonian souls as possible.
The Illumination of Jim Woodring

2019

The Illumination of Jim Woodring

2019
7.5
This elegantly profound documentary explores the award-winning, mystical work of American comics creator, cartoonist, and painter Jim Woodring. As an artist that has astounded the world for three decades, he has also suffered from hyper-realistic hallucinations and visions since he was a child - eventually diagnosed as autism and prosopagnosia. His artwork has been lauded and collected by cultural luminaries such as Jeff Bridges (actor), Paul Allen(co-founder, Microsoft), and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather). Audiences both familiar and unfamiliar with Woodring’s work will be fascinated by this powerful, cinematic biography which details the artist’s haunted youth and his attempts to make sense of a world that seemed less real while dealing with the challenges of his autism and spiritual curiosities.
The Truth About Marriage

2020

The Truth About Marriage

2020
6.5
This documentary follows three couples to see how things turned out several years after their weddings. The film presents challenging ideas about relationships, as it answers the question: Why is marriage so difficult?
Tune into the Future

2020

Tune into the Future

2020
6
Despite rich and varied origins, there is one name which can be credited with single-handedly shaping the way we understand science fiction today as a genre. It was Hugo Gernsback who stuck his hand into the soup of early 20th century pulp literature and fished out science fiction - giving it its name and a clear definition, turning it into a genre that anyone could engage with.
House of Children

2020

House of Children

2020
8
A glimpse of life as seen through young people at a Zimbabwean children's home.
The Dalai Lama: Scientist

2019

The Dalai Lama: Scientist

2019
6
In "The Dalai Lama -- Scientist", the Dalai Lama tells the unknown story, in his own words, of his lifelong journey into the world of science and technology, and how the world has changed as a result. With extensive, rare, and never before seen footage, this film tells the very human story of the Dalai Lama that no one knows.
The Dilemma of Desire

2020

The Dilemma of Desire

2020
6.5
The Dilemma of Desire explores the work of four women who are shattering myths and lies that women are being told about their sexual desire and their bodies. Coined by artist Sophia Wallace, “Cliteracy” is the understanding that the clitoris is fundamental to the female orgasm. Through her art, Wallace is changing culture. Dr. Stacey Dutton, a neuroscientist, studies the biology of the clitoris; Dr. Lisa Diamond is dismantling outdated notions about women’s arousal; and Ti Chang, an industrial designer, creates elegant vibrators for women. Providing the embodiment of their work are the real life stories of Umnia, Becca, Jasmine, Sunny, and Coriama.
So Late So Soon

2020

So Late So Soon

2020
5
Chicago artists Jackie and Don Seiden are a half-century into their marriage, time spent creating distinct yet congruous bodies of work. Jackie makes art of everything around her. Central to her practice is a recognition of the fragility of materials. That conceptual interest has turned into daily reality, as both her body and one of her most ambitious art projects, her canary-yellow Victorian house, start to fall apart. Don’s work reveals a mind resigned to death. He has always been interested in the rules of nature, and now he finds himself facing inevitable health scares. So Late So Soon is a sensitively constructed, playful character study that honors Jackie and Don’s art, and even becomes a part of it, while also locating in it glimmers of their essence.
Medicating Normal

2020

Medicating Normal

2020
9.5
One in five Americans is taking a psychiatric drug, including millions of children. Pharmaceutical companies have over-hyped the benefits of these drugs, while hiding the risks and severe side effects including physiological dependence. "Medicating Normal" explores what happens when for- profit medicine intersects with human beings in distress.
Village of the Missing

2019

Village of the Missing

2019
1
The Bruce McArthur serial killer case shocked Canada’s largest city, and the whole country, when he was convicted of eight grisly murders. How did McArthur avoid arrest for nearly a decade? This film explores the untold story of Toronto’s Gay Village, and the victims of these horrific crimes.
The Ventures: Stars on Guitars

2020

The Ventures: Stars on Guitars

2020
5
Documentary film on the #1 instrumental rock group in the world, The Ventures. The story of their rise to fame in the 1960s right up to now, as they celebrate their 60th anniversary of playing the best guitar-rock of all time.
Polar Extremes

2020

Polar Extremes

2020
5
Renowned paleontologist Kirk Johnson takes us on an epic adventure through time at the polar extremes of our planet. Following a trail of strange fossils found in all the wrong places—beech trees in Antarctica, hippo-like mammals in the Arctic—Johnson uncovers the bizarre history of the poles, from miles-high ice sheets to warm polar forests teeming with life. What caused such dramatic changes at the ends of the Earth? And what can the past reveal about our planet’s climate today—and in the future?