Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 103

Animals and More Animals

1994

Animals and More Animals

1994
5.5
This fascinating French documentary chronicles the reopening of the Zoology Hall in the Paris Museum of Natural History in 1993. It had been closed for almost thirty years and it took three years of hard work to restore it and the stuffed creatures within.
Del mero corazón

1979

Del mero corazón

1979
5
A lyrical journey through the heart of Chicano culture as reflected in the love songs of the Tex-Mex Norteña music tradition. Performers include, Little Joe & La Familia, Leo Garza, Chavela Ortiz, Andres Berlanga, Ricardo Mejia, Conjunto Tamaulipas, Chavela y Brown Express and more.
Why Knot

2014

Why Knot

2014
3.8
Why do human beings get married in almost every society in the world? Why do we cheat? Why is monogamy so important to a relationship and why does infidelity cause so much grief? These are some of the questions acclaimed documentary filmmaker Dhruv Dhawan confronts in his next feature length documentary which explores why human beings evolved cultures of marriage and monogamy that are rife with infidelity. As he attends various lavish weddings occurring within his family, Dhruv is pestered to follow suit but is haunted by his family’s history of infidelity, as well as his own and embarks on a personal quest to discover the origins of marriage, the reasons for monogamy and the pain of infidelity as he tries to mediate an open relationship with the woman he loves. Dhruv’s search takes us on a journey into the biology of sex, the history of patriarchy and the politics of monogamy told through the lives of scientists, swingers, adulterers and Dhruv’s own family.
See No Evil

2014

See No Evil

2014
7.3
Poetic, painful documentary about three retired apes: a film star, a scientist and a cripple. They look back at their lives and the intriguing relationship between humans and apes. Who watches whom, and who learns from this?
Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People

2014

Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People

2014
6.2
The film explores the role of photography, since its rudimentary beginnings in the 1840s, in shaping the identity, aspirations, and social emergence of African Americans from slavery to the present. The dramatic arch is developed as a visual narrative that flows through the past 160 years to reveal black photography as an instrument for social change, an African American point-of-view on American history, and a particularized aesthetic vision.
Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity

2014

Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity

2014
5.2
Born to Fly pushes the boundaries between action and art, daring us to join choreographer Elizabeth Streb and her dancers in pursuit of human flight.
Your Day Is My Night

2014

Your Day Is My Night

2014
5.5
Immigrant residents of a “shift-bed” apartment in the heart of New York City’s Chinatown share their stories of personal and political upheaval. As the bed transforms into a stage, the film reveals the collective history of the Chinese in the United States through conversations, autobiographical monologues, and theatrical movement pieces. Shot in the kitchens, bedrooms, wedding halls, cafés, and mahjong parlors of Chinatown, this provocative hybrid documentary addresses issues of privacy, intimacy, and urban life.
American Courtesans

2013

American Courtesans

2013
5
American Courtesans is a feature documentary that takes you into the lives of American Sex Workers. These women candidly discuss what brought them to the doors of the sex trade, what they found when they got there and why they stayed. Follow eleven Sex Workers through the streets, massage parlors, brothels and strip clubs to New York high rises and the bell captains in Vegas. This is a story, a different kind of American Story, that will leave you speechless.
The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years

2000

The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years

2000
6
Documentary about a Jewish senior citizens' acting group on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The film covers both the progress and impediments of a play the group is mounting about senior citizens looking for love and the life/love stories (past, present, and predictions) of the players.
Resonance: Beings of Frequency

2012

Resonance: Beings of Frequency

2012
7.1
Resonance: Beings of Frequency uncovers for the very first time, the actual mechanisms by which mobile phone technology can cause cancer. A deeper look at how every single one of us is reacting to the largest change in environment this planet has ever seen
Following the Ninth: In the Footsteps of Beethoven's Final Symphony

2012

Following the Ninth: In the Footsteps of Beethoven's Final Symphony

2012
8.8
Part road trip, part adventure story, FOLLOWING THE NINTH is an inspirational film about Beethoven's Choral Symphony, its majestic power to liberate us, to shield us against suffering, to provide hope and resilience during dark times. Filmed on five continents and in 12 countries, FOLLOWING THE NINTH is the story of four lives that have been transformed and repaired by the music, expressed most vividly in the prophecy of the Ode to Joy: “Alle Menschen werden Brüder”(All Men Will Be Brothers).
Levitated Mass

2013

Levitated Mass

2013
7.9
The artist behind the sensation of a $10 million, 22-city tour, and the international media storm that ensued.
The Family Jams

2011

The Family Jams

2011
5
A young group of influential musicians tours the country, living and singing together in a Utopian expression of togetherness and family.
Discovering Lennon

2010

Discovering Lennon

2010
7.8
A show commemorating the 30th anniversary of the former Beatle's death. His contemporaries and current commentators reflect on the role of John Lennon, the artist and radical thinker.
Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer

2013

Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer

2013
6.4
Documentary following the career of Brooklyn-born photographer Jamel Shabazz, who captured hip-hop in its infancy long before it became a worldwide phenomenon. His iconic images of kids sporting sneakers and savvy street style caught the essence of hip-hop as it exploded onto the streets of New York. Intimate interviews with Shabazz and hip hop pioneers explore the hundreds of individual stories and urban history behind a revolutionary cultural movement.
Punk in Africa

2012

Punk in Africa

2012
7.2
Three chords, three countries, one revolution...PUNK IN AFRICA is the story of the multiracial punk movement within the recent political and social upheavals experienced in three Southern African countries: South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Our City Dreams

2008

Our City Dreams

2008
7.4
Filmed over the course of two years, Our City Dreams is the story of a woman's struggles and successes as an artist in New York City. Told through five women artists, from youngest to oldest, the film features Swoon, Ghada Amer, Kiki Smith, Marina Abramovic, and Nancy Spero. From the studio to the streets of New York, from the canals of Venice to the alleys of Cairo and the beaches of Phuket, Our City Dreams takes us deep into the artists' worlds.
Sagrada - The Mystery Of Creation

2012

Sagrada - The Mystery Of Creation

2012
5.5
Gaudi's Sagrada Familia has been continuously under construction since 1882.
Backyard

1984

Backyard

1984
6
Documentary film maker Ross McElwee returns to his family home in Charlotte NC. In filming his family, he captures a microcosm of Southern society.
Sun Come Up

2010

Sun Come Up

2010
6.2
Sun Come Up tells the story of some of the world's first environmental refugees, the Carteret Islanders. The film follows relocation leader Ursula Rakova and a group of young families as they search for new homes in war torn Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea.