Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 105

Behind the White Glasses

2015

Behind the White Glasses

2015
6.3
It is a musical portrait that shines a spotlight on unknown aspects of the creative, visionary and groundbreaking talent of filmmaker and writer, Lina Wertmüller.
Unsupersize Me

2013

Unsupersize Me

2013
6.7
Unsupersize Me documents the inspiring story of Juan-Carlos Asse, owner of Zen Fitness, a personal training studio in Gainesville, Florida, and his quest to prove that a whole foods, plant-based diet coupled with an exercise regimen is capable of remarkably and rapidly improving the health of any and every individual. Asse takes his lifelong passions of fitness and nutrition setting out to demonstrate what he has witnessed in his training studio time and time again. The plant-based diet with exercise is the most effective and expeditious way to obtain optimal health.
Bacon & God's Wrath

2015

Bacon & God's Wrath

2015
5.2
A 90-year-old Jewish woman reflects on her life experiences as she prepares to try bacon for the first time.
I Am the Queen

2011

I Am the Queen

2011
4.6
In Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, the Vida/Sida Cacica Pageant brings together members of the Puerto Rican community to celebrate its transgender participants. I Am The Queen follows Bianca, Julissa and Jolizza as they prepare for the pageant under the guidance of Ginger Valdez, an experienced transgender from the neighborhood. These trans women share stories of their transition, their relatives’ varying reactions, and how they find support from within the community. Family dynamics, cultural heritage, and personal identity all play a part in how the contestants face the daily struggle that comes from being true to themselves.
My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It)

2014

My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It)

2014
7.4
Based on Elizabeth Swados’ picture book of the same name, this animated short film charts one woman's struggle with depression.
The Marina Experiment

2009

The Marina Experiment

2009
4.6
The Marina Experiment' is the result of over 10,000 photographs, super 8 home footage and reel to reel audiotape interrogations that director Marina Lutz's father made of her during her upper class upbringing in 1960s and 1970s Manhattan. A both eerie and infinitely fascinating archive that she herself has now sorted out and reassembled. Her father's transgressive voyeurism is turned against himself, while a courageous self portrait simultaneously grows out of the almost incestuously intimate 'home movies'. The result is a family exposé that can't be shaken off that easily, and which in an intelligent and absolutely unique way raises the question about the right to not be seen - a question that has become even more relevant in the present day.
Bill Hicks: Reflections

2015

Bill Hicks: Reflections

2015
6.6
Comedy Dynamics sits down with Bill Hicks' brother, Steve, who tells old stories, squashes old rumors and reveals the brother and son behind the late comedian. Told amidst old and rare footage, it’s a must watch for any fan.
Palace of Silents

2010

Palace of Silents

2010
6.4
Built in 1942 by a maverick film preservationist, this small Los Angeles theater championed silent film at the very moment when the Hollywood studios across town were busily destroying their nitrate inventories. With hard chairs, phonograph-record accompaniments, and mostly original vintage prints, the dingy mom-and-pop operation was nonetheless a palace to the fanatical few who became its loyal audience.
Antarctic Edge: 70° South

2015

Antarctic Edge: 70° South

2015
7
In 2014, scientists declared West Antarctic ice sheet melt unstoppable, threatening the future of our planet. A group of world-class researchers is in a race to understand climate change in the fastest winter-warming place on earth: the West Antarctic Peninsula. Trekking through dangerous and uncharted landscape, these scientists push the limits of their research and come to terms with the sacrifices necessary to understand this rapidly changing world.
From Fat to Finish Line

2015

From Fat to Finish Line

2015
6.4
The journey of 12 people who share the common bond of losing 100 pounds on average and then embarking on one of the biggest challenges of their lives - the 200 mile mega distance Ragnar Relay Race.
Narnia's Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of C.S. Lewis

2013

Narnia's Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of C.S. Lewis

2013
6.9
C.S. Lewis's biographer A.N. Wilson goes in search of the man behind Narnia, a highly secretive man whose personal life was marked by the loss of the three women he most loved.
Almost There

2015

Almost There

2015
6.8
A coming-of-(old)-age story about Peter Anton, an elderly "outsider" artist living in isolated and crippling conditions whose world changes when two filmmakers discover his work and storied past. Shot over eight years, ALMOST THERE documents Anton's first major exhibition and how the controversy it generates forces him to leave his childhood home. Each layer revealed reflects on the intersections of social norms, elder care, and artistic expression.
Kingdom of Shadows

2015

Kingdom of Shadows

2015
6
KINGDOM OF SHADOWS follows three people grappling with the hard choices and destructive consequences of the U.S.-Mexico “drug war”. Filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz weaves together the seemingly disconnected stories of an activist nun in deeply scarred Monterrey, Mexico, a U.S. Federal agent on the border, and a former Texas smuggler to reveal the human side of an often-misunderstood conflict that has resulted in the “disappearance” of more than 23,000 people in Mexico—a growing human rights crisis that only recently has made international headlines.
A Space Program

2015

A Space Program

2015
6.2
The artist Tom Sachs and his team of bricoleurs build a handmade space program and send two female astronauts to Mars
Famous Nathan

2015

Famous Nathan

2015
5.8
A Coney Island-inspired, densely-layered visually dynamic documentary portrait of the life and times of the original Nathan's Famous, created in 1916 by filmmaker Lloyd Handwerker's grandparents, Nathan and Ida Handwerker. 30 years in the making, Famous Nathan interweaves decades-spanning archival footage, family photos and home movies, an eclectic soundtrack and never-before-heard audio from Nathan: his only interview, ever as well as compelling, intimate and hilarious interviews with the dedicated band of workers, not at all shy at offering opinions, memories and the occasional tall tale.
In Football We Trust

2015

In Football We Trust

2015
5.8
‘In Football We Trust’ captures a snapshot in time amid the rise of the Pacific Islander presence in the NFL. Presenting a new take on the American immigrant story, this feature length documentary transports viewers deep inside the tightly-knit Polynesian community in Salt Lake City, Utah. With unprecedented access and shot over a four-year time period, the film intimately portrays four young Polynesian men striving to overcome gang violence and near poverty through American football. Viewed as the "salvation" for their families, these young players reveal the culture clash they experience as they transform out of their adolescence and into the high stakes world of collegiate recruiting and rigors of societal expectations.
Edison

2015

Edison

2015
7.2
By the time he died in 1931, Thomas Alva Edison was one of the most famous men in the world. The holder of more patents than any other inventor in history, Edison had achieved glory as the genius behind such revolutionary inventions as sound recording, motion pictures, and electric light. Born on the threshold of America's burgeoning industrial empire, Edison's curiosity led him to its cutting edge. With just three months of formal schooling, he took on one seemingly impossible technical challenge after another, and through intuition, persistence, and a unique team approach to innovation, invariably solved it. Driven and intensely competitive, Edison was often neglectful in his private life and could be ruthless in business. Challenged by competition in the industry he'd founded, Edison launched an ugly propaganda campaign against his rivals, and used his credibility as an electrical expert to help ensure that high-voltage electrocution became a form of capital punishment.
I Am the People

2014

I Am the People

2014
6.4
January 2011 in Egypt was marked by anti-government demonstrations. While tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo, poor villagers in the country's south followed the tense situation on Tahrir Square on their TV screens and in the daily newspapers. It is from their perspective that this documentary captures the political changes in Egypt, from the toppling of President Mubarak to the election of Mohamed Morsi.
Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy

1988

Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy

1988
6.8
Tony Buba, a film maker from Braddock, Pennsylvania, tells the story of his hometown's decline (along with the rest of the steel mill towns along the Monongahela River) while he dreams of making higher budget films. The picture documents, in a lighthearted way, the community anxiety and activism that accompanied the failure of the steel industry around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Blue Gold: American Jeans

2017

Blue Gold: American Jeans

2017
6.2
Tracing the history of blue jeans around the globe.