Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 109

The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom

2010

The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom

2010
6
Fifty years after the fall of his country, can the Dalai Lama make a breakthrough in his efforts to find a solution to the Tibet question?
Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World

2011

Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World

2011
6.1
In this fascinating documentary, historian Bettany Hughes travels to the seven wonders of the Buddhist world.Her journey begins at the Mahabodhi Temple in India, where Buddhism was born; here Hughes examines the foundations of the belief system - the three jewels.At Nepal's Boudhanath Stupa, she looks deeper into the concept of dharma - the teaching of Buddha, and at the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka, Bettany explores karma, the idea that our intentional acts will be mirrored in the future.At Wat Pho Temple in Thailand, Hughes explores samsara, the endless cycle of birth and death that Buddhists seek to end by achieving enlightenment, before travelling to Angkor Wat in Cambodia to learn more about the practice of meditation.In Hong Kong, Hughes visits the Giant Buddha and looks more closely at Zen, before arriving at the final wonder, the Hsi Lai temple in Los Angeles, to discover more about the ultimate goal for all Buddhists - nirvana.
Journey to 10,000 BC

2009

Journey to 10,000 BC

2009
4.7
10,000 B.C. was a time of cataclysmic change on Earth. Extreme climactic fluctuations hurled the planet into a minor ice age; megafauna like the saber-toothed tiger and woolly mammoth were suddenly becoming extinct; and early humans began to inhabit North America. Cold and hungry, their fragile communities undertook perilous hunting expeditions. The slaughter of a single mammoth, weighing nearly ten tons, could be the difference between survival and death. Journey to 10,000 BC. brings this unique and thrilling period to life, and investigates the geologic and climate changes that scientists are just beginning to understand. In a major forensic investigation, History visits early human archaeological sites to uncover fossilized bones, ancient dwellings, and stone weapons, and uses state-of-the-art CGI to recreate the treacherous mammoth hunts and the devastating impact of a comet colliding with Earth.
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders

2008

Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders

2008
8
In the war-zones of Liberia and Congo, four volunteers with Doctors Without Borders struggle to provide emergency medical care under extreme conditions. With different levels of experience, each volunteer must find their own way to face the challenges, the tough choices, and the limits of their idealism. "Living in Emergency" is a window into the seldom portrayed and less-than glamorous side of humanitarian aid work. It explores a world that is challenging, complex, and fraught with dilemmas - the struggles, both internal and external, that aid workers face when working in war zones and other difficult contexts.
A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

2005

A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

2005
6.4
Kirk Douglas achieved the kind of cinematic stardom that dreams are made of. As the torch was passed to his talented son Michael, it became obvious to everyone that the Douglas dynasty would continue to thrive…
Woubi Chéri

1998

Woubi Chéri

1998
3.4
This documentary shows a few days in the life of various members of Abdijan, Ivory Coast's gay and transgender community. We get to meet a variety of woubis, yossis, etc. The hero/heroine of the film is a statuesque young man named Barbara who is organising the annual year-end party of the Ivory Coast Tranvestite Association, to be held December 27, 1997.
What Remains

2005

What Remains

2005
4.3
At home at her Virginia farm, photographer Sally Mann reflects on the controversy surrounding her earlier collections while forging ahead with new work in this intimate portrait of an artist. Also offering insights into the photographer's career are Mann's husband and her now-grown offspring.
Robinson in Ruins

2010

Robinson in Ruins

2010
6.8
The eagerly awaited sequel to Patrick Keiller's London and Robinson in Space is a beautifully photographed cinematic essay on our current environmental and economic predicament, narrated by Vanessa Redgrave. Timely, provocative and studded with surreal humour, Robinson in Ruins reveals hidden histories and surprising visions (from the opium poppy fields of Oxfordshire to what seems to be a talking post box), making us consider the world around us afresh.
Lolita: Slave to Entertainment

2003

Lolita: Slave to Entertainment

2003
7.5
The grassroots independent documentary about Miami's biggest performer, Lolita the killer whale on display at the Miami Seaquarium. Through rare interviews and undercover footage viewers are dragged into the dark secrets of the multi-billion-dollar marine theme park industry and the life of Lolita who's been caught in a net of lies for 3 decades.
Taken for a Ride

1996

Taken for a Ride

1996
6.1
How the American auto industry engineered the demise of city public-transit systems.
Liberia: An Uncivil War

2004

Liberia: An Uncivil War

2004
7
Liberia, a nation burdened by its past. America, a nation with no memory at all." In Liberia, the summer of 2003 was pure insanity. A rebel army attempts to overthrow a government run by an indicted war criminal. Two armies engage in the final battle of a decade long civil war. Hundreds of innocent civilians die from mortar shells launched from afar and thousands more suffer hunger while the soldiers, mostly teenagers, keep the capital city under siege. The nation prays that America, the world's sole superpower, will put an end to the violence. Conceived in Washington in the early 1800s, its constitution written at Harvard, its founding fathers freed slaves who returned to Africa, Liberia is the one country in the world worthy of the title, Made in America. By the year 2000, Liberia, once considered the gem of Africa, was ranked last in the world for quality of life.
The Coca-Cola Case

2009

The Coca-Cola Case

2009
7.1
Two lawyers and labor rights' activists, Daniel Kovalik of the United Steel Workers of America and Terry Collingsworth of the International Rights Advocates, and their partner Ray Rogers of Corporate Campaign firmly believe that US multinational corporations should be held accountable for the shabby practices of their business associates throughout the world. To lead their battle, they resort to a law dating back to the origin of the American Constitution - The Alien Tort Claims Act - which allows foreigners to file suit in the U.S. against Americans who violate international laws. The film tells the story of their fight against one of America's stellar icons: the Coca-Cola company.
The Burning Times

1990

The Burning Times

1990
6.6
This documentary takes an in-depth look at the witch hunts that swept Europe just a few hundred years ago. False accusations and trials led to massive torture and burnings at the stake and ultimately to the destruction of an organic way of life. The film questions whether the widespread violence against women and the neglect of our environment today can be traced back to those times.
Know Your Mushrooms

2009

Know Your Mushrooms

2009
5.6
KNOW YOUR MUSHROOMS follows uber myco visionaries Gary Lincoff and Larry Evans (two of the more expert and unforgettably mercurial characters in the community) as they lead us on a hunt for the wild mushroom and the deeper cultural experiences attached to the mysterious fungi.
Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig

2006

Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig

2006
6.6
One record producer, the creators of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and top indie rock artists come together to create a tribute album benefiting the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk School- the first accredited high school in the country for LGBTQ youth. "Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig" weaves the compelling, courageous stories of four students at this controversial school with a unique chronicle of the yearlong creation of "Wig in a Box," the album whose songs poignantly echo these teens' struggles and aspirations. Through a dramatic and vibrant combination of verite documentation, student video diaries and rare in-studio scenes of artists recording tracks, "Follow My Voice" offers a powerful and poignant look at this unlikely intersection of youth, gender and rock. Includes studio sessions from Yoko Ono, Rufus Wainwright, The Bens, The Breeders, Yo La Tengo, John Cameron Mitchell, They Might Be Giants and more.
Stormchasers

1995

Stormchasers

1995
6
Track monsoons, hurricanes, blizzards, and tornadoes. Take a journey around the planet to experience our most extreme storms and to witness the dramatic--and often perilous--efforts of scientists in the pursuit of understanding weather.Join meteorologists in the cockpit of a P-3 weather plane as they penetrate the eye of a hurricane; and in the tense, decisive moments on the road as they focus their radar on an approaching tornado, traveling to the heart of severe storms to learn what makes weather systems tick. Experience the bumpy ride into the sudden and spectacular calm of a hurricane’s eye, or the commando-like raid to the very brink of a killer tornado, and experience one of the elemental joys of doing science: that of confronting nature head-on to divine its awesome secrets.
Back to Normandy

2007

Back to Normandy

2007
5.6
A filmmaker returns to Normandy thirty years after a working on a movie based on a local homicide and tries to find the actors who worked on the project.
The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery

2025

The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery

2025
5.5
In the early twentieth century, a mysterious ecological crisis nearly wiped out the fish that most people cared about in the largest freshwater ecosystem on earth—the Great Lakes. The impact reverberated across the region, ruining local industries, damaging small town economies and indigenous communities, and destroying the livelihoods of people in the United States and Canada. With little reason for hope, a dedicated group of scientists, policymakers, and conservationists tackled the mystery.
#Untruth: The Psychology of Trumpism

2024

#Untruth: The Psychology of Trumpism

2024
6
From the filmmakers of the critically-acclaimed blockbuster #UNFIT: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DONALD TRUMP, which grossed over $2.5 million, has been viewed by millions, and was nominated for the IDA Documentary Awards Video Source Award Director, producer, and writer Dan Partland and producer Art Horan are back with #UNTRUTH: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TRUMPISM examines the psychology of “Trumpism” and the authoritarian strain that it seeded in the American political landscape.
E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea

2024

E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea

2024
6.2
A love triangle of jealousy in the Parisian art scene of the 1930s is brought to life in a stylish docufiction about iconic artist and architect Eileen Gray, who built her modernist dream house on the Riviera, only to be upstaged by Le Corbusier.