Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 137

Hard Problems

2008

Hard Problems

2008
7.5
Hard Problems is about the extraordinary gifted students who represented the United States in 2006 at the world's toughest math competition: The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). It is the story of six American high school students who competed with 500 others from 90 countries in Ljublijana, Slovenia. The film shows the dedication and perseverance of these remarkably talented students, the rigorous preparation they undertake, and the joy they get out of solving challenging math problems. It captures the spirit that infuses the mathematical quest at the highest level.
Flyin' Cut Sleeves

1993

Flyin' Cut Sleeves

1993
4.5
FLYIN' CUT SLEEVES, completed in 1993, portrays street gang presidents in the Bronx. Their world was the streets, set against a backdrop of uprooted families, cultural alienation, drugs and violence. Neighborhood teenagers responded by organizing into street groups known to the members as "families", but labeled in the most alarming terms as violent gangs by the press. The documentation of these lives over a twenty-year period offers a remarkable perspective on life in the ghetto (spanning four generations), and the means that people devise to cope from the time that they are children to when they serve as parents and role models for a new generation.
A People Uncounted: The Untold Story of the Roma

2013

A People Uncounted: The Untold Story of the Roma

2013
8.5
The Roma, commonly referred to as Gypsies, have been both romanticized and vilified in popular culture. Dozens of Roma from 11 countries—including Holocaust survivors, historians, activists, and musicians--bring Romani history to life through poetry, music, and compelling first-hand accounts.
A Good Day to Die

2010

A Good Day to Die

2010
6.5
Interviews and archival footage profile the life of Dennis Banks, American Indian Movement leader who looks back at his early life and the rise of the Movement.
Bonhoeffer

2003

Bonhoeffer

2003
6
Dramatic documentary about the young German pacifist and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who resisted the Nazi regime and was hanged two weeks before World War II was over.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Historical Perspective

1994

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Historical Perspective

1994
7
Documentary film focuses on the Civil Rights leader's many groundbreaking accomplishments. Footage covers Dr. King's war on poverty and his staunch opposition to the Vietnam War. Also included is his stirring "I Have a Dream" speech.
Disturbing the Peace

2009

Disturbing the Peace

2009
6.2
"Disturbing the Peace" is a documentary of an incident during Tan Zuoren's trial on August 12, 2009. Tan Zuoren was charged with inciting subversion of state power. Chengdu police detained witnessed during the trial of the civil rights advocate, which is an obstruction of justice and violence. Tan Zuoren was charged as a result of his research and questioning regarding the 5.12 Wenchuan students' casualties and the corruption resulting poor building construction. Tan Zuoren was sentenced five years to prison.
Dominick Dunne: After the Party

2008

Dominick Dunne: After the Party

2008
7.5
Vanity Fair Special Correspondent Dominick Dunne has become known the world over for his vociferous championing of the rights of the victim in high-profile murder cases. His powerful commentaries have made compelling reading in Vanity Fair for a quarter of a century. Now, aged 82, Dunne is covering his last murder trial for Vanity Fair -- the trial of music producer Phil Spector -- and reflects upon his past as a decorated WWII Veteran, his rise and spectacular collapse as a Hollywood producer, and his rebirth as the writer we know today. Dunne's mind offers a fascinating insight into the American psyche and its obsession with fame.
Slaughter Nick for President

2013

Slaughter Nick for President

2013
9
A little-known actor discovers that he is hugely popular in Serbia.
Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read

2013

Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read

2013
7
In a triumphant career that lasted forty years Erroll Garner pushed the playability of the piano to its limits, developed an international reputation, and made an indelible mark on the jazz world. And yet, his story has never been told. Until now. The film explores Erroll's childhood in Pittsburgh; his meteoric rise in popularity while playing on 52nd street, New York's famed jazz epicenter; the origins of his most famous album (Concert By The Sea) and his most famous composition (Misty); his singular, virtuosic piano style; and his dynamic personality, both on and off the stage.
The First Year

2001

The First Year

2001
7
This fascinating documentary chronicles the emotional turmoil of five Los Angeles schoolteachers charged with educating inner-city youth, making it clear that the teachers helping these disadvantaged children are real heroes.
Choose Your Adventure

2012

Choose Your Adventure

2012
4.5
Despite the underwhelming winter of 2011-12, in which snowfall reached near record lows and avalanche conditions were unstable around the West, the Powderwhores were able to make the most of the conditions, with trips to Cerro Castillo, Chile; La Grave, France; the Antarctic Peninsula; Svalbard, Norway; British Columbia, Canada, and the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. The film features top backcountry skiers and snowboarders, including Chris Davenport, Jake Sakson, Andrew McLean, Seth Wescott, Dylan Freed, Noah Howell, Matt Reardon, Drew Stoecklein, Forrest Coots, Ian Provo, Neil Provo, Chuck Mumford, Darrell Finlayson, Bob Athey, PY Leblanc, Jason Thompson, Todd Stuart and other mountain characters.
One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das

2013

One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das

2013
7.5
Krishna Das is on a journey to India to discover legendary spiritual teacher Neem Karoli Baba, through drug addiction and depression, to his eventual emergence as a world-famous Kirtan singer.
First Person Plural

2000

First Person Plural

2000
6.5
In 1966, Deann Borshay Liem was adopted by an American family and sent from Korea to her new home in California. There, the memory of her birth family was nearly obliterated, until recurring dreams led her to investigate her own past, and she discovered that her Korean mother was very much alive. Bravely uniting her biological and adoptive families, Borshay Liem embarks on a heartfelt journey in this acclaimed film that first premiered on POV in 2000. First Person Plural is a poignant essay on family, loss and the reconciling of two identities.
American Winter

2013

American Winter

2013
7
Documentary feature film that follows the personal stories of families struggling in the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Filmed over the course of one winter in one American city, the film presents an intimate snapshot of the state of the nation's economy as it is playing out in millions of American families, and highlights the human consequences of the decline of the middle class and the fracturing of the American Dream
Militainment, Inc.: Militarism & Pop Culture

2007

Militainment, Inc.: Militarism & Pop Culture

2007
7.8
Militainment, Inc. offers a fascinating, disturbing, and timely glimpse into the militarization of American popular culture, examining how U.S. news coverage has come to resemble Hollywood film, video games, and "reality television" in its glamorization of war. Mobilizing an astonishing range of media examples - from news anchors' idolatry of military machinery to the impact of government propaganda on war reporting - the film asks: How has war taken its place in the culture as an entertainment spectacle? And how does presenting war as entertainment affect the ability of citizens to evaluate the necessity and real human costs of military action?
Klunkerz

2006

Klunkerz

2006
8
Long before the mountain bike entered our global consciousness, the cycling enthusiasts of Northern California's Marin County rode modified pre-WWII bicycles down the slopes of Mount Tamalpais. They developed their bikes through rigorous field-testing, often risking life and limb to do so. Some of these cyclists were Category-1 road racers looking for a new way to train during the off-season. Others were simply fun-loving hippies looking for a new way to commune with nature. Their early bikes were scavenged from dumpsters and junkyards. It was from these humble beginnings that a multi-billion dollar industry, a form of recreation for the masses, and an Olympic event, were born. These hefty steeds were affectionately known as Klunkerz.
Fatherhood Dreams

2007

Fatherhood Dreams

2007
3.5
This documentary gives the viewer full access to three families headed by gay fathers.
The Rock

2011

The Rock

2011
3
La Roca is an epic Romeo and Juliet love story between the massive Rock of Gibraltar and its neighboring Spanish city of La Linea. Despite being declared enemies by their countries, they used to be inseparable. But in 1969, Francisco Franco, the fascist dictator of Spain, closed the entrance to the British territory of Gibraltar, isolating 30,000 people without food, water, or telephone lines. According to him, The Rock would fall like ripe fruit. Indoctrination on both sides eventually forced the separation of thousands of mixed families, who for over 13 years would meet at the border every Sunday to look through binoculars at their estranged lovers, brothers, parents and babies, screaming messages from a distance. La Roca tells the emotional tale of this important chapter of world history.
Ghost Bird

2009

Ghost Bird

2009
7
This documentary chronicles the obsession that overtook bird watchers after a kayaker reported seeing a thought-to-be-extinct ivory-billed woodpecker.