Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 137

Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation

2015

Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation

2015
6.3
A documentary chronicling the impact and day to day operations of the journal The Nation.
Four Women

1975

Four Women

1975
5
An imaginatively choreographed dance interpretation of the ballad by Nina Simone explores four common stereotypes of Black women.
Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies

2001

Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies

2001
4
Blonde, beautiful and talented, Marion Davies was the first and funniest screwball comedienne. As star of two of the best comedies ever made, Show People and The Patsy, she combined zany slapstick and exuberant mimicry. Glamorous, witty and kind, both on screen and off, Davies was also famous for her 35-year-long love affair with William Randolph Hearst.
Indian Point

2016

Indian Point

2016
5
Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant looms just 35 miles from Times Square. With over 50 million people living in close proximity to the aging facility, its continued operation has generated controversy for the surrounding community. In the brewing fight for clean energy and the catastrophic possibilities of complacency, director Ivy Meeropol weaves a startling portrait of our uncertain nuclear future.
Skydancers

2014

Skydancers

2014
6
Skydancers explores the developing world of women in Aerobatics. It presents some of the world's best female pilots during The 27th World Aerobatics Championships (WAC), Texas.
The Family Farm

2014

The Family Farm

2014
6.3
The Family Farm explores the farm to table process through the lens of Canadian small farmers and identifies the systematic barriers they face in running a profitable farm. In its journey across the country, the film blends extraordinary shots of the Canadian farm landscape with discussions of the challenges and setbacks small farmers endure, as well as the turning points and breakthroughs that have allowed them to achieve success. As these intimate accounts are shared, traditional images of family farmers are redefined as we grow to see these individuals not only as farmers, but as teachers, botanists, and mechanics who open our eyes to the issues that continue to threaten small farmers as well as the importance of buying local and organic foods.
Dirty Paradise

2009

Dirty Paradise

2009
6
The true story of the Wayana people, French Indians of Amazonia who are cursed by living in a region rich in gold. Consequently, the uncontrolled exploitation of this wealth has brought about a severe deterioration of the forest's ecosystem, the irreversible pollution of streams, as well as countless violations of fundamental human rights. This film not only shows the despair of the Amerindians but also their awareness of the problem and how they are trying to cope with their survival. A documentary which gives a human face to a contemporary tragedy which concerns all of us.
A Self-Made Man

2013

A Self-Made Man

2013
6
What would you do if your inside did not match your outside? A documentary about the life and work of transgender youth advocate Tony Ferraiolo.
Losing Iraq

2014

Losing Iraq

2014
8
Examines the unfolding chaos in Iraq and how the U.S. is being pulled back into the conflict. Drawing on interviews with policymakers and military leaders, the film traces the U.S. role from the 2003 invasion to the current violence, showing how Iraq itself is coming undone, how we got here, what went wrong, and what happens next.
Sinai Field Mission

1978

Sinai Field Mission

1978
6.3
SINAI FIELD MISSION shows the routine activities of the diplomats and electronics technicians who operate the U.S. Sinai Field Mission, the early warning system established in 1976 to help facilitate the disengagement between Egypt and Israel after the 1973 war. The major purpose of the Mission is to monitor the approaches to strategic passes and to verify the operations of the Egyptian and Israeli surveillance stations in the Sinai Buffer Zone.
Yellow Fella

2005

Yellow Fella

2005
7
In 1978, Tom Lewis appeared in the Australian feature film, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. The life of the character he played was hauntingly close to his own, a young, restless man of mixed heritage, struggling for a foothold on the edge of two cultures. Tom's mother is a traditional Indigenous woman of southern Arnhem Land, his father a Welsh stockman who he never really knew. Yellow Fella is a journey across the land and into Tom's past, as he attempts to find the resting place of his father and to finally confront the truth of his most inner feelings of love and identity.
The Cult of JT LeRoy

2014

The Cult of JT LeRoy

2014
5.3
A feature documentary about the writer JT LeRoy - Ethically charged, controversial, and confusing, JT’s life and death sprang open a Pandora’s box of powerful questions about literature and culture, identity and celebrity, and the reality of the society we live in. Fraud? Art? Mental illness? Complicity? The Cult of JT Leroy will be a testament to this bizarre and elaborate story that has captured the attention and fascination of the world’s media, and perplexes to this day.
Fog

2014

Fog

2014
6.3
A finely-woven tapestry, unifying things that are incommensurate. What is it about? Something that we all know, but which resonates differently with each of us, that cannot be put into words. You could call it our inner hum.
The Barefoot Artist

2014

The Barefoot Artist

2014
5.3
Lily Yeh is a global artist who is fueled by a belief that art is a human right, and that artists can create a foundation for profound social change. Slight of frame, but large in spirit and vision, the 70-year-old artist was born in China, lives in Philadelphia, and now, as constant traveler, the world is her canvas. Our film explores two sides of Lily's life that are connected parts of the same journey: her international ventures helping to heal weakened spirits in communities around the world and a personal journey within, to repair her own fractured family.
Golden Gate Girls

2013

Golden Gate Girls

2013
5.5
The film traces the life and times of Esther Eng, a San Francisco native known as Hong Kong’s first “directress.” She directed 10 Cantonese talkies.
I Was a Teenage Feminist

2005

I Was a Teenage Feminist

2005
1.7
Why is it that some young, independent, progressive women in today's society feel uncomfortable identifying with the F-word? Join filmmaker Therese Shechter as she takes a funny, moving and very personal journey into the heart of feminism. Armed with a video camera and an irreverent sense of humor, Shechter talks with feminist superstars, rowdy frat boys, liberated Cosmo girls and Radical Cheerleaders, all in her quest to find out whether feminism can still be a source of personal and political power.
Journey of the Universe

2011

Journey of the Universe

2011
5
Journey of the Universe is an epic documentary exploring the human connection to Earth and the cosmos, from producer-directors Patsy Northcutt and David Kennard director of Carl Sagan s Cosmos and Hero s Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell. Big science, big history, big story, this one-of-a-kind film was created by a renowned team of scientists, scholars, and award-winning filmmakers, led by co-writers Brian Thomas Swimme, the acclaimed author and evolutionary philosopher, and Yale University historian of religions Mary Evelyn Tucker. They weave a tapestry that draws together scientific discoveries in astronomy, geology, biology, ecology, and biodiversity with humanistic insights concerning the nature of the universe.
Pride of Place

1976

Pride of Place

1976
6.3
In this first project of Kim Longinotto while she was a student at Englands National School of Television and Film she filmed the daily life in a girls boarding school situated in an old isolated castle in Buckinghamshire. Until she was 17, Longinotto lived in this boarding school, finaly she run away from there. In this dark and expressive black and white documentary, Longinotto exposes the repressive school from the students perspective. It seems to be a kind of miniature state with bizzare rules, idigestibel food and absurd punishments. The documentary begins with an graduation ceremony. The director blows her own trumpet, afterwards the film describes the daily routine of schoollife. The film ends up with the students leaving for holidays. As a result of this documentary, the boarding school was closed down one year after the release of the film.
Songs From the North

2015

Songs From the North

2015
7
Interweaving footage from the director’s three visits to North Korea with songs, spectacle, popular cinema and archival footage, Songs from the North takes a different look at this enigmatic country typically seen through the distorted lens of jingoistic propaganda and derisive satire. Challenging the meaning of freedom, love, patriotism and ultimately the human condition, it tries to understand, on their own terms, the psychology and popular imaginary of the North Korean people and the political ideology of absolute love which continues to drive the nation towards its uncertain future.
Westinghouse: The Life and Times of an American Icon

2008

Westinghouse: The Life and Times of an American Icon

2008
6.5
American engineer George Westinghouse revolutionized the American electricity system in the late 1880s with his endorsement of AC power distribution. This historical documentary chronicles Westinghouse's legendary rivalry with Thomas Edison and the birth of his many inventions, including the rail-road air brake.