Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 167

Geraldine Ferraro: Paving The Way

2013

Geraldine Ferraro: Paving The Way

2013
7
A documentary by Donna Zaccaro about the political trailblazer, Geralidine Ferraro. Featuring interviews with Bill and Hillary Clinton, George and Barbara Bush, Walter Mondale, and Geraldine Ferraro herself, among others, this is a heartwarming and engrossing portrait of the first woman who was nominated for vice president, whose legacy still reverberates today.
Doctors of the Dark Side

2011

Doctors of the Dark Side

2011
6.5
Doctors of the Dark Side is the first feature length documentary about the pivotal role of physicians and psychologists in detainee torture. The stories of four detainees and the doctors involved in their abuse demonstrate how US Army and CIA doctors implemented the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and covered up signs of torture at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Interviews with medical, legal and intelligence experts and evidence from declassified government memos document what has been called the greatest scandal in American medical ethics. Based on four years of research by Producer/Director Martha Davis, written by Oscar winning Mark Jonathan Harris, and filmed in HD by Emmy winning DP Lisa Rinzler, the film shows how the torture of detainees could not continue without the assistance of the doctors.
After Newtown: Guns in America

2013

After Newtown: Guns in America

2013
9.5
Explore America’s enduring relationship with firearms: From the first European settlements in the New World to frontier justice; from 19th Century immigrant riots to gangland violence in the Roaring Twenties; from the Civil War to Civil Rights, guns have been at center of our national narrative for four hundred years.
Free for All!

2008

Free for All!

2008
7
One Dude's Quest to Save Democracy. A FilmBuff Presentation.
The Hutterites

1964

The Hutterites

1964
7
A look at the Hutterites, an Anabaptist religious community similar to the Amish or the Mennonites in rural Alberta.
Misconception

2014

Misconception

2014
5
For almost 50 years, the world's population has grown at an alarming rate, raising fears about strains on the Earth's resources. But how true are these claims? Taking cues from statistics guru Hans Rosling, Misconception offers a provocative glimpse at how the world—and women in particular— are tackling a subject at once personal and global. Following three individuals, director Jessica Yu focuses on the human implications of this highly charged political issue, inspiring a fresh look at the consequences of population growth. In English, Hindi, Mandarin, and Russian with subtitles.
Welcome Nowhere

2013

Welcome Nowhere

2013
9
Narrated by Ethan Hawke, Welcome Nowhere tells the true story of a community of Roma people (commonly known as Gypsies) who live in old train boxcars in Sofia, Bulgaria after being forcibly evicted from their homes. Without bathrooms for more than 200 people, they struggle to survive, waiting for help from the government that never seems to come.
Seeds of Time

2013

Seeds of Time

2013
10
Seeds of Time follows agriculture pioneer Cary Fowler's global journey to save the eroding foundation of our food supply in a new era of climate change.
The Sturgeon Queens

2014

The Sturgeon Queens

2014
6
Four generations of a Jewish immigrant family create Russ and Daughters, a Lower East Side lox and herring emporium that survives and thrives. Produced to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the store, this documentary features an extensive interview with two of the original daughters for whom the store was named, now 100 and 92 years old, and interviews with prominent enthusiasts of the store including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, chef Mario Batali, New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin, and 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer. Rather than a conventional narrator, the filmmakers bring together six colorful longtime fans of the store, in their 80s and 90s, who sit around a table of fish reading the script in the style of a passover Seder. - Written by Julie Cohen
John Garfield

2002

John Garfield

2002
6
Mark Rappaport's look at the life and work of actor John Garfield.
Daughters of Wisdom

2007

Daughters of Wisdom

2007
7
An intimate portrait of the nuns of Kala Rongo, a rare and exceptional Buddhist Monastery exclusively for women situated in Nangchen, in remote and rural northeastern Tibet. These nuns are receiving religious and educational training previously unavailable to women, and playing an unprecedented role in preserving their rich cultural heritage even as they slowly reshape it. They graciously allow the camera a never-before-seen glimpse into their vibrant spiritual community and insight into their extraordinary lives. Some shy, some outspoken, all are committed to the often difficult life they have chosen, away from the yak farms and herding families of their birth. It is the story of their spiritual community, one that couldn't have existed 20 years ago but is thriving today.
I Can Be President: A Kid's-Eye View

2011

I Can Be President: A Kid's-Eye View

2011
6
What do our future leaders think? Find out in this enlightening documentary that brings kids' ideas about the presidency to life via animation. Sweet and charming, yet with observations as sharp as tacks, these elementary-school youngsters opine on such issues as: the rules about becoming president; whether they could handle the job, now or in the future; and more.
The Worm Hunters

2011

The Worm Hunters

2011
5
An epic adventure into an underground science and an unstoppable passion. Earthworm scientists concoct a plan to find and name their ultimate discovery...the world's first Super Worm. Nothing will stop them as they travel to all corners of the world with spades, GPS worm locators and secret worm outing fluids to unearth their prize.
Charleen or How Long Has This Been Going On?

1977

Charleen or How Long Has This Been Going On?

1977
8
In Charleen, documentarian Ross McElwee looks at the life of a North Carolina poet and teacher who acts as a muse to a motley crew of artists and musicians.
Shored Up

2013

Shored Up

2013
7
Shored Up is the story of our coasts where life on the edge of a rising sea has placed our towns and cities on the front lines of climate change. Following frustrated scientists, confused politicians and level-headed surfers, Shored Up follows the conflicts that are erupting from New Jersey to North Carolina as the ocean rises and we challenge nature to an unwinnable duel.
Mur 19

1967

Mur 19

1967
5
Mark Rappaport's first film—a study of a young man named Gerald Mur.
Bill Gates A Tycoon Story

2012

Bill Gates A Tycoon Story

2012
6
The Peacekeepers

2005

The Peacekeepers

2005
10
With unprecedented access to the UN Department of Peacekeeping, The Peacekeepers provides an intimate and dramatic portrait of the struggle to save "a failed state" The film follows the determined and often desperate maneuvers to avert another Rwandan disaster, this time in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC). Focusing on the UN mission, the film cuts back and forth between the UN headquarters in New York and events on the ground in the DRC. We are with the peacekeepers in the "Crisis Room" as they balance the risk of loss of life on the ground with the enormous sums of money required from uncertain donor countries. We are with UN troops as the northeast Congo erupts and the future of the DRC, if not all of central Africa, hangs in the balance. In the background, but often impinging on peacekeeping decisions, are the painful memory of Rwanda, the worsening crisis in Iraq, global terrorism, and American hegemony in world affairs.
Liahona

2013

Liahona

2013
5
Liahona is an experimental documentary examining the culture, history, and lived experience of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, often referred to as the Mormon faith. The film creates a portrait of Mormonism through documentation of LDS cultural dominance in Utah, the suppressed history of folk magic in the early church, landmark Mormon life experiences, and my personal history and connection to the church. Found media with the voices of outsiders and insiders illuminate a religion that intrigues many, but is seen as mysterious or inaccessible. Liahona shifts through perspectives on the faith – from reverence to questioning, presenting the complexities of the vast institution of Mormonism contrasted with the tenuity of individual faith.
Plaster Caster

2003

Plaster Caster

2003
6
Portrait of legendary artist and groupie Cynthia Plaster Caster famous for plaster casting the penises of rock stars.