Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 169

David Harewood on Blackface

2023

David Harewood on Blackface

2023
1
At its peak, The Black and White Minstrel Show was watched by a Saturday night audience of more than 20 million people. David Harewood goes on a mission to understand the roots of this strange, intensely problematic cultural form: where did the show come from, and what made it popular for so long? With the help of historians, actors and musicians, David uncovers how, at its core, blackface minstrelsy was simply an attempt to make racism into an art form - and can be traced back to a name and a date.
Been There

2023

Been There

2023
7
Weekend trips, city breaks, a detour into nature or once around the world. Barely a few days off, you're already gone. Never before has the desire to travel been so widespread and visited places so overloaded. What do we get out of it, other than the picture proof that we have been there?
Inside the Iranian Uprising

2023

Inside the Iranian Uprising

2023
In September 2022, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, died in police custody. She had been arrested by Iran’s religious police, accused of not wearing her hijab properly. The authorities said she had died of a heart attack, but rumors spread that she had been beaten on arrest. Citizens took to the streets in their thousands in fury. This is an extraordinary and shocking insight into what has been happening across Iran, revealing a regime under huge pressure and resorting to extreme cruelty to control its citizens.
The Breast Archives

2018

The Breast Archives

2018
1
As women, our relationships with our breasts profoundly influence our lives and identities, yet we don't talk about them. What would happen if we did? In this film, nine women find out. The Breast Archives reveals the inner thoughts, emotions, and pivotal experiences of women ranging widely in ethnicity, age, socio-economic background, and breast size. In an intimate setting, they candidly reveal their deeply personal memories of puberty, shaming, sexual pleasure, nursing, and breast cancer. They admit to their mixed emotions and contradictory beliefs, questioning their culture and themselves. Courageously vulnerable, they explore how they have assessed their breasts and tied those judgments to their self-worth, and they begin to find their own inner wisdom. In a profound act of self-revelation, they bare their breasts to the camera, inviting the audience to accept their naked, imperfect truth.
Ukraine: the Road to War

2023

Ukraine: the Road to War

2023
7
A documentary that traces the geopolitical history of the Ukrainian conflict from 2014 onward, uncovering its roots in history. Mingling geopolitical and intimate narratives, the film illuminates this war at Europe's gates.
Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano

2023

Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano

2023
6
On August 4th, 2020, the catastrophic explosion at the port of Beirut leaves a large part of the Lebanese capital in ruins. In the midst of the chaos, a troubled film crew face an overwhelming decision: to continue the production of their movie or abandon it? As they face the aftermath of the catastrophe, they are torn between their firm belief in the transformative power of cinema and a deep sense of cynicism about its ability to effect change in a nation plagued by economic turmoil and societal collapse. Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano chronicles their struggles and highlights the crew's resilience as they strive to find meaning and purpose in their work amidst the devastation.
Plastic Earth

2023

Plastic Earth

2023
6
Worldwide plastic production from fossil-based sources continues to rise and contribute to climate change, pollution and environmental issues. Scientists, engineers, researchers and innovators tackle solutions to deal with the over-production of single-use plastics.
Santa's Wild Home

2020

Santa's Wild Home

2020
6
Green lights dance across a star-filled sky, and snowflakes sparkle on the trees. It is little wonder Lapland is famous as a realm of elves and flying reindeer, the magical home of Santa Claus. This northernmost region of mainland Europe, however, is a real place, with real animals such as reindeer, Great Gray owls, wolverines, eagles, wolves, musk oxen and Brown bears who live out their lives in the tundra and forest.
Mermaids

2023

Mermaids

2023
2
This documentary explores Mermaids and their history. Learn about this mythological creature that has fascinated man for centuries. Get ready for Mermaids!
The Whole Animal

2022

The Whole Animal

2022
5
A documentary from the award-winning team that made SOMM takes the viewer to five countries through the pages of a mysterious cookbook to experience how using the Whole Animal and wasting nothing can teach us as much about our food as it can about the culture that made it..
Los que buscamos

2019

Los que buscamos

2019
7
Enrique was separated from his mother at birth, Ascension was forced to give up her daughter after giving birth. Both are victims of the "stolen babies" plot, a slippery ground for Spanish justice. While they continue with the legal battle, they continue with their searches, living with guilt, rejection and the construction of their own identity.
Stylebender

2023

Stylebender

2023
8
An intimate look at Israel Adesanya, the Nigerian born New Zealand based MMA champion, which goes beyond the ring and delves deep into an unlikely fighter's journey. Exploring themes of masculinity, bullying and even the healing power of dance, this documentary is a poignant examination of the complex, exciting and sometimes controversial person known as 'The Last Stylebender.'
Cynara

2023

Cynara

2023
2
After a break-in, a mother calls 911 seeking help for her disabled daughter, Cynara. Hours later, Cynara is dead, and her mother is the prime suspect in this gripping story of Canada's justice system on trial.
The Sun Queen

2023

The Sun Queen

2023
10
Chemical engineer and inventor Maria Telkes worked for nearly 50 years to harness the power of the sun, designing and building the world's first successful solar-heated modern residence and identifying a new chemical that could store solar heat like a battery. Telkes was undercut and thwarted by her (male) boss and colleagues at MIT, but she persevered. Upon her death in 1995 Telkes held more than 20 patents, and now she is recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy whose work continues to shape how we power our lives today.
We Will Speak

2023

We Will Speak

2023
10
The Cherokee language is deeply tied to Cherokee identity; yet generations of assimilation efforts by the U.S. government and anti-Indigenous stigmas have forced the Tri-Council of Cherokee tribes to declare a State of Emergency for the language in 2019. While there are 430,000 Cherokee citizens in the three federally recognized tribes, fewer than an estimated 2,000 fluent speakers remain—the majority of whom are elderly. The covid pandemic has unfortunately hastened the course. Language activists, artists, and the youth must now lead the charge of urgent radical revitalization efforts to help save the language from the brink of extinction.
Home is a Hotel

2023

Home is a Hotel

2023
10
“You gotta build your whole life in a room,” says one of the protagonists of this memorable documentary focused on residents of San Francisco SROs or single room occupancy housing. Available to people with lower incomes or those trying to get off the streets, the buildings are frequently cramped, often noisy, and sometimes riddled with vermin. The film tellingly reveals inhabitants who are diverse and complicated and have a wide variety of needs that these residences and their staffs are often unable to meet. From a single mother trying to find her missing daughter to an elderly woman who is going blind and facing eviction, to the two ex-addicts co-parenting their son, the film gives voice to the broad range of people struggling to keep a roof over their heads in one of the wealthiest cities in the country.
Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square

2022

Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square

2022
10
In 1959 New York City announced a "slum clearance plan" by Robert Moses that would displace 2,400 working class and immigrant families, and dozens of businesses, from the Cooper Square section of Manhattan's Lower East Side. Guided by the belief that urban renewal should benefit - not displace - residents, Frances Goldin and her neighbors formed the Cooper Square Committee and launched a campaign to save the neighborhood. Over five decades they fought politicians, developers, white flight, government abandonment, blight, violence, arson, drugs, and gentrification - cyclical forces that have destroyed so many working class neighborhoods across the US. Through tenacious organizing and hundreds of community meetings, they not only held their ground but also developed a vision of community control. Fifty three years later, they established the state's first community land trust - a diverse, permanently affordable neighborhood in the heart of the "real estate capital of the world."
The Cost of Cotton

2017

The Cost of Cotton

2017
8
Is cotton really as pure as it seems? After claims of forced labour, pollution, and even slavery, we follow the production chain to find the truth.
The Final 19

2021

The Final 19

2021
2
Sgt. Dan Hefel was one of the last 19 POWs to come home from Vietnam. First an infantry grunt, he switched to sergeant gunner. What seemed like a prize detail, turned into a nightmare as the helicopter crashed. The crew went from MIAs to POWs, whereabouts unknown.
The Chocolate Diet

2015

The Chocolate Diet

2015
9
Investigates how the multi-billion-dollar weight-loss industry systematically buys scientific research and uses it in its favor.