Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 170

Minds in the Water

2012

Minds in the Water

2012
10
A surfer travels the world on a quest to save dolphins.
Manga Mad

2008

Manga Mad

2008
6
An introduction to the pop culture history of comics and animation in Japan, particularly adult comics, and the obsessive fantasy world of comic & animation fans.
American Tongues

1987

American Tongues

1987
7
Rich in humor and regional color, this sometimes hilarious film uses the prism of language to reveal our attitudes about the way other people speak. From Boston Brahmins to Black Louisiana teenagers, from Texas cowboys to New York professionals, American Tongues elicits funny, perceptive, sometimes shocking, and always telling comments on American English in all its diversity. (PBS)
People of a Feather

2012

People of a Feather

2012
10
The Inuit of Belcher Islands struggle to adapt as their environment changes.
Freedom For Birth

2012

Freedom For Birth

2012
7
A documentary that re-frames Human Rights issues as the most pressing issue in childbirth today; calling for radical change to the world's maternity systems - this is the Mothers' Revolution. In many countries around the world, women are being denied the most basic human right of autonomy over their own bodies. They cannot choose how and where to give birth. Those that persist in their desire to have a normal, physiological birth are sometimes forced by judges to surrender to surgery or threatened with having their babies taken away by child welfare services. In many countries, if a woman wants to have a home birth supported by a midwife, those midwives face criminal prosecution. Some midwives, like Ágnes Geréb in Hungary, are even imprisoned. FREEDOM FOR BIRTH calls for radical reform to the world’s maternity systems so that these Human Rights violations stop and women are afforded real choice as to how and where they give birth.
The Prosecution of an American President

2012

The Prosecution of an American President

2012
10
This electrifying film documents the efforts of Vincent Bugliosi, one of our nation's foremost prosecutors, as he presents his case that former president George W. Bush should be prosecuted for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq because he deliberately took our nation to war under false pretenses. Based on Bugliosi's New York Times bestseller, the movie discloses shocking hidden details of how Bush and his people systematically lied to Congress and the country. He shows incontrovertible evidence that Bush, Cheney, Rice, et al committed a monumental crime under our constitution and the laws of this land. He leads us through a legal understanding of what is needed to bring a formal prosecution, setting the stage for what would be the biggest and most important trial in U.S. history.
The Eyes of Me

2009

The Eyes of Me

2009
6
An up-close look at four teens who have lost their sight. Set in Austin, TX, this film follows their high school experiences of dating, academic responsibilities, fitting in, family problems and preparing for college over the course of one dynamic year.
Choosing Children

1984

Choosing Children

1984
1
CHOOSING CHILDREN is a pioneering film about parenting in non-traditional families and helped to open dialogue about the meaning and reality of the "modern family." This film takes an intimate look at the issues faced by lesbians and gay men who decide to become parents after coming out.
State 194

2012

State 194

2012
8
Filmmaker Dan Setton gained unprecedented access to the highest circles of the Palestinian leadership as he chronicles Prime Minister Salam Fayaad's quest to have Palestine recognized by the United Nations as an independent state. (TIFF)
Frame 313: The JFK Assassination Theories

2008

Frame 313: The JFK Assassination Theories

2008
6
Frame 313 examines several theories that have been offered about who was responsible for the JFK Assassination including the single bullet theory, the CIA/Mafia theory, the Soviet Union/KGB theory, the Mafia hit theory, and the CIA/Anti-Castro theory.
Tapestries of Hope

2010

Tapestries of Hope

2010
6
Tapestries of Hope is the story of filmmaker Michealene Cristini Risley who traveled to Zimbabwe to document the work of Betty Makoni and the Girl Child Network. The film exposes an issue that continues to be ignored: the rape and abuse of thousands of young girls in Zimbabwe by men who believe it will cure their HIV/AIDS.
Dying to Do Letterman

2011

Dying to Do Letterman

2011
6
When 35 year old stand-up comedian Steve Mazan learned he was dying of cancer, he dedicated the rest of his life to making his dream come true: performing comedy on The Late Show with David Letterman. This documentary chronicles his five-year journey, as he races his own ticking clock to achieve a nearly impossible goal. Hilarious and heart-breaking, Steve brings a brand-new perspective to living with cancer. This is a story that proves it's not how much time you have, it's what you do with it. As Steve says, 'If you stop chasing your dreams, you're already dead.'
Climate Refugees

2010

Climate Refugees

2010
8
A documentary examining climate change and its impact on mass migration of people.
Intersexion

2012

Intersexion

2012
8
Director Grant Lahood follows Mani Bruce Mitchell, NZ’s first “out” intersex person, as he/she travels to meet other intersex people living in America, Ireland, Germany, South Africa and Australia. Expatriate Kiwi sexologist Dr John Money of the world renowned Johns Hopkins Medical School believed that gender was the product of “nurture not nature.” His studies into intersex people led to a particular surgical treatment model for babies born with ambiguous genitalia – the idea being that doctors could produce healthy and happy men and women by intervening early in an intersex child’s life. Usually that meant a family secret that had to be kept at all costs. But as the film shows, human sexual development is never that straight forward. This is a heart-warming story told with a mix of laughter and tears in the most frank and revealing way.
An Encounter With Simone Weil

2012

An Encounter With Simone Weil

2012
5.5
The filmmaker's journey to understand the controversial French philosopher and activist Simone Weil (1909-1943) reveals a brave young woman willing to die for her convictions.
Never Stand Still

2012

Never Stand Still

2012
9
The film explores why dance matters - to those who create and perform it and to those who watch it. This documentary tells the remarkable story of how an abandoned Massachusetts farm has evolved into a National Historic Landmark and a nexus for dance throughout the world. Its unlikely purchase by choreographer Ted Shawn during the Great Depression allowed this secluded site in the Berkshires to become the internationally renowned Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Through candid conversations with world-class choreographers and dancers, thrilling performances, backstage access, and rare footage from the Pillow's Archives, 'Never Stand Still' immerses the viewer in this most ephemeral of art forms, celebrating not only its value to our culture but to our lives.
Hiroshima Nagasaki August, 1945

1970

Hiroshima Nagasaki August, 1945

1970
6
This documentary is a compilation of silent black-and-white film footage shot by the Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly after the atomic bomb blasts in early August 1945. English-language voice-over narration has been added, along with a few scenes from American sources. The film shows the destruction and injury caused by the atomic bombs in graphic detail.
Yellowstone

1994

Yellowstone

1994
5
See Yellowstone National Park: Grizzlies, geysers, rivers, canyons and, of course, moose. The history of Yellowstone National Park is vividly portrayed in this memorable film, from the Tukudika Tribe, the earliest known inhabitants, to the early explorers including John Colter, a member of the Lewis & Clark party. Also portrayed are Wilson Hunt, who deemed the west unfit for habitation, Father Francis Kuppens, a Jesuit priest in pursuit of native souls, and the Washburn Expedition, instrumental in establishing Yellowstone as America’s first national park.
Four Seasons Lodge

2008

Four Seasons Lodge

2008
8
From the darkness of Hitler's Europe to the mountains of the Catskills, Four Seasons Lodge follows a community of Holocaust survivors who come together each summer to dance, cook, fight and flirt-and celebrate their survival.
The Power of Speech

2009

The Power of Speech

2009
10
Hardy makes a living selling knickknacks on Chilean buses. But a government announcement worries him: Chile will soon be a world-class country with a modern and elegant public transportation system, so the bus system will tolerate his job no longer. He gathers two thousand colleagues, and together they struggle to survive modernization.