Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 202

Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America

2004

Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America

2004
6
From the moment David Brower first laid eyes on the beauty of the Yosemite Valley, he wanted to the fight to preserve the American wilderness for future generations. The story of a true American legend, Monumental documents the life of this outdoorsman, filmmaker and environmental crusader, whose fiery dedication and activism not only saved the Grand Canyon (among other accomplishments) but also transformed the Sierra Club into a powerful national political force, giving birth to the modern environmental movement. Seen through Brower's own eyes - he was an accomplished filmmaker, and his stunning footage is included here-- a 1956 raft trip down Glen Canyon, before its damming, evokes the awful sadness of losing public land we've failed to protect. And in period footage of Brower's early rock-climbs (done in sneakers, with hemp ropes) and of his training in the 10th Mountain Division (who defeated the Nazis in the high Alps).
Tupac Shakur: Thug Immortal

1997

Tupac Shakur: Thug Immortal

1997
2
THUG IMMORTAL is an intimate look at Tupac's life told through never-before-seen footage and interviews with his close friends, revealing an artist who grew up a thug, but one who soon tired of that lifestyle and its trappings, revealing a Tupac far different from the one most of America knows.
The Hidden History of Rome

2002

The Hidden History of Rome

2002
5
Rome was famed for the decadence of its ruling class, however, what about the ordinary citizens of these ancient cultures? How did they lead their day to day lives in an age when the average life expectancy was little more than forty? Did they believe in the Pagan Gods? What were their sex lives like? What did they do for entertainment? How ordinary Romans lived is, for the most part ...
Carretera Cartonera

2016

Carretera Cartonera

2016
This road documentary travels across South America to understand Cartonera book production, finding citizens and cooperatives committed to using literary production as a means of fighting for social justice, economic equality, and a more sustainable world.
The Farnsworth House

1999

The Farnsworth House

1999
The inspiration for June Finfer’s play, The Glass House, this documentary traces the creation of one of the first great Modernist houses in the world, Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House. Commissioned by a Chicago physician, Edith Farnsworth, this glass and steel rectangle set on a platform in rural Illinois has been visited by people from all over the world. Based on a plan Mies developed over many years, it was the focus of a legal battle between the architect and his client.
Video Game Wars: Japan

2021

Video Game Wars: Japan

2021
Once the undisputed king of global video gaming, the past two decades have seen Japanese dominance of the industry nosedive, and its glory days usurped by its surrounding neighbours. This documentary examines Japan’s efforts to wrestle back its top dog status and the challenges they face in this epic battle for control of a global industry estimated to be worth $US270 billion by 2025.
Borderlands Jaguar

2026

Borderlands Jaguar

2026
Borderlands Jaguar is a thrilling documentary following photographers Austin Alvarado and Ben Masters on a quest to document the elusive species and show the importance of conserving wildlife corridors along the US-Mexico border.
Vaastu Marabu

2004

Vaastu Marabu

2004
Vaastu Marabu documents the theory and practice of the Vaastu tradition of Indian art, architecture, craft and design. One of the foremost shilpis (designer-builder-sculpter) of India, Shri. V. Ganapati Sthapati of Mammallapuram, meditates on his art and his occupation. The film shows the process of making stone idols at Mammallapuram, near Madras, of casting bronzes in Kumbakonam, and of building stone temples at Kamudhi, near Madurai and at Ratnagiri, near Vellore. It illustrates the continuity of the tradition and reveals a technology that is ancient, yet still relevant today. The film explores the process of translating inner experience into art, and invites us to experience the naked beauty of the form while understanding the metaphysical message. The art of the Vishwakarma has given form and expression to all denominations of metaphysical thought in India. The film also probes the underlying scientific and mathematical principles.
A Dream in the Making

2012

A Dream in the Making

2012
You're Leaving Amsterdam / Welcome To Amstelveen: Introduction

2017

You're Leaving Amsterdam / Welcome To Amstelveen: Introduction

2017
A short documentary film functioning as the introduction to the One Minutes x Inter-Architecture Department (Gerrit Rietveld Academy) short-film broadcast episode for Rietveld TV, as aired on SALTO. This broadcast was meant to give an artistic impression of a communal art-project developed by the Inter-Architecture Department for the municipality of Amstelveen, The Netherlands. This short documentary film introduces each duo placed and posing at their respective project-based locations, spread out over Amstelveen, through purposely awkward still-but-moving vignettes. The duo's are reintroduced several times in quick succession, with each consecutive appearance showing more of an awkward inter-personality, meant to evoke a certain liminal playfulness. An overpass, a bridge, a bridge-barrier, a docking port, the border between Amsterdam and Amstelveen, the edges of Amsterdamse Bos, an abandoned railroad.
Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA

2015

Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA

2015
FRONTLINE investigates how the NRA uses its unrivaled political power to stop gun regulation in America. With first-hand accounts of school killings in Newtown and Columbine, and the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, "Gunned Down" examines why, despite the national trauma over gun violence, Washington hasn't acted.
Marquis De Sade: The Depraved Aristocrat

1997

Marquis De Sade: The Depraved Aristocrat

1997
Portrait of the 18th-century French writer and connoisseur of sex, whose name would enter the language as a synonym for sexual cruelty.
Yvonne Jacquette Painting "Autumn Expansion"

1981

Yvonne Jacquette Painting "Autumn Expansion"

1981
About the making of a large commissioned mural painting of an aerial view. From the first drawing out of a circling, single-engine plane, then transferring the studies onto three panels in New York, to the installation of the 27 feet wide, glowing-colored paintings in the post office of Bangor, Maine. With music by Domenico Scarlatti.
Lobito Bound: A Journey to Africa's New Frontier

2025

Lobito Bound: A Journey to Africa's New Frontier

2025
As the world races for critical minerals, a new trade route is transforming Central Africa. Lobito-Bound: A journey to Africa’s new frontier follows explorer Dwayne Fields - in partnership with pan-African mobile provider Africell - from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic along the Lobito Corridor, tracing the impact of global power struggles on local lives. Through voices on the ground, the film explores whether the Lobito Corridor will bring real progress or simply shift the balance of control.
Guyland

2015

Guyland

2015
In this powerful new film based on his bestselling book, sociologist Michael Kimmel maps the troubling social world where boys become men -- a new stage of development he calls "Guyland." Arguing that the traditional adult signposts and cultural signals that once helped boys navigate their way to manhood are no longer clear, Kimmel provides an astonishing glimpse into a world where more and more young men are trying desperately to prove their masculinity to other young men -- with frequently disastrous consequences for young women and other young men. Guyland offers a way for all of us -- parents, young men and women, community members, and professors and administrators -- to envision new ways to support young men as they navigate this often perilous world.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber

1916

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

1916
A peek into the Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a treasure trove of medieval beauty.
Shifting Paths

2025

Shifting Paths

2025
Shifting Paths explores one family's resilience during the 1933 boycott of Jewish businesses in Frankfurt, Germany. This film traces the loss of a family-owned pharmaceutical company and how a once banned chamomile product, Kamillosan, has survived today with few knowing anything of its history.
Surf Film Tour

2024

Surf Film Tour

2024
A curated program featuring some of the best surf films from around the world, showcasing a variety of surfing. Includes: TO BE FRANK, a short exploring the authentic and positive spirit of 73-year-old Frank Paine, a legend in the Hermosa Beach surf scene… CHASING THE UNICORN, a 34-minute film tracing surfing history in post-war Mozambique, centered on the search for a mythical wave known as the African Kirra.
The Art of Exile

2023

The Art of Exile

2023
THE ART OF EXILE is a series of three intimate and visually powerful short films celebrating the transformative power of art by showcasing exiled, censored, and imprisoned artists and their resilience against oppression through creativity. It features: Yemeni sculptor Moath al-Alwi (A SHIP FROM GUANTÁNAMO); Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji (THE EX-CRIMINAL); and Vietnamese pop star Mai Khoi (MAI KHOI: I SING WHAT I SEE).
TransBoxing

2020

TransBoxing

2020
Trans Boxing is an art project in the form of a boxing club that was started in New York City in 2017 by Nolan Hanson. The project began as an effort to encourage the participation of transgender, non-conforming, and non-binary people in boxing. Over the years, an amazing community has been built around this sport. Trans Boxing offers training, education, and mentorship through weekly classes. They help others explore their strength both physically and mentally.