Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 204

Rio Breaks

2009

Rio Breaks

2009
10
RIO BREAKS is more than just a film about surfing. It follows the story of two best friends, Fabio and Naama, as they navigate their way between the pitfalls of life in the slums and the joys of surfing on their favorite beach. Their goal: to win the contest and become professional surfers. Thirteen-year-old Fabio and 12-year-old Naama live at Favela do Pavao, an enormous slum near Arpoador Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pavao is home to Commando Vermelho (CV), or Red Command, one of Rio's most heavily armed drug gangs. It's the Red Command who sets the rules and regulates life in the community. Their presence is ubiquitous, with armed soldiers constantly patrolling the hills and regulating the various points of sale. Fabio lives in an area of the favela called Vietnam, the poorest and most violent part of the slum.
Plunder: The Crime of Our Time

2009

Plunder: The Crime of Our Time

2009
6
Plunder: The Crime of Our Time is a hard-hitting investigative film by Danny Schechter. The "News Dissector" explores how the financial crisis was built on a foundation of criminal activity uncovering the connection between the collapse of the housing market and the economic catastrophe that followed.
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
Mind the Closing Doors

2025

Mind the Closing Doors

2025
In the Moscow Metro, a choir is formed from employees—cashiers, train drivers, and station workers—learning to sing under the guidance of an enthusiastic conductor. For a contest, the conductor discovers the opera “Flood”, which is going to be performed for the first time. The opera tells the story of the last day before the world’s end. Following a triumphant premiere, the choir sets off on its first tour, only to face a real catastrophe.
Hurricane Helene's Deadly Warning

2025

Hurricane Helene's Deadly Warning

2025
FRONTLINE and NPR investigate why the U.S. is more vulnerable than ever to climate change-related storms and how Hurricane Helene became an ominous warning about America’s lack of preparedness. In “Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning,” Laura Sullivan goes on the ground in North Carolina in the days after the 2024 storm and speaks with survivors who describe the devastation, fear and shock they experienced at seeing entire communities washed away. She revisits Houston, Texas, where thousands of homes remain in an area that already flooded during Harvey in 2017. Sullivan also returns to Staten Island, where, according to a former FEMA director, the billion dollar rebuilding process may not have been enough to prevent mass destruction should another Superstorm Sandy hit.
Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser

2021

Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser

2021
The V&A presents Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser, an exclusive private view of the ‘hugely enjoyable and thought-provoking exhibition’ (★★★★★ The Guardian) at the V&A in London, filmed especially for the big screen. Take a guided tour ‘down the rabbit hole’ with the V&A Curator Kate Bailey and presenter Andi Oliver as the documentary explores how Alice has become an enduring icon, influencing successive generations and inspiring creativity in fashion, film, photography and on the stage. This special cinema event will bring to life the magical world of a landmark exhibition that charts the evolution of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from manuscript to a global phenomenon beloved by all ages.
Yorky Billy

1980

Yorky Billy

1980
YORKY BILLY is set in Ngurgdu (Spring Peak) in the Northern Territory, an area irrevocably disturbed by uranium mining. There, 80-year-old William Alderson (known as "Yorky Billy") reflects on his life in the outback. Yorky's mother was an Aboriginal woman who died when he was three, and his father was an Englishman who spent 45 years in Australia and "tried everything" as a prospector, railwayman, drover and buffalo hunter, often with his young son working with him. After the WWII, Yorky married an Aboriginal woman and worked in various jobs. He and his wife had a large family, and in 1977, Yorky Billy recorded his story and died soon thereafter, and was buried near his father at Ngurgdu. Filmed simply with minimal editing, this is a poignant, elegiac reflection on a disappearing way of life, capturing Yorky's slow and quiet rhythm of speech, his wry humour, and with his weather-beaten face only just emerging from the deep shadows inside his corrugated iron shack.
Crook Hat and Camphoo

2005

Crook Hat and Camphoo

2005
Alyawarr elders from central Australia, who worry about the survival of traditional skills and culture, pass on the skills and knowledge for making spears and woomera (spear-throwers).
Hard Hat Riot

2025

Hard Hat Riot

2025
On May 8, 1970, construction workers violently clashed with students demonstrating against the Vietnam War in lower Manhattan. The workmen, who came to be known as “hardhats,” were at the cutting edge of a new kind of class war. With the war in Vietnam raging on, it was the sons of the working class who were doing most of the fighting. Workmen saw the protesting students as privileged “draft dodgers” disparaging the country and those who fought for it. On the other side, many student activists saw the workers as pawns, unwilling to see the changes that America needed. Hard Hat Riot tells the story of a struggling metropolis, a flailing president, a divided people, and a bloody juncture when the nation violently diverged ― culminating in a new political and cultural landscape that radically redefined American politics and foreshadowed the future.
Souvenirs De Voyage

2017

Souvenirs De Voyage

2017