Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 206

The Wolf in Australian Art

2015

The Wolf in Australian Art

2015
Documentary about Russian-born Australian painter and sculptor Danila Vassilieff
Magnificent Burden

2016

Magnificent Burden

2016
Former NY socialite Taylor Stein becomes entangled in an international baby trafficking ring and goes undercover for the FBI to save a little boy. When a terrible discovery threatens his life she's thrust into the world of genetic technology and a high-stakes battle between Big Pharma and saving lives.
Beauty CULTure

2012

Beauty CULTure

2012
Beauty Culture investigates our obsession with beauty and the influence of photographic representations on female body image. Film subjects hail from diverse points on the beauty landscape. Fashion photographers, child pageant stars, bodybuilders, teenagers, and intellectuals engage in a provocative dialogue that addresses the persistent "beauty contest" of daily life.
Butterfly in a Blizzard

2025

Butterfly in a Blizzard

2025
An intimate look into snowboarder Kimmy Fasani's transformative journey into motherhood. Supported by expert voices, she navigates life's storms, while maintaining her place in snowboarding and evolving as a woman.
Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

2025

Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

2025
Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act tells the emotional and dramatic story of the decades-long push for equality and accessibility that culminated in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. While curb cuts, ramps at building entrances, and braille on elevator buttons seem commonplace today, they were once the subject of a pitched battle that landed on the steps of Congress. Told through the voices of key participants and witnesses, the film highlights the determined people who literally put their bodies on the line to achieve their goal and change the lives of all Americans. A story of courage and perseverance, the film brings to life one of the great civil rights movements in American history, where ordinary people made their voices heard and Congress responded. A testament to the power of coalition building and bipartisan compromise, the passage of the ADA is a shining example of democracy in action.
Vacation Plantation

2025

Vacation Plantation

2025
With unparalleled access to America’s most popular plantation houses, archaeologist Lauren Cudmore goes on a journey to uncover why millions of tourists continue to flock to these sites, while conveniently forgetting their horrific past.
Felipe González, la infancia de un líder

2008

Felipe González, la infancia de un líder

2008
The documentary Felipe González approaches some of the most important facets and stages of the Andalusian politician's life, before becoming President of the Government of Spain: his early years, his high school studies at the school of the Claretian Fathers in Seville, his years in the Catholic Action University Youth and the Catholic Workers' Youth, his entry into the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE).
Porvenir, Texas

2019

Porvenir, Texas

2019
In the early morning hours of January 28th, 1918, the west Texas border town known as Porvenir ceased to exist. Discover the true story behind the 1918 massacre of 15 Mexican men in this tiny border town. 100 years later, the film asks what led to the events of that fateful night and reveals the tensions that remain along the border a century later.
All of Us

2008

All of Us

2008
A young doctor in the South Bronx embarks on a research project to find out why black women are becoming infected with HIV at alarming rates. She takes us into the lives and relationship histories of her black, female patients to find out what social factors are putting them at risk. When she expands her research to include women across boundaries of race, class and country, she discovers a dangerous power imbalance that all heterosexual women face in the bedroom, but rarely discuss. ALL OF US is about HIV/AIDS but it is not a tragedy. It is a story of resilience, courage and activism.
Shop 'Til You Drop: The Crisis of Consumerism

2010

Shop 'Til You Drop: The Crisis of Consumerism

2010
Are we too materialistic? Are we wantonly destroying the planet with our pettiness? Where is the source of all that energy and endless consumer desires? The document calls for a direct confrontation with these questions. Focusing on the long-term deteriorating ecological and mental realm of American consumerist culture and all the chaotic materialism, he reaches beneath the surface of the commercial world to show that the consequence of growth is impoverishment - the slow and steady depletion of natural resources and basic human values. It shows the connection between the limits of consumerism and our own well-being, and encourages people to develop a critical view of the current economic situation.
Was China der Welt nicht zeigt – Total Trust

2023

Was China der Welt nicht zeigt – Total Trust

2023
Sensory Overload

2025

Sensory Overload

2025
Sensory Overload profiles individuals in the neurodivergent and neurosensitive communities and their allies, looking at how they are changing mindsets around them.
Strong

2023

Strong

2023
Everyone has equal rights and opportunities, but the heroes of the film "Strong" have to fight for this correct statement. Olga and Alexander are wheelchair users. They want to have decent rights to life, and most importantly, to be perceived accordingly. They will tell you what they had to go through when getting a job, starting a family. How not to give in to emotions and move on?
Breakdown in Maine

2024

Breakdown in Maine

2024
FRONTLINE, the Portland Press Herald and Maine Public investigate the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history and the missed opportunities to prevent it. The documentary examines breakdowns with police, military and mental health care in the lead-up to the Lewiston shooting in October 2023.
Mallamall

2012

Mallamall

2012
Retail is a 2500-year-old tradition in India with 95% of the trade being run by small entrepreneurs. But the retail scene in India is undergoing a rapid change. Malls are sprouting like mushrooms between huts and tenements. Everyone wants a piece of the pie. Mallamall is a visual and sensory portrayal of the burgeoning industry through the stories of people whose lives depend on retail.
Arcades & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day

2025

Arcades & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day

2025
A musical documentary following 74-year-old Walter Day - the father of esports and star of "The King of Kong" - as he battles a lawsuit threatening his legacy while fulfilling his dream of recording and performing the rock-opera style love songs he has been hearing in his head since having his heart broken at the height of the arcade era.
Banned Together

2025

Banned Together

2025
A diverse cast of visionary teenagers, stirring public protests, private threats, criminal charges, and drama-filled school board meetings: this is the explosive world of BANNED TOGETHER. The film pulls back the curtain on two of the most controversial issues in America today: book bans and curriculum censorship in public schools.
Mel Bochner: Thoughts Made Visible

1997

Mel Bochner: Thoughts Made Visible

1997
Filmed at the Yale University Art Gallery, "Mel Bochner: Thoughts Made Visible", approaches a major retrospective exhibition of the artist's early work while providing an opportunity to experience his notable, site-specific installations. Known for his use of common material, Bochner's elements are easily understandable yet his art is founded on the unexpected questioning of how simple things hold the ability to reveal eye-opening complexities. A relationship established through language, Bochner's work takes the form of a dialogue between practice and theory, defining his subject as "the contradiction between physical space and mental space." Bochner uses that contradiction to create visual think pieces, locating his own intention- and thus emotion- through his process, his sites, and the mind of his viewer.
Box of Treasures

1983

Box of Treasures

1983
In 1921 the Kwakiut'l people of Alert Bay, British Columbia, held their last secret potlatch. In 1980 at Alert Bay, the U'mista Cultural Centre (U'mista means "something of great value that has come back") opened its doors to receive and house the cultural treasures which were seized decades earlier and only then returned to the people. The center also took up activities such as recording stories told by elders so that some part of the past would always be alive and teaching children about their heritage in order to make them feel connected to their ancestors. This film documents the cultural significance of these events for today's Kwakiut'l people. It is an eloquent testimony to the persistence and complexity of Kwakiut'l society and to the struggle for redefining cultural identity for them.
Jaguar Beach‎

2025

Jaguar Beach‎

2025
In a remote region on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, a lush landscape characterized by volcanoes meets tropical dry forest. Right there is a very special beach where two completely different species meet: Sea turtles meet jaguars. This has spectacular consequences for both sides and their environment. The two animals form an alliance that is as surprising as it is unintentional. The predator suddenly becomes a protector.