Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 207

Kiribati? Here We Are

1980

Kiribati? Here We Are

1980
On 12 July 1979 the Gilbert Islands in the central Pacific became independent from British rule. The country then became known as Kiribati. This film shows the lifestyle of the people of these 33 islands, their history and culture, the natural resources and the effects of colonialism, World War Two, nuclear testing and foreign industry. It also records the celebrations that took place at this important moment in the country's history and looks to the nation's future.
CodeSwitching

2019

CodeSwitching

2019
CodeSwitching is a mash-up of personal stories from three generations of African American students who participated in a landmark voluntary desegregation program. Shuttling between their inner-city Boston neighborhoods and predominantly white suburban schools in pursuit of a better education, they find themselves swapping elements of culture, language, and behavior to fit in with their suburban counterparts – Often acting or speaking differently based on their surroundings, called code-switching.
Voice of Freedom

2021

Voice of Freedom

2021
On Easter Sunday, 1939, contralto Marian Anderson stepped up to a microphone in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Inscribed on the walls of the monument behind her were the words “all men are created equal.” Barred from performing in Constitution Hall because of her race, Anderson would sing for the American people in the open air. Hailed as a voice that “comes around once in a hundred years” by maestros in Europe and widely celebrated by both white and black audiences at home, her fame hadn’t been enough to spare her from the indignities and outright violence of racism and segregation.
Twyla Moves

2021

Twyla Moves

2021
Interwoven with her storied career and prolific works, Twyla Moves sees legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp navigate her latest creative challenge: making a dance for a world plagued by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cacu: A Change for Life

2019

Cacu: A Change for Life

2019
Five fishermen from Manresa, a poor neighborhood to the West of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, learn from marine biologist Omar Shamir Reynoso's one-of-a-kind plan to protect nesting sea turtles.
Meltdown

2021

Meltdown

2021
For 30 years, Lynn Davis has photographed the magnificent icebergs of Greenland. Davis returned recently with climate change expert Tony Leiserowitz, where they take in the meltdown, and explore the implications for the planet.
River of Gold

2016

River of Gold

2016
Narrated by Academy Award winners Sissy Spacek and Herbie Hancock, River of Gold is the disturbing account of a clandestine journey into Peru's Amazon rainforest to uncover the savage unraveling of pristine jungle. What will be the fate of this critical region of priceless biodiversity as these extraordinarily beautiful forests are turned into a hellish wasteland?
Generation Greta

2020

Generation Greta

2020
They are aged between 12 and 24. They have grown up in a world with increasing droughts, floods, fires. And they share a common fight: the climate emergency. In spite of their cultural and geographical differences, nine young female activists are united under the same struggle: raising awareness about the climate emergency, fighting against the inaction of politicians, and promoting radical societal change, so that nature and social justice become our top priority. In the wake of Greta Thunberg, the most famous of them all, these young women, aged between 12 and 24 years old, already possess the charisma and assurance of some of the history’s greatest political personalities. Who are these activists, set on changing the world? How can we understand their anger? What hopes do they carry? ‘Generation Greta’ recounts the story of these nine incredible young women, combining moving eyewitness accounts and breathtaking archive footage.
The Falconer

2020

The Falconer

2020
This intimate portrait film follows master falconer Rodney Stotts on his mission to build a bird sanctuary and to provide access to nature for his stressed community. The Falconer weaves his present-day mission with the story of his past, both of which are deeply rooted in issues of social and environmental injustice. Stotts’s worldview in a nutshell: nature heals. In a forgotten corner of our nation’s capital, he takes the time to break through to those too often dismissed as “hard to reach.” This is a story of second chances: for injured birds of prey, for an abandoned plot of land, for a group of teenagers who have dropped out of high school, and for the falconer himself.
Ellipsis

2021

Ellipsis

2021
The narrator collides with animal-shaped shooting targets in the woods. She sets out to unravel a breathtaking and fascinating cultural-historical tangle of animal and human rights: the power of a gaze, the objects of exhibition, and the secondary power of being under scrutiny.
Yield to Total Elation: The Life and Art of Achilles Rizzoli

2000

Yield to Total Elation: The Life and Art of Achilles Rizzoli

2000
Yield to Total Elation explores the life and work of the enigmatic and visionary artist Achilles G. Rizzoli. A mundane architectural draftsman by day, the architectural transcriber of the divine by night, Rizzoli created elaborate Beaux-Arts influenced monuments which would never be built. Accompanied by his witty and poignant commentary, the drawings served as translations for the voices and the hallucinations that haunted him. By deftly weaving Rizzoli's words, archival footage, photos and evocative present day scenes of San Francisco's historic architecture, the film tells the story of Rizzoli's life and his work -- an exaltation of architecture as pleasure, as memorial, as redemption.
He Wouldn't Turn Me Loose - The Sexual Abuse Case of 96-Year-Old Miss Mary

2012

He Wouldn't Turn Me Loose - The Sexual Abuse Case of 96-Year-Old Miss Mary

2012
This video presents the real-life case of 96-year-old Miss Mary, who was financially exploited and later, sexually assaulted by her grandson. Miss Mary had been living with her grandson and his wife for five years during which financial abuse took place. After the attack and hospitalization, she was placed in a nursing home under the name "Jane Doe" for safety reasons. However, she retained her strength of character, and fully participated in the subsequent trial and prosecution of her grandson.
Arrieros

2010

Arrieros

2010
Over the years they herded their animals up the mountain. But that custom had to be adapted to the economic proposals of the present. His world is extremely simple for the dizzying gaze of the city. They work day by day to generate a plate of food and in no way do they contemplate another place to live other than their mountain. There they were born, there they will die. Only two hours by car unites them with Santiago de Chile. So close so far.
Soy Huao

2009

Soy Huao

2009
“Soy Huao” is a film that is installed in the Toca family to watch from them and through the contemplation of a camera -which manages to become invisible-, a world organized by its own values and rules that far from any idea of consumption and urban well-being, it moves with very different customs in the midst of nature and survival in the face of vegetation loaded with a dense forest, the tropical humidity of the climate, and the variety of species of small animals. A plane that visits them every so often, connects the Huao community with the world. How long can a community that has struggled so hard to preserve its freedom resist the influence of the world as we know it?
Swell

1996

Swell

1996
Swell is a documentary shot in Santa Cruz, California. Featured are women longboard surfers whose ages span four generations. It is a portrait of a community which shares their best waves, embraces new comers as well as old timers and comes together in a beautiful memorial, to show respect to the one they lost in the water, surfing. Swell is setting the record straight by revealing that women do surf and do it well!
Hearts & Hands

1988

Hearts & Hands

1988
The film chronicles the lives of ordinary women as well as individuals such as Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Keckley, Frances Willard, and Abigail Scott Duniway through the great 19th century events: industrialization, abolition, the Civil War, westward movement, temperance, and suffrage. For nineteenth century women, quilts were the podium, the pulpit and the judges' gavel, which their society denied them. Their quilts speak the language of abolition, patriotism, politics, social justice, and westward expansion.
Man Oh Man

1987

Man Oh Man

1987
Man Oh Man takes a loving, curious look at the forces which mold young boys into men. Men from all walks of life speak with humor and sadness about what is expected of them. This film explores personal definitions of masculinity, inter-gender communications, self-worth, gender stereotyping, and changing roles. As an honest representation of one filmmaker's glimpse into the male world, it is guaranteed to spark audience interest and stimulate discussion.
The Greatest Bond

2020

The Greatest Bond

2020
An inspirational and heartwarming one-hour documentary, highlighting the journey of disabled veterans whose lives are transformed through the unconditional love of service dogs that have been expertly trained by female prison inmates.
Hopi: Songs of the Fourth World

1983

Hopi: Songs of the Fourth World

1983
A compelling study of the Hopi that captures their deep spirituality and reveals their integration of art and daily life. Amidst beautiful images of Hopi land and life, a variety of Hopi — a farmer, a religious elder, a grandmother, a painter, a potter, and a weaver — speak about the preservation of the Hopi way. Their philosophy of living in balance and harmony with nature is a model to the Western world of an environmental ethic in action.
Narratives of Modern Genocide

2021

Narratives of Modern Genocide

2021
Narratives of Modern Genocide challenges the audience to experience first-person accounts of survivors of genocide. Sichan Siv and Gilbert Tuhabonye share how they escaped the killing fields of Cambodia, and the massacre of school children in Burundi. Mixing haunting animation, and expert context the film confronts our notion that the holocaust was the last genocide.