Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 213

My Father’s Brothers

2021

My Father’s Brothers

2021
Jack Kelley volunteered for Vietnam. As an army captain, he routinely led his company of 140 men on patrols in the jungles near Biên Hòa. Ill-conceived orders came down from higher command: On June 29, 1966, Capt. Kelley was to spread his platoons 1,000 meters apart in order to cover more area while looking for Vietcong forces. During the patrol, the 3rd platoon stumbled upon an embedded Vietcong main force battalion. Outnumbered by nearly 10 to 1, the platoon was blindsided by a fierce attack. The triple-canopy jungle was dense and the terrain muddy, making rescue all but impossible. The film is a journey to understand what the filmmaker's father and seven survivors went through in 1966, and what they continue to go through today. Some volunteered for the army as teenagers. Others were drafted. Some went back to Vietnam years later with the hope of finding closure and peace.
El Cacao: The Challenge of Fair Trade

2015

El Cacao: The Challenge of Fair Trade

2015
EL CACAO exposes the dark side of chocolate production in Latin America by examining the economics of Fair Trade from the point of view of the indigenous farmers as they attempt to sustain their community through the growth, harvest, and trade of cacao beans in the global market. This 20-minute documentary film highlights the life of an indigenous Ngabe farmer in Panama and his unconditional devotion to this so-called "superfood." The film threads together the themes of neoliberal ideology, human rights, and the economics of the chocolate industry. While the demand for chocolate in developed nations continues to raise, the farmers in developing countries, like Panama, are rarely awarded the economic incentive promised to them. The film utilizes cinema verite techniques with candid interviews. Most of the film hinges on intimate shots in personal working and living space within a small Ngabe community in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama.
Courtroom 3H

2020

Courtroom 3H

2020
Through different legal cases and the complexity of the State of Florida’s legal processes involving minors, the film shows how delicate legal resolutions can be for children, who are ultimately the ones most affected by these judicial decisions.
Hand Game

2000

Hand Game

2000
This documentary explores the mythic and historic roots of the most widely played Native gambling game in North America.
Mah-Jongg: The Tiles that Bind

1998

Mah-Jongg: The Tiles that Bind

1998
A light-hearted yet deeply moving portrait of the Asian- and Jewish-American women who play this centuries-old Chinese game, shedding light on the common and uncommon experiences of the players that simultaneously define and transcend cultural boundaries. Along the way, it proves again and again to be a bridge connecting seemingly unlike individuals, spanning generations, continents and cultures, and transcending classification as merely a game.
In the Image

2014

In the Image

2014
In the Image explores the daily lives of Palestinian women living in the occupied West Bank. The film portrays their stories in a novel and eye-opening manner; through video footage captured by the women themselves.
Hagia Sophia

2014

Hagia Sophia

2014
Considered the finest example of Byzantine architecture in the world, Hagia Sophia was constructed on a scale unprecedented in human history. Built in the amazingly short time of five years, it bears witness to an amazing scientific knowledge and a rich cultural heritage from the past.
The New Normal

2019

The New Normal

2019
The New Normal intimately follows five student survivors of the Stoneman Douglas high school Shooting, Gabby, Nicole, Daniel, Brandon, and Kelsey, as they cope with finishing the school year and the year beyond. It is a testament to the resilience of youth and the trauma inflicted on students.
Gary Numan: Reinvention

2011

Gary Numan: Reinvention

2011
First shown on TV in 2011, this film is the fascinating story of British Rock Star Gary Numan. From his early meteoric success through mid career crisis and near catastrophe to his renaissance and subsequent evolution into industrial overload. Includes contributions from Trent Reznor, Phil Oakey, Little Boots, Andy McCluskey, Noel Fielding & Martin Mills. This is the story of Reinvention. This DVD edition includes over 45 minutes of extra previously unseen footage. The 45 minutes extra are a mixture of new interviews with Gary and extended footage from sections on the original (longer versions of guest interviews for example), plus scenes that didn't appear on the original at all.
Race Against Prime Time

1984

Race Against Prime Time

1984
This classic case study in media bias examines how the three network affiliates covered urban unrest in Miami's predominantly African American Liberty Hill neighborhood, following the 1980 acquittal of police officers for the killing of a local resident; how it framed the uprising as "riots," chose the community's "spokespersons" and focused on the inconvenience to white commuters.
The Rising Sun

2011

The Rising Sun

2011
Elián

2020

Elián

2020
The documentary aims to portray the protagonist while exposing different areas in which he performs. The film not only accompanies him during the creation of murals, exhibits and curatorships in several countries, but also challenges the established social parameters since Elian, who was born with dissident body, has lived and lives outside both ideological and physical norms.
The Grand Illusion

2017

The Grand Illusion

2017
This is the true story of how the 1982 Miami Hurricanes baseball team was able to steal a victory from the top ranked Wichita State Shockers and win their first NCAA National Championship.
Arc of Justice

2016

Arc of Justice

2016
ARC OF JUSTICE traces the remarkable journey of New Communities, Inc. and the struggle for racial justice and economic empowerment among African Americans in southwest Georgia.
Marcos Doesn't Live Here Anymore

2019

Marcos Doesn't Live Here Anymore

2019
The latest film from acclaimed filmmaker David Sutherland (Kind Hearted Woman, Country Boys, The Farmer's Wife), Marcos Doesn't Live Here Anymore examines the US immigration system through the lives of two unforgettable protagonists whose lives reveal the human cost of deportation.
Returning Souls

2012

Returning Souls

2012
In the historically most famous ancestral house of the matrilineal Amis tribe in Taiwan, the carved pillars tell legends, such as the great flood, the glowing girl, the descending shaman sent by the Mother Sun, and the father-killing headhunting event. After a strong typhoon toppled the house 40 years ago, the pillars were moved to the Institute of Ethnology Museum. Recently young villagers, with assistance from female shamans, pushed the descendants and village representatives to communicate with ancestors in the pillars. They eventually brought the ancestral souls rather than the pillars back and began reconstructing the house.
Every Mother's Son

2004

Every Mother's Son

2004
Anthony Baez died during a football game when an officer put him in an illegal chokehold. Amadou Diallo was unarmed when he was shot at 41 times by police in his doorway. Gary (Gidone) Busch was pepper-sprayed and shot to death while holding a small hammer, though witnesses said he posed no threat. Their stories are tragic and the courage shown by the mothers heroic. As one witness says, "As long a there's a mother, we'll continue to fight."
Magical Reef: The Islands of the Four Kings

2020

Magical Reef: The Islands of the Four Kings

2020
Deep beneath the sun-kissed waves of Indonesia’s islands lies a secret underwater paradise of coral reefs. Full of strange shapes, vibrant colors, and elegant beauty, these reefs contain some of the most exotic and incredible species of fish and sea life in the world. Travel to this watery wonderland and witness spectacles of elegance and unique beauty which make Raja Ampat so incomparable.
Erdogan - Vom Demokraten zum Despoten

2017

Erdogan - Vom Demokraten zum Despoten

2017
Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority

2008

Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority

2008
In 1965, Patsy Takemoto Mink became the first woman of color in the United States Congress. Seven years later, she ran for the US presidency and was the driving force behind Title IX, the landmark legislation that transformed women’s opportunities in higher education and athletics.