Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 226

Wounded Land

2022

Wounded Land

2022
During the Fall of 2021, Ukraine was slowly emerging from a global pandemic. Around this time, a film crew began shooting a documentary focused on the country’s wine-making regions. Then, in 2022, things took a sharp turn when Russia escalated a war against Ukraine. This film tells the stories of hard-working people who, against all odds, remain engaged in continuing in business.
Seabiscuit

2003

Seabiscuit

2003
He was boxy, with stumpy legs that wouldn't completely straighten a short straggly tail and an ungainly gait; though he didn't look the part, Seabiscuit was one of the most remarkable thoroughbred racehorses in history. In the 1930s, when Americans longed to escape the grim realities of Depression-era life, four men turned Seabiscuit into a national hero. They were his fabulously wealthy owner Charles Howard, his famously silent and stubborn trainer Tom Smith and the two hard-bitten, gifted jockeys who rode him to glory. By following the paths that brought these four together and in telling the story of Seabiscuit's unlikely career, this film illuminates the precarious economic conditions that defined America in the 1930s and explores the fascinating behind-the-scenes world of thoroughbred racing. Scott Glenn narrates.
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes

2023

Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes

2023
The Drum Waltzes explores the life and music of legendary drummer, activist Max Roach, his creative peaks, personal struggles and re-inventions from the Jim Crow to Civil Rights eras, from heady days of post-war jazz to hip hop and beyond.
Riders on the Storm

2023

Riders on the Storm

2023
The film captures a pivotal moment in Afghan history and offers a rare and visceral look at a ruthless sports culture where champions become marked men.
The Nature of Cities

2014

The Nature of Cities

2014
The Nature of Cities explores both the nature in our own backyards - San Diego and Austin - and the possibilities in projects of cities of the future in Malmo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Freiburg, Amsterdam and Paris.
Kangaroo Island

2021

Kangaroo Island

2021
Kangaroo Island is a tiny Australian island with pristine beaches, mountains, bushland, and desert, home to a variety of wildlife, extraordinary landscapes, and unique natural features, all shown in extraordinary photography and narration.
Esther and the Law

2023

Esther and the Law

2023
What does it take to go against a multinational? Esther Kiobel’s husband Barinem was one of the men executed in 1995 after revolting against Shell’s pollution of Ogoniland (Nigeria). Almost 25 years later, Esther takes Shell to court in the Netherlands.
Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle

1982

Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle

1982
The story of the organizing of the first black trade union - The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - provides an account of African American working life between the Civil War and World War II. Miles of Smiles chronicles the organizing of the first black trade union - the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. This inspiring story of the Pullman porters provides one of the few accounts of African American working life between the Civil War and World War II. Describes the harsh discrimination which lay behind the porters' smiling service. Narrator Rosina Tucker, a 100 year old union organizer and porter's widow, describes how after a 12 year struggle led by A. Philip Randolph, the porters won the first contract ever negotiated with black workers. Miles of Smiles both recovers an important chapter in the emergence of black America and reveals a key source of the Civil Rights movement.
Michael Flynn's Holy War

2022

Michael Flynn's Holy War

2022
How did Michael Flynn go from being an elite soldier overseas to waging a "spiritual war" in America?
Early Directors on Directing

2009

Early Directors on Directing

2009
There were more women directors before 1920 than at any other time in history. The first director to put a narrative story on celluloid was, Alice Guy Blaché in 1896. Few people know that Lillian Gish became a director in her own right in 1920. Ida Lupino directed over a hundred episodes of "Have Gun, Will Travel," "Thriller," "Gunsmoke," and many independent features.
Actresses Turned Producer/Directors

2014

Actresses Turned Producer/Directors

2014
From Mary Pickford to Barbra Streisand the successful actress turned producer/director is one of Hollywood's longest standing traditions.
Screenwriters on Screenwriting

2008

Screenwriters on Screenwriting

2008
This documentary premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Explore the challenging world of the screenwriter with renowned industry writers.
Willie Velasquez: Your Vote is Your Choice

2016

Willie Velasquez: Your Vote is Your Choice

2016
Political empowerment for Latinos in the United States has always been difficult. A Mexican-American butcher's son from Texas, Willie Velasquez questioned the lack of Latino representation in his city's government, propelling him into a lifelong battle to gain political equality for Latinos. This documentary examines obstacles Latinos had to overcome to obtain representation, and addresses issues facing Latinos today.
The Movement and the "Madman"

2023

The Movement and the "Madman"

2023
The MOVEMENT and the "MADMAN" shows how two antiwar protests in the fall of 1969 — the largest the country had ever seen — caused President Nixon to cancel what he called his “madman” plans for a massive escalation of the U.S. war in Vietnam, including his threats to use nuclear weapons. At the time, protestors had no idea what they had prevented and how many lives they had saved. Told as a political thriller, the film is a David-and-Goliath tale that will engage viewers in a you-are-there experience with insider accounts from movement leaders and Nixon officials, commentary by historians, and illustrated with dynamic archival footage.
Finding Our Way Together

1989

Finding Our Way Together

1989
Shows how people with AIDS and their caregivers can work together to meet the challenges of the AIDS epidemic.
A Sizwe Bansi Workshop

1981

A Sizwe Bansi Workshop

1981
The play, Sizwe Bansi is Dead, follows the main character, Sizwe, as he writes to his wife after an unsuccessful search for a new job and better life for his family. This film places the viewer in the discussions between the writers of the play: Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona as they attempt to explain and re-write the play.
The Passengers

2019

The Passengers

2019
Two young men represent their final abandoned community of Ethiopian Jews on a fateful trip to America as representatives in an advocacy campaign, with the ultimate goal to enter Israel as citizens.
Becoming Ourselves: How Immigrant Women Transformed Their World

2013

Becoming Ourselves: How Immigrant Women Transformed Their World

2013
A social justice organization based in Oakland-Asian Immigrant Women Advocates-focused on building the collective leadership of limited-English speaking immigrants, and empowered women and youth to become powerful agents of social change.
Life in Australia: Geraldton

1966

Life in Australia: Geraldton

1966
Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the Western Australian regional town of Geraldton in the mid 1960s.
The Legend of Mexman

2023

The Legend of Mexman

2023
Germán Alonso strives to create his first feature film, the fantastical sci-fi epic MEXMAN, in spite of struggles with his producers, an unrequited love, and tensions with a documentary crew.