Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 236

Deej

2017

Deej

2017
Robert Rooy's documentary follows DJ Savarese ("Deej"), a nonspeaking autistic writer and poet. The film explores his difficult early life, his quest for an education, and his advocacy for other nonspeaking autistics.
Back to the Fatherland

2018

Back to the Fatherland

2018
A documentary that looks at the problems for young modern Israelis returning to the Germanic countries of central Europe, and in particular how this impacts upon older generations of their families, who had to leave countries like Austria and Germany.
Jeepney

2013

Jeepney

2013
JEEPNEY visualizes the richly diverse cultural and social climate of the Philippines through its most popular form of mass transportation: vividly decorated ex-WWII military jeeps. The film follows jeepney artists, drivers, and passengers, whose stories take place amidst nationwide protest against oil price hikes that pressure drivers to work overseas to earn a living, far from their homes for years at a time. Lavishly shot and cut to the rhythm of the streets, JEEPNEY provides an enticing vehicle through which the rippling effects of globalization can be felt.
On a Knife Edge

2017

On a Knife Edge

2017
On a Knife Edge is a father-son story about Guy and George Dull Knife that unfolds over the course of George’s coming-of-age journey. Under his father’s guidance, George becomes an activist and organizer, and begins identifying with the role of traditional Lakota warrior, which he views as his family legacy. He commits himself to the fight for social justice, but struggles with adapting the old ways and his father’s expectations to the modern-day realities of growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Told largely through George’s eyes, the film offers a privileged glimpse into the youngest generation of the American Indian Movement, as well as George’s own evolving notions of Native identity, manhood, and duty. His story is interwoven with animated sequences that depict five generations of family history, narrated by his father and based on paintings he has created to explore the continuum of their fight through the generations.
Auf Ediths Spuren

2016

Auf Ediths Spuren

2016
A documentary about the Austro-British photographer Edith Tudor-Hart, Tracking Edith follows filmmaker Peter Stephan Jungk’s journey to understand the motivations of his great aunt who, while living a double life as a spy for the KGB, recruited Kim Philby and helped create the Cambridge Five, the Soviet Union’s most successful spy ring in the United Kingdom, which infiltrated the very top of British intelligence (and inspired John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). As Jungk learns more about his aunt and her work, his film demands the question: why is she not recognized alongside Kim Philby and the Cambridge Five as one of the spies that changed the world?
Badger Creek

2016

Badger Creek

2016
Badger Creek is a portrait of Native resilience as seen through a year in the life of three generations of a Blackfeet family living on the rez in Montana. The Mombergs are a loving, sober family who run a successful ranch, live a traditional worldview and are re-learning their language.
Believe: The True Story of Bearded Santas

2017

Believe: The True Story of Bearded Santas

2017
A cinematic sleigh ride deep into the strange but true world of the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas, the most exclusive and elite collection of Santas in the world. Anyone can don a red suit and fake beard to play Santa for a day. These men are Santa - all year, every day, and especially on Christmas. Young or old, naughty or nice, this documentary will make you believe all over again!
Return to Cuba

2016

Return to Cuba

2016
After 18 years living in Italy, the Cuban Barbara Ramos returns to live in her homeland. In the town of Santa Clara, she discovers through the projects of family and friends what has changed in Cuba but also what has not and will likely never change. Shot over a period of three years - the time it took Barbara to build her dream house - RETURN TO CUBA chronicles her life in the wake of Raul Castro's liberal reforms and reconciliation with the United States of America. A light-hearted yet energetic movie positively demonstrating that finding happiness is possible in today's Cuba!
Olancho

2017

Olancho

2017
Music brings joy, but what if your life is at risk when you perform? In Olancho, the most anarchic province of Honduras, the most murderous country in the world, criminal cartels love to vie for the best musicians. Then they have to sing the praises of the most powerful drug baron until a rival calls for them.
Out of My Head

2017

Out of My Head

2017
Explores the history and mystery of Migraine, and its remarkable place in the human condition. Migraine is a devastating but fascinating neurological condition with a compelling story to tell. Alice in Wonderland, Thomas Jefferson, Sigmund Freud, and Joan Didion all figure into its colorful history.
Primas

2017

Primas

2017
Two cousins come of age together, overcoming the heinous acts which interrupted their childhoods.
Spectrum: A Story of the Mind

2015

Spectrum: A Story of the Mind

2015
A documentary about autism and sensory perception that features live-action and animated segments.
Carlos Jáuregui: The Unforgettable Fag

2016

Carlos Jáuregui: The Unforgettable Fag

2016
Carlos Jáuregui, gay rights activist, friend, lover, wrestler, icon, a mass inspiring. His conviction and pride changed the life of the Argentine LGBT Collective and the history of a country and its legislation.
Luther

2017

Luther

2017
Discover the story behind the man who sparked the Protestant Reformation. Told through a seamless combination of live-action storytelling and artistic animation, Martin Luther's daring life is presented in extensive detail while still making the film relevant, provocative, and accessible.
Conspiracy: An Investigation of Sydney’s 1978 Hotel Bombing

1994

Conspiracy: An Investigation of Sydney’s 1978 Hotel Bombing

1994
Australia was rocked on February 13, 1978, when a bomb placed in a garbage bin outside the Hilton Hotel exploded in a garbage truck killing three people. Many years later, Australia's most significant political crime remains unsolved.
Long Way From Home (How Did We Get Here?)

2017

Long Way From Home (How Did We Get Here?)

2017
All About Darfur

2005

All About Darfur

2005
Civil strife in Sudan is explored in personal detail in this film from British-Sudanese filmmaker Taghreed Elsanhouri. Eschewing the nightmarish footage so prevalent on nightly newscasts to instead focus on the personal stories of those who have witnessed firsthand the horrors of genocide, Elsanhouri turns her lens on the troubled citizens of Sudan in a bid to understand their plight on a more humane level. By opening the lines of communication with her fellow Sudanese and offering a platform to voice their suggestions for building a brighter future, Elsanhouri exposes truths rarely discussed by the mainstream media.
One Mind: A Zen Pilgrimage

2019

One Mind: A Zen Pilgrimage

2019
ONE MIND is an immersive cinematic meditation on Zen monastic life in China, where a communion of nature, meditation, and labor reveals a carefully crafted way of life that reflects the very wisdom it seeks to cultivate.
A Time There Was: Stories from the Last Days of Kenya Colony

2009

A Time There Was: Stories from the Last Days of Kenya Colony

2009
A look at the Mau Mau Rebellion of the 1950s as experienced by filmmaker Donald McWilliams.
An Outrage

2017

An Outrage

2017
AN OUTRAGE is a documentary film about lynching in the American South. Filmed on-location at lynching sites in six states and bolstered by the memories and perspectives of descendants, community activists, and scholars, this unusual historical documentary seeks to educate even as it serves as a hub for action to remember and reflect upon a long-hidden past.