Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 238

A Sloth Named Velcro

2014

A Sloth Named Velcro

2014
In 2000 in the jungles of Panama, a young journalist, named Ana, has a chance encounter with a tiny orphaned sloth, which she names Velcro. For nearly two years, the pair is inseparable until finally Ana travels up a remote river to reintroduce Velcro back to the wild. This is the story Ana’s return to Central and South America to see how much has changed since Velcro came into her life.
Jazz a la Cuba

1933

Jazz a la Cuba

1933
One of the short little films featuring Don Aspiazu of his own orchestra, a good example of the style of Cubano jazz in the 1920's and 1930's, combined with some sporadic, picturesque images of contemporary Cuba.
All the Wild Horses

2017

All the Wild Horses

2017
All The Wild Horses documents the Mongol Derby horse race, the longest and toughest horse race in the world, and easily the most epic and dangerous, as it leads through 650 miles of Mongolian steppe, desert and mountain ranges.
Caviar Dreams

2017

Caviar Dreams

2017
Over the centuries caviar (i.e. - sturgeon eggs) was strictly reserved for Russian Czars and royalty throughout the world. Nowadays it’s become synonymous with wealth, fame, and indulgence. But why is that? What's so special about caviar? "Caviar Dreams" delves into the complex world of caviar, weaving a tapestry of caviar tales that leaves you knowing more than you ever thought possible about this unique delicacy. Beyond the assumed glamour and luxury associated with caviar, we uncover a story about over-fishing, poaching, near extinction, and a quest for sustainability.
Too Black to Be French?

2015

Too Black to Be French?

2015
Muddy Waters: Life and Death on the Great Barrier Reef

2003

Muddy Waters: Life and Death on the Great Barrier Reef

2003
By 2010, forty per cent of the world's coral reefs may be dead. By 2030, half of the Great Barrier Reef may be gone. Muddy Waters journeys to the sugarcane plantations of north Queensland and into the underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef in an effort to discover what is putting one of the world's greatest natural treasures under threat.
In My Mother's House

2017

In My Mother's House

2017
One day in 2005, Lina Fruzzetti receives a startling email that reads, "If this is your father, we are cousins." There follows a decade-long quest to learn more about her Italian father who died young in Italian ruled Eritrea and her Eritrean mother who does not dwell on the past. Above all, Fruzzetti strives to understand her far-flung African, European, and American family against the backdrop of colonial rule, worlds at war, migration, grief, diasporas, and the global world in which we all live.
Peter Allen: The Boy From Oz

1995

Peter Allen: The Boy From Oz

1995
The story of Peter Allen, Australia's beloved variety entertainer and songwriter. As one of the first openly gay entertainers, Allen won a unique stardom with a mainstream public which loved him for his honesty.
The Phans of Jersey City

1980

The Phans of Jersey City

1980
A South Vietnamese refugee family learns to live in the USA
Hi, Neighbor

2011

Hi, Neighbor

2011
This experimental short film is about a little girl who lost her home to urban renewal, and asks her wealthy neighbor, "why?" The film is a prequel to Andrade-Watkins' documentary trilogy about the Cape Verdean community in Fox Point. "Hi, Neighbor" had its world premiere at the 2011 Cape Verdean International Film Festival and was awarded Jury Selection (first prize), in the 2012 Black Maria Film Festival.
The Souls of Black Girls

2008

The Souls of Black Girls

2008
A provocative news documentary that questions whether or not women of color are suffering from a self-image disorder
The Blooms of Banjeli

1986

The Blooms of Banjeli

1986
The Blooms of Banjeli documents research in Banjeli, Togo on iron-smelting technology, its rituals, and the sexual prohibitions surrounding it. Including rare historical footage from the same village in 1914, it provides a unique technological record of the traditional method of preparing a furnace to smelt iron. This documentary offers an interesting approach to our understanding of the relationship between conceptions of gender and technology in traditional African society. The people of Banjeli liken the furnace to a woman's body, which is 'impregnated' by the smelter. The process of smelting is compared to that of giving birth, the furnace being the womb and the iron bloom, the newborn.
Pram Factory

1994

Pram Factory

1994
In the early 1970s, a theatre collective - the Australian Performing Group - based itself in a building called the Pram Factory, now synonymous with the people and events that laid the groundwork for a renaissance in Australian culture. The Pram was a ‘scene’, a 24-hour happening, a radical alternative to the mainstream. Those who lived and worked at the Pram expected the world to come to them - and for a while it did. (The building was eventually demolished to make way for a supermarket.)
The Fifth Facade: The Making of the Sydney Opera House

1973

The Fifth Facade: The Making of the Sydney Opera House

1973
On 20 October 1973, the Sydney Opera House was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. From conception to completion, it had taken more than 15 years and over $100 million dollars. In the years since its completion, the Sydney Opera House has become one of the most identifiable of Australia’s icons - ranking with the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Uluru, the koala and kangaroo - and is considered by many to be among the world's great architectural masterpieces.
The Transformation

1996

The Transformation

1996
Ricardo was once Sara, a homeless HIV positive transvestite, living in the underbelly of Manhattan. Today he is a churchgoing, married man, "saved" by a Dallas ministry. He has renounced his homosexuality, but is his conversion complete? Susana Aiken and Carlos Aparicio offer an intimate look at Ricardo's transformation.
Small Things Big Things

2014

Small Things Big Things

2014
If this were a letter, the return address would be: From the students and teachers of Sita School, Silvepura, Bangalore 560090, India. If this were a diary, it would contain entries between 5th June 2012 an 28th April 2013. I return to my first school and join with the present students and teachers in their everyday adventures of learning. Through the stories that unfold we enter imaginary worlds and intimate relationships. 'Small Things, Big Things' is a celebration of when Education becomes Art.
The Trouble with Merle

2002

The Trouble with Merle

2002
The director explores the birth origins of actress Merle Oberon, traveling to Tasmania and India in search of the truth, but her quest ultimately results in probably more questions than it answers.
Who Killed Malcolm Smith?

1992

Who Killed Malcolm Smith?

1992
This is the true story of Malcolm Charles Smith who, like many Aboriginal people, was taken from his family as a child and died a shocking and early death after a life of institutionalisation and deprivation. In this documentary Richard Frankland, who helped investigate his death for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, revisits Smith's friends and family who tell the story of Malcolm's life and death.
Walya Ngamardiki: The Land My Mother

1978

Walya Ngamardiki: The Land My Mother

1978
Exploring the relationship between Aboriginal people and their land (including the Dreaming, sacred places), this film was inspired by Silas Roberts’ submission to the 1976 Australian Government inquiry on uranium mining - the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. Silas, whose tribal name is Ngourladi, is an elder of the Allawa clan and was the first chairman of the Northern Land Council, established to assist Aboriginal people make land rights claims based on traditional ownership. The film, which moves from Arnhem Land in the north to Yuendumu in the centre, examines the importance of maintaining Aboriginal culture and laws and explains the reasons why they object to the mining being carried out.
Monir

2017

Monir

2017
This documentary looks at the life and work of Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, who first garnered attention in the 1970s when she pioneered contemporary forms of geometric mirror works. Monir created an artistic language that was informed by traditional Iranian craft and architecture; formative years spent in New York in the 1940s and 50s and ongoing conversations with some of the 20th century's most experimental artists were also part of Monir's artistic universe. The film takes an intimate look at the artist's life and her practice, and explores how she has become one of the most innovative and influential artists working in the Middle East today. From her method of constructing mirror mosaics, to uncovering her past following the political changes in her own country and her subsequent migration to New York, and an artistic renewal sparked by her return to Tehran after an absence of 25 years, it offers an inspiring chronicle of Monir at the peak of her career.