Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 245

The Living Sea

2021

The Living Sea

2021
Twelve-year-old scuba diver Ema sets out on a quest to find out why corals around the globe are dying, but are somehow more resilient in Hong Kong.
Fannie Lou Hamer’s America

2022

Fannie Lou Hamer’s America

2022
The film explores and celebrates the lesser-known life of a Mississippi sharecropper-turned-human-rights-activist and one of the Civil Rights Movement’s greatest leaders. Throughout the 1960s, Fannie Lou Hamer established a legacy of civil rights and human rights activism that remains relevant to this day – especially among Black youth.
Magic in the Mountains

2021

Magic in the Mountains

2021
Magic in the Mountains tells the remarkable underdog story of how Squaw Valley, a little-known ski area in California, won the bid for the 1960 Winter Olympics and, with the help of Walt Disney, changed forever the ways in which the Games were presented. The documentary features never-before-seen archival footage from the 1960 Olympic Games and revealing interviews with participating athletes and attendees. The 1960 edition of the Olympics introduced a substantial array of “firsts,” including such innovations as live broadcast, instant replay, sponsorships, and an official Olympic Village for the athletes. Perhaps most importantly, thanks to Disney’s involvement in producing the Games, Squaw Valley featured an unprecedented — but soon to be standard — level of pageantry for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Breaking Trail

2021

Breaking Trail

2021
Emily Ford, 28, Black, LGBTQ, sets out with Diggins a borrowed female Alaskan Husky sled dog to become the first woman and person of color to thru-hike the 1,200-mile Ice Age Trail in winter. As the 69-day journey through subzero temperatures tests her physical and mental endurance, Emily and her canine protector develop an unbreakable bond as they embrace the unexpected kindness of strangers and discover they've become figureheads in the movement to make the outdoors more accessible for everyone. What begins as an extraordinary physical journey also becomes a spiritual adventure.
Paula Rego: Telling Tales

2009

Paula Rego: Telling Tales

2009
Born in Portugal, Paula Rego is one of Britain's leading artists. This intimate film follows the artist from her retrospective in Madrid to the privacy of her studio in London while she talks with humor and candor about her compulsion to produce works that, though accessible, deal with the most private themes.
Your Friend, Memphis

2022

Your Friend, Memphis

2022
Memphis, a young man with cerebral palsy, is caught between the world’s expectations and his own ambitions. His story is an odyssey of dogged determination: a search for work, love, and freedom – no matter what.
Nakagin Capsule Tower: Japanese Metabolist Landmark on the Edge of Destruction

2010

Nakagin Capsule Tower: Japanese Metabolist Landmark on the Edge of Destruction

2010
The Nakagin Capsule Tower, designed by Kisho Kurokawa and completed in 1972, is an exemplary work of post-war Japanese architectural movement Metabolism. Today, however, this historic building is in danger of demolition. Why do we need to preserve a building? What are the difficulties of preservation? Is demolition a tragedy or a natural phenomenon for modern architecture? Tracing the history of postwar Japanese architecture and reviewing the characteristics of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, this documentary examines the meaning of preservation and demolition from various points of view. The documentary includes interviews with residents of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, an architectural historian, a former Kurokawa office architect who was in charge of the Nakagin Capsule Tower project, Kurokawa’s son, and leading architects Arata Isozaki and Toyo Ito.
Outta the Muck

2022

Outta the Muck

2022
Family, football and history come to life in an intimate portrait of the Dean family, longtime residents of the historic town of Pahokee, Florida. We take a journey back home, with filmmaker Ira McKinley, to the land of sugarcane, as he reconnects with his niece Bridget and nephew Alvin and explores their shared family history that spans seven generations. Told through stories that transcend space and time, Outta The Muck presents a community, and a family, that resists despair with love, remaining fiercely self-determined, while forging its own unique narrative of Black achievement.
Directors on Directing

2009

Directors on Directing

2009
A look at the development of film making and its contribution to the social and political times form the perspective of Black film makers.
Eager for Your Kisses: Love and Sex at 95

2006

Eager for Your Kisses: Love and Sex at 95

2006
After overcoming the loss of his wife of fifty years, a 95-year-old singer-songwriter places an ad in the personals and goes ballroom dancing. He soon finds himself singing and dancing his way into the hearts (and bedrooms) of the women in his life.
South Africa: Cradle of Killers

2017

South Africa: Cradle of Killers

2017
From strange chance encounters to aggressive territorial disputes, only South Africa's fittest - or luckiest - will survive to live another day.
Blues on Beale

2020

Blues on Beale

2020
Experience 5 days of rocking, crowd pumping Blues competition packed with passion, music, and suspense. Discover the people who keep The Blues alive and the powerful international impact of America’s musical gift to the world.
Our Father,

2021

Our Father,

2021
On April 10th, 2020, Father Fred Mazzarella died from Cancer. He was a man with a powerful heart. He touched the hearts of many, including my own. This documentary will explore a glimpse into his life and the people he inspired.
Battle Over Bears Ears

2018

Battle Over Bears Ears

2018
At its heart, it’s a battle for homeland and sovereignty. Bears Ears, a remote section of land lined with red cliffs and filled with juniper sage, is at the center of a fight over who has a say in how Western landscapes are protected and managed.
Miracle on 19th Street

2021

Miracle on 19th Street

2021
Nothing captures the magic of Christmas like a visit to Santa Claus. This beloved NYC store Santa, after nearly 30 years, is heading to the North Pole, leaving behind an indelible mark on generations of children and families. To them, he is the real deal.
Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?

2010

Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?

2010
Bees have existed in the world for 150 million years. They are essential helpers for the growth of plants and crops that serve as food for other animals. During their development, people realized the importance of bees and have been involved in beekeeping since ancient times. Recently, however, bees have begun to die excessively for no apparent reason. The film addresses the dramatically deteriorating health of bee colonies and the unforeseeable consequences that bee mortality can have for our very existence. It seeks answers to the questions of what bees actually want to tell us and what significance bees have in the broader context of sustainability of life on Earth. To prevent such a catastrophe, our approach to beekeeping must be fundamentally changed. In this regard, the film offers many stimuli and inspiring examples from around the world.
Becoming a Queen

2022

Becoming a Queen

2022
The rise and legacy of Canada’s most decorated Caribbean Carnival Queen, Joella Crichton, as she aims to win a historic tenth title in her last ever competition. This immersive arts and cultural documentary explores expressions of cultural identity, Caribbean artistry and a community’s struggle against a lack of understanding of Carnival in the larger society.
Alis

2023

Alis

2023
Ten young women who used to live on the streets of Bogotá close their eyes and conjure Alis. This documentation of delicate conversations depicts the imaginary friend evolving into a surface for the projection of personal experiences and a proxy for nascent dreams.
The New York School

1972

The New York School

1972
The band of American artists known as the New York School toyed with tradition and rebelled against the Renaissance.Feeling as though free association yielded their best results, the painters, poets and performers of the New York School took a surrealist approach that was concerned less with aesthetic and more with expression. Those associated with the School were unified by their desire to create from within. They created a monumental, dramatic art that remains a singular expression of the crucial modern quest for individuality and personal freedom." Never knowing exactly how their pieces would turn out, the artists of the New York School embraced their own complex humanity and worked from a place of bold, sporadic realness.
Alien Colony Earth: Human Harvest

2021

Alien Colony Earth: Human Harvest

2021
Now we know why they are here – they want Earth’s resources, and our resources, even those in our bodies, and they are colonizing the sea and certain strategic energy sources, such as volcanos where fleets have appeared as if from underground to consume or capture energy. What we still don’t know is how our political leaders feel about these colonies or if they’ve struck a secret deal. In either case, life on Earth as we know it is about to change. Come with us as we dig deeper into the evidence and find out the truths too ominous for governments to acknowledge publicly.