Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 248

The Motherhood Archives

2013

The Motherhood Archives

2013
Archival montage, science fiction, and an homage to '70s feminist filmmaking are woven together to form The Motherhood Archives, a lyrical essay film excavating hidden histories of childbirth in the twentieth century.
Night Labor

2013

Night Labor

2013
Night Labor follows Sherman Frank Merchant, a forty-six year old 6'6" Downeaster during his transition from an independent and rugged clam digger by day to manning a factory at night. With his white smock, arsenal of knives, and signature black beret, Sherman performs the tasks of preparing and arranging tools for the day laborers who arrive to their 6am shift.
Afghanistan Unveiled

2004

Afghanistan Unveiled

2004
Filmed by the first-ever team of women video journalists trained in Afghanistan, this uncompromising film reveals the effects of the Taliban's repressive rule and U.S.-sponsored bombing campaign on Afghan women.
White Like Me

2013

White Like Me

2013
In White Like Me, anti-racist educator Tim Wise explores race and racism in the US through the lens of whiteness and white privilege.
Haiti Untold

2012

Haiti Untold

2012
Documentary from Isabelle DePelteau and Dan Shannon
The Medicine Game

2014

The Medicine Game

2014
Two brothers from the Onondaga Nation pursue their dreams of playing lacrosse for national powerhouse Syracuse University. The obstacles in their way are frequent and daunting, but their love for the game, each other, and their family’s unyielding determination, propels these youth towards their dream.
Never A Neverland

2014

Never A Neverland

2014
Imagine a kingdom where an entire populace is being devastated by an invisible plague, leaving only children to reign. Here, hundreds of thousands of children are raising children and are left to fend for themselves in a cruel and frightening world. This is not a fairy tale. This kingdom is Swaziland, Africa's last remaining absolute monarchy. It has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world, leaving 1/3 of its population orphaned or vulnerable. Without radical intervention to this preventable disease, there will be NO ADULTS in Swaziland by the year 2030. NEVER A NEVERLAND documents the reality of a kingdom moving towards extinction and the hope of a people working to ensure that Swaziland never becomes a 'Neverland'.
The Hungry Tide

2012

The Hungry Tide

2012
Only metres above sea level, the nation of Kiribati is on the front line of climate change. Maria Tiimon, a Kiribati woman living in Sydney, is passionate about her homeland and, despite her shyness, is determined to raise the world's awareness of its predicament.
Big Dream

2014

Big Dream

2014
Big Dream follows the intimate stories of seven young women who are breaking barriers and overcoming personal challenges to follow their passion in science, math, computing & engineering.
BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez

2015

BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez

2015
This film offers unprecedented access to the life, work and mesmerizing performances of renowned poet and activist Sonia Sanchez who describes herself as "a woman with razor blades between my teeth." A leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and inspiration to today's hip hop spoken word artists, Sanchez for over 60 years has helped to redefine American culture and politics as an activist in the Black, women's and peace movements.
Trouble in Paradise

2004

Trouble in Paradise

2004
A detailed overview of contemporary life in the tiny South Pacific country of Tuvalu, this film documents the earth's first sovereign nation faced with total destruction due to the effects of global warming. With a population of about 11,000 living on a total landmass of only 20 square miles – less than Manhattan – spread over nine low-lying atolls 600 miles to the north of Fiji, Tuvalu has been inhabited for over four millenia. The warm-spirited and highly community-oriented people of this ex-British colony struggle to survive economically while confronting the likelihood of having to evacuate their homeland en masse within the next 50 years.
The Land

2015

The Land

2015
A new documentary film about the nature of play, risk and hazard, set in a European adventure playground. Here, children climb trees, light fires and use hammers and nails in a play-space rooted in the belief that kids are empowered when they learn to manage risks on their own.
Tracing Roots

2014

Tracing Roots

2014
A new documentary that follows master Haida weaver Delores Churchill on a journey to replicate a spruce root hat discovered with the Long Ago Person Found. The 300-year-old traveler was discovered in British Columbia and DNA testing discovered living descendants in Canada and Alaska. Her search crosses cultures and borders, and involves artists, scholars and scientists. The project raises questions about understanding and interpreting ownership, knowledge and connection.
Hello Photo

1995

Hello Photo

1995
Documentarist Nina Davenport turns the conventions of the travelogue inside out. She takes us to India and abandons us there, leaving us to believe what we see through her eyes. Her movie replicates the experience of being a traveller and thus a voyeur, of taking in sights without necessarily understanding their meaning. Davenport seems less interested in cracking the enigma of India than in savoring it...Her hunger makes her unashamed, like the eager children who find the eye of her camera the next best thing to sweets.
Capturing Grace

2015

Capturing Grace

2015
It seems like two disparate realms. One occupied by some of the most acclaimed dancers in the world, people who move for a living. The other occupied by people who often struggle to move, people who have Parkinson's disease. This is the story of what happens when those worlds intersect. We followed individuals with Parkinson's as they prepared to stage a first ever dance performance, under the tutelage of two long time dancers at the Mark Morris Dance Group. It's a story about determination, adversity, contending with doubt, the transformative power of art and the strength of the human spirit. This is the story of a remarkable community of dancers who have come together to rediscover the meaning of grace.
Ika Hands

1988

Ika Hands

1988
In the highlands of Northern Columbia the Ika live a strenuous and isolated life, economically dependent on small gardens and a handful of domestic animals. They are thought to be descendants of the Maya who fled from the turmoil of Central American High Civilization’s warring states to the remote valleys of Colombia’s Sierra Nevadas. The Ika still inhabit a spectacular but demanding terrain extending between five and fifteen thousand feet, an almost vertical geography through which they move with prodigious ease.
Tashi's Turbine

2015

Tashi's Turbine

2015
Tashi Bista dreams to install a makeshift wind turbine in Namdok, a remote village nestled high amongst the Himalayas of Nepal. Namdok, battered by wind and cold has been in darkness for centuries. Wearing Ray Bans to shield his eyes from the dust and just a leather jacket to insulate him from the bitter cold he surveys the village. He grew up in this region without electrical power. He is determined to bring lights to Namdok in an effort to prove himself to the skeptical village community. Tashi's Turbine is a character driven film that shows the impact of one man's dream for light, in a village waiting for development.
Our Spirits Don't Speak English

2008

Our Spirits Don't Speak English

2008
Told from the Native American perspective, this documentary will uncover the dark history of the U.S. government and will give a voice to the countless Indian children forced through the system.
Streit's: Matzo and the American Dream

2015

Streit's: Matzo and the American Dream

2015
On New York's rapidly gentrifying Lower East Side sits the Streit's Matzo factory. When its doors opened in 1925, it sat at the heart of the nation's largest Jewish immigrant community.
The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians Through Film

2007

The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians Through Film

2007
The first comprehensive treatment of the subject of librarians. A vivid blend of factual documentary, feature film and storytelling, it reveals the history and realities of librarianship in the entertaining and appealing context of American movies. Interviews with actual librarians, intercut with film clips of cinematic librarians, examine such issues as literature, books, and reading, censorship, library funding, citizenship and democracy. For the first time, we see and understand the real lives and real work of American librarians who for decades have been a cultural for hiding in plain sight.