Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 261

Past Life (January - June)

2019

Past Life (January - June)

2019
An abstract narrative, diary film and travelogue reminiscing on the quotidian. My day to day routines and deviations from it are captured as 6 months pass on the screen in a blur. Musique concrète accompanies the visuals taken from vocal samples of myself as a child and repurposed. Ruminations on nostalgia, film as material and 16mm as a particularly evocative medium with a long history of home movies and nonprofessional filmmaking. The film acts as a document, archiving time and place, as a way for me to recount where and what I did at this point in my life-a point where I still feel an existential drifting and listlessness. Something to look back at and only make sense of after the fact.
The Issue of Mr. O'Dell

2020

The Issue of Mr. O'Dell

2020
A documentary examining the life of civil rights organizer, Jack O'Dell, a close colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a force in his own right.
All I Need is a Ball

2020

All I Need is a Ball

2020
Paloma Pujol, footbag world champion, is the only female freestyler in Spain. She’s 31 years old and knows that soon her body will not respond to the demands of this sport. But she can’t retire without knowing that other girls are following her steps.
Terror and Hope: The Science of Resilience

2020

Terror and Hope: The Science of Resilience

2020
A close examination of the effect of toxic stress on children living in war zones.
America Lost

2019

America Lost

2019
America Lost is a feature documentary that explores life in three "forgotten American cities"-Youngstown, Ohio, Memphis, Tennessee, and Stockton, California. The film reveals the dramatic decline of the American interior through a combination of emotional personal stories and thoughtful conservative commentary. Filmmaker Christopher F. Rufo spent five years gathering these intimate portraits of Americans on the edge, including an ex-steelworker scrapping abandoned homes to survive, a recently incarcerated father trying to rebuild his life, and a single mother dreaming of escaping her blighted urban neighborhood. Ultimately, despite these grave challenges, the film offers a glimpse of hope for rebuilding America's families and communities from the bottom up.
Discovering Luis Buñuel

2013

Discovering Luis Buñuel

2013
Part of the Series: Discovering The Arts
Stanislavski: Lust for Life

2021

Stanislavski: Lust for Life

2021
A story about Konstantin Sergeievich Stanislavski, a twentieth-century theatre genius. Owing to his powerful extraordinary talent he managed to stay a true artist and a free spirit within the harsh Soviet system. In the film contemporary theater and film directors (Kirill Serebrennikov, Katie Mitchell, Lev Dodin and others) show how Stanislavski's method affects their everyday work. Each of the directors finds his or her own reflection in the mirror of his genius. In search of an answer to the question whether modern theatre really needs Stanislavski they discover that art lacks its most essential part – the human being.
The State of Eugenics

2017

The State of Eugenics

2017
This film shines a light on a sorry and oft-forgotten chapter in US history— the forced sterilization of 7,600 people thought to have “undesirable” genetic make-ups. The film follows researchers & journalists who delved into dusty archives to bring North Carolina’s extensive eugenics program into the sunlight. When the journalists succeed in connecting those files to living survivors and the vast network of perpetrators are revealed, a grassroots movement begins, tirelessly insisting the state confront its nefarious past. The documentary— four years in the making, brings into focus the human tragedy that unfolded behind closed doors for decades and gives voice to survivors who believed their poverty would leave their stories untold and their pain unrecognized.
The Man Card

2020

The Man Card

2020
For years, right-wing politicians and pundits have repeatedly criticized the left for playing “the race card” and “the woman card.” This new film turns the tables and takes dead aim at the right’s own longstanding – but rarely discussed – deployment of white-male identity politics in American presidential elections. Ranging from Richard Nixon’s tough-talking, law-and-order campaign in 1968 to Donald Trump’s hyper-macho revival of the same fear-based appeals in 2020, "The Man Card" shows how the right has mobilized dominant ideas about manhood and enacted a deliberate strategy to frame Democrats and liberals as soft, brand the Republican Party as the party of “real men,” and position conservatives as defenders of white male power and authority in the face of transformative demographic change and ongoing struggles for racial, gender, and sexual equality.
The Story of Lassie

1994

The Story of Lassie

1994
Documentary about canine superstar Lassie, combining film clips, still photographs, home movies, archival footage and on-camera interviews with many figures involved with the Lassie films or television series.
Waila! Making the People Happy

2009

Waila! Making the People Happy

2009
Waila, the contemporary dance music of southern Arizona's tribal communities, is often called "chicken scratch." Played at tribal functions, this fun, lively music offers relief from the hardships of reservation life. Waila! Making the People Happy explores the history of the music and looks at the Joaquin's, a family of musicians, and their journey from a remote tribal village to performing at Carnegie Hall.
Voting Matters

2018

Voting Matters

2018
This documentary follows civil-rights attorney Donita Judge as she helps several voters in Ohio cast ballots even though they initially were turned away, while highlighting how many hoops must be jumped through simply to vote and how cries of voter fraud are exaggerated.
ruth weiss, the beat goddess

2019

ruth weiss, the beat goddess

2019
In a life that has spanned 92 creative years, ruth weiss is one of the most influential writers of the Beat Generation. Born to a Jewish family during the rise of Nazism, as a 10-year-old refugee, she escaped to the United States. ruth became a Jazz troubadour exemplifying the zeitgeist of Chicago, New Orleans, and San Francisco. The film further highlights ruth weiss' electrifying and intimate poetry with breathtaking images of exquisite modern dance, art, animation, and music to embody her oeuvre. This film documents not only weiss' gift to humanity but archives significant historical moments in our world's social and literary movements. As a contemporary of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Jack Kerouac, she innovated poetry to jazz.
Battleground

2020

Battleground

2020
Battleground is an intimate look at our current political divide, as seen through the eyes of two grassroots activists in the pivot counties of the Lehigh Valley, PA. Tom Carroll is a Trump delegate, and a Tea Party Chairman. Greg Edwards is a Black pastor, and a progressive leader supported by Bernie Sanders. When their paths collide, we realize that they have much more in common than meets the eye.
Passing Through My Mother-in-law's Village

1997

Passing Through My Mother-in-law's Village

1997
The East-West Highway was soon to be built in central Taiwan. It would pass through the village of Liu Ts'o, and many homes and rice paddies would be destroyed. The filmmaker, Hu Tai-Li, went back to her mother-in-law's village Liu Ts'o, where she did anthropological research from 1976-78, to preserve some images of life at that moment - forever.
Unrepresented

2019

Unrepresented

2019
UnRepresented is an award-winning documentary that uncovers the mechanisms that drive the cycle of corruption in Congress — giving political insiders enormous, unchecked power. The film explores how special interests bankroll political campaigns and relentlessly lobby to rig the system in their favor, all while following the letter of the law. Featuring luminaries and leaders including Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig and sitting member of Congress Rep. Justin Amash, the film reveals the powerful possibilities to reform our government to better represent the people. UnRepresented serves as a rallying call to bring committed public servants, activists and everyday Americans together to take action across partisan lines to change our flawed political system.
The Oratorio

2020

The Oratorio

2020
In “The Oratorio,” filmmaker Martin Scorsese helps tell the story of an 1826 performance that forever changed America’s cultural landscape with the introduction of Italian opera to New York City.
Lights of Baltimore

2020

Lights of Baltimore

2020
“Lights of Baltimore” tells the story of the war of images surrounding Baltimore in the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death at the hands of the police in 2015 — images produced by factions fighting for the heart of one of America’s greatest and most troubled cities.
Breach of Trust

2020

Breach of Trust

2020
In 2018 it came to light that Dr. George Tyndall, the gynecologist at the University of Southern California's student health center, had been engaging in sexual assault for decades. With hundreds of accusations, how had he escaped punishment? A story of abuse and institutional enablement told from the point of view of the women advocating for change.
Culture is Destiny

2005

Culture is Destiny

2005
What is culture? Does the culture of its roots in ancient traditions? What role do geographical features of a country play in the history of its culture?