Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 283

You See Monsters

2017

You See Monsters

2017
An exploration of the work of a new generation of young Muslim artists, who use their work to explore issues of faith and identity and what it means to be Muslim and Australian in the 21st century.
Abina and the Important Men

2017

Abina and the Important Men

2017
Set against the backdrop of the Gold Coast of West Africa in 1876, "Abina and the Important Men" follows the harrowing true story of Abina Mansah, a young girl who is enslaved and struggles against the British colonial system that seeks to control trade and manipulate local customs for its own benefit. Despite the abolition of slavery, Abina finds herself trapped in a society where the trade in slaves, particularly children, persists under the guise of protectorate laws. After being sold and forced to marry against her will, Abina flees to seek her freedom and confronts the British legal system. Her battle for justice is a poignant narrative that exposes the hypocrisy of the colonial powers and the resilience of those who fought against their oppression. Told through stunning animation, the film is a compelling historical drama that delves into the complexity of freedom, colonialism, and the human spirit's unyielding desire for autonomy and dignity.
Christian Audigier: The VIF

2018

Christian Audigier: The VIF

2018
VIF is a one-of-a-kind cinematic documentary, taking us through the introspective life journey of fashion designer Christian Audigier. He created the brand 'Ed Hardy', based on the designs of famous American tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy. After being diagnosed with MDS, an aggressive type of blood cancer, Christian is forced to accept what lies ahead of him.
Bitter Melons

1971

Bitter Melons

1971
This film, shot in 1955, focuses on a small band of /Gwi San living in the arid landscape of the central Kalahari Desert in present-day Botswana.
Ken Bugul: Nobody Wants Her - Portait of an Author

2013

Ken Bugul: Nobody Wants Her - Portait of an Author

2013
Mountains & Manhood

2018

Mountains & Manhood

2018
For the past 35 years, Jeff Voth has led his sons and other groups of men on an annual backpacking trip into the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This trip has become a legendary, masculine benchmark. Learning life-skills, trout fishing, extreme physical fatigue and the sharing of deep heart-felt secrets in sometimes beautiful, sometimes terrifying alpine backdrop has etched this event indelibly into these men's lives. They would each tell you that they have been forever changed... that have been forged into a deeper and healthier masculine place... that they have become better men because of the trip.
Sweep it Up, Swig it Down

1997

Sweep it Up, Swig it Down

1997
Gabi, Stefan and Henry used to work as street-sweepers for the city of Leipzig. A ruin is all that is left of the Municipal Street Cleaning Base of that time and the city Leipzig is moving after the reunion. The noise of air hammers are everywhere. Nowadays their daily routine has become fragile between social welfare office, pub, and their homes. There is always a remainder, something that doesn´t work out even.
I Live for Art: Will You Take the Call?

2014

I Live for Art: Will You Take the Call?

2014
An exploration of the creative process - its angst, its thrills, its purpose, and its methods.
Our Bodies Our Doctors

2019

Our Bodies Our Doctors

2019
OUR BODIES OUR DOCTORS tells the story of a rebellion in the field of medicine as a cohort of physicians faces abortion stigma within their own profession and confronts religious control over health care decisions. Their fight takes them into a larger struggle over the heart and soul of American medicine.
Mies On Scene. Barcelona in two acts

2018

Mies On Scene. Barcelona in two acts

2018
The Barcelona Pavilion, the masterpiece with which Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich staged their revolutionary ideas in 1929, changed the History of architecture forever. It only existed for eight months but paradoxically its image was always alive in the minds of generations of architects around the world, becoming one of his greatest influences. The Pavilion is still surrounded by myths and mysteries that this documentary addresses, framing the building into a portrait in two acts of the Barcelona that made possible its cons-truction in 1929 and its reconstruction in 1986. We immerse ourselves in a reflection on the transformative capacity of art, the emotional perception of space and the concept of master-piece.
Woo Who? May Wilson

1970

Woo Who? May Wilson

1970
A portrait of artist May Wilson, former “wife-mother-housekeeper-cook” and a grandmother who, at age 60 after the break-up of her 40-year marriage, moves to New York City and discovers an independent life of her own for the first time.
Moroni for President

2018

Moroni for President

2018
Moroni Benally is running for the presidency of the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American nation in the U.S. Young, gay, Mormon, and highly educated, he sets out to confront the political establishment in a homecoming that challenges what he both imagined home, and himself, to be.
Francis Bacon and the Brutality of Fact

1984

Francis Bacon and the Brutality of Fact

1984
In his London studio, Francis Bacon discusses his work and approach with David Sylvester. His representations of the human figure in portraits and triptychs link him to the distorted realism of Van Gogh and Picasso, who also portrayed the intensity of life that Bacon calls “the brutality of fact.”
The Sower

2014

The Sower

2014
In the heart of Kamouraska in Quebec, Patrice Fortier lives at “La société des plantes” (The Society of Plants). There, like a transcriber of the middle ages, he diligently cares for the rare and forgotten plant seeds to create a variety of so-called “old futures.” Patrice dreams up his garden and turns his crops into art projects. Over time, and with patience, he passes on his passion and his knowledge to us through his seed bank. These seeds of life will appear in thousands of gardens throughout the world. An ode to plant biodiversity and to our heritage, brought forth by a true and genetically motivated sower.
Lost in America

2019

Lost in America

2019
Following director Rotimi Rainwater, a former homeless youth, as he travels the country to shine a light on the epidemic of youth homelessness in America.
Autumn Gem

2009

Autumn Gem

2009
Meet the "Chinese Joan of Arc," Qiu Jin (Qiu Jin ) (1875-1907), a radical women's rights activist who defied tradition to become the leader of a revolutionary army. Qiu Jin boldly challenged traditional gender roles and demanded equal rights and opportunities for women. She was the first woman to lead an armed uprising against the corrupt Qing Dynasty, for which she was arrested and executed. She became the first female martyr for China's 1911 Revolution and is celebrated as a national heroine today. While Qiu Jin is a familiar figure in China, she is largely unknown outside of the country. AUTUMN GEM is the first documentary feature on Qiu Jin in the U.S. Using scholar interviews, archival materials, and dramatic recreation scenes based on her original writings, AUTUMN GEM brings the story of Qiu Jin to life.
14: Dred Scott, Wong Kim Ark and Vanessa Lopez

2014

14: Dred Scott, Wong Kim Ark and Vanessa Lopez

2014
Explores the recurring question about who has the right to be an American citizen. The story is told through the lives of three ordinary and extraordinary American families who changed history by their courageous challenges to the powerful status quo. Descendants of Dred and Harriet Scott and those of Wong Kim Ark tell the stories of how their ancestors fought all the way to the Supreme Court and changed American history. Rosario Lopez and her daughter Vanessa are both activists in the immigrant rights youth movement. It is the citizenship of millions of children like Vanessa Lopez, born in the United States to undocumented parents, that is at stake now.
Ancestors in the Americas: Coolies, Sailors, Settlers

1996

Ancestors in the Americas: Coolies, Sailors, Settlers

1996
Explores how people from the Philippines, China and India first arrived on the shores of North and South America, their survival amid harsh conditions, re-migrations and settlement in the Americas. The film travels across oceans and centuries of time to trace the globally interlocking story of East and West. Ancestors in the Americas is a two-part series that presents the history, challenges, and lasting impact of early Asian immigrants to the Americas, from the 1700s to the 1900s. The series follows their little-known journeys and stories, reveals their pioneering struggle against racial hatred and for basic rights, and depicts their lasting cultural, legal and economic contributions to the building of the Americas. Using a "documemoir" approach, ANCESTORS IN THE AMERICAS brings to life this largely undocumented past and invites a new understanding of American history.
Hey Ronnie Reagan

2018

Hey Ronnie Reagan

2018
In 1984 a tiny anonymous Tipperary village was thrust in to the world's spotlight when US President Ronald Reagan arrived to visit his ancestral home. It was said that Ballyporeen would never be the same again.
Teach a Man to Fish

2018

Teach a Man to Fish

2018
As a fair-skinned Aboriginal man living away from his country, middle-aged Grant struggles with his identity. So, he decides to quit everything and go fishing with his father.