Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 291

TURA!

2024

TURA!

2024
The one and only Tura Satana. Best remembered for her role as the fierce Varla in Russ Meyer’s 1965 cult classic Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Tura’s real life was just as wild and unapologetic as her on-screen persona. And her post-film legacy was just as noteworthy, leaving a fist-shaped mark on pop culture and an indelible signature in burlesque stages, queer clubs, and comic conventions everywhere.
Just One Drop

2017

Just One Drop

2017
Just One Drop takes a no-holds-barred look at the most controversial form of medicine ever invented. Homeopathy treats the entire person, not just the disease. It’s a specific form of medicine that uses minute doses of a highly diluted substance that stimulates the body to cure itself. It is these tiny doses that causes the most controversy. Researchers believe there is a release of energy in water that becomes mysteriously dynamic. Others think it’s purely psychological or worse, a form of deception or quackery. Yet millions claim homeopathy cures even though there is not yet a satisfying scientific explanation. It remains a mystery.
Shaun Micallef's Stairway to Heaven

2014

Shaun Micallef's Stairway to Heaven

2014
In his youth Shaun Micallef almost joined the priesthood. Now he wonders if he may have missed his one shot at the answers to life’s big questions. Heading to India, a country where spirituality and the search for meaning is very much a national past time, he immerses himself in the Hindu world of Gods, Gurus and the Ganges. In a bid to get to the heart of the faith, Shaun pushes well beyond his comfort zone on a physical, mental and spiritual adventure. He journeys to the source of the Ganges high in the Himalayas - all the while offering his own unique observations on his quest to find the meaning of life.
Nervous Laughter

2017

Nervous Laughter

2017
When winter swells collide with a chunk of reef off the north shore of Maui, massive waves up to 60 feet rise and crash to create the best big wave on earth. It’s called Peahi, or “Jaws,” and every year it attracts dozens of elite surfers from around the world to attempt the lethal wave. More and more, however, it’s the local crew that steals the show. An eclectic group childhood friends that followed each other into the Jaws lineup as teenagers, and through peer pressure and rivalries, pushed each other to unprecedented performances in the ensuing years. Then came the El Niño of 2016, which promised to serve up the largest swells in big-wave history. Follow the crew for an inside look at a season rife with nerves, injury, triumph and friendship.
Architects Herzog and deMeuron: The Alchemy of Building & The Tate Modern

2001

Architects Herzog and deMeuron: The Alchemy of Building & The Tate Modern

2001
Visiting examples of Herzog and de Meurons ground-breaking style, this film reflects their capacity to astonish and explore the way in which they transform what might otherwise be ordinary through new treatments and techniques.
The Gateway Bug

2017

The Gateway Bug

2017
Over 2 billion people on earth eat insects for protein. The Gateway Bug explores how changing daily eating habits can feed humanity in an uncertain age, one meal at a time.
Looking for Infinity: El Camino

2017

Looking for Infinity: El Camino

2017
The film offers an intimate and fascinating insight into the pilgrim's journey, seeking to probe some of the timeless questions confronting humanity.
Amerikanuak

2010

Amerikanuak

2010
A documentary about Basque inmigrants who went to USA looking for work and a better future. Basically, Amerikanuak talks about feeling homesick, about struggling in a different country to make a decent living and about being part of a comunity.
Ocean Driven

2017

Ocean Driven

2017
Making a big wave dream come true. Ocean Driven is a true and gripping story that chronicles the development of South African big wave surfer Chris Bertish. His single minded pursuit of his dreams and refusal to let seemingly insurmountable obstacles stand in his way, culminates with his winning the world's premiere big wave surfing competition at Mavericks in California 2010. Moments after nearly drowning, Bertish takes the world by storm in the largest waves ever seen there. Ocean Driven is a tale of overcoming obstacles and fears, redefining possible, and empowering viewers to never give up in pursuit of their dreams. Ocean Driven features countless big wave legends, ocean specialists, and breathtaking images.
The Days of the Dead

1988

The Days of the Dead

1988
A documentary exploring the varying cultural practices of the Day of the Dead in both Mexico and Chicano/a communities in the United States.
Mind Over Matter

2017

Mind Over Matter

2017
A young man born with Cerebral Palsy battles a paralyzed left hand, bullies and stereotypes about the disabled to defy the odds and make it as a rock and roll guitarist. Ultimately, sharing the stage with the very band that inspired him to start (or to achieve the impossible).
Reunification

2015

Reunification

2015
Filmed over a 17 year period, director Alvin Tsang reflects on his family’s migration from Hong Kong to Los Angeles in the early 1980s—fraught with betrayal from his parents’ divorce, economic strife and a communication meltdown.
Black Dandy: A Political Beauty

2015

Black Dandy: A Political Beauty

2015
"Black Dandy," directed by Ariel Wizman and Laurent Lunetta, traces the history of "black dandyism" and the reinvention of "masculine chic." The film pays tribute to the black men who fight against the stigma that comes with being a man of color who pays very special attention to his appearance and his style. The filmmakers also explore "black dandyism" as a form of protest and as a sign of affirmation of black men's existence.
Who's Afraid of the Bogeyman

1989

Who's Afraid of the Bogeyman

1989
Portrait of a private coal company in East Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district in 1988/89. The feisty woman boss runs the business with humour and understanding. Her seven male employees respect her. To the outside world, they are all tough guys, but as they describe their jobs and personal situations, above and beyond the hard manual labour, their vulnerability starts to come to light.
Brasilia: Life After Design

2017

Brasilia: Life After Design

2017
Brasilia: Life After Design is the story of a city in conflict between its environment and its people. A true modernist experiment, Brasilia is considered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Despite the population growing every year, the city plan itself cannot change. It was designed for 500 000 people, and now over two and a half million live within its borders. Despite its designers’ best intentions, people were secondary considerations. And in order to live there, people have to break the city’s rules.
The Last of the Nomads

1997

The Last of the Nomads

1997
Like an antipodean version of Romeo and Juliet, it emerges that Warri and Yatungka became the last nomads because they had married outside their tribal laws and eloped to the most inaccessible of regions. In 1977 the land was stricken by a severe drought and their tribal elders mounted a search for them with the help of a party of white men led by Dr Bill Peasley and one of their own number, a childhood friend named Mudjon. The film takes Dr Peasley back into the desert to relive his momentous journey with Mudjon and culminates with poignant archival footage of the elderly couple found naked and starving.
Exit: Music

2017

Exit: Music

2017
Five composers have their careers cut short by the rise of the Third Reich.
Sermons and Sacred Pictures

1989

Sermons and Sacred Pictures

1989
"An experimental documentary on Reverend L.O. Taylor, a black Baptist minister from Memphis, Tennessee who was also an inspired filmmaker with an overwhelming interest in preserving the social and cultural fabric of his own community in the 1930′s and 40s. I combine his films and music recordings with my own images of Memphis neighborhoods and religious gatherings" -Sachs
Maurice Pialat, l'amour existe

2007

Maurice Pialat, l'amour existe

2007
A documentary about the life and career of Maurice Pialat produced by his widow, the accomplished film producer Sylvie Pialat. The film interweaves clips from his films with interview footage of Pialat, who speaks of growing up as an only child, his interest in painting, his early influences in cinema from Yasujiro Ozu to John Ford, his disaffection with the French New Wave, and the theme of abandonment in his films. Pialat’s remarks offer insights into his aesthetic strategies and hint at his reputation as a challenging, irascible director, known for having pushed his actors to deliver raw and powerful performances.
Do You Dream in Color?

2017

Do You Dream in Color?

2017
Do You Dream in Color? in this documentary follows four courageous blind high school students. This coming-of-age story see's the students as they strive to prove that their disability will not hold them back from achieving their dreams.