Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 306

Two Laws

1982

Two Laws

1982
White people don't understand that there are two laws - white people have different laws from Aboriginal people. TWO LAWS is a film about history, law and life in the community of Borroloola in far North Queensland. The films offers viewers a remarkable and different way of seeing and hearing. Like the film, BACKROADS, it is one of the few productions at that time in which Aboriginal people had creative input. The impetus for TWO LAWS came from the community themselves. There was substantial collaboration with the film makers before and during the shooting period. It is one of the most outstanding films to be made during the 1980s. It is an historical analysis of what, nearly forty years later, is an increasingly contemporary question. Two Laws.
Silent Wings: The American Glider Pilots of World War II

2007

Silent Wings: The American Glider Pilots of World War II

2007
From the early race to build gliders to the D-Day invasion at Normandy and Nazi Germany's final surrender, "Silent Wings - The American Glider Pilots of WWII" narrated by Hal Holbrook, reveals the critical role gliders played in World War II offensives. Through rare archival footage and photographs, the film places the audience right at the center of the action in the dangerous world of the American glider pilot. During WWII, 6000 young Americans volunteered to fly large unarmed cargo gliders into battle. For these glider pilots every mission was do-or-die. It was their task to repeatedly risk their lives landing the men and tools of war deep within enemy-held territory, often in complete darkness. Thousands of lives were saved and battles won because of their efforts. In fact, one pilot interviewed said - the 'G' in their emblem didn't stand for glider; it stood for 'guts.' Features include: - Virtual walk-through tour of the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas
Sons of Haji Omar

1978

Sons of Haji Omar

1978
Haji Omar and his three sons belong to the Lakankhel, a Pashtoon tribal group in northeastern Afghanistan. The film focuses on his family: Haji Omar, the patriarch; Anwar, the eldest, his father's favorite, a pastoralist and expert horseman; Jannat Gul, cultivator and ambitious rebel; and Ismail, the youngest, attending school with a view to a job as a government official.
Between Resistance and Community: The Long Island Do It Yourself Punk Scene

2002

Between Resistance and Community: The Long Island Do It Yourself Punk Scene

2002
A strong time capsule about Long Island as a cornerstone and building block of DIY punk.
Wicker Kittens

2014

Wicker Kittens

2014
Every January, the country's largest jigsaw puzzle contest is held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Choose your favorite team and watch them try to put the pieces back together.
The Distracted Mind

2011

The Distracted Mind

2011
Hosted by renowned neuroscientist and M.D., Ph.D., Dr. Adam Gazzaley, The Distracted Mind delves deeply into attention, distraction, the myth of multi-tasking, and how to use the latest research to possibly improve our skills and abilities at any point during our lives. While the brain can seem almost boundless in its potential, it has limitations, such as processing speed, attentional limitations, working memory limitations, and sensitivity to interference, which can be both internal and external. Dr. Gazzaley explores the impact that multi-tasking has on our safety, memory, education, careers and personal lives. Most importantly, The Distracted Mind tells us what we can do to improve our attentional abilities and our focus as we age, and as media continues to dominate our landscape. From changing our behaviors, to literally changing our brains, Dr. Gazzaley shares information you need to survive and thrive in the information age.
Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor

2014

Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor

2014
In this documentary five severely wounded Iraq/Afghanistan veterans work with professional comedy writers and A-List comedians Lewis Black, Zach Galifianakis, BJ Novak, and Bob Saget to explore their personal experiences through the healing power of humor. Writing their own stand-up comedy routines they find new perspectives from which to view their injuries and their lives - all of which culminates in a performance at two of LA's top comedy clubs.
Salaam Dunk

2011

Salaam Dunk

2011
In the West, we are often bombarded with dramatic and horrifying images of a violent and war-torn Iraq. This makes it easy to forget that people there do "regular" things... like play basketball. Salaam Dunk follows the American University of Iraq women's basketball team as they discover what it means to be students, athletes and friends. This is a story of triumph in the face of chaos and a testament to the perseverance of a handful of young Iraqi women. It shows us how sports can help build bridges of shared values, and potentially lead us toward a future of understanding within Iraq as well as abroad. Above all, Salaam Dunk is a film about basketball, friendship and the pain of losing those we love. From the joy of the team's first win to the pain of losing their coach forever, the film gives us an intimate glimpse into an Iraq we don't see on the news.
Band of Sisters

2012

Band of Sisters

2012
Band of Sisters tells the story of Catholic nuns and their work for social justice after Vatican II of the 1960s.
Love & Sex in an Age of Pornography

2013

Love & Sex in an Age of Pornography

2013
Documents the shifts in contemporary mainstream pornography and its influence on the sexual expectations and experiences of Australian young people.
End of the Rainbow

2007

End of the Rainbow

2007
A large multinational and industrial gold mining company has arrived in a remote area of Guinea, West Africa. This desperately poor region has a long history of economic reliance on gold. This film is a melancholic portrait of the changes brought by the mine, and of the universal human desire for a better life. How do local people respond to the opportunities and economic divisions the mine creates? How do the local jobseekers and expatriate staff, attracted by gold and the possibilities it offers, understand one another? In case of difficulties, the mine calls in the military. Conflict over the mine's presence is escalating. The gold will be dug from the ground, but at what cost? End of the Rainbow reveals a world that is changing forever, and intimately portrays the people who are grappling to respond to those changes.
Say My Name

2009

Say My Name

2009
Debut documentary featuring a series of portraits of women in hip-hop. Say My Name offers a unique and inspiring view into the though world of hip-hop in which the portrayed women make music, search for their own voice and survive. With Erykah Badu, Estelle, Monie Love, MC Lyte, Jean Grae and many many more.
The Amish: A People of Preservation

1975

The Amish: A People of Preservation

1975
The Amish continue to intrigue their technology-current neighbors by keeping alive ways and beliefs that many modern Americans regard as irretrievably lost to progress. In this colorful, award-winning documentary, newly revised and augmented, Mennonite historian John L. Ruth takes us sympathetically into the Amish mindset. Appreciative neighbors, a well-known physician, an artist, and respected scholar John A. Hostetler, author of Amish Society, provide insightful commentary on the survival of an alternative to the kind of world we have made. As the Amish increase exponentially in numbers, some migrate toward more open farmland. Those staying in centuries-old communities where the land is too crowded to farm have developed an amazing variety of cottage industries. But all changes are made very carefully, in order not to undermine the spiritual covenant and community.
After the Rape: The Mukhtar Mai Story

2008

After the Rape: The Mukhtar Mai Story

2008
In 2002, a woman from the Pakistani countryside named Mukhtar Mai made world headlines. After the rumour that her 12-year-old brother was having a relationship with a woman from another clan, Mukhtar was gang-raped by order of the village council. Instead of committing suicide, she spoke out and the six men were sentenced to death, although five of them were eventually acquitted. Against all the codes of her society, Mukhtar took her case to the Supreme Court. After the Rape doesn't comment on the outcome of her case. What the film does show is the environment that the assertive Muhktar managed to create in the wake of the incident.
The Billionaires' Tea Party

2011

The Billionaires' Tea Party

2011
After Barack Obama swept to power promising a new era of hope and change, the emergence of a citizens protest movement called the Tea Party threatened to derail his agenda. Was this uprising the epitome of grassroots democracy? Or was it an example of "astroturfing" - the creation of fake grassroots groups, designed to put corporate messages in the mouths of seemingly independent citizens?
Jingle Bell Rocks!

2013

Jingle Bell Rocks!

2013
In JINGLE BELL ROCKS!, director Mitchell Kezin delves into the minds of some of the world’s most legendary Christmas music fanatics and hits the road to hang with his holiday heroes – including hip hop legend Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons of RUN-D.M.C., The Flaming Lips’ frontman Wayne Coyne, filmmaker John Waters, bebopper Bob Dorough, L.A. DJ and musicologist Dr. Demento, and Calypso legend The Mighty Sparrow. In his search for the twelve best, underappreciated Christmas songs ever recorded, Kezin both asks and answers the question, “Why, when Christmas rolls around, are we still stuck cozying up with Bing Crosby under a blanket of snow?”
Talking Through Walls

2008

Talking Through Walls

2008
Chronicles the true story of how one man's struggle to build a mosque in a New York suburb post 9/11 helped unite an interfaith community.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro: Reimagining Lincoln Center and the High Line

2013

Diller Scofidio + Renfro: Reimagining Lincoln Center and the High Line

2013
Diller Scofidio + Renfro has long been at the forefront of design with provocative exhibitions that blurred the boundaries between art and architecture. This film captures their extraordinary evolution and unique process in reimagining the public identities of Lincoln Center and the once derelict High Line railroad tracks.
Orange Witness

2012

Orange Witness

2012
Orange Witness documents the marginalized voices of people who have been exposed to, and affected by Agent Orange. The film paints a bleak picture of the damage caused by the use of herbicides 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T and TCCD internationally. Historically, Agent Orange has been associated with war, but the industrial and domestic of use of the chemical is a story that has yet to reach the masses, until now.
Beyond Our Ken

2008

Beyond Our Ken

2008
To the Australian media Kenja is a 'secretive cult', their leader described in Parliament as a 'seedy conman'. Despite preparing to fight yet another court case Ken Dyers and Jan Hamilton allow a film crew unprecedented access to the 'spiritual evolvement centre' they founded in 1982. How can the view from inside Kenja be so different to the one outside? Through remarkable verite footage and candid interviews, Beyond Our Ken explores the anatomy and ambiguity of the 'cult' enigma.