Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 54

Deli Man

2015

Deli Man

2015
6.8
Every story needs a brave and trustworthy guide, and Deli Man's is the effusive and charming Ziggy Gruber, a third-generation delicatessen man - his uncle and great-uncle owned Berger's in the diamond district, and the Woodrow Deli on Long Island. His grandfather owned the famous Rialto Delicatessen on Broadway, and Ziggy was stuffing cabbages atop of a crate when he was eight. Now he is owner and maven (as well as a Yiddish-speaking French trained chef) of one of the country's top delis, Kenny and Ziggy's in Houston – yes, Texas…Shalom y'all. Of course the story of deli isn't Ziggy's alone. Deli Man has visited meccas like the Carnegie, Katz's, 2nd Avenue Deli, Nate ‘n Al, and Canter's, as well as interviewed some of the great connoisseurs of deli, including Jerry Stiller, Alan Dershowitz, Freddie Klein, Dennis Howard, Jay Parker (Ben's Best), Fyvush Finkel, and Larry King.
Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang

2016

Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang

2016
6.9
Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke returns to the shooting locations of his films, along with his actors, friends and close collaborators. Jia recalls the inspiration sources for his movies, such as Platform, Still Life and A Touch of Sin. The film is the memory of a filmmaker and of a country in convulsion, China, which reveals itself little by little.
Little White Lie

2014

Little White Lie

2014
6.1
Lacey Schwartz grew up in a typical upper-middle-class Jewish household in Woodstock, NY, with loving parents and a strong sense of her Jewish identity - despite the open questions from those around her about how a white girl could have such dark skin. She believes her family's explanation that her looks were inherited from her dark-skinned Sicilian grandfather. But when her parents abruptly split, her gut starts to tell her something different. At age of 18, she finally confronts her mother and learns the truth: her biological father was not the man who raised her, but a black man named Rodney with whom her mother had had an affair.
Thimble Theater

1938

Thimble Theater

1938
7.4
One of Joseph Cornell’s funniest films, Thimble Theater is structured like a vaudeville variety show about nature.
Dancing in Jaffa

2013

Dancing in Jaffa

2013
7
Pierre Dulaine, an internationally renowned ballroom dancer, is starting to fulfill his life long dream - to take his program Dancing Classrooms to Jaffa, where he was born. He is teaching 10-year-old Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Jewish children to dance together. Pierre recognizes that the future is built by children. By breaking the syndrome of hatred, he will change their lives, and hopefully, the community around them.
Mr. Angel

2013

Mr. Angel

2013
4.5
Buck Angel: trans man, porn star, pioneer. Here we see his life through a documentary lens that evidences the power and personality of an amazing human being.
Commune

2005

Commune

2005
5.6
In 1968, Elsa and Richard Marley founded an alternative-living community, named Black Bear, in the remote Northern California wilderness with the motto "Free Land for Free People." This film tells the story of that intended utopia. Through archival footage and interviews with former residents, director Jonathan Berman explores the problems and realities of communal living and the evolution of a community that endured FBI harassment, cult leadership and more.
Glitterbug

1994

Glitterbug

1994
5.9
A collage of Derek Jarman's super 8 footage spanning over 20 years.
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender

1997

The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender

1997
4.9
A film scrapbook, images, phrases from our past, hiding their meanings behind veils. Let's lift those veils, one by one, to find how images, at one time seeming innocent, have revealed, after decades, to have homosexual overtones.
Last Shop Standing

2012

Last Shop Standing

2012
6.1
Last Shop Standing, inspired by the book of the same name by Graham Jones, takes you behind the counter to discover why nearly 2000 record shops have already disappeared across the UK. The film charts the rapid rise of record shops in the 1960's, 70's and 80's, the influence of the chart, the underhand deals, the demise of vinyl and rise of the CD as well as new technologies. Where did it all go wrong? Why were 3 shops a week closing? Will we be left with no record shops with the continuing rise of downloading? Hear from over 20 record shop owners and music industry leaders as well as musicians including Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, Norman Cook, Billy Bragg, Nerina Pallot, Richard Hawley and Clint Boon as they all tell us how the shops became and still are a part of their own musical education, a place to cherish and discover new bands and new music.
Planet of Snail

2012

Planet of Snail

2012
7.1
Young-Chan comes from planet of snail where deaf blind people live slow and quiet lives. When Young-Chan came to Earth, nobody understood his language and he was desperate. Then an angel walked into his life. Soon-Ho knows how it is to be lonely and soon becomes an inseparable part of his life. Young-Chan also discovers an amazing world under his fingers as he learned to read books with braille. Hopes began to grow and he dreams of writing a book. However, Soon-Ho cannot always be there for him because of her own problem of spine disability. The couple now should learn to survive alone. While Soon-Ho uneasily spends her first day waiting for his return, Young-Chan goes out for the biggest adventure of his life.
Versicherungsvertreter

2012

Versicherungsvertreter

2012
6.7
"Those who don't know their limits have none." This is the story of Mehmet Göker, 32, absolute ruler of a cult-like insurance empire. The film shows the rise and fall of the young entrepreneur of Turkish origin from Kassel. A story of greed and megalomania. But also an illuminating insight into the business practices of private health insurance companies.
Bear Nation

2010

Bear Nation

2010
5.2
Filmmaker Malcolm Ingram takes you on a fascinating journey inside a fast growing segment of the gay community where what was once a perceived negative is now redefining the definition of what it looks like to be gay.
Vito

2011

Vito

2011
6.9
In the aftermath of Stonewall, a newly politicized Vito Russo found his voice as a gay activist and critic of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. He went on to write "The Celluloid Closet", the first book to critique Hollywood's portrayals of gays on screen. During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Vito became a passionate advocate for justice via the newly formed ACT UP, before his death in 1990.
Jobriath A.D.

2012

Jobriath A.D.

2012
6.6
Called "The American Bowie," "The True Fairy of Rock & Roll" and "Hype of the Year," Jobriath's reign as the first openly gay rock star was brief and over by 1975. Now, 35 years later, "Jobriath A.D." spotlights his life, music, groundbreaking influence and the new generations of fans slowly re-discovering him.
Informant

2013

Informant

2013
5.3
Vilified by some and venerated by others as the FBI informant largely responsible for the imprisonment of two youths following the 2008 Republican National Convention, Darby was once a charismatic activist mythologized by the American Left for his daredevil aid work in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Informant meticulously constructs a portrait of his life—before and after the death threats—through intimate interviews with Darby and tense reenactments starring the man himself.
Derek

2008

Derek

2008
5.3
Derek, in chronological order, records the work and life that stands at the foot of Derek Jarman's humour and spirit of being an artist. The filmmaker and actress, Isaac Julien and Tilda Swinton respectively, have produced and narrated a film on his life whereby the use of language is perpetuated to give some type of palpable meaning to British audiences alone, and to their own personal relationship with him.
Target for Tonight

1941

Target for Tonight

1941
5.6
This is the authentic story of a bombing raid on Germany... how it is planned and how it is executed. Every person seen in the picture is a member of the Royal Air Force from Commander-in-Chief to aircraft hand, re-enacting his own daily life on the job. They are the men and women who actually direct, plan and execute the raids.
This Is Cinerama

1952

This Is Cinerama

1952
5.5
Designed to introduce the then-new widescreen process Cinerama, audiences experience the roller coaster at Rockaways' Playland, the temple dance from Aida, Niagara Falls, a Viennese choir, the canals of Venice, a military tattoo in Edinburgh, a bullfight, and more. The film concludes with a view from the nose of a low-flying B-25 while America the Beautiful plays.
Black Sun

2006

Black Sun

2006
7
Blurred images illustrate the narration of New York City-based artist Hugues de Montalembert, who was blinded in a vicious mugging some thirty years ago.