Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 82

Population Boom

2013

Population Boom

2013
5.8
A well-known nightmarish vision of the future: The Earth's population reaches seven billion. Dwindling resources, mountains of toxic waste, hunger and climate change-the results of overpopulation? Who says that the world's overpopulated? And who's one too many? After the box-office success of "Plastic Planet," in POPULATION BOOM curious documentary filmmaker Werner Boote travels the globe and examines a stubborn view of the world that has existed for decades. But he sees a completely different question: Who or what is driving this catastrophic vision?
Revenge of the Mekons

2013

Revenge of the Mekons

2013
7
Documentary about the Mekons.
Brakhage

1998

Brakhage

1998
7
BRAKHAGE explores the depth and breadth of the filmmaker’s genius, the exquisite splendor of his films, his magic personal charm, his aesthetic fellow travelers, and the influence his work has had on generations of other creators. While touching on significant moments in Brakhage’s biography, the film celebrates Brakhage’s visionary genius, and explores the extraordinary artistic possibilities of cinema, a medium mostly known only for its commercial applications in the form of narratives, cartoons, documentaries, and advertising. BRAKHAGE combines excerpts from Brakhage’s films and films of other avant-garde filmmakers (eg, George Kuchar, Jonas Mekas, Willie Varela, Bruce Elder, and others); interviews with Brakhage, his friends, family, colleagues, and critics; archival footage of Brakhage spanning the past thirty-five years; and location shooting in Boulder, Colorado and New York.
Carmel

2009

Carmel

2009
7
Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitaï offers a look impressionist long history of armed conflict in their nation.
Free the Mind

2013

Free the Mind

2013
6.4
Brain scientist Professor Richard Davidson sets up his mind to conduct an unusual experiment: He will teach American war veterans and children meditation and yoga. Can veterans through meditation and yoga ease their pain and nervous system, find happiness and be more peaceful and get back to a life more like the one they had before the war?
The Battle of Amfar

2013

The Battle of Amfar

2013
5
When AIDS struck in the early 1980s, a scientist and a movie star did not have to respond - but they did. Dr. Mathilde Krim and Elizabeth Taylor joined forces to create amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research. The fight against HIV has never been the same. The Perfect Host reveals how two powerful and very different women came together, and what their combined efforts achieved. With passion and wit, Taylor wielded celebrity as a weapon against government indifference while Krim's commitment to science ensured support for the most promising research areas. Today, the only man cured of AIDS can thank research championed by Mathilde Krim. Visually dazzling and emotionally compelling, this story offers a surprising perspective on the still ongoing fight against AIDS.
Towards Mathilde

2005

Towards Mathilde

2005
6.3
The french choreographer Mathilde Monnier and her preparation for her next performance is the main focus of this documentary. The choreography's practices and the bodies, everything is registered in some sort of anthropological way by the filmmaker's camera.
Best Kept Secret

2013

Best Kept Secret

2013
7.5
A Newark, New Jersey high school teacher struggles to prepare her students with autism to survive in the brutal world that awaits them once they graduate.
These Birds Walk

2012

These Birds Walk

2012
8
The Edhi children’s shelter is a rare safe haven for Karachi’s runaways. Over three years, its cranky founder, a spirited child, and a gold-hearted ambulance driver are filmed, creating a tender portrait of where a city’s most vulnerable and dedicated souls meet.
I Will Be Murdered

2013

I Will Be Murdered

2013
6.1
An extraordinary story of murder, love and political conspiracy triggered when a video of a murdered Guatemalan lawyer surfaced on Youtube in which he foretold his own death and named the culprits.
Exposed

2013

Exposed

2013
4.3
Beth B takes us into the 21st century underground and reveals a secret world where cutting-edge performers are taking hold of a taboo art form, Burlesque, and driving it to extremes that most people have never seen. It's satire. It's parody. It's a populist blend of art and entertainment that gives new meaning to the word "transgression." Above all, it's a lot of fun, and it will blow your mind.
whisper & SHOUT

1988

whisper & SHOUT

1988
7
Documents important parts of the East German rock music scene of the late 1980s, from well-established bands like Silly, to underground rock bands like Feeling B. This road movie features young people using music to express their take on life, opposition to their parents' generation and opinions on the social and political climate in East Germany. It includes clips from concerts and interviews with fans and members of various bands, such as Feeling B's Christian Lorenz and Paul Landers, now members of Rammstein.
The War at Home

1979

The War at Home

1979
7.2
Documentary film about the anti-war movement in the Madison, Wisconsin area during the time of the Vietnam War. It combines archival footage and interviews with participants that explore the events of the period on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.
Ram Dass: Fierce Grace

2001

Ram Dass: Fierce Grace

2001
5.7
Once a symbol of '60s counterculture and psychedelic drug use, Ram Dass has since become a renowned speaker and author on the topics of aging, spirituality, and overcoming the mistakes of the past. This documentary chronicles his journey from his affiliations with LSD advocate Timothy Leary to his endeavor to continue remaking himself after his stroke in 1997.
Zapatista

1999

Zapatista

1999
5.2
"Zapatista" is the definitive look at the uprising in Chiapas. It is the story of a Mayan peasant rebellion armed with sticks and their word against a first world military. It is the story of a global movement that has fought 175,000 federal troops to a stand still and transformed Mexican and international political culture forever.
In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey

2013

In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey

2013
7.5
In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey is a documentary film about the legendary American guitarist, composer and provocateur John Fahey, 1939-2001. Fahey is often considered the godfather of 'American primitive guitar'. This cinematic exploration features Pete Townshend, Chris Funk of The Decemberists and Joey Burns of Calexico. These stellar musicians, along with Fahey associates and friends such as the famous 'Dr. Demento', radio broadcaster Barry Hansen, explore the legacy of this profoundly influential artist. The film was recorded in the Washington D.C. area where John Fahey was born, along the Mississippi Delta from Memphis to New Orleans, in Los Angeles, Toronto, Austin, New York and in Oregon where Fahey spent his last two decades.
Hollywood on Trial

1976

Hollywood on Trial

1976
5.5
A detailed look at the events leading up to the blacklisting of Hollywood writers and artists. In October 1947 nineteen Hollywood personalities were subpoenaed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities to testify about their knowledge or possible involvement in the American Communist Party. The first ten to be called refused to cooperate, claiming their first amendment rights, were cited for contempt of Congress and sent to prison. They became known as the "Hollywood Ten" and this is their story.
Floored

2009

Floored

2009
6.1
Enter a world where pandemonium reigns and reckless ambition rules: the trading floors in the financial canyons of downtown Chicago. Here, men use strange hand signals to buy and sell everything from pork belly to soybeans while wearing the weight of our complex economy on their shoulders - along with their neon jackets. It's a physical, bruising place, one where a slight gain creates heroes, rich beyond what their high school educations should ever afford. But the wrong move on the wrong day can ruin lives. At a time when millions have lost fortunes in the fickle stock market and fear abounds about the faltering financial system, FLOORED is a gripping, honest look behind the curtain of the trading floor that few have ever seen
Two Days In April

2007

Two Days In April

2007
7.3
Follows the story of 4 college football players signed by the sports agency IMG, as they bring them to a training facility in Florida and both physically and mentally prepare them for the NFL draft.
The Girls in the Band

2011

The Girls in the Band

2011
6.2
THE GIRLS IN THE BAND tells the poignant, untold stories of female jazz and big band instrumentalists and their fascinating, groundbreaking journeys from the late 1930s to the present day.