Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 88

Nollywood Babylon

2009

Nollywood Babylon

2009
6.1
Nigeria's film industry, Nollywood, is the third-largest in the world--an unstoppable economic and cultural force that has taken the continent by storm and is now bursting beyond the borders of Africa. "Nollywood Babylon" is a feature documentary detailing the industry's phenomenal success. Propelled by a booming 1970s soundtrack of African underground music, the movie presents an electric vision of a modern African metropolis and a revealing look at the powerhouse that is Nigerian cinema.
Billy the Kid

2007

Billy the Kid

2007
6.3
"I'm not black, I'm not white, not foreign, just different in the mind. Different brains, that's all," explains 15-year-old Billy in Jennifer Venditti's provocative coming of age film. Following Billy as he bicycles through the quiet streets of small town Maine, we watch him traverse the frustrating gap between imagination and reality, grappling with isolation and first-time young love. By turns exhilarating and disturbing, we see the world from the intimate view of an expressive and seemingly fearless outsider.
Africa, I Will Fleece You

1992

Africa, I Will Fleece You

1992
5.8
This documentary of repressive political realities in Cameroon begins with the 1990 publication of an open letter to President Biya calling for a national conference - and the immediate arrest of the letter's author and publisher. The narration then examines the nation's colonial history, beginning with the first German missionary in 1901, the establishment of schools, French occupation following World War I, the paucity of books written by and published by Cameroonians, and the repression of the CPU, a leftist organization of the 1950s and 1960s. Cameroon and its people are the lark, its feathers plucked first by colonialism and then by native strongmen: 'Alouette, je te plumerai.'
Blood and Oil

2008

Blood and Oil

2008
6
The notion that oil motivates America's military engagements in the Middle East is often disregarded as nonsense or mere conspiracy theory. In Blood and Oil, bestselling author and Nation magazine defense correspondent Michael T. Klare challenges this conventional wisdom and corrects the historical record. The film unearths declassified documents and highlights forgotten passages in prominent presidential doctrines to show how concerns about oil have been at the core of American foreign policy for more than 60 years -- rendering our contemporary energy and military policies virtually indistinguishable. In the end, Blood and Oil calls for a radical re-thinking of US energy policy, warning that unless we change direction, we stand to be drawn into one oil war after another as the global hunt for diminishing world petroleum supplies accelerates.
Tales of the Rat Fink

2006

Tales of the Rat Fink

2006
5.3
This is an interesting look at the Life and Times of car customizer/cartoonist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Through the use of many graphically enhanced photographs and "talking" cars, it is a loving look at the car culture in Southern California from the Early 50's to Ed's Passing in 2001.
America The Beautiful

2008

America The Beautiful

2008
6.2
In a society where "celebutantes" like Paris Hilton dominate newsstands and models who weigh less than 90 pounds die from malnutrition, female body image is one of the more dire problems facing today's society. "America the Beautiful" illuminates the issue by covering every base. Child models, plastic surgery, celebrity worship, airbrushed advertising, dangerous cosmetics - no rock is left unturned.
In the Realm of the Hackers

2003

In the Realm of the Hackers

2003
6.4
In The Realm of the Hackers is a documentary about the prominent hacker community, centered in Melbourne, Australia in the late 80's to early 1990. The storyline is centered around the Australian teenagers going by the hacker names "Electron" and "Phoenix", who were members of an elite computer hacking group called The Realm and hacked into some of the most secure computer networks in the world, including those of the US Naval Research Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a government lab charged with the security of the US nuclear stockpile, and NASA.
The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till

2005

The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till

2005
6.4
Never-before-seen testimony is included in this documentary on Emmett Louis Till, who, in 1955, was brutally murdered after he whistled at a white woman.
Horns and Halos

2002

Horns and Halos

2002
6.2
"What if someone wrote your biography? Would there be horns and halos involved?"
Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony

2002

Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony

2002
6.4
The struggle to eradicate apartheid in South Africa has been chronicled over time, but no one has addressed the vital role music plays in this challenge. This documentary by Lee Hirsch recounts a fascinating and little-known part of South Africa's political history through archival footage, interviews and, of course, several mesmerizing musical performances.
We Want the Funk!

2025

We Want the Funk!

2025
9.2
Stanley Nelson's syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, from early roots to 1970s urban funk and beyond.
Bad Faith

2024

Bad Faith

2024
7
On January 6, 2021, Americans witnessed an attack on the U.S. Capitol without precedent in our history. Armed militiamen and QAnon followers made headlines, but among them were a sea of crosses and Christian flags, rosaries and "Jesus Saves" signs. What motivated so many Christians to participate in this violent assault?
E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea

2024

E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea

2024
5.8
A love triangle of jealousy in the Parisian art scene of the 1930s is brought to life in a stylish docufiction about iconic artist and architect Eileen Gray, who built her modernist dream house on the Riviera, only to be upstaged by Le Corbusier.
Never Look Away

2024

Never Look Away

2024
7.7
CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth fearlessly captures footage of war zones. After receiving catastrophic injuries in the crosshairs of battle, she returns to work with more courage than ever. An intimate portrait of a trailblazing female photojournalist. Features interviews with Moth’s family and friends, including CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. A Sundance film festival premiere directed by Lucy Lawless.
God & Country: The Rise of Christian Nationalism

2024

God & Country: The Rise of Christian Nationalism

2024
7.1
Examines the implications of Christian Nationalism, how it distorts not only our constitutional republic, but Christianity itself, and asks the question: What happens when a faith built on love, sacrifice, and forgiveness grows political tentacles, conflating power, money, and belief into hyper-nationalism?
Downwind

2023

Downwind

2023
6.8
A documentary about nuclear fallout in the United States, specifically members of the Shoshone Nation whose sacred land continues to be cordoned off as a nuclear test site.
Queen of the Deuce

2023

Queen of the Deuce

2023
6.8
The unbelievable true story of Chelly Wilson, who escaped the Holocaust and built a porn cinema empire in New York City in the 1970s. Chelly was a Greek-born, Christmas-celebrating, Jewish grandma, who married men but was openly gay. This documentary charts her unlikely rise to wealth as a shrewd businesswoman on “The Deuce,” aka New York’s infamous 42nd Street.
Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition

2023

Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition

2023
7.8
With loans from across the world, this major retrospective will bring together Vermeer’s most famous masterpieces including Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Geographer, The Milkmaid, The Little Street, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, and Woman Holding a Balance. This film invites audiences to a private view of the exhibition, accompanied by the director of the Rijksmuseum and the curator of the show.
Who Done It: The Clue Documentary

2022

Who Done It: The Clue Documentary

2022
5
Clue (1985) has become a cult classic film and is loved by multiple generations. Yet there has never been a documentary created to tell the behind the scenes stories...until now.
Music for Black Pigeons

2023

Music for Black Pigeons

2023
6.8
Music for Black Pigeons is the first collaboration between Jørgen Leth and Andreas Koefoed. The film poses existential questions to influential jazz players such as Bill Frisell, Lee Konitz, Midori Takada and many others: How does it feel to play, and what does it mean to listen? What is it like to be a human being and spending your whole life trying to express something through sounds? The characters wake up, rehearse, record, perform and talk about music. In some moments they are on the edge, the edge of existence, constantly challenging themselves. They listen. They devote themselves to finding a space to create a connection to something bigger than themselves. Something that will outlast all of us.