Prime Video
Documentary
Years

Popular Documentary Movies

Crazywater
Prime Video
Crazywater
In Vancouver, Alex, from the Nisga’a Nation, talks about the abuse and violence that drove him to take his first drink. Paula, a Woodland Cree woman, started shooting up at age 11; soon, the only way to support her habit was as a sex worker. As a five-year-old girl, Desirae was put into foster care; now as an adult with her own kids, she struggles to break the generational cycle of addiction.
Crazywater 2013
Grateful Dead: So Far
Prime Video
Grateful Dead: So Far
So Far is a music documentary video by the Grateful Dead. Directed by Jerry Garcia and Len Dell'Amico, it is intended to give a subjective view of the Grateful Dead experience. The soundtrack includes Dead song performances, largely from 1985. The visuals combine scenes of the band playing the songs, other Dead related material, computer animation, and found footage that has been altered and edited in various ways. So Far was released on VHS videotape and on laserdisc in 1987, and has a running time of 55 minutes.
Grateful Dead: So Far 1987
People in Motion
Prime Video
People in Motion
Cedric Dahl traveled the US west coast with 5 parkour practitioners who shared a passion for movement. This film documents the experience over 9 months.
People in Motion 2012
Princes of the Yen
Prime Video
Princes of the Yen
Set in 20th Century Japan the documentary explores the role and power of Central Banks and how they can be used to change a country's economic political and social structures A documentary adaption off the book by Professor Richard Werner.
Princes of the Yen 2014
Who Made You?
Prime Video
Who Made You?
Artificial intelligence and new technologies are reaching our mental and physical existence like never before in the history of human kind. The film is a journey that leads us to the world of cyborgs, sex robots and Androids. It challenges us to face our values, ethics and rethink our position. The main character of the film is young researcher Dr. Michael Laakasuo whose work Moralities of Intelligent Machines has gained international recognition.
Who Made You? 2019
The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam
Prime Video
The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam
Long Tack Sam was an internationally renowned Chinese acrobat and magician. He overcame isolation, poverty, cultural and linguistic barriers, extreme racism and world wars to become one of the most successful vaudeville acts of his time. His showmanship was unrivalled, yet he refused to appear in movies because of the way Chinese were portrayed at the time. A celebration of the spirit of Long Tack Sam's magic and art, this richly textured first person road movie is an exhilarating testament to his legacy and a prismatic tour through the 20th Century. It all begins in a small village in China... https://www.nfb.ca/film/the_magical_life_of_long_tack_sam/
The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam 2003
Snowriders
Prime Video
Snowriders
Spectacular shots of snowcapped peaks and extreme skiers gracefully defying gravity, not to mention common sense, are the highlights of this entertaining video from the venerable guru of skiing movies, Warren Miller. Sparing no expense, Miller's film crews span the globe, shooting snowboarders careening down absurdly steep Alaskan peaks, ski guides helicoptering to remote slopes in British Columbia, and hardy (and uninhibited) Scotsmen who boldly catch some "big air" in kilts. This video is fraught with offbeat humor, including shots of a snowshoe race that could have been filmed by Mack Sennett, and footage of "face jumping," the oddball diversion of hurling oneself off Alpine glaciers and parachuting to earth. Miller's gentle narration, replete with trademark corny remarks reminiscent of old movie newsreels, mixes with a musical soundtrack of contemporary rock that is often uncannily synched with the astounding footage of extreme skiing.
Snowriders 1996
Madina's Dream
Prime Video
Madina's Dream
An unflinching and poetic glimpse into a forgotten war, Madina’s Dream tells the story of rebels and refugees fighting to survive in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. After decades of civil war, South Sudan achieved its independence from Sudan in 2011. But inside Sudan, the conflict continues. Sudan’s government employs aerial bombings and starvation warfare against the inhabitants of the Nuba Mountains. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled to refugee camps in South Sudan or remain trapped in the war zone. Eleven- year -old Madina and countless others dream of a brighter future for the Nuban people.
Madina's Dream 2015
Disfarmer: A Portrait of America
Prime Video
Disfarmer: A Portrait of America
Mike Disfarmer, small town portrait photographer turned posthumous art star. This is the story of an eccentric curmudgeon and artistic icon whose powerful pictures of depression-era USA have left an unlikely mark on the modern Manhattan art world.
Disfarmer: A Portrait of America 2010
Made for More
Prime Video
Made for More
Are you ready for a girl’s night out unlike anything you’ve experienced before? Fresh off the success of her best-selling Girl, Wash Your Face, author, mama of four, CEO/founder of popular The Chic Site blog Rachel Hollis’ is taking the audience on an inside look at chasing the biggest of dreams. Rachel Hollis’ belief that she’s here to change the world will inspire you to believe you can do the same. It’s that belief that had her start a live event series where women who don’t look the same, vote the same or act the same come together to be inspired, supported and enveloped in community. Believing you’re enough, that you can chase the biggest dreams – they’re all tackled in the documentary capturing the conquering of Rachel’s own fears and trusting her gut. This is your chance to get a peek inside and then have a Q&A with Rachel after the show. This is promised to be a night you and your girlfriends will never forget!
Made for More 2018
Barge
Prime Video
Barge
A towboat drifts down the Mississippi River, due for the port of New Orleans. The water, the banks, the bright lights of a port ahead; the lure of a coming paycheck and a home-cooked meal. This is the world of BARGE. A green deckhand following his father into the family business. A former convict working his way upward job by job, in the hopes of being First Mate. A thirty-eight year veteran engineer in no hurry to retire. An ancient waterway pulling a double shift as the backbone of a national economy; a tangle of thick steel cables, tied together just right. As long as the boat’s moving, they’re making money. An intimate portrait of the machinery of American ambitions.
Barge 2015
Stink!
Prime Video
Stink!
"Stink!" opens with a foul smell and a pair of kids pajamas. And a single father trying to find out what that smell could possibly be. But instead of getting a straight answer, director Jon Whelan stumbles on an even bigger issue in America, which is that some products on our store shelves are not safe -- by design. Entertaining, enlightening, and at times almost absurd, "Stink!" takes you on a madcap journey from the retailer to the laboratory, through corporate boardrooms, down back alleys, and into the halls of Congress. Follow Whelan as he clashes with political and corporate operatives all trying to protect the darkest secrets of the chemical industry. You won't like what you smell.
Stink! 2015
Dust Devils
Prime Video
Dust Devils
A beautifully done video of Burning Man 2001, 2002 & 2003. Lots of people interviews, Center Cafe activity and extensive coverage of artist David Best and the Temple construction and burn. This documentary captures the swirling columns of dust that were created during the intense heat of the 2002 Temple burn.
Dust Devils 2003
Meat
Prime Video
Meat
Meat is the modern story of the animals we eat, as told by the people who never get to say their piece - from the solitary hunter who believes everyone needs to be educated about their food, to an industrial pig farmer who argues that money isn't his primary driver.
Meat 2018
Men in the Arena
Prime Video
Men in the Arena
A touching story of friendship, struggle and triumph, the film follows the journey of two Somali national soccer team friends chasing their dreams in the face of impossible odds. After surviving two decades of war, Saadiq, 17, and Sa’ad, 19, the team’s most promising stars, enter the only televised match of the year hoping scouts will be watching. With passports of no value on the world stage, soccer may be their only shot to escape a growing terror threat, persecution and poverty. Against the backdrop of fear and shared sacrifice, they embark on separate but equally improbable journeys. In the opportunity of a lifetime, Saadiq sets off for America with dreams of an education and a soccer career. Sa’ad continues his career in Mogadishu with the hopes of someday being reunited with his friend. Their biggest dream is shared – to be symbols of hope to generations who have only known war.
Men in the Arena 2017
Compassion in Emptiness
Prime Video
Compassion in Emptiness
Over the course of a three-day series of teachings and a public lecture, the Dalai Lama discusses numerous Buddhist tenets, such as maintaining compassion despite the pressures of modern society, achieving inner peace and living a responsible life.
Compassion in Emptiness 2011
Mentor
Prime Video
Mentor
Mentor, Ohio: largely white, largely upper middle class, and listed as one of the Top 100 Places to Live in the United States. Its attraction for immigrants and others has proven to be a deadly illusion.
Mentor 2014
Dorothea Lange: Grab A Hunk of Lightning
Prime Video
Dorothea Lange: Grab A Hunk of Lightning
More than four decades of 20th-century America are filtered through Dorothea Lange's life and lens. Known for her powerful images from the Great Depression, her haunting Migrant Mother remains emblematic of that period.
Dorothea Lange: Grab A Hunk of Lightning 2014
To Kill a Sparrow
Prime Video
To Kill a Sparrow
Today, there are over 800 young Afghan women imprisoned for so-called 'moral crimes.' These crimes include running away from unlawful forced marriages and domestic violence, or simply falling in love and marrying against a father's wishes. This is the story of one of these women. When Soheila was only five, she was given away in marriage to an old man in compensation for her older brother's crime: stealing his young third wife. When she ran away from the abusive marriage, her father had her arrested and imprisoned. Soheila is finally freed by an amnesty decreed by President Karzai. We meet her again in a safe house in Kabul where she is protected from the father and brother who threaten to kill her if she attempts to rejoin the father of her child. The father also demands that she kill her three year-old son to restore the family's honor.
To Kill a Sparrow 2013
Eating Alabama
Prime Video
Eating Alabama
In search of a simpler life, a young couple returns home to Alabama where they set out to eat the way their grandparents did – locally and seasonally. But as they navigate the agro-industrial gastronomical complex, they soon realize that nearly everything about the food system has changed since farmers once populated their family histories. A thoughtful and often funny essay on community, the South and sustainability, “Eating Alabama” is a story about why food matters.
Eating Alabama 2012
Mobilize
Prime Video
Mobilize
Mobilize is an explosive investigative documentary that explores the potential long-term health effects from cell phone radiation, including brain cancer and infertility. This thought-provoking film examines the most recent scientific research and the harsh challenges politicians face trying to pass precautionary legislation. Featuring interviews with expert researchers, major mobile phone associates and prominent politicians, Mobilize illuminates how the power of money can compromise public health.
Mobilize 2014
Monster Madness: The Gothic Revival of Horror
Prime Video
Monster Madness: The Gothic Revival of Horror
With sex, gore, and the Dracula/Frankenstein combo, Hammer's House of Horror changed the genre forever in the 1950s. With marquee actors like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, Hammer ruled the horror world for a decade. See the legendary tale of blood, babes, and vampire bats here.
Monster Madness: The Gothic Revival of Horror 2015
Monsterman
Prime Video
Monsterman
A film about the monster of Lapland, Mr. Lordi, who after winning the Eurovision Song Contest loses everything, almost everything.
Monsterman 2014
Flamenco at 5:15
Prime Video
Flamenco at 5:15
In this Oscar Winning documentary short film, students in their final year at the National Ballet School of Canada are seen learning the flamenco from Susana and Antonio Robledo, who come to the school every winter to conduct classes which are held after the day's regular schedule has ended.
Flamenco at 5:15 1983
The Other Man: F.W. de Klerk and the End of Apartheid
Prime Video
The Other Man: F.W. de Klerk and the End of Apartheid
F.W. de Klerk was the last President of apartheid-era South Africa. In less than 4 years he went from being Mandela's jailor to his deputy president. Together they changed history for the better and may have prevented a civil war, yet little is known about de Klerk. Through his probing lens, Rossier explores the fascinating political journey and legacy of this complicated figure.
The Other Man: F.W. de Klerk and the End of Apartheid 2014
Too Sane for This World
Prime Video
Too Sane for This World
Too Sane for This World explores the challenges, gifts, and distinct perspectives of 12 adults on the autism spectrum. Featuring an introduction by bestselling author, Dr. Temple Grandin, and interviews designed by adults with high-functioning autism, the film discusses many of the problems facing the autism community – from bullying to marginalization and discrimination. A unique collaboration between neurotypical and atypical individuals, men and women living on the spectrum speak candidly about defining and coming to terms with their autism, difficulties they’ve faced, and the experiences that have shaped their lives, illustrating the neurodiversity of the mind and its limitless potential.
Too Sane for This World 2011
Bull Runners of Pamplona
Prime Video
Bull Runners of Pamplona
This fast-paced documentary captures the thrill of the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. With red bandanas tied to their bodies, people scatter as the bulls make chase. Injuries are common, but the runners think it's worth the risk.
Bull Runners of Pamplona 2011
The Family Jams
Prime Video
The Family Jams
A young group of influential musicians tours the country, living and singing together in a Utopian expression of togetherness and family.
The Family Jams 2011
Bounce: How the Ball Taught the World to Play
Prime Video
Bounce: How the Ball Taught the World to Play
From Brazilian favelas to dusty Congolese villages, from a neolithic Scottish island and Mayan royal courts to modern English soccer pitches, “Bounce” explores the little-known origins of our favorite sports across the centuries, and traces how a simple invention like the ball has come to stake an unrivaled claim on our passions, our gaming consoles, our money, and our lives. Equal parts science, history and visual essay, “Bounce” removes us from the scandals and commercialism of today's sports world to uncover the true reasons we play ball, helping us reclaim our universal connection to the ball games we love.
Bounce: How the Ball Taught the World to Play 2015
Cold Nights Hot Salsa
Prime Video
Cold Nights Hot Salsa
The passionate story of two young salsa dancers from Montreal, in love with dancing and each other, who, over three ambitious years, set their sights on winning a World Salsa Championship
Cold Nights Hot Salsa 2015
Apocalypse Later: Harold Camping vs The End of the World
Prime Video
Apocalypse Later: Harold Camping vs The End of the World
Harold Camping sounded the alarm. May 21, 2011 was to be Judgment Day, God's intervention into our worldly affairs. The end is coming right now! Or, perhaps a little later. Apocalypse Later traces the roots of end times predictions from the Book of Daniel to the historical Jesus and lastly to Paul, the greatest of the Apostles.
Apocalypse Later: Harold Camping vs The End of the World 2013
Undercover Doctor: Cure Me, I'm Gay
Prime Video
Undercover Doctor: Cure Me, I'm Gay
Dr Jessen, unsurprisingly, emerged from this investigation as gay as he went in Let me ask you this. Do you own a pair of light tan shoes? Colourful, well-pressed check shirts? Do you possess any classical CDs? Do you – there's no easy way to say this – enjoy listening to Adele? Then, my friend, you are a gay man and, as part of your $3,000 per month de-gaying, these indicators of your deviant lifestyle will be taken from you and – quite possibly – burned on a ceremonial pyre.
Undercover Doctor: Cure Me, I'm Gay 2014
The Four Year Plan
Prime Video
The Four Year Plan
In 2007 Queens Park Rangers, a small Football Club of West London, were bottom of England's Second League and 2 hours from bankruptcy. Just as the club faced liquidation, they were bought by billionaire businessmen. Filmed in an observational fashion from a poetic distance, the documentary follows the larger than life and high profile characters who put their money and reputations on the line through 4 tumultuous years of enormous ups and downs. For 98 dramatic minutes we are given unprecedented access and remarkable insight into the worlds of sport, business, finance, power and ego - culminating in success in 2011, when QPR won promotion to the Premier League and the four year plan - set out by the owners in 2007 - was spectacularly achieved.
The Four Year Plan 2011
On The Wave
Prime Video
On The Wave
On the Wave is the first Russian surfing documentary that illustrates the beauty of surfing, both as a sport and as a life philosophy. This stunning documentary demonstrates how a person can fight their doubts and fears, unleashing their desire to break free and reconnect with nature and with the ocean.
On The Wave 2013
Surfing and Sharks
Prime Video
Surfing and Sharks
In South Africa between Durban and J.Bay lies approx 1000kms of untamed topographical and oceanic paradise, locally called 'Wild Coast'. For local surfers Lungani Memani, Andrew Lange and Avuyile Ndamase, it's their home. Every Year in June the ocean swells to it's peak, hosting the countries largest surf conditions and also becomes host to the sardine run bringing together a huge marine bio-diversity including many species of sharks. This documentary goes up close with Pro Surfers Lungani, Andrew and Avuyile, the family traditions and tribulations alongside a hand selected group of the best shark experts from the region to uncover the real secrets and stories that surround the shark stigma that exists in South Africa.
Surfing and Sharks 2011
Harlem Street Singer
Prime Video
Harlem Street Singer
Harlem Street Singer tells the little-known story of Reverend Gary Davis, the great American ragtime, blues and gospel guitarist. Not only is he one of the greatest folk guitar players of all time, he also represents the sweep of popular music in America during the twentieth century. Harlem Street Singer traces his journey from the tobacco warehouses of the rural south to the streets of Harlem, and onto the 1960s folk music scene, a blind street musician and itinerant preacher who rose out of abject poverty to influence a generation of musicians from Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to the Grateful Dead.
Harlem Street Singer 2014
The Nine Lives of Marion Barry
Prime Video
The Nine Lives of Marion Barry
Many people remember Marion Barry as the philandering drug-addled mayor of the nation's capital. He's the poster boy for corruption, a pariah. Yet to others, Marion Barry is a folk hero who has dominated Washington D.C. city politics for over 40 years. Today, Barry is once again in the political limelight. Who is Marion Barry, really? A hero? A scoundrel?
The Nine Lives of Marion Barry 2009
The Black Kung Fu Experience
Prime Video
The Black Kung Fu Experience
This film focuses on how a group of African American pioneers became respected masters in a subculture dominated by Chinese and white men.
The Black Kung Fu Experience 2012
Abducted New England
Prime Video
Abducted New England
A look at abductions in the New England area
Abducted New England 2018
The Do Gooders
Prime Video
The Do Gooders
British documentary filmmaker Chloe Ruthven’s grandparents were aid workers in Palestine. Growing up, she had avoided getting too involved in the subject, recalling how mention of the country made all the adults in her life angry. In her forties, after revisiting her grandmother’s book on the subject, she starts to research a documentary on the effects of foreign aid in the area and is shocked at the continued reliance on it there. Along the way she meets Lubna, a Palestinian woman who acts as her driver and fixer, and who is fiercely critical of Western aid efforts in her country. What begins as a quest to better understand her family history turns into a deeply emotional account of two women trying to understand one another. Ruthven’s determination to focus her film on deeply subjective analysis results in a unique joining of the acutely personal and complexly political. (Source: LFF programme)
The Do Gooders 2013