Browse documentary movie in Canada
Dive into the world of documentary movie in Canada. From timeless classics to trending hits, explore an exciting collection of titles that define the documentary genre.
Explore critically acclaimed blockbusters, hidden gems, and trending new releases that showcase the diversity and creativity of documentary storytelling. Use our filters to find top-rated titles, recent hits, or beloved classics tailored to your taste.
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This film, the first ever to chronicle Lowell George's life, music and career, uses archive footage and interviews of and with Lowell and Little Feat, plus contributions from many of those who knew him best, to visually recount the sometimes ecstatic, other times tragic life and times of this maverick genius.
Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George (2015 )
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"Landfill Harmonic" follows the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a Paraguayan musical group that plays instruments made entirely out of garbage. When their story goes viral, the orchestra is catapulted into the global spotlight. Under the guidance of idealistic music director Favio Chavez, the orchestra must navigate a strange new world of arenas and sold-out concerts. However, when a natural disaster strikes their country, Favio must find a way to keep the orchestra intact and provide a source of hope for their town. The film is a testament to the transformative power of music and the resilience of the human spirit.
Landfill Harmonic (2015 )
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This music documentary tracks the meteoric rise of classic rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd as well as the bands' tragic downfall.
Gone with the Wind: The Remarkable Rise and Tragic Fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd (2015 )
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Born out of the ashes of Big Star, arguably the greatest cult band of all time, Memphis local Van Duren joined forces with ex-members Chris Bell & Jody Stephens to form a band and become regulars on the 70s Memphis bar circuit. In little time they got the attention of Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who then started managing Van Duren. Van was tipped to be the next Paul McCartney but instead faded into obscurity. Forty years later, two friends from Australia (a band manager and musician) chance upon the mysterious musician’s lost album. They fall hopelessly in love with the music and set out to discover why Van Duren isn’t a household name.
Waiting: The Van Duren Story (2018 )
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The story of Sport and Spoon - two young hustlers who attend the eponymous convention, only to get tangled up in a financial disagreement that leads to a shootout, police chase and finishes with Sport on death row, weighing up what it all means. Taking its title from the album, the film blends archive photos with interviews and uses unique animated sequences set to the album. It portrays Hustlers Convention in its wider social context and Jalal's personal story as one of rap's undisputed pioneers.
Hustlers Convention (2015 )
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The Life & Times of Bobby Keys ... decades-long Sax player with The Rolling Stones, best friend to Keith Richards, and session player with John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Delaney & Bonnie, George Harrison, Dr. John, Joe Cocker, Harry Nilsson, Ian McLagan, Keith Moon, Etta James, Ronnie Wood, Sheryl Crow, Ringo Starr, Joe Ely, Warren Zevon, Billy Preston, Donovan, Marvin Gaye, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, John Hiatt, Yoko Ono and B.B. King.
Every Night's a Saturday Night (2018 )
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Actor/singer Robert Davi gives himself one year to recreate Frank Sinatra's fabled 'Main Event' concert in Madison Square Garden to celebrate the centenary of Sinatra's birth.
Davi's Way (2018 )
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A look at the history of the American comedy publication and production company, National Lampoon, from its beginning in the 1970s to 2010, featuring rare and never before seen footage, this is the mind boggling story of The National Lampoon from its subversive and electrifying beginnings, to rebirth as an unlikely Hollywood heavyweight, and beyond. A humour empire like no other, the impact of the magazines irreverent, often shocking, sensibility was nothing short of seismic: this is an institution whose (drunk stoned brilliant) alumni left their fingerprints all over popular culture. Both insanely great and breathtakingly innovative, The National Lampoon created the foundation of modern comic sensibility by setting the bar in comedy impossibly high.
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon (2015 )
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The story of Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully, the unlikely duo at the heart of 1960s American drug counter-culture. United in a utopian mission to save the planet through the consciousness-raising power of LSD, these underground chemists manufactured a massive amount of acid, including the gold standard for quality LSD, 'Orange Sunshine,' all while staying one step ahead of the Feds.
The Sunshine Makers (2015 )
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Single mother Anna and her four children live in the front-line war zone of Donbas, Ukraine. While the outside world is made up of bombings and chaos, the family is managing to keep their home a safe haven, full of life and full of light. Every member of the family has a passion for cinema, motivating them to shoot a film inspired by their own life during a time of war. The creative process raises the question of what kind of power the magical world of cinema could have during times of disaster. How to picture war through fiction? For Anna and the children, transforming trauma into a work of art is the ultimate way to stay human.
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (2020 )
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How do you define classic rock? Is it a genre, a radio format, or music from a specific period of time? Filmmaker & lifelong rocker Daniel Sarkissian travels the world, interviewing iconic artists in search of an answer.
What is Classic Rock? (2018 )
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Tuberculosis is the deadliest killer in human history, responsible for one in four deaths for almost two centuries. While it shaped medical pursuits, social habits, economic development and public policy, TB and its impact are poorly understood.
The Forgotten Plague (2015 )
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On the Pacific island of Guadalcanal in 1942, the famed 1st Marine Division — the oldest, largest and most decorated division of the U.S. Marine Corps — defeated Japanese forces in a turning point of WWII. This film documents the experiences of 1st Marine Division veterans who took part in the historic fight.
1st to Fight: Pacific War Marines (2020 )
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A glimpse into the world of the women who create and consume romance novels.
Love Between the Covers (2015 )
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The story of the Black Panthers is often told in a scatter of repackaged parts, often depicting tragic, mythic accounts of violence and criminal activity; but this is an essential story, vibrant, human; a living and breathing chronicle of a pivotal movement that birthed a new revolutionary culture in America.
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015 )
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They grew up under the Nazi regime. They pledged to give their lives for Hitler. They were fanatics who would not be stopped. They were the 20,000 teenagers who made up the 12th SS Panzer Division. Unleashed in France to halt the Allied invasion, they would sow terror and destruction in their wake. Historical colorized archives and a handful of survivors tell us this story.
Hitler's Teen Killers (2020 )
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The story of how Dr. George Daniels rose from Dickensian poverty to become the finest watchmaker of the modern era – and how Roger Smith embarked on an obsessive, seven-year quest to become his apprentice and equal.
The Watchmaker's Apprentice (2015 )
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When Ahmad’s life comes under threat by the Taliban in Afghanistan, he leaves his family behind for survival, without saying good bye, and ends up in Europe’s worst Refugee Detention Camp, Moria. Ahmad joins forces with Canadian filmmaker Jawad Mir (Only 78), to document his journey in the detention centre, with hopes he will eventually be granted asylum in Europe or Canada. Through the stress of leaving his family, and the anxiety of not knowing how many years it will take, Ahmad strives to maintain his determination while making the lives of those around him better if he can.
Citizen of Moria (2020 )
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A short documentary about the lives of Etty Hillesum and Franz Jaegerstaetter.
Strangers To The World (2020 )
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From worldwide acclaim to a nationwide political battle for survivor's of sexual abuse, "The 5 Browns" captures the emotional journey of the Juilliard trained, sibling piano prodigies - and their remarkable story of determination, healing and bravery as they come to terms with the sexual abuse the three girls suffered from their manager and father.
The 5 Browns: Digging Through The Darkness (2018 )
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On June 24, 1973, a gay bar in New Orleans called the Up Stairs Lounge was deliberately set on fire — an event that, for over 40 years, was considered the "Largest Gay Mass Murder in U.S. History."
Upstairs Inferno (2015 )
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From the onset of the AIDS epidemic, author Larry Kramer emerged as a fiery activist, an Old Testament-style prophet full of righteous fury who denounced both the willful inaction of the government and the refusal of the gay community to curb potentially risky behaviors. Co-founder of both organization Gay Men's Health Crisis and the direct action protest group ACT UP, Kramer was vilified by some who saw his criticism to be an expression of self-hatred, while lionized by others who credit him with waking up the gay community — and, eventually, the government and medical establishment — to the devastation of the disease.
Larry Kramer In Love & Anger (2015 )
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A documentary chronicling the events surrounding three Americans arrested and held as political hostages in Iran and their families’ campaign to free them.
3 Hikers (2015 )
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A personal documentary about a public subject, My Father's Vietnam personifies the connections made and unmade by the Vietnam War. Featuring never-before-seen photographs and 8mm footage of the era, My Father's Vietnam is the story of three soldiers, only one of whom returned home alive. Interviews with the filmmaker's Vietnam Veteran father, and the friends and family members of two men he served with who were killed there, give voice to individuals who continue to silently carry the psychological burdens of a war that ended over 40 years ago. My Father's Vietnam carries with it the potential to encourage audiences to broach the subjects of service and sacrifice with the veterans in their lives.
My Father's Vietnam (2015 )
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Chinatown Fair opened as a penny arcade on Mott Street in 1944. Over the decades, the dimly lit gathering place, known for its tic-tac-toe playing chicken, became an institution, surviving turf wars between rival gangs, changing tastes and the explosive growth of home gaming systems like Xbox and Playstation that shuttered most other arcades in the city. But as the neighborhood gentrified, this haven for a diverse, unlikely community faced its strongest challenge, inspiring its biggest devotees to next-level greatness.
The Lost Arcade (2015 )
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The dramatic story of an unimaginable wildfire that swept across the Northern Rockies in the summer of 1910.
The Big Burn (2015 )
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An insider's look at the most famous person most people have never heard of: singer-songwriter Billy Vera.
Harlem to Hollywood (2019 )
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The incredible story of one of the most radical ideas of the entire second world war. Operation Market Garden was the plan that caused over 10,000 paratroops to be whittled down to just 2000. (Amazon Prime)
Field of Operations: The Battle of Arnhem (2020 )
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On April 1, 1945, the United States military launched its invasion of the main island of Okinawa, the start of a battle that was to last 12 weeks and claim the lives of some 240,000 people. This film depicts the Battle through the eyes of Japanese and American soldiers who fought each other on the same battlefield, along with Okinawa civilians who were swept up in the fighting. The film also depicts the history of discrimination and oppression forced upon Okinawa by the American and Japanese governments. Carrying up to the current controversy over the construction of a new base at Henoko, the film explores the root causes of the widespread disillusionment and anger expressed by many Okinawans. This ambitious documentary was directed by the American John Junkerman, long-term resident of Japan and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker. Okinawa: The Afterburn is a heartfelt plea for peace and an expression of deep respect for the unyielding spirit of the Okinawa people.
Okinawa: The Afterburn (2015 )
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A review of the wild New York City nightlife of the 90s. The cast of characters who made up the infamous Club Kids speak candidly about that era, culminating with Alig's release from incarceration.
Glory Daze: The Life and Times of Michael Alig (2015 )
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The story behind the rise and fall of New York's 42nd Street. The cinemas, the films, the people, the crime and the rebirth of the block as "New 42nd Street" - this is the document of the world's most notorious movie strip.
42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street (2015 )
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From off the grid to under the grow lights, Mary Jane: A Musical Potumentary follows the story of a back to the land pot farmer coming to terms with raising her son and her income in a black market economy.
Mary Jane: A Musical Potumentary (2016 )