Students can now stream thousands of documentaries and foreign films using their library card.
Kanopy, a movie streaming service, offers 30,000 titles to card holders in more than 200 library systems. This independent cinema website has a strong focus on documentaries and foreign films, both mainstream and lesser-known films.
Each library has their own limit for how many free movies a card holder can watch a month, ranging from three to 20 titles.
The service brings smaller titles right to your mobile devices with an app available for Apple and Android products.
People have access to many titles in pre-established groupings such as the acclaimed Criterion Collection. This grouping consists of classic and contemporary films from the 1930s to current releases.
The website also categorizes their content based on subjects: the arts, business, education, global studies & languages, health, media & communications, sciences, social sciences, instructional films & lessons and staff picks.
Kanopy does lack access to larger Hollywood films such as superhero franchises and recent Oscar winners.
Ohio University branch campuses offer Kanopy, but the main campus doesn’t.
The service is available at select libraries in Ohio’s major cities: The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Cuyahoga Community College, the Michael Schwartz Library, University of Cincinnati and the University of Dayton.
Here are some films you should watch on Kanopy:
1. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
Filmmaker Raoul Peck uses the first 30 pages of James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript “Remember This House” to examine the institutional racism that continues in America today. Samuel L. Jackson’s narration and archival footage help viewers find the relation between the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter.
2. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
This classic takes place in post-World War II Rome. A poor man secures a painting job that would support his family only to lose the company’s bicycle on the first day. He and his son must travel around the city trying to locate the bike. This Italian neorealist film speaks a tale of personal clarity and honesty.
3. Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down (1989)
This controversial foreign film stars Antonio Banderas as an unstable man who was previously held in a mental hospital. He kidnaps an aspiring actress with the hope that she will fall in love with him.
4. Claire in Motion (2016)
Filmed in Athens and the surrounding area, Claire in Motion was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at the SXSW Film Festival. A woman who’s secure in her job and family gets shaken up when her husband suddenly disappears. She finds several clues that make her question whether things were as much of a fantasy as she was led to believe.
5. No Men Beyond This Point (2015)
A mockumentary that shows viewers what the world would look like if women were in charge. Since 1953, women have been able to reproduce without a man’s help and only birth female babies. The story follows Andrew Myers (Patrick Gilmore), a housemaid for a group of women and the youngest man still alive. He’s part of the fight to keep men from going extinct.
6. 2 Days in Paris (2007)
Jack and Marion, a neurotic American and a French native, travel through Europe on vacation from normal worries about their relationship. However, visiting Marion’s family in France means running into her exes … lots of them.
7. About Scout (2015)
Scout, a rebel, and Sam, a rich kid, come from completely different areas and have conflicting personalities. But when Scout loses her little sis, Lulu, they must travel across West Texas looking for her. They end up being blamed for a convenience store robbery and must go on the run from authorities.
8. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)
Many troublesome sorts of people live in the Iranian town, Bad City. One vampire lurks around the colorful and unsavory characters. A chance encounter between a boy and a girl gives a romantic spin to this supernatural western.
9. City Lights (1931)
This Charlie Chaplin classic tells the tale of a man who falls in love with a blind woman that mistook him for a millionaire. City Lights was released after the invention of sound in films, but people still love Chaplin’s physical comedy.
10. Weekend (2011)
This Jean-Luc Godard satire film takes on a different mood than the director’s other works. An upper-class couple travels through rural France in order to receive the inheritance from a dead relative. The characters make many comments about history and literature. The film itself calls for revolution in a horrifically funny manner.
