Documentaries in Journalism: Watch Documentaries
Finding Documentaries from the Libraries
Find documentaries that area streaming and on DVD in CLIO, the library catalog, just as you would for books. There are several ways to search for documentaries:
- Search for a specific documentary by Title
- Type the title in the search box—to search an exact phrase, put it in quotation marks
- In the Catalog section of CLIO, change the "All Fields" dropdown next to search box to "Title"
- Search for documentaries by a specific Director
- Type the name in the search box
- In the Catalog section of CLIO, change the "All Fields" dropdown next to the search box to "Author"
- Browse documentaries by Subject
- Start by searching for Subject (Genre): Documentary films
- Use the facets at the left to limit by subject, region, date, language, and more
- To find only streaming videos, click "Online" under the Format facet
Streaming Video Databases
The Libraries have many streaming services with documentaries you can view from anywhere. Below are popular databases that include documentary content. See the Libraries' Streaming Video guide and TV & Radio News guide for additional streaming content, or search for other Databases in CLIO.
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Docuseek2 complete collection. This link opens in a new windowDocumentary and social issues films from Bullfrog Films, Icarus Films (including The Fanlight Collection and dGenerate Films), Kartemquin Films, MediaStorm, the National Film Board of Canada, Scorpion TV, Sincerely Films, Terra Nova Films, Villon Films, and more.
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Feature Films for Education This link opens in a new windowCurrent and hard-to-find titles for educational purposes, including documentaries, dramas, literary adaptations, blockbusters, classics, Academy Award winners, and more.
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Filmakers library online This link opens in a new windowFilmakers Library is a well-known and respected distributor of issues-based documentaries. The titles cross nearly all academic disciplines and focus on critical issues, figures, and cultures.
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Kanopy. Barnard College access link This link opens in a new windowAn on-demand streaming video service with award-winning documentaries, feature films, and more. Kanopy titles are licensed from such major educational producers and distributors as PBS, BBC, Criterion Collection, and the Media Education Foundation. Note: The Barnard access link works for all Columbia affiliates and has a different selection of films from the Columbia access link.
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Kanopy. Columbia University access link This link opens in a new windowAn on-demand streaming video service with award-winning documentaries, feature films, and more. Kanopy titles are licensed from such major educational producers and distributors as PBS, BBC, Criterion Collection, and the Media Education Foundation.
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LGBT studies in video. This link opens in a new windowLGBT Studies in Video is a cinematic survey of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people as well as the cultural and political evolution of the LGBT community. It features award-winning documentaries, interviews, archival footage, and select feature films.
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Naxos video library This link opens in a new windowA performing arts video library with operas, ballets, documentaries, live concerts, and musical tours of historic places. It includes the Naxos DVD label, Opus Arte, Arthaus, Dacapo, and EuroArts, among others.
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PBS video collection. This link opens in a new windowThe PBS video collection assembles hundreds of documentary films and series from the Public Broadcasting Service, including Frontline, NOVA, American Experience, Odyssey, as well as films by Ken Burns and Michael Wood.
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Projectr. This link opens in a new windowA curated and ever-expanding collection of acclaimed movies, archival restorations, award-winning documentaries and artist-made works from around the world.
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Silent film online This link opens in a new windowMore than 1,200 films which together represent the basis of modern cinematic technique and film theory, with silent features, serials, and shorts beginning in the 1890s.
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Swank Digital Campus. Barnard College access link This link opens in a new windowSwank Digital Campus is a streaming video service with select documentaries and feature, independent, and international films. Note: The Barnard access link works for all Columbia affiliates and has a different selection of films from the Columbia access link.
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Swank Digital Campus. Columbia University access link This link opens in a new windowSwank Digital Campus is a streaming video service with select documentaries and feature, independent, and international films.
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World cinema video collection. This link opens in a new windowThe World cinema video collection provides access to online streaming titles from Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, including films from the silent era, from the mid-20th century, as well as award-winning contemporary works.
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World history in video : English-language documentaries. This link opens in a new windowWorld history in video is an online collection of streaming video that gives users access to critically acclaimed documentaries from filmmakers worldwide, offering a survey of human history from the earliest civilizations to the fall of the Berlin Wall. World history in video covers Africa and the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania.
