Documentaries on Netflix
The streaming video service Netflix will occasionally make notable documentaries available free of charge, as "one-time educational screenings." Netflix maintains an Educational Documentaries playlist on Youtube for public access to these documentaries. Please read carefully the conditions for screening one of these titles.
Sreaming Video Websites
Viewer Beware. These websites provide streaming video or links to streaming video for free. There is no guarantee that the sites have vetted their content in any way or that they have negotiated the rights to stream these films. With that warning, there is useful content here for cautious viewers. Please see the Copyright/Legal Concerns tab for more information about legally showing films in your online or geographically based class.
- Academic Film Archive of North AmericaThe Academic Film Archive of North America strives to acquire, preserve, document, and promote academic film by providing an archive, resource, and forum for continuing scholarly advancement and public exhibition.
- American Archive of Public BroadcastingDiscover historic programs of publicly funded radio and television across America. Watch and listen.
See PBS in this list for current public broadcast videos. - American Indian Film GalleryVintage motion pictures offering rich perspectives on the American Indian experience.
- American RhetoricFeatures a growing collection of text, audio, and video versions of over 5,000 speeches.
- Annenberg LearnerPart of the Annenberg Foundation, Annenberg Media uses media and telecommunications to advance excellent teaching in American schools. The Learner.org web site provides access to many of the exceptional educational video programs developed with grant money as telecourses, including series on algebra, art, chemistry, economics, film, history, poetry, and foreign languages, among others.
- Archive of American TelevisionHosted by the TV Academy Foundation this archive provides access to hundreds of in-depth video interviews with TV's greatest legends and pioneers.
- C-SPAN VideoContains all C-SPAN programs since 1987, indexed, abstracted, and cataloged by the C-SPAN Archives staff.
- CDC TVThe library of videos includes topics on health, safety, and preparedness.
- Civil Rights Digital LibraryProvides access to online films, texts, images, and audio recordings related to the Civil Rights movement in the United States in the 1950's and 1960's.
- Concentric Films - Dorothy FadimanCONCENTRIC MEDIA's founder, Dorothy Fadiman, has been producing films for 40 years. We provide fresh perspectives on complex issues. Subjects range from holistic healing to progressive education; from aging to the universal Spirit within all faiths. Our work also documents controversial subjects such as women's reproductive rights, HIV/AIDS in Africa, and the disenfranchisement of Native Americans.
- Ethnographic Video for Discussion & AnalysisCollaborative endeavor to create a digital archive of ethnographic field video for use by scholars and instructors.
- FolkstreamsStreaming films about American cultures, subcultures and folklife.
- International Monetary FundProvides more than 1,000 short-form videos, generally under 5 minutes, produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- Internet ArchiveThe Moving Image Archive within the Internet Archive provides access to nearly a quarter million films, uploaded by Archive users, and ranging from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts
- LinkTV"Link TV....programs provide a unique perspective on international news, current events, and diverse cultures, presenting issues not often covered in the US media." From About Us
- Media BurnThe Media Burn Archive is a collection of over 6,000 independent, non-corporate tapes that reflect cultural, political and social reality as seen by independent producers, from 1969 to the present.
- Moving Image Research CenterLibrary of Congress provides access to several hundred early motion pictures.
- Netflix Free DocumentariesNetflix's YouTube channel of documentaries available without a subscription. For details, see - https://about.netflix.com/en/news/free-educational-documentaries
- PBS Learning MediaPBS and your local station have curated FREE, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more just for teachers like you.
- PBS VideoProvides access to selected programs from selected PBS series (such as Nature, American Experience, Nova, and Frontline, among others.)
- ScienceCinemaContains multimedia videos highlighting the U.S. Department of Energy's scientific research.
- Stanford Health Library VideoThe Stanford Health Library provides a collection of online videos covering various health topics, including health and society, cancer support, and women's health.
- Tactical Media FilesGrowing archive of documentaries and online films with political agendas. Films are streamed through website with physical archive hosted at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam.
- TED: Technology, Entertainment, DesignMakes available the best talks and performances from TED and partners. More than 500 TEDTalks are now available, with more added each week. All of the talks feature closed captions in English, and many feature subtitles in various languages. Videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.
- Thanhouser Films OnlineMore than 50 films provide a representative cross section of the output produced by the Thanhouser film enterprise based in New Rochelle, New York between 1910 and 1917.
- WGBH Open VaultProvides online access to unique and historically important content produced by the public television and radio station WGBH. The ever-expanding site contains video, audio, images, searchable transcripts, and resource management tools, all of which are available for individual and classroom learning.
