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Kanopy streaming service

In this time when international travel is difficult, I'm happy to have recently discovered Kanopy and thought that other Forum members might be interested in seeing if they also have access to it. It's a streaming service that has quite the selection of "world cinema," including a lot of films in French, Spanish, German, Italian and other languages, as well as the Criterion collection, documentaries and indie films, most of which I haven't seen on any other "mainstream" streaming platform.

(I promise I'm not sponsored by or at all associated with them!)

It's not something you can sign up for directly, but if you have a public library card with a system that subscribes, you have free access to Kanopy, usually to a certain number of films per month. From some quick Googling it appears that systems in Los Angeles, Washington (DC), San Francisco, Toronto, and Quebec, among many others, subscribe. However, some other systems, such as the New York systems, don't offer this (Kanopy is free to the user but of course not to the library system, so some systems have made the choice not to sign up/subscribe for understandable financial reasons).

I have a library card for a system that subscribes, and in the last couple of months I've been able to watch some French films (Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, Casse-tête chinois, the OSS 117 spy parody films) that have long been on my list, and on my watchlist I've got some German films (Balloon and Free Fall) and Spanish films that I've also been waiting to see.

Posted by
8158 posts

They have some not all of the Criterion Collection. You are lucky to have a local well funded tax payer public library.
There are other streaming companies selling to Libraries out there offering the same content also.

Posted by
4027 posts

One of the other Forum members introduced me to Kanopy a few months ago on a thread in the Poland forum (I think). Happily, the Spartanburg County Public Libraries subscribe to the service. I only get 5 tokens/viewings per month, but I honestly don't have time for much more than that. I think Balloon was the first movie I watched!

Posted by
7150 posts

I have Kanopy through my library and, as far as I know, there is no monthly limit. At least I've never run up against one. It's a great service if you can get it.

Posted by
5315 posts

Dave, glad you got to watch Balloon - hope you enjoyed it!

My library gives us 8 monthly Kanopy credits. I've watched quite a mix of movies (including Balloon) and documentaries. There is also a Kanopy Kids section, to which my library gives unlimited access.

Posted by
4027 posts

CWSocial--

I did enjoy it! I did some reading on the family and looked at some online newspaper "clippings" from the time when it happened.
Apparently the family hated the Disney version of their story from years ago but liked this version.

Posted by
616 posts

Kanopy is great! My library's subscription also offers several of The Great Courses series of lectures and they don't count towards the monthly limit. Right now, I'm enjoying The Celtic World and Renaissance: The Transformation of the West.

Posted by
144 posts

I’ve asked my local library repeatedly to get it. They say it is too expensive. You are lucky if you have it.

Posted by
1671 posts

Thanks Andrew, I was unaware of this. My wife signed up today., we are allowed ten movies per month here in Ontario. All set for The Seven Samurai at the weekend.

Many years ago I saw a British-American version of The Balloon, starring John Hurt. That one was called Night Crossing.

Posted by
11294 posts

Here's the Kanopy access website, so you can determine if you're eligible to join: https://www.kanopy.com/signup

Andrew, as you say, the New York City systems have stopped subscribing to Kanopy due to the expense. Since your profile indicates you're in Brooklyn, how did you get it?

(For those unaware, New York City public libraries are divided into three systems. The New York Public Library covers Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Queens has its own system and Brooklyn has its own system. They operate independently of each other. But none of them currently get Kanopy, although many libraries in nearby suburbs do).

Posted by
27908 posts

I see lots of interesting things, including many Great Courses series that could be useful for a traveler (I think I saw 5 on photography alone).

Does anyone know whether things remain available for a specific amount of time? I don't see last-availability dates listed anywhere, and there are many films and courses I'd like to see.

Also, is "6 films per month" based on a calendar month or a 30-day period?

Posted by
7150 posts

Does anyone know whether things remain available for a specific amount of time? I don't see last-availability dates listed anywhere, and there are many films and courses I'd like to see.
Also, is "6 films per month" based on a calendar month or a 30-day period?

From the Kanopy website: "Users are provided with a set number of play credits in their account each month which will reset at midnight in the time zone of your library on the first day of each calendar month. Unused play credits will not roll over into the next month."

I didn't see an answer for how long movies remain available on Kanopy but I sent an email asking the question because I would like to know that also.

Posted by
4027 posts

Lately, I've been watching old East German films. I Was Nineteen was one -- about a 19 yo German native who had fled the country with his leftist parents at age 8 and now returns to Germany as a lieutenant in the Russian Army. It's apparently considered one of Germany's best films, and it was indeed quite good.

The other night I dreamed my library increased my monthly play credits from 5 to 8.

Posted by
27908 posts

Thanks, Nancy. That means I have to get my act together so I can use my quota of movies for October.

I've noticed a lot of WWII and Cold War-era films that sound interesting. Kanopy definitely has a lot of German content, which is good since TCM seems to lean more toward French and Italian films.