Bringemovies
← Browse Movies
Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai
TITLE DETAILS

Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai

2008-04-14 · 81 min · ★ 5.4

Documentary

This documentary provides a window into the extraordinary life of activist and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan woman who has worked to regain ownership of her country and its fate after years of colonialism. While gentle and thoughtful, Maathai carries a powerful message: the First World holds much of the responsibility for the environmental, economic and social struggles of the developing world.

Open detail page

Trailers are previews, not full movies.

No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.

Production details

Directors
Alan Dater, Lisa Merton
Production companies
Marlboro Productions
Countries
Unavailable
Status
Released

Top Cast

Kamoji Wachiirahimself
Lilian Wanjiru Njehuherself
Vertistine Mbayaherself
Ngorongo Makangahimself
Wangari MaathaiSelf

Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.

Where to watch

Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.

Recommendations

In the Realms of the Unreal
★ 7.2
In the Realms of the Unreal2004Documentary

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

I Am Ali
★ 6.7
I Am Ali2014Documentary

Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?
★ 7.5
Feminists: What Were They Thinking?2018Documentary

In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.

Cameraperson
★ 6.7
Cameraperson2016Documentary

As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.

The Last Lions
★ 7.3
The Last Lions2011Documentary

In Botswana's Okavango Delta, an ostracized lioness and her two cubs must fight alone to survive - overcoming all manner of hazards. Their only defense is to escape to Duba Island -- and with that, an unknown future. The setting for this epic tale is one of the last regions where lions can live in the wild. Faced with dwindling land and increasing pressure from hunting, lions - like our lone lioness and her cubs - are approaching the brink of extinction.

Naqoyqatsi
★ 6.2
Naqoyqatsi2002Documentary

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty
★ 7.8
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty2000Documentary

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

Heart of a Dog
★ 6.5
Heart of a Dog2015Documentary

Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.

Our Planet: Behind the Scenes
★ 7.7
Our Planet: Behind the Scenes2019Documentary

Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.

Beyoncé: Life Is But a Dream
★ 7.7
Beyoncé: Life Is But a Dream2013Documentary

Life Is But a Dream is a HBO documentary about the life of US singer Beyoncé Knowles during the years 2011 and 2012 and on the recording of her fifth album. The film was directed by Beyoncé herself. The film shows Beyoncé from intimate moments of her pregnancy to behind the scenes and rehearsals of the main concerts of that time.

Girl Rising
★ 7.0
Girl Rising2013Documentary

Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.

Come See Me in the Good Light
★ 7.0
Come See Me in the Good Light2025Documentary

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

Girl Model
★ 6.5
Girl Model2011Documentary

A documentary on the modeling industry's 'supply chain' between Siberia, Japan, and the U.S., told through the experiences of the scouts, agencies, and a 13-year-old model.

Powaqqatsi
★ 7.2
Powaqqatsi1988Documentary

An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.

Making 'The Shining'
★ 7.1
Making 'The Shining'1980Documentary

Directed and edited by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, this film offers a look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining.

Love, Marilyn
★ 6.5
Love, Marilyn2013Documentary

Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

The Red Pill
★ 7.5
The Red Pill2016Documentary

When a feminist filmmaker sets out to document the mysterious and polarizing world of the Men’s Rights Movement, she begins to question her own beliefs. Chronicling Cassie Jaye’s journey exploring an alternate perspective on gender equality, power and privilege.

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button
★ 7.0
The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button2009Documentary

A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
★ 7.2
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed2022Documentary

The life of internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin is told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.

Blackfish
★ 7.8
Blackfish2013Documentary

Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.

Similar titles

Butch Jamie
★ 3.9
Butch Jamie2008Documentary

The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.

Toots
★ 7.0
Toots2007Documentary

The '40s and '50s were a classic period in New York City nightlife, when the saloonkeeper was king and regular folks could drink with celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Jackie Gleason. In this documentary, Kristi Jacobson profiles her grandfather, the king of kings: Toots Shor of the eponymous restaurant and saloon, which was once the place to be seen in Manhattan. Edward R. Murrow called Toots Shor the owner of America’s greatest saloon. He became the unlikely den-mother to the heroes of America's golden age. Politicians and gangsters, sports heroes and movie stars - Sinatra, Gleason, DiMaggio, Ruth, Costello, Eisenhower, Nixon, Warren - for 30 years, they all found their way to Toots' eponymous saloon on New York's West 51st Street.

Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
★ 6.7
Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch2013Documentary

"Plastic Paradise" is an independent documentary film that chronicles Angela Sun's personal journey of discovery to one of the most remote places on Earth, Midway Atoll, to uncover the truth behind the mystery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Along the way she encounters scientists, celebrities, legislators and activists who shed light on what our society's vast consumption of disposable plastic is doing to our oceans -- and what it may be doing to our health.

Jesus Camp
★ 7.0
Jesus Camp2006Documentary

A documentary on kids who attend a summer camp hoping to become the next Billy Graham.

Michael Ballhaus - Eine Reise durch mein Leben
Not rated
Michael Ballhaus - Eine Reise durch mein Leben2008Documentary

One of Germany's stars of cinematography, embarks on the journey through his life. The film begins in the US and Hollywood - where Ballhaus established his international fame.

Seven Moments
★ 8.0
Seven Moments2008Documentary

Is the story of women that were guerrilleras in Uruguay at the beginning of the 70's. Under an intimate focus, the film shows the moments of decision and the personal crossroads that it involve. The documentary search the experience and the look of common individuals in exceptional situations and goes to the bottom of the load of tensions, fears, contradictions and personal costs that those labor instants of the History have.

The Mermaid and the Diver
★ 3.7
The Mermaid and the Diver2009Documentary

The body of Sinbad the Diver turned up floating off the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. The mermaid had turned his soul into a turtle, and the turtle was the one who returned him to the world of men. Sinbad was born once more as a Miskito and was raised on the banks of the wonderful Coco River. When he grew up, nature took care of carrying him back to the sea, where the mermaid is waiting for him. The Mermaid and the Diver is a journey to Central America, to Nicaragua, to the Atlantic Coast, and to the Miskito people.

Rehje
★ 5.5
Rehje2009Documentary

After forty years living in Mexico City, Antonia longs to go back to her home town, a Mazahua village in the state of Mexico. When she returns, she discovers many things, including that a scarcity of water threatens life in her community.

In the Realms of the Unreal
★ 7.2
In the Realms of the Unreal2004Documentary

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

Let Them Wear Towels
★ 7.0
Let Them Wear Towels2013Documentary

During the 1977 World Series, Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke was denied access to the players' locker room. After a very public fight, the door was opened, but the debate about female journalists in the male sanctum of the clubhouse remained. Through interviews with pioneering female sports writers, Let Them Wear Towels captures the raw behavior, humorous retaliation, angry lawsuits and remarkable resolve that went into the struggle for equal access for women reporters.

Dig!
★ 6.8
Dig!2004Documentary

A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.

Still Life
★ 5.0
Still Life2013Documentary

A short companion to Leviathan, set inside the fishing vessel.

Children of the Market
Not rated
Children of the Market2007Documentary

Documentary on Seattle's Pike Place Market, and those who have saved it from destruction over its first 100 years of existence. Covers the history of the Market, the people who live and work there, and the ghosts who still haunt it.

Under the water
Not rated
Under the waterDocumentary

A daily life in Korogocho, Kenya, one of the world’s poorest slums.

The Decent One
★ 6.4
The Decent One2014Documentary

Through previously undiscovered private letters, photos and diaries that were found in the Himmler family house in 1945, the "The Decent One" exposes a unique and at times uncomfortable access to the life and mind of the merciless "Architect of the Final Solution" Heinrich Himmler.

Grizzly Man
★ 7.5
Grizzly Man2005Documentary

Follows the story of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in his attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.

Yugoslavia: How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body
★ 6.3
Yugoslavia: How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body2013Documentary

A research-based essay film, but also a very personal perspective on the history of socialist Yugoslavia, its dramatic end, and its recent transformation into a few democratic nation states.

L'Éveil de la Permaculture
★ 6.3
L'Éveil de la Permaculture2017Documentary

King of the Cruise
★ 6.5
King of the Cruise2019Documentary

A rich and extravagant Scottish Baron spends his time on outrageous cruise ships amongst romantic couples, wealthy families, hardworking staff and retired elderly. A floating micro-society appealing to some, revolting to others.

The Story of the Weeping Camel
★ 7.1
The Story of the Weeping Camel2004Documentary

When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.

Your favorites

Recently viewed

Watch

Choose an authorized server.

Full video from an operator-configured authorized source. Official trailers use a separate player. If a server fails, retry or select another authorized server.

Legal watch options

Official trailer

Trailer preview only. Press Play to start.

Privacy choices

Favorites stay in your browser. Movie images load from TMDb. YouTube trailers contact YouTube only after you allow external media and choose a trailer. Advertising consent, if ads are enabled, is managed separately by the operator’s certified CMP.

Privacy policy

After allowing external media, choose the trailer button to load its player.