Documentaries I recommend
Documentaries I can recommend to anyone & everyone - some lighthearted, some heartbreaking, some just breathtaking or simply... weird. Not all of them tick all the boxes when it comes to storytelling, cinematography or touch on subjects of great social importance (although SOME of them do) but they all have one thing in common - they make me think. Enjoy (or don’t, who am I to tell you what to do).
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- DirectorBryan CarberryClay TweelStarsJohn WoodShannon WhisnantMark HamiltonA story about fame, addiction and a custody battle over a man's leg.
- DirectorGeoffrey O'ConnorStarsLouis TherouxLouis stays with the residents of a soon to open brothel in Nevada for a few weeks.
- DirectorMichael Beach NicholsChristopher K. WalkerStarsRyan SchockHeather CookLee CookWhen a noted white supremacist moves into their town, the residents of Leith, North Dakota do what they can to prevent him from taking control of the municipality.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsTony BrooksDiana DavisTerry WoodA horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
- StarsSteven AveryDolores AveryLaura NiriderFilmed over a 10-year period, Steven Avery, a DNA exoneree who, while in the midst of exposing corruption in local law enforcement, finds himself the prime suspect in a grisly new crime.
- DirectorGeoffrey O'ConnorStarsLouis TherouxLauren DrainSteve DrainLouis meets the Phelps family, who protest against an America that tolerates homosexuality
- DirectorEmma CooperStarsLouis TherouxLauren DrainSteve DrainLouis returns to the Phelps family to find that several members have left the cult, and that they are being sued.
- DirectorRaymond FeddemaPeter TetterooStarsJohn SwieringaThis film, shot mostly covertly, shows a regime where 20 million people live in poverty, some on the brink of starvation, while the former dictator Kim II Sung and his son build extravagant monuments to reflect their power.
- DirectorEmma CooperStarsStuart LinderLouis TherouxLouis Theroux gets under the skin of the plastic surgery patients of Beverly Hills.
- StarsLouis TherouxDavid PaulJ.J. MichaelsLouis Theroux documents some of the US's most bizarre happenings, events and rituals, by getting involved himself.
- DirectorKirby DickStarsAndrea PinoAnnie ClarkClaire PotterAn exposé of rape crimes on U.S. college campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families.
- DirectorMary DoreStarsChude Pamela AllenAltaJudith ArcanaA documentary that resurrects the buried history of the outrageous, often brilliant women who founded the modern women's movement from 1966 to 1971.
- DirectorKen BurnsSarah BurnsDavid McMahonStarsAntron McCrayKevin RichardsonKharey WiseA documentary that examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park. After having spent between 6 and 13 years each in prison, a serial rapist confessed to the crime.
- DirectorAmy BergStarsJason BaldwinDamien Wayne EcholsJessie MisskelleyAn examination of a failure of justice in the case against the West Memphis Three.
- DirectorPeter MortimerNick RosenJosh LowellStarsPeter SarsgaardAlex HonnoldYvon ChouinardIn the shady campgrounds of Yosemite valley, climbers carved out a counterculture lifestyle of dumpster-diving and wild parties that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service.
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsLily TomlinTony CurtisSusie BrightA documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.
- DirectorGreta SchillerRobert RosenbergStarsRita Mae BrownBruce NugentHarry OtisThe history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement.
- DirectorAsif KapadiaStarsAyrton SennaReginaldo LemeJohn BisignanoA documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
- DirectorKurt KuenneStarsKurt KuenneAndrew BagbyDavid BagbyA filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
- DirectorHeidi EwingRachel GradyStarsMike PapantonioLou EngleBecky FischerA documentary on kids who attend a summer camp hoping to become the next Billy Graham.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreTucker AlbrizziTony BennA documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories including shotgun deaths.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsPaul HaggisJason BegheSpanky TaylorA documentary looking at the inner-workings of the Church of Scientology.
- DirectorBanksyStarsBanksyMr. BrainwashSpace InvaderFollowing the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.
- DirectorLinda Bloodworth-ThomasonStarsCindy BitneyDavid CroneJessica MitchellShane Bitney Crone's plans to marry Tom Bridegroom in California after the same-sex marriage law is passed takes a tragic turn when his partner of six years accidentally dies and Tom's family refuses Shane from attending the funeral.