Documentaries
List activity
998 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
96 titles
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeTrevor Jack BrooksLorelei LinklaterA man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe.
- DirectorOrson WellesGary GraverOja KodarStarsOrson WellesOja KodarFrançois ReichenbachA documentary about fraud and fakery.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsDavid ByrneBernie WorrellAlex WeirConsidered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time, the live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.
- DirectorTony GatlifStarsLa CaitaThe journey of the Romany people told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsPaul HaggisJason BegheSpanky TaylorA documentary looking at the inner-workings of the Church of Scientology.
- DirectorRobert GordonMorgan NevilleStarsGore VidalWilliam F. BuckleyDick CavettA documentary on the series of televised debates in 1968 between liberal Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley.
- DirectorAri FolmanStarsAri FolmanRon Ben-YishaiRonny DayagAn Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsTimothy TreadwellAmie HuguenardWerner HerzogA devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.
- DirectorNicholas RayWim WendersStarsGerry BammanRonee BlakleyPierre CottrellWim Wenders abandons the shoot of one of his own films in order to help his friend and fellow director Nicholas Ray create his swan song before he dies.
- DirectorFrank PavichStarsAlejandro JodorowskyMichel SeydouxH.R. GigerThe story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.
- DirectorPeter D. HutchisonKelly NyksJared P. ScottStarsNoam ChomskyAlan GreenspanMalcolm XRenowned academic and author Noam Chomsky elucidates 10 principles of concentration of wealth and power that have led to unprecedented inequality and the hollowing out of the American middle class.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsNoam ChomskyMichel GondryRichard FeynmanA series of interviews featuring linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky done in hand-drawn animation.
- DirectorSini AndersonStarsKathleen HannaCarrie BrownsteinKim GordonA look at the life of activist, musician, and cultural icon Kathleen Hanna, who formed the punk band Bikini Kill and pioneered the "riot grrrl" movement of the 1990s.
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsMatt DamonGylfi ZoegaAndri Snær MagnasonTakes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.
- 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.
- DirectorZdenek JiráskýStarsJudit BárdosValéria StaskováStefan CapkoThe lives of real Jewish musicians in Czechoslovakia and Germany who were persecuted during the Holocaust.
- DirectorJehane NoujaimStarsAhmed HassanKhalid AbdallaMagdy AshourA group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsEdward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldWilliam BinneyA documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsJonny GreenwoodEhtisham Khan AjmeriNihal KhanMusician Jonny Greenwood travels to Rajasthan, where he performs with a multitude of Indian musicians.
- DirectorChristopher WilchaStarsChristopher WilchaMarie CapozziRick HuntAn NYU philosophy grad struggles to maintain artistic and personal integrity as a production manager for Columbia House.
- DirectorMorgan SpurlockStarsMorgan SpurlockDaryl IsaacsChemeeka WalkerWhile examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald's food for one month.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsTimothy 'Speed' LevitchTimothy "Speed" Levitch, an eccentric New York City tour bus guide, takes tourists around the island of Manhattan and shares an archive of beautifully distorted information about the city.
- DirectorRodney AscherStarsBill BlakemoreGeoffrey CocksJuli KearnsAn exploration of various interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror film, The Shining (1980).
- DirectorJoshua OppenheimerAnonymousChristine CynnStarsAnwar CongoHerman KotoSyamsul ArifinA documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogRichard LopezMichael PerryConversations with death row inmate Michael Perry and those affected by his crime serve as an examination of why people - and the state - kill.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsPhilippe PetitJean François HeckelJean-Louis BlondeauA look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreJohnny FancelliChristina FancelliTo learn what the USA can learn from other nations, Michael Moore playfully "invades" them to see what they have to offer.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsIggy PopJim JarmuschBob WallerAn in-depth look at legendary punk band The Stooges.
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsMelina AbdullahMichelle AlexanderCory BookerAn in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
- DirectorJohn MaloofCharlie SiskelStarsVivian MaierJohn MaloofDaniel ArnaudA documentary on the late Vivian Maier, a nanny whose previously unknown cache of 100,000 photographs earned her a posthumous reputation as one of the most accomplished street photographers.
- DirectorLeslee UdwinStarsAsha DeviBadri SinghSatendraThe life and death of Jyoti Singh, an Indian medical student whose violation and murder by gang rapists exposed the violent misogyny of Indian society.
- DirectorCeline DanhierStarsAmos PoeAnn MagnusonBecky JohnstonDuring the punk rock stage in the late '70s, downtown New York experienced a wave of "Do it yourself" independent filmmaking.
- DirectorMarcel MettelsiefenWatani - My Homeland is the story of one family's fight and struggle to survive the Syrian Civil War. Having lost her husband, the mother makes the heart achingly painful decision to leave her homeland, in search of safety and a brighter future for her children. Filmed over three years, the film chronicles the family's journey from the front-line in Aleppo, to a little town in Germany. Escaping the chaos and terror of their war torn homeland becomes a catalyst for a different kind of struggle; the struggle to understand your past and accept your present, to adapt to a new life, to hold on to hope, and the idea of belonging to a homeland.
- DirectorOrlando von EinsiedelStarsDana AbedTia AlkerdiKhalid FarahAs daily airstrikes pound civilian targets in Syria, a group of indomitable first responders risk their lives to rescue victims from the rubble.
- DirectorMara AhmedA documentary about memory, reconciliation and the Partition of India. It focuses on a unique event, but derives lessons that remain urgently relevant today. It is shot in Delhi, Lahore and New York.
- DirectorShawn ConveyAn uncommon motorcycle club led by Bosnian War veterans finds redemption helping their struggling small town heal and defending the threatened herd of wild horses they first met on the front line.
- DirectorPenny LaneStarsGene TognacciAndy BoswellJohn CausbyThe mostly true story of Dr. John Romulus Brinkley, an eccentric genius who built an empire with his goat-testicle impotence cure and a million-watt radio station.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreWilliam BlackJimmy CarterAn examination of the social costs of corporate interests pursuing profits at the expense of the public good.
- DirectorJoshua OppenheimerStarsAdi RukunM.Y. BasrunVolker HanischA family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
- DirectorRaoul PeckStarsSamuel L. JacksonJames BaldwinMartin Luther KingWriter James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
- DirectorGöran Hugo OlssonStarsAngela DavisStokely CarmichaelBobby SealeFootage shot by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States is edited together by a contemporary Swedish filmmaker.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsBalinese Tari Legong DancersNi Made Megahadi PratiwiPuti Sri Candra DewiFilmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
- CreatorSusan LacyStarsMartin ScorsesePeter BogdanovichTony BennettDocumentary series focusing on great American artists and personalities.James Baldwin
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsThomas SungHwei Lin SungCyrus Vance Jr.A small financial institution called Abacus becomes the only company criminally indicted in the wake of the United States' 2008 mortgage crisis.
- DirectorChris SmithStarsJim CarreyDanny DeVitoMilos FormanA behind-the-scenes look at how Jim Carrey adopted the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon (1999).
- DirectorJay RosenblattStarsEva BraunFrancisco FrancoAdolf HitlerFilm clips of the 20th century's great dictators with narration in first person combine to form a fascinating portrait of power and evil.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsMichel BouquetReinhard HeydrichHeinrich HimmlerThe history of Nazi Germany's death camps of the Final Solution and the hellish world of dehumanization and death contained inside.
- DirectorJulie CohenBetsy WestStarsRuth Bader GinsburgAnn KittnerHarryette HelselThe exceptional life and career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon.
- DirectorLes BlankSkip GersonStarsLightnin HopkinsBilly BizorMance LipscombA portrait of the great Texas bluesman, 'Lightnin' Hopkins. The film includes interviews and a performance by Hopkins.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsJohn BeardTim BeldenBarbara BoxerA documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
- DirectorTim WardleStarsRobert ShafranMichael DomnitzHoward SchneiderIn 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they're triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out why turns into a bizarre and sinister mystery.
- DirectorIan BonhôtePeter EttedguiStarsAlexander McQueenJoyce McQueenJohn HitchcockThe life and career of fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen: from his start as a tailor, to launching and overseeing his eponymous line and his untimely death.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsAllakariallakAlice NevalingaCunayouIn this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsColman 'Tiger' KingMaggie DirraneMichael DirraneIn this blend of documentary and fictional narrative from pioneering filmmaker Robert Flaherty, the everyday trials of life on Ireland's unforgiving Aran Islands are captured with attention to naturalistic beauty and historical detail.
- DirectorGeorge C. StoneyStarsMary ColeyConceived as an educational film for rural midwives, the film presents a beautifully humane profile of the life and work of the midwife "Miss Mary" Coley.
- DirectorJames B. BrownGeorge C. StoneyStarsMichael BalconArthur Calder-MarshallRobert J. FlahertyAmerican documentary film-maker George C. Stoney visits the Aran Islands to try and unravel some of the myths surrounding a film that had engrossed him as a youngster - Robert Flaherty's famous documentary "Man of Aran" released in 1934. With the help of Harry Watt, an equally famous British documentary film-maker, Stoney revisits the islands that Flaherty helped make famous, conversing with actual participants in the film including Maggie Dirrane, one of the three principal stars. Stoney and Watt re-evaluate some of the mystique surrounding the shooting of the film and consider how it was to affect the lives of the Islanders themselves. Stoney and Watt seem to concur that "Man of Aran" was not so much a documentary as a visual poem. This was Flaherty's personal and romantic vision of how life SHOULD be lived on the island, ignoring the harsher realities that might question the validity of such romanticism. One old man recalls the poverty and harshness of life at the time Flaherty made his film, questioning Flaherty's motives for ignoring what he could see with his own eyes. He contends that the film "made very little" of the poor and suggested that Flaherty failed to recognize that "even the poor have their pride". Stoney investigates the positives and negatives wrought by the film, how it's legacy could still be felt in the Aran Islands of the late 1970's. The Islanders themselves appear to be divided over Flaherty's portrayal and some express concern that increased tourism, for example, will somehow destroy or damage their cherished way of life. Others are diametrically opposed to this viewpoint, welcoming increased tourism as helping towards the creation of employment on the island. Still, whatever the myriad viewpoints, there is an over-riding sense of Flaherty's presence throughout this documentary, even in this more modern age, and Stoney himself is able to declare that just being here has it's own rewards, retracing the footsteps of a legend in documentary film-making. As he states himself - "The sheen and texture of myth is all about me".
- DirectorJacques PerrinJacques CluzaudMichel DebatsStarsJacques PerrinPhilippe LabroDocumentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents.
- DirectorHerbert SmithStarsHenry OscarHope DavyC.M. HallardOn the overnight Aberdeen mail train, demented violinist Mancini (Henry Oscar) attempts to murder judge Sir Jacob March (C.M. Hallard) for refusing to grant him a divorce.
- DirectorAdam CurtisStarsGeorge BushGeorge W. BushJoanne HerringAn experimental documentary that explores Saudi Arabia's relationship with the U.S. and the role this has played in the war in Afghanistan.
- DirectorVikram GandhiStarsVikram GandhiTobyGregA documentary about a man who impersonates a wise Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumaré must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all.
- DirectorMark Richard SmithStarsMadolyn Smith OsborneMark Richard SmithDocumentary about the revolutionary and brilliant Chicago architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1924); his rapid rise to fame, tragic decline, and the ultimate triumph of his creative spirit.
- DirectorSam PollardStarsHarry BelafonteTony BennettHumphrey BogartA star-studded roster of interviewees (including Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal) pay tribute to the legendary, multi-talented song-and-dance man.
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
- DirectorSuzannah HerbertLauren BelferStarsTeague BerresJaquan RhodesJamario RoweHoop Dreams goes to the mat in this intimate coming-of-age documentary about four members of a high-school wrestling team at Huntsville's J.O. Johnson High School, a longstanding entry on Alabama's list of failing schools.
- StarsAdam CurtisRobert ReichAnn BernaysA documentary about the rise of psychoanalysis as a powerful means of persuasion for both governments and corporations.
- DirectorMedyan DairiehStarsBen AndersonThe Islamic State, a hardline Sunni jihadist group that formerly had ties to al Qaeda, has conquered large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the group has announced its intention to reestablish the caliphate and has declared its leader, the shadowy Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the caliph. The lightning advances the Islamic State made across Syria and Iraq in June shocked the world. But it's not just the group's military victories that have garnered attention - it's also the pace with which its members have begun to carve out a viable state. Flush with cash and US weapons seized during its advances in Iraq, the Islamic State's expansion shows no sign of slowing down. In the first week of August alone, Islamic State fighters have taken over new areas in northern Iraq, encroaching on Kurdish territory and sending Christians and other minorities fleeing as reports of massacres emerged.
- DirectorBing LiuStarsKent AbernathyMengyue BolenNina BowgrenFilmmaker Bing Liu searches for correlations between his skateboarder friends' turbulent upbringings and the complexities of modern masculinity.
- DirectorTrinh T. Minh-haA short film which documents the lives of women in a rural Senegal.
- DirectorPeter DavisStarsTin ChanChau DiemNgo Dinh DiemA startling and courageous landmark documentary that unflinchingly confronted the United States' involvement in Vietnam at the height of the controversy that surrounded it.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsAmilcar CabralFlorence DelayArielle DombasleA woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
- DirectorJRAgnès VardaStarsAgnès VardaJRJeannine CarpentierDirector Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist J.R. journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
- DirectorCharlotte ZwerinStarsThelonious MonkJohn ColtraneJimmy ClevelandA documentary film about the life of pianist and jazz great Thelonious Sphere Monk. Features live performances by Monk and his band, and interviews with friends and family about the offbeat genius.
- StarsLynn JohnsonAndrew BrackfieldTony WalkerDirector Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a seven-year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsFred RogersMargaret WhitmerTom JunodAn exploration of the life, lessons, and legacy of iconic children's television host Fred Rogers.
- DirectorBob MetelusFrom childhood to retirement you can see the life of an all star basketball player. Through ups and downs it let you get to know that life is more than basketball and it's lights.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsCompay SegundoIbrahim FerrerRubén GonzálezAging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.
- DirectorAstra TaylorStarsKwame Anthony AppiahJudith ButlerMichael HardtIn Examined Life, filmmaker Astra Taylor accompanies some of today's most influential thinkers on a series of unique excursions through places and spaces that hold particular resonance for them and their ideas.
- DirectorLouie SchwartzbergStarsBrie LarsonAndrew WeilGiuliana FurciFantastic Fungi is a descriptive time-lapse journey about the magical, mysterious and medicinal world of fungi and their power to heal, sustain and contribute to the regeneration of life on Earth that began 3.5 billion years ago.
- StarsB.B. KingIke TurnerPinetop PerkinsA documentary series about the origin and history of The Blues.
- DirectorDerek MurphySarasota Half in Dream is a Surrealist documentary specializing in small, iridescent impressions of a tropical city and its secrets. The filmmakers shot their explorations into the abandoned golf courses, factories, and resorts of Sarasota, Florida and spoke to local youths who are using them for new and strange purposes. What would the Surrealists and Situationists think of a suburban, subtropical tourist town? What goes on in a storage unit in the dead of night? What is the afterlife of a decommissioned train car? What ghosts haunt a ruined hotel? What is the life cycle of a city? When will waters wash it all away?
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsSteve BannonBill ClintonHillary ClintonA portrait of controversial political strategist and former Donald Trump advisor, Steve Bannon.
- DirectorAlexei NavalnyStarsAlexei NavalnyGeorgy AlburovVyacheslav GimadiThis documentary investigates allegations of how a palace, on the coast of the Black Sea, is allegedly controlled by Russian president Putin, and how its construction was financed through corruption and a network of close associates.
- DirectorHillary BachelderStarsBryn BirdJulie ChoMyya JonesIn the heart of the American Midwest, three women take on entrenched political systems in their fight to reshape local politics on their own terms.
- DirectorYoni GoldsteinMeredith ZielkeA Machine to Live In is a hybrid documentary linking the cosmic power structures of the state to the mystical architecture of cults and utopian cities in the remote hinterlands of Brazil.
- DirectorNathaniel KahnStarsEdmund BaconEdwina Pattison DanielsBalkrishna DoshiDirector Nathaniel Kahn searches to understand his father, noted architect Louis Kahn, who died bankrupt and alone in 1974.
- DirectorPippa EhrlichJames ReedStarsCraig FosterTom FosterA filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.
- DirectorSimon BroughtonStarsWilliam DalrympleSalman AhmedNusrat Fateh Ali KhanSufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam, documents the many musical subcultures of Sufism as it was incorporated by different cultures in different regions. With many comparisons to Christianity, it displays how with all religions there are zealots and passivists, and the Sufi's of Islam are passivists who focus primarily on music as a spiritual expression, much like the Christian troubadour or modern Christian Rock churches.
- DirectorBruce WeberStarsChet BakerCarol BakerVera BakerDocumentary on the life of jazz trumpeter and drug addict Chet Baker. Fascinating series of interviews with friends, family, associates and lovers, interspersed with film from Baker's earlier life and some modern-day performances.
- DirectorErika AlexanderWhitney DowStarsTa-Nehisi CoatesSheila Jackson LeeJason JohnsonAn inspiring look at Alderman Robin Rue Simmons' fight to redress the wrongs of "redlining" and the legacy of slavery through a groundbreaking reparations program in Evanston, Illinois.
- StarsRobin EllisSlobodan MilosevicFranjo TudjmanThis captivate documentary covers the struggles of the Yugoslavian people during the collapse of their country, and the subsequent wars to finally find hope with the signing of the Final Peace Accords.
- DirectorEmad BurnatGuy DavidiStarsEmad BurnatSoraya BurnatMohammed BurnatA documentary on a Palestinian farmer's chronicle of his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army.
- DirectorBrett O'BourkeStarsJosh 'Shag' AgleJeff 'Beachbum' BerryDrew BirchPlastic Paradise is the first documentary to chronicle the rise, fall, and resurgence of tiki, or Polynesian pop, one of the defining cultural trends of postwar America. Think South Pacific, candy-colored, rum-infused cocktails with names like the Shrunken Skull and the Missionary's Downfall, crazy Hawaiian shirts, exotica music, and a nonstop party scene inhabited by self-styled nonconformists. That was then. Today, tiki has been embraced by a coast-to-coast underground hipster subculture of former punk rockers, vintage junkies, and escapists. Featuring historians and hula dancers, master mixologists, mermaids, and more, Plastic Paradise is your ticket to this little-known, fascinating scene, including a pilgrimage to the famed Mai-Kai Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale for Hukilau, an annual anything goes celebration that draws Polynesian popsters from all over the world.
- DirectorGoran DevicStarsZeljko StarcevicDamir JambrovicDubravko DrasicZELJKO is the head of the union at the Gredelj railway car factory. His deputy MLADEN committed suicide after the large public protests and clashes within the union. Zeljko is torn between the guilt he feels because of Mladen's death and the expectation between the workers to lead a strike that should thwart the government's plans, ordered by the EU, to send the company into bankruptcy. The film has a three-act structure. The first part (40 min) consists of the documentary material recorded by way of observational method. In this part, the camera follows the events chronologically. The second, transitional part, was recorded at the screening of the documentary material for the workers ten years later. This act provoked various reactions from the workers. The third (15 min) is the fictive part.
- DirectorInes SommerAt the edge of Chicago, where the steel mills once operated, sits an abandoned toxic slag hill that's been harming people, wildlife, and waterways for decades. Set against a backdrop of urban wilderness that's both seductively beautiful and poisoned, The Hills uses a lyrical lens to connect legacy pollution to current environmental struggles.