Documentaries
by jasminesalvino | created - 08 Apr 2020 | updated - 28 Apr 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. For Sama (2019)
TV-PG | 100 min | Documentary, Biography, War
FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war.
Directors: Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts | Stars: Waad Al-Kateab, Sama Al-Khateab, Hamza Al-Khateab, Afra
Votes: 12,817 | Gross: $0.04M
2. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)
R | 103 min | Drama, Romance
A boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.
Director: Kim Ki-duk | Stars: Kim Ki-duk, Oh Yeong-su, Jong-ho Kim, Kim Young-min
Votes: 86,806 | Gross: $2.38M
3. How to Survive a Plague (2012)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History, News
The story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
Director: David France | Stars: Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, Iris Long, Bob Rafsky
Votes: 4,356 | Gross: $0.13M
4. A Bigger Splash (1973)
Not Rated | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
Semi-fictionalized documentary biopic of British artist David Hockney. After a difficult break-up, Hockney is left unable to paint, much to the concern of his friends. Titled after Hockney's pop-art painting 'A Bigger Splash'.
Director: Jack Hazan | Stars: David Hockney, Peter Schlesinger, Celia Birtwell, Henry Geldzahler
Votes: 630 | Gross: $0.09M
5. Everything Is Copy (2015)
TV-14 | 89 min | Documentary, Biography
A look at the life and work of writer/filmmaker Nora Ephron.
Directors: Jacob Bernstein, Nick Hooker | Stars: Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Amy Adams, Reese Witherspoon
Votes: 1,141
6. Honeyland (2019)
Unrated | 89 min | Documentary, Drama
The last female bee-hunter in Europe must save the bees and return the natural balance in Honeyland, when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood.
Directors: Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov | Stars: Hatidze Muratova, Nazife Muratova, Hussein Sam, Ljutvie Sam
Votes: 19,402 | Gross: $0.82M
7. 20,000 Days on Earth (2014)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary, Drama, Music
Writer and musician Nick Cave marks his 20,000th day on the planet Earth.
Directors: Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard | Stars: Nick Cave, Susie Bick, Warren Ellis, Darian Leader
Votes: 11,969 | Gross: $0.28M
8. Paris Is Burning (1990)
R | 78 min | Documentary
A chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
Director: Jennie Livingston | Stars: Brooke Xtravaganza, André Christian, Dorian Corey, Paris Duprée
Votes: 17,598 | Gross: $3.78M
9. David Bowie: Five Years (2013)
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary
A documentary covering five of the most important years of the influential rock star David Bowie's career.
Director: Francis Whately | Stars: David Bowie, Rick Wakeman, John Harris, Ken Scott
Votes: 1,787
10. Daft Punk Unchained (2015)
TV-14 | 85 min | Documentary, Music
Documentary about the entire career of Daft Punk, from their start in early 90's with their first group called Darlin', until their grammy awards in 2014. We learn how the artists have ... See full summary »
Director: Hervé Martin-Delpierre | Stars: Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo, Skrillex, Jean-Daniel Beauvallet
Votes: 3,511
11. What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)
Not Rated | 101 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
A documentary about the life and legend Nina Simone, an American singer, pianist, and civil rights activist labeled the "High Priestess of Soul."
Director: Liz Garbus | Stars: Nina Simone, Lisa Simone Kelly, Roger Nupie, Al Schackman
Votes: 14,824
12. Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2012)
PG-13 | 113 min | Documentary, Music
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is a feature-length documentary film about the dismal commercial failure, subsequent massive critical acclaim, and enduring legacy of pop music's greatest cult phenomenon, Big Star.
Directors: Drew DeNicola, Olivia Mori | Stars: Billy Altman, Jon Auer, Lester Bangs, Chris Bell
Votes: 1,439 | Gross: $0.11M
13. Whitney: Can I Be Me (2017)
Not Rated | 105 min | Documentary, Music
Tells the story of Whitney Houston's extraordinary life and tragic death.
Directors: Nick Broomfield, Rudi Dolezal | Stars: Whitney Houston, Michael Baker, Wayne Lindsey, Sharlotte Gibson
Votes: 5,137
14. Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)
R | 97 min | Documentary, Music
Michael Rapaport documents the inner workings and behind the scenes drama that follows this innovative and influential band to this day.
Director: Michael Rapaport | Stars: Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Jarobi White
Votes: 4,075 | Gross: $1.20M
15. Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution (2008 Video)
Not Rated | 180 min | Documentary, Biography, History
An in-depth look at the history of the krautrock scene, including the most successful band Kraftwerk.
Director: Chrome Dreams | Stars: Thomas Arnold, Karl Bartos, Diedrich Diederichsen, Dieter Moebius
Votes: 207
16. The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
Not Rated | 115 min | Documentary, History
This documentary tells the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party, one of the 20th century's most alluring and controversial organizations that captivated the world's attention for nearly 50 years.
Director: Stanley Nelson | Stars: Blair Anderson, Omar Barbour, Julian Bond, Elaine Brown
Votes: 2,144 | Gross: $0.48M
17. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
PG-13 | 93 min | Documentary, History
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X
Votes: 23,497 | Gross: $7.12M
18. 13th (2016)
TV-MA | 100 min | Documentary, Crime, History
An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
Director: Ava DuVernay | Stars: Melina Abdullah, Michelle Alexander, Cory Booker, Dolores Canales
Votes: 37,670
19. The Color of Fear (1994)
90 min | Documentary
Eight North American men, two African American, two Latinos, two Asian American and two Caucasian were gathered by director Lee Mun Wah, for a dialog about the state of race relations in ... See full summary »
Director: Mun-Wah Lee | Stars: Roberto Almazán, David Lee, Roberto Almanzán, David Christensen
Votes: 283
20. Don't Look Back (1967)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary, Music
Documentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.
Director: D.A. Pennebaker | Stars: Bob Dylan, Albert Grossman, Bob Neuwirth, Joan Baez
Votes: 10,009
21. Behind the Music (1997–2021)
TV-14 | Documentary, Biography, Music
Musical artists, their careers, their highs, their lows and everything in between are profiled and interviewed.
Stars: Jim Forbes, David Wild, Alexander Milas, Eddie Trunk
Votes: 1,664
22. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, History
Footage shot by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States is edited together by a contemporary Swedish filmmaker.
Director: Göran Hugo Olsson | Stars: Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Abiodun Oyewole
Votes: 2,497 | Gross: $0.26M
23. The Salt of the Earth (2014)
PG-13 | 110 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The life and work of photographer Sebastião Salgado, who has spent forty years documenting societies in hidden corners of the world.
Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders | Stars: Sebastião Salgado, Wim Wenders, Lélia Wanick Salgado, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
Votes: 23,446 | Gross: $1.34M
24. Dig! (2004)
R | 107 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary on the once-promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, and the friendship/rivalry between their respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor.
Director: Ondi Timoner | Stars: Anton Newcombe, Courtney Taylor-Taylor, Joel Gion, Matt Hollywood
Votes: 6,689 | Gross: $0.13M
25. A Life in Waves (2017)
Not Rated | 74 min | Documentary, Biography, Musical
An exploration of the life and innovations of composer and electronic-music pioneer Suzanne Ciani.
Director: Brett Whitcomb | Stars: Peter Baumann, Don Buchla, Dorit Chrysler, Suzanne Ciani
Votes: 150
26. Best of Enemies (2015)
R | 87 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary on the series of televised debates in 1968 between liberal Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley.
Directors: Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville | Stars: Gore Vidal, William F. Buckley, Dick Cavett, Noam Chomsky
Votes: 6,495 | Gross: $0.89M
27. The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, History, Music
A look into the Los Angeles punk rock scene, that was largely ignored by the rock music press of the time.
Director: Penelope Spheeris | Stars: Eugene Tatu, Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline
Votes: 4,867
28. Black to Techno (2019)
Documentary, Short
Director: Jenn Nkiru | Star: Adrian Miller Jr.
Votes: 26
29. John Was Trying to Contact Aliens (2020)
16 min | Documentary, Short, Biography
John Shepherd spent 30 years trying to contact extraterrestrials by broadcasting music millions of miles into space. After giving up the search he makes a different connection here on Earth.
Director: Matthew Killip | Stars: John Shepherd, John Litrenta
Votes: 1,703
30. Baby God (2020)
TV-MA | 78 min | Documentary, Crime
For more than 30 years, Dr. Quincy Fortier covertly used his own sperm to inseminate his fertility patients. Now his secret is out and his children seek the truth about his motives and try to make sense of their own identities.
Director: Hannah Olson | Stars: Wendi Babst, Quincy Fortier, Brad Gulko, Cathy Holm
Votes: 850
31. Gather (2020)
74 min | Documentary
An intimate portrait of a growing movement amongst Indigenous Americans to reclaim their spiritual and cultural identities through food sovereignty.
Director: Sanjay Rawal | Stars: Kris Bergen, Chucky Carpenter, Twila Cassadore, Kristtoffher Chee
Votes: 260
32. Underplayed (2020)
87 min | Documentary
Filmed over the summer festival season, Underplayed presents a portrait of the current status of the gender, ethnic, and sexuality equality issues in dance music.
Director: Stacey Lee | Stars: Anna Lunoe, Nervo, Nightwave, Rezz
Votes: 124
33. All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020)
PG-13 | 102 min | Documentary
The documentary takes a look at the history, and current activism against voter suppression; barriers to voting that most people don't even know is a threat to their basic rights as citizens of the United States.
Directors: Lisa Cortes, Liz Garbus | Stars: Carolyn Abrams, Robert Abrams, Stacey Abrams, Debo Adegbile
Votes: 2,059
34. 1991: The Year Punk Broke (1992)
Not Rated | 99 min | Documentary, History, Music
David Markey's documentary of life on the road with Sonic Youth and Nirvana during their tour of Europe in late 1991. Also featuring live performances by Dinosaur Jr, Babes In Toyland, The Ramones and Gumball.
Director: David Markey | Stars: Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley
Votes: 1,579
35. Always for Pleasure (1978)
Not Rated | 58 min | Documentary, Music
A look at the spirit of New Orleans. First a funeral: Allen Toussaint explains that you arrive slow and cut up afterwards. Then it's food, with a lesson in eating crayfish at Frankie and ... See full summary »
Director: Les Blank | Stars: Kid Thomas, Allen Toussaint, Blue Lu Barker, Irma Thomas
Votes: 574
36. 'Round Midnight (1986)
R | 133 min | Drama, Music
A troubled, but talented musician flees the US to escape his problems, finding refuge and support in Paris.
Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet, Gabrielle Haker, Sandra Reaves-Phillips
Votes: 5,861 | Gross: $3.27M
37. My Secret World: The Story of Sarah Records (2014)
102 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Ethics and passion in their purest form. Welcome to the world of Sarah Records, active between 1987-1995, and possibly the most indie of all indie labels.
Director: Lucy Dawkins | Stars: Clare Wadd, Matt Haynes, Amelia Fletcher, Jacob Graham
Votes: 53
38. Space Is the Place (1974)
R | 82 min | Sci-Fi, Music
In an effort to bring unity and equality to African-Americans, an interstellar traveler and musician lands on earth and duels with an evil overlord for the souls of people.
Director: John Coney | Stars: Sun Ra, Raymond Johnson, Christopher Brooks, Barbara Deloney
Votes: 1,461
39. New York Doll (2005)
PG-13 | 75 min | Documentary, Music
A recovering alcoholic and recently converted Mormon, Arthur "Killer" Kane, of the rock band The New York Dolls, is given a chance at reuniting with his band after 30 years.
Director: Greg Whiteley | Stars: Arthur Kane, David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain, Nina Antonia
Votes: 1,826 | Gross: $0.22M
40. The Last Angel of History (1996 TV Movie)
45 min | Documentary, Sci-Fi
Framed by the fictional story of the "data thief," this hybrid documentary takes a look at the origins, impact and significance of Afrofuturism and techno music for the black diaspora.
Director: John Akomfrah | Stars: Octavia Butler, George Clinton, Kodwo Eshun, Edward George
Votes: 160
41. Everybody in the Place (2019)
61 min | Documentary
A re-evaluation of acid house, a musical phenomenon that, as this film shows, did not spring out of nowhere, but owed its emergence to the social and political landscape of 1980s Britain.
Director: Jeremy Deller
Votes: 168
42. The Great Hack (2019)
TV-MA | 114 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The Cambridge Analytica scandal is examined through the roles of several affected persons.
Directors: Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaim | Stars: Brittany Kaiser, David Carroll, Paul-Olivier Dehaye, Ravi Naik
Votes: 25,020
43. Larry Flynt: The Right to Be Left Alone (2007)
74 min | Documentary
A documentary that celebrates and examines an unabashed vulgarian.
Director: Joan Brooker-Marks | Stars: Larry Flynt, Al van Schaik, Simon L. Leis Jr., Robert Scheer
Votes: 282
44. The Truffle Hunters (2020)
PG-13 | 84 min | Documentary
Deep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy, a handful of men, seventy or eighty years old, hunt for the rare and expensive white Alba truffle-which to date has resisted all of modern science's efforts at cultivation.
Directors: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw | Stars: Piero Botto, Sergio Cauda, Maria Cicciù, Aurelio Conterno
Votes: 3,784
45. Occupied City (2023)
PG-13 | 266 min | Documentary, History, War
The past collides with the present in this excavation of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam: a journey from World War II to recent years of pandemic and protest and a provocative, life-affirming reflection on memory, time and what's to come.
Director: Steve McQueen | Star: Melanie Hyams
Votes: 479
46. Italianamerican (1974)
Not Rated | 49 min | Documentary
Martin Scorsese interviews his mother and father about their life in New York City and the family history back in Sicily. These are two people who have lived together for a long time and know each other very well.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Catherine Scorsese, Charles Scorsese, Martin Scorsese
Votes: 3,698
47. Time (I) (2020)
PG-13 | 81 min | Documentary, Biography
Fox Rich fights for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a 60-year sentence in prison.
Director: Garrett Bradley | Stars: Sibil Fox Richardson, Robert G. Richardson, Mahlik Richardson, Remington B. Richardson
Votes: 6,293
48. The Fight (I) (2020)
PG-13 | 96 min | Documentary
An inside look at the legal battles that lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union are facing during the Trump administration.
Directors: Eli B. Despres, Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg | Stars: Brigitte Amiri, Joshua Block, David Cole, Lee Gelernt
Votes: 772
49. Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (1980)
Not Rated | 60 min | Documentary, Music
Robert Mugge filmed jazz great Sun Ra on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980. The resulting 60-minute film includes multiple public and private ... See full summary »
Director: Robert Mugge | Star: Sun Ra
Votes: 336
50. Minding the Gap (2018)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Sport
Filmmaker Bing Liu searches for correlations between his skateboarder friends' turbulent upbringings and the complexities of modern masculinity.
Director: Bing Liu | Stars: Kent Abernathy, Mengyue Bolen, Nina Bowgren, Keire Johnson
Votes: 10,461 | Gross: $0.01M
51. Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes (2018)
75 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Told in Count Basie's own words, this biography sheds light on the private and family life of the world-famous bandleader and pianist.
Director: Jeremy Marre | Stars: Count Basie, Diane Basie, Gary Giddins, John C. Williams
Votes: 83
52. The Joy of Life (2005)
Not Rated | 65 min | Documentary, History
Beautifully composed landscape shots of San Francisco juxtaposed with voiceover detailing the emotional intricacies of the love affairs of a butch lesbian and the history of Golden Gate Bridge as the world's prime suicide location.
Director: Jenni Olson | Stars: Harry Dodge, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Votes: 120
53. HyperNormalisation (2016)
166 min | Documentary
Adam Curtis explains how, at a time of confusing and inexplicable world events, politicians and the people they represent have retreated in to a damaging over-simplified version of what is happening.
Director: Adam Curtis | Stars: Adam Curtis, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Victor Gotbaum
Votes: 7,368
54. The Century of the Self (2002)
59 min | Documentary
A documentary about the rise of psychoanalysis as a powerful means of persuasion for both governments and corporations.
Stars: Adam Curtis, Robert Reich, Ann Bernays, Alfred Pritz
Votes: 6,359
55. Assassins (I) (2020)
104 min | Documentary, Biography
An account of the two women convicted of assassinating Kim Jong-un's half-brother, Kim Jong-nam. The film follows the women's trials in an attempt to understand whether they are trained killers or simply pawns.
Director: Ryan White | Stars: Siti Aisyah, Hadi Azmi, Anna Fifield, Doan Thi Huong
Votes: 2,854
56. Tongues Untied (1989)
Not Rated | 55 min | Documentary
A documentary about the experiences of black homosexual men living in the United States of America.
Director: Marlon Riggs | Stars: Marlon Riggs, Michael Bell, Kerrigan Black, Blackberri
Votes: 1,849
57. Collective (2019)
Not Rated | 109 min | Documentary, Crime
Director Alexander Nanau follows a crack team of investigators at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor as they try to uncover a vast health-care fraud that enriched moguls and politicians and led to the deaths of innocent citizens.
Director: Alexander Nanau | Stars: Dan Alexandru Condrea, Liviu Iolu, Razvan Lutac, Mirela Neag
Votes: 13,436
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