must-see DOCUMENTARIES
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- DirectorKsenia BolchakovaPhilippe LagnierIt follows soldiers, politicians, and experts speaking about the Russian offensive.
- StarsHubert VédrineLaurent FabiusMathieu GuidèreLe Monde en face is a French television program presenting a documentary followed by a debate.
- DirectorMatti GeschonneckStarsPhilipp HochmairJohannes AllmayerMaximilian BrücknerOn January 20, 1942, leading representatives of the German Nazi regime met in a villa in Berlin-Wannsee for a meeting that went down in history as the Wannsee Conference, at which the systematic murder of 11 million Jews was decided.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertStarsMamadi BarriWalid BenzianeSabine BerlièreFollows patients and caregivers at a psychiatric centre with a unique floating structure located in the middle of the Seine river in central Paris.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertStarsJean-François AchilliEvelyne AdamJean-Claude AmeisenTwenty-four hours in the life of Radio France, from one dawn to another. Along its corridors, inside its recording studios, with its producers, presenters, journalists and various guests. And outside on a motorbike in the wake of the Tour de France or in the company of a thunderstorm photographer.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertA voyage into the museum's reserves, and part of the extra work involved to mount the expositions after the renovation of the Louvre in the 1980s, when the glass pyramid was added to the classic buildings. From the preservation rooms through the frame and painting retouches by experts, to the personnel instruction on how to be efficient in protecting the collections, and look nice to the visitors.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertIn this documentary, we visit a training school for young women who want to become nurses, in Paris.
- DirectorFaustine CrosStarsJean-Louis CrosFaustine CrosFerdinand CrosMy father immortalized in family films the most beautiful moments of his life, while my mother's difficulties hit the blind spot of his images. Today, I revisit these images to tell a different story: that of a woman who sees her role as a mother take away her freedom step by step.
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsNan GoldinDavid VelascoMegan KaplerFollows the life of artist Nan Goldin and the downfall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical dynasty who was greatly responsible for the opioid epidemic's unfathomable death toll.
- DirectorEvgeniy MilykhStarsEva ElfieAdam Ocelot
- DirectorAnnie ErnauxDavid Ernaux-BriotStarsBlanche Madeleine Dumenil DuchesneAnnie ErnauxDominique ErnauxHome videos shot by Ernaux and her family from 1972 to 1981 and feeds into the themes of her work over the past 60 years.
- DirectorClaude LanzmannStarsSimon SrebnikMichael PodchlebnikMotke ZaïdlClaude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.
- DirectorLaurent CharbonnierMichel SeydouxFollows many families who inhabit the oak like a home, living together as in a proper society, with problems with the neighbors, education, solidarity, survival, etc.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreGeorge W. BushBen AffleckMichael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- DirectorWalter StokmanWhile sailing the world together, a horrible event takes place. Along the coast of Columbia Peter Putker's wife Durdana gets murdered. And although Peter states from the very beginning that it was an attack by pirates, the local authorities do not buy into his innocence. For them, he is the one who killed his own wife. Problem is: only Peter himself was there and only he truly knows what took place that night. The Colombian authorities assign the case to the Dutch court. A grueling lawsuit ensues, in which not only Peter but also his family and friends are confronted with the consequences of not being able to determine with certainty the true course of events. What happens when you're the only one knowing the truth without strong evidence to prove your innocence?
- DirectorNicole BlachaStarsNurcan ÖzdemirChristina AguileraCardi B
- DirectorPatrice LeconteDirector Patrice Leconte weaves an impressionistic, sensorial tapestry of existence in and around early 21st-century Cambodia. Journeying through the country's farmlands, factories, streets and rural villages, camera-in-hand, Leconte glimpses the people and the elements of the landscape that make Cambodia so culturally specific, and gently contrasts modes of life found there.
- DirectorChantal AkermanRené AllioDenis AmarStarsPaul AmarRobert BadinterGuy BedosContre l'Oubli (Against Oblivion) is a compilation of 30 French filmmakers, Alain Resnais and Jean Luc Godard among them, who use film to make a plea on behalf of a political prisoner. Jean Luc Godard and Anne Marie Mieville's film concerns the plight of Thomas Wanggai, West Papuan activist who has since died in prison. The short films were commissioned by Amnesty International.
- DirectorHenry RooseveltStarsMaya KowalskiAs a medical team tries to understand 10-year-old Maya Kowalski's rare illness, they begin to question her parents. Suddenly, Maya is in state custody - despite a family desperate to bring their daughter home.
- StarsKasumi ArimuraDaisuke KurodaTôru NomaguchiPlaying a fictional version of herself, actress Kasumi Arimura enjoys a day off in this charming example of Hirokazu Koreeda's rarely seen television work.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogJean ClottesJulien MonneyWerner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France and captures the oldest known pictorial creations of humanity.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogScott RowlandStefan PashovFilm-maker Werner Herzog travels to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, looking to capture the continent's beauty and investigate the characters living there.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleThe love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.
- DirectorLynne RamsayStarsBrigitte LacombeLynne RamsayDaniel BlumbergFramed round a candid conversation between the photographer Brigitte Lacombe and the film maker discussing their process and fascination with images as well as Brigitte's close relationship to her sister Marian Lacombe (whom she works and travels with). Lynne sets up and films a real time photo shoot for Brigitte, selecting a "cast" for her to photograph with a theme of sisters and creative siblings, allowing us to closely observe the photographer at work. A cast of some true relations, close friend's considered sisters and "siblings" with modern re-definitions of family not connected by blood. An insight into Brigitte's creative process, her obsession with taking pictures and how her lens defines her relationship with her subjects and the world.
- DirectorSébastien LifshitzThe touching portrait of eight-year-old Sasha, who questions her gender and in doing so, evokes the sometimes disturbing reactions of a society that is still invested in a biological boy-girl way of thinking.
- DirectorMarek KozakiewiczStarsKajetan PawlikowskiWik PlatekAlin SzewczykIn this documentary, a group of trans and non-binary actors share common experiences while pursuing a life-changing role for the Netflix film "Fanfic."
- DirectorYves SimoneauStarsAidan QuinnAdam BeachAugust SchellenbergA historic chronicle based on the book by Dee Brown explains how Native Americans were displaced as the United States expanded west.
- DirectorMireille DansereauStarsHubert AquinIsabelle BlaisDaniel Bordeleau-Two parents question the phenomenon of suicide following a threat made by their teenage son.
- DirectorEvgeniy MilykhStarsEva ElfieAdam Ocelot
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiThe confession of a man who was the director of a factory in Lower Silesia. "He was a Party member but opposed to the Mafia-like organization of Party members which was active in that factory and region.
- DirectorMichale BoganimStarsEsther HossidVictoria LesinaDavid VarerA voyage from the Ukraine to New York to Israel, portraying the wanderings, hopes and illusions of the vanishing Odessa Jewish community.
- DirectorMarek KozakiewiczAt the death of her mother, Aga decides to leave her life in Germany with her partner Maja to look after her younger brother in Poland. To do this, she has to hide her love for another woman from the authorities.
- DirectorAlan ZweigStarsLinda GriffithsAlan Williams
- DirectorUrsula MacfarlaneStarsHarvey WeinsteinBenjamin BrafmanHope Exiner D'AmoreFeature documentary about the spectacular fall from grace of media mogul Harvey Weinstein. With a cast of characters including survivors, friends and colleagues, this is a portrait of power and its abuses, spanning over forty years.
- DirectorKaouther Ben HaniaStarsOlfa HamrouniEya ChikhaouiTayssir ChikhaouiBetween light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. Filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actresses to fill in their absence.
- DirectorKaouther Ben Hania2009. Tunisian Nine-year-old Zaineb lost her father. Her mother will rebuild her life with a man in Canada. But she wants nothing to do with this new country, because Zaineb has decided to hate the snow.
- DirectorKaouther Ben HaniaStarsMohamed Slim BouchihaJallel DridiMoufida DridiTunisia, before the revolution. A man on a motorbike, razor blade in hand, prowls the streets of Tunis slashing women's buttocks. They call him The Challat, aka "The Blade", and the mere mention of his name provokes fascination and terror. Is he a lone criminal, an urban legend, or could he be the creation of a political group or religious fanatics? 10 years later, in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, a stubborn young female director sets out on an investigation to unravel the mystery and discover the true Challat of Tunis...
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsGaspar GalazLautaro NúñezLuís HenríquezA documentary about two different searches conducted in the Chilean Atacama Desert: one by astronomers looking for answers about the history of the cosmos, and one by women looking for the remains of loved ones killed by Pinochet's regime.
- DirectorLevin PeterA Promise is a documentary reflection of a young couple on questions about relationship, marriage and divorce today. What keeps two people together at all?
- DirectorAndrea ArnoldStarsLin GallagherA close-up portrait of the daily lives of two cows.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsKevin BaconDustin Lance BlackDavid BoiesLive chronicle of the landmark federal trial of California's Prop. 8 using the actual court transcripts and first-hand interviews.
- DirectorLea GlobStarsApolonia SokolLea GlobOksana ShachkoThe talented Apolonia grows up seeking her place in the art world while grappling with the agonies and joys of womanhood and relationships in a world dominated by patriarchy, capitalism, and war.
- DirectorBettina BlümnerHow many rounds you do have to spin on the dance floor until all your dreams come true? Eugene, Gino, Christina and their friends are already past their prime. But that doesn't stop them to search for love and sex. They meet in Paris daily in dimly dance clubs where they express their desire for living a full life in togetherness through dancing. And if prince charming is reluctant to appear the well-heeled ladies spent some money for lessons with 'taxi boy' Michel. Michel dances with them for money - and behaves like a real gentleman. In search of love both - men and women - overcome nearly every obstacle, even if in many cases it doesn't bring them closer to their aim.
- DirectorBettina BlümnerStarsMatthias RimplerPortrait of a self-help group of Turkish Fathers living in Germany.
- DirectorFelix van GroeningenStarsSteve CarellMaura TierneyJack Dylan GrazerBased on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.
- DirectorLina SoualemStarsHiam AbbassUm AliNemat AbbassYears after leaving her Palestinian village to pursue an acting career in France, Hiam Abbass returns home with her daughter, in this intimate documentary about four generations of women and their shared legacy of separation.
- DirectorKazik RadwanskiStarsLisa AitkenPat BiancoTiffany BlomA volatile young woman challenged by everyday social and professional encounters.
- DirectorMona AchacheStarsMarion CotillardMona AchacheMarie BunelDocudrama about French writer and photographer Carole Achache. Through the power of filmmaking and the help of Marion Cotillard, director Mona Achache brings her mother back to life to retrace her journey and find out who she really was.
- DirectorFatih AkinStarsMayor Hüseyin AliogluBünyamin SeyrekbasanNezihan HaslamanVillagers in Turkey's Black Sea village of Camburnu struggle with the government's decision to turn their community into a garbage dump.
- DirectorElisa FuksasLucrezia Le MoliFrancesca MuciGreen, White, Red: three colors for three chapters, each touching a strand of contemporary Italian life. In the first on the environment, Elisa Fuksas recounts the scourge of uncontrolled building that continues to ruin the countryside without any qualms for aesthetics. In the second chapter on young people, Francesca Muci debunks many commonly held views and caricatures usually used to describe an entire generation. In the final part, Lucrezia Le Moli paints a lucid, sincere, impartial and revelatory picture of the Italians' perception of politics. Three small yet great investigations pervaded with a disconcerting wisdom and a mature, competent sense of the cinema of the real.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsNeil YoungJim JarmuschRalph MolinaThis film documents Neil Young and Crazy Horse's 1996 concert tour. Jim Jarmusch interviews the band about their long history, and we see backstage footage from the 1970s and 1980s.
- DirectorCédric KlapischStarsAurélie DupontManuel LegrisMarie-Agnès GillotDirector Cédric Klapisch paints a portrait of Aurélie Dupont, star dancer of the Paris Opera ballet, which was filmed for three years, between 2006 and 2009.
- DirectorCédric Klapisch
- DirectorAnissa BonnefontStarsOlivier RousteingDani AlvesAlessandra AmbrosioAutobiographical documentary on Olivier Roustein, artistic director of Balmain.
- DirectorAnissa BonnefontStarsMichael KallbäckNadia NadimThe story of Nadia Nadim, a young Afghan girl who took refuge in Denmark following the execution of her father by the Taliban. Today, Nadia is an international football star.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseDavid TedeschiStarsBarbara EpsteinW.H. AudenIsaiah BerlinA documentary on the history and influence of the New York Review of Books.
- DirectorKent JonesMartin ScorseseStarsMartin ScorseseElia KazanElias KoteasA documentary on the late Elia Kazan.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobbie RobertsonMuddy WatersNeil YoungA film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.
- DirectorBob LanoisStarsMalcolm BurnSteve EarleTony HallIn 1995, Emmylou Harris released "Wrecking Ball", which is considered to be her most experimental album. It featured songs by Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. Harris and producer Daniel Lanois offer an inside look at the making of Emmylou's Grammy-winning album on a promotional VHS tape of the TV special, "Building the Wrecking Ball", which originally aired on PBS in December 1996.
- DirectorMichael Lindsay-HoggStarsPaul SimonHugh MasekelaMiriam MakebaA concert given in Zimbabwe, Africa, by singer Paul Simon, featuring such South African musicians as Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masakela.
- DirectorMichael Lindsay-HoggStarsNeil YoungBen KeithJoe LalaNeil Young captured live in concert during his 'Trans' 1982 tour of Europe.
- DirectorNeil YoungStarsNeil YoungRalph MolinaFrank 'Pancho' SampedroDocumentary covering Neil Young's October 22, 1978 concert performance at the Cow Palace.
- StarsSonny RollinsWayne ShorterHerbie HancockAn intimate portrait and cinematic ode to Jazz giant Wayne Shorter's life and music. Depicted in three parts, each representing a different period of Short'er's life and music.
- DirectorJoni MitchellJoni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum explores Mitchell's life-long concerns about environmental neglect and the warring nature of mankind within a ballet performed to a select soundtrack of her eternal songs. The unique combinations of three art forms - music, dance and art - comprise an engaging spectacle that Joni calls "...the best project of her career."CRNLLegendary Canadian artist Joni Mitchell and internationally acclaimed choreographer Jean Grand-Maître of the Alberta Ballet Company are the co-creators of Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum.
- DirectorJoni MitchellStarsJoni MitchellDon AliasPat MethenyDocuments Joni Mitchell's historic 1979 tour backed by an all-star band of jazz-fusion musicians. Filmed at Santa Barbara County Bowl and intercut with classic film clips and original footage to give visual interpretations of the music.
- DirectorJoan TosoniStarsBrian BladeMark IshamKris JohnsonJoni Mitchell, Canada's queen of folk/pop, performs before an intimate audience on the Warner's Lot in Los Angeles. Playing in the round with a small band she delivers tracks from across her career including all her best loved songs.
- DirectorJoni Mitchell
- 1985– 1h 32mTV-147.9 (271)TV EpisodeDirectorSusan LacyStarsJoni MitchellBill FlanaganDavid CrosbyA profile of Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, and how her music evolved from personal folk into pop, jazz and avant-garde.
- DirectorClara KuperbergJulia KuperbergStarsDick CavettJudy CollinsDavid CrosbyJoni Mitchell has been called the queen of folk music and one of the biggest pop stars of the 60s and 70s. Even today, her lyrics and unique guitar style continue to inspire new generations of singers and songwriters.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldStarsNick BroomfieldLeonard CohenMarianne IhlenAn in-depth look at the relationship between the late musician Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen.
- DirectorLászló CsujaNINE MONTH WAR tells the story of a mother and son living in the shadow of the military conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Twenty-four-year-old Jani lives in a small town in western Ukraine, and is part of the minority Hungarian community. An only child whose father died five years ago, Jani is fed up with the boring life in his hometown, and drowning in the love of his mother. When he is drafted by the Ukrainian Army, he could sneak out of the country to escape the military service just like his buddies did. Instead, he chooses to go to the war, 1,500 kilometres away.
- DirectorStéphanie ChuatVéronique ReymondThey're single, widowed or divorced ; they've had children, husbands, a job. They have a life behind them, but also one to come - "Ladies" reveals the intimate lives of five women in their sixties who are waging a discreet daily battle against loneliness. It's true that men often prefer younger women, it's true that one feels invisible in a youth-oriented society, but they are not washed up, far from it. One fills her time with activities, another is recovering from the loss of her husband, others find sustenance in nature - And love? They still believe in it, of course. It's never too late to dream.
- DirectorMike MillsStarsHiyaso HayashiguchiTaketoshi HayashiguchiMichiko IshikawaBy following the lives of five Japanese individuals this documentary explores the problem of depression in Japan and how the marketing of anti-depressant drugs has changed the way the Japanese view depression. Marketing of anti-depressants did not begin in Japan until the late 1990s and prior to this, depression was not widely recognized as a problem by the Japanese public. Since then, use of anti-depressants has sky-rocketed and use of the Japanese word "utsu" to describe depression has become commonplace, having previously been used only by psychiatric professionals.
- DirectorMati DiopStarsGildas AdannouHabib AhandessiJoséa GuedjeThe journey of 26 plundered royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey exhibited in Paris, now being returned to Benin. Diop artistically voices a new generation's demands.
- DirectorAntoine de CaunesStarsPhilippe TorretonRichard E. GrantJay RodanHow could Napoleon, the man of war and pioneering military strategist, meekly accept being locked up on a storm-lashed rock in the middle of the Atlantic ocean? What system of defence, and thus of attack, can he dream up to loosen his jailers' grip? On Saint Helena, the far-flung island chosen by his enemies, Napoleon fights a mysterious battle, his last and most important, and one that history has kept secret all these years.
- DirectorNic StaceyStarsJill WinternitzShannon SullivanCerys MatthewsSince the mid-20th century, astronomers have been searching for extra-terrestrial life in the Universe. This documentary imagines how the scientific community and world would react if an alien object passed through our Solar System.
- DirectorMaite AlberdiStarsAugusto GóngoraPaulina UrrutiaGustavo CeratiAugusto and Paulina have been together for 25 years. Eight years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Both fear the day he no longer recognizes her.
- DirectorPaloma Sermon-DaïStarsDamien SamediYsma Sermon-DaïLeonard CohenThis documentary about addiction is seen through the eyes of a mother and her son.
- DirectorThierry ChabertStarsAxelle CummingsMarie BunelArielle DombasleThe story of 'Anne Chatel de Lastel' from her early childhood in Annam (Vietnam) to her fame in France and Europe as actress Dany Carrel.
- DirectorClaus DrexelStarsFleurette Havranek
- DirectorSébastien LifshitzStarsSylvie Hofmann«Welcome to my life», this sentence, Sylvie Hofmann repeats it all day or almost. Sylvie has been a nursing executive for 40 years at the hospital north of Marseille. Her life is running. Between the patients, her mother, her husband and her daughter, she has always devoted her days to others. What if she decided to think a little about herself? To retire? Does she have the right, but especially does she really want to?
- DirectorAnonymousForty years ago, on 20th August 1968, Soviet tanks rolled into Prague to crush the rebellious Prague Spring. This evocative documentary captures the historic events of those heady days with an overpowering immediacy.
- CreatorJérôme PrieurStarsJean GrosjeanEdouard GlissantMaurice ChappazA collection of portraits of contemporary writers created by French author, filmmaker, and producer Jérôme Prieur.
- Jean-Stéphane Bron paints a portrait of his street in Lausanne in 4 episodes of 45 minutes each.
- DirectorGiovanni DonfrancescoAll over occupied Europe resistance fighters sentenced to death wrote to their relatives the quintessence of their "life to death".
- DirectorAnaïs Barbeau-LavaletteThe documentary tells the story of four middle-class mothers whose teenage girls have fallen under the influence of street gangs and we discover the universe of juvenile sexual exploitation.
- DirectorAnaïs Barbeau-LavaletteÉmile Proulx-Cloutier-Pascale, Raphael and Celeste are 15 and 16 years old. An adolescence like any other: the first flirtations, the first mourning, the fragile parental bonds. But they are literally - in the field. They are in high school in a special little school in the Eastern Townships, where they learn about farming: La Maison Familiale Rurale. Several times during the year, they each have to go on long stays with a local farmer. They learn to work alongside him and have to integrate into his family: a multi-champion of cow beauty contests, a lumberjack refusing big machines and swearing only by his horses - A real master-apprentice relationship develops between these workers of the earth and our young characters, both feet in the living. In the heart of the splendours of nature, with an attentive camera that knows how to make you forget yourself, "LE PLANCHER DES VACHES" follows the unique journey of three secret and endearing teenagers who will confront their limits, discover the meaning of the bond and learn to live at the rhythm of the earth and the animals.
- StarsJean-Michel VanasseMarilou EthierSimon DubéJean-Michel Vanasse and Marilou Ethier explore the world of new technologies that are transforming our relationship with sexuality. They are trying to understand the future of intimacy, as we become more and more "connected".
- DirectorErica Marie DanielsStarsSharon AnaquodHarold BlacksmithChief Gordon BlueskyComing Home (Wanna Icipus Kupi) reveals impacts of the Sixties Scoop, Indigenous resilience and narrative sovereignty.
- DirectorIsabel CoixetStarsAida FlixMiriam FuentesNúria JuanicoThe story of nine former students at Spain's Lleida Theatre who filed a complaint against two of their teachers for sexual abuse.