I Love Documentaries
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- DirectorSpike LeeStarsMaxine McNairWalter CronkiteChris McNairA documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American church during the Civil Rights Movement.
- 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.
- DirectorMstyslav ChernovStarsMstyslav ChernovEvgeniy MaloletkaLiudmyla AmelkinaAs the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.
- 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.
- DirectorStan BrakhageAt a morgue, forensic pathologists conduct autopsies of the corpses assigned.
- DirectorMaite AlberdiStarsSergio ChamyRomulo AitkenMarta OlivaresA private investigator in Chile hires someone to work as a mole at a retirement home where a client of his suspects the caretakers of elder abuse.
- StarsAgnès VardaAnouk AiméeJean-Louis TrintignantAgnès Varda travels around the world to meet friends, artists and filmmakers for an expansive view of the global contemporary art scene.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldJoan ChurchillStarsAileen WuornosNick BroomfieldTerry Humphreys-SlayNick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.
- DirectorShaunak SenStarsSalik RehmanMohammad SaudNadeem ShehzadAmidst the darkening backdrop of Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protect one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the Black Kite.
- 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.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsSteve BannonBill ClintonHillary ClintonA portrait of controversial political strategist and former Donald Trump advisor, Steve Bannon.
- DirectorBarbara KoppleCathy CaplanThomas HanekeStarsLewie AndersonR.J. BergstromRon BergstromRecounts the 1985-86 strike against the Hormel Foods Corporation in Minnesota after its employees' wages and benefits were cut.
- DirectorSteven BognarJulia ReichertStarsJunming 'Jimmy' WangRobert AllenSherrod BrownIn post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMark BorchardtMike SchankTom SchimmelsDocumentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
- DirectorTodd Douglas MillerStarsNeil ArmstrongMike CollinsBuzz AldrinA look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilots Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins.
- DirectorMargot BenacerrafStarsJosé Ignacio CabrujasLaurent Terzieff"Araya" is an old natural salt mine located in a peninsula in northeastern Venezuela which was still, by 1959, being exploited manually five hundred years after its discovery by the Spanish. Margot Benacerraf captures in images, the life of the "salineros" and their archaic methods of work before their definite disappearance with the arrival of the industrial exploitation.
- DirectorClio BarnardStarsManjinder VirkChristine BottomleyNatalie GavinPortrayal of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar.
- DirectorJessica KingdonThe absorbingly cinematic Ascension explores the pursuit of the "Chinese Dream." This observational documentary presents a contemporary vision of China that prioritizes productivity and innovation above all.
- DirectorRyan WhiteStarsSiti AisyahHadi AzmiAnna FifieldAn 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.
- DirectorJayne LoaderKevin RaffertyPierce RaffertyStarsPaul TibbetsHarry S. TrumanW.H.P. BlandyDisturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.
- DirectorTraci CurryStanley NelsonStarsArthur HarrisonCarlos RocheTyrone LarkinsThis unnervingly vivid dive into the 1971 uprising from Emmy® winning director Stanley Nelson sheds new light on the enduring violence and racism of the prison system and highlights the urgent, ongoing need for reform 50 years later.
- DirectorAndrei UjicaStarsNicolae CeausescuElena CeausescuStefan AndreiThe film explores the image of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu using unknown official footage from the Romanian National Television and National Film Archives.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsPatrick DisantoA collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsAbilio FernándezSalvador AllendeThe chronicle of the political tension in Chile in 1973 and of the violent counter revolution against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsSalvador AllendeCarlos AltamiranoFernando CastilloFilmmaker Patricio Guzmán tracks the deterioration of Salvador Allende's position following the attempted coup d'état of 29 June 1973, and analyzes the 10 weeks before Augusto Pinochet's CIA-backed seizure of power.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsSalvador AllendeAbilio FernándezErnesto MalbranThis film investigates the factory worker's response to the insurrection, as well as Chile's socialist aspirations for the future. The camera captures the optimism in the industrial working class before Pinochet's US-backed coup d'état.
- DirectorLiang ZhaoUnder the sun, the heavenly beauty of grasslands will soon be covered by the raging dust of mines. Facing the ashes and noises caused by heavy mining , the herdsmen have no choice but to leave as the meadow areas dwindle. In the moonlight, iron mines are brightly lit throughout the night. Workers who operate the drilling machines must stay awake. The fight is tortuous, against the machine and against themselves. Meanwhile, coal miners are busy filling trucks with coals. Wearing a coal-dust mask, they become ghostlike creatures. An endless line of trucks will transport all the coals and iron ores to the iron works. There traps another crowd of souls, being baked in hell. In the hospital, time hangs heavy on miners' hands. After decades of breathing coal dust, death is just around the corner. They are living the reality of purgatory, but there will be no paradise.
- DirectorFernando LopesStarsBelarmino FragosoJean Pierre GeblerMaria Teresa de NoronhaInterview with a has-been boxing champion «who could have been great», probing, and soul revealing.
- DirectorWalter RuttmannStarsPaul von HindenburgThis movie shows us one day in Berlin, the rhythm of that time, starting at the earliest morning and ends in the deepest night.
- 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.
- DirectorRobert GreeneStarsMike AndersonCharles BetheaChris DietzAn old mining town on the Arizona-Mexico border finally reckons with its darkest day: the deportation of 1200 immigrant miners exactly 100 years ago. Locals collaborate to stage recreations of their controversial past.
- DirectorStanley NelsonStarsBlair AndersonOmar BarbourJulian BondThis 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.
- DirectorGabriela CowperthwaiteStarsTilikumDave DuffusSamantha BergA documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
- DirectorStephanie Wang-BrealStarsKim AffrontiEliza HookSusan LiuWorking within a broken criminal justice system, a team of rebel heroines work to change the the way women arrested for prostitution are prosecuted.
- DirectorEduardo CoutinhoThe daily routine of poor people of Itaoca, São Gonçalo, state of Rio de Janeiro, who make a living out of revolving garbage.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsMartín CalderónCristinaPatricio GuzmánDelving into the nearly-religious significance of water, this profound rumination on memory and loss bridges the gap between its mystical origins, Pinochet's coup d'état, and the secret of a mother-of-pearl button at the bottom of the sea.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- DirectorJonathan AlterJohn BlockSteve McCarthyStarsHarvey AratonJohn AvlonMike BarnicleThe story of New York City journalists Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill lauded in their time as the voice of New York.
- DirectorRoss McElweeStarsAllan GurganusPaula LarkeMarilyn LevineMcElwee family legend has it that the Hollywood melodrama "Bright Leaf" starring Gary Cooper as a 19th century tobacco grower, is based on filmmaker Ross McElwee's great-grandfather, who created the Bull Durham brand.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsDelbert WardRoscoe WardLyman WardThis compelling documentary details the strange-but-true murder trial of Delbert Ward, accused of the mercy killing of his brother in rural upstate NY. This real-life murder mystery won the Audience Award at Sundance.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleA documentary following German auteur Werner Herzog as he deals with difficult actors, bad weather and getting a boat over a mountain, all in an effort to make his film Fitzcarraldo (1982).
- DirectorAnders ØstergaardStarsGeorge W. BushJoshua Min HtutKo MuangUsing smuggled footage, this documentary tells the story of the 2007 protests in Burma by thousands of monks.
- DirectorKatherine Fairfax WrightMalika Zouhali-WorrallStarsDavid BahatiLou EngleLong JohnIn Uganda, a new bill threatens to make homosexuality punishable by death. David Kato - Uganda's first openly gay man - and his fellow activists work against the clock to defeat the legislation while combating vicious persecution in their daily lives. But no one, not even the filmmakers, is prepared for the brutal murder that shakes the movement to its core and sends shock waves around the world.
- DirectorKirsten JohnsonStarsKirsten JohnsonAisha BukarEric W. DavisExposing her role behind the camera, Kirsten Johnson reaches into the vast trove of footage she has shot over decades around the world. What emerges is a visually bold memoir and a revelatory interrogation of the power of the camera.
- DirectorAndrew JareckiStarsArnold FriedmanJesse FriedmanDavid FriedmanDocumentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
- DirectorMatthew HeinemanStarsTim FoleyJosé Manuel 'El Doctor' MirelesPaco ValenciaFilmmaker Matthew Heineman examines the state of the ongoing drug problem along the U.S.-Mexican border.
- DirectorFeras FayyadStarsAmani BallourAlaaSalim NamourAmidst air strikes and bombings, a group of female doctors in Ghouta, Syria struggle with systemic sexism while trying to care for the injured using limited resources.
- 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.
- DirectorMarcel OphülsStarsHelmut TausendMarcel VerdierAlexis GraveAn in-depth exploration of the various reactions by the French people to the Vichy government's acceptance of the German invasion.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsBertrand CantatDieudonnéLéon SchwartzenbergParis 2002. Yellow cats appears on the walls. Chris Marker is looking for these mysterious cats and captures with his camera the political and international events of these last two years (war in Iraq...).
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
- DirectorHa Le DiemIn the misty mountains of northern Vietnam, a Hmong teenage girl faces the challenges of growing up. In Di's traditional culture, girls marry as early as 14. But at school she learns there are alternatives.
- DirectorEdgar MorinJean RouchStarsAngeloNadine BallotCatherineA documentary about the everyday lives of ordinary Parisians, done in the style of cinéma vérité.
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsEdward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldWilliam BinneyA documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
- DirectorMatthew HeinemanStarsAbdelaziz AlhamzaMohamad AlmusariHamoud AlmousaA documentary that follows the efforts of "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently," a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014. With deeply personal access, this is the story of a brave group of citizen journalists as they face the realities of life undercover, on the run, and in exile, risking their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.
- A modern, multifaceted look at the city of Chicago.
- DirectorAlexander NanauStarsDan Alexandru CondreaLiviu IoluRazvan LutacDirector 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.
- DirectorJehane NoujaimStarsSamir KhaderJosh RushingGeorge W. BushA documentary on perception of the United States's war with Iraq, with an emphasis on Al Jazeera's coverage.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsJorge BaraditVicente GajardoFrancisco GazitúaPatricio Guzmán left Chile more than 40 years ago when the military dictatorship took over the government. However, he never stopped thinking about a country, a culture and a place on the map.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorLouie PsihoyosStarsRichard O'BarryLouie PsihoyosHardy JonesUsing state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
- DirectorStephen MaingStarsManuel 'Manny' GomezSandy GonzalesRukia LumumbaA group of brave NYPD officers risk it all to expose the truth about illegal quota practices in police departments.
- DirectorJames LebrechtNicole NewnhamStarsJames LebrechtLionel Je'WoodyardJoseph O'ConorDown the road from Woodstock, a revolution blossomed at a ramshackle summer camp for teenagers with disabilities, transforming their lives and igniting a landmark movement.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsRobert CrumbAline Kominsky-CrumbCharles CrumbAn intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
- DirectorJon AlpertLife in Cuba for three struggling families over the course of 45 years, from the cautious optimism of the early 1970s to the harrowing 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union and the 2016 death of Fidel Castro.
- DirectorZach HeinzerlingStarsUshio ShinoharaNoriko ShinoharaAlex ShinoharaThis candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsLucien BossyLeance DebrossianMarcelle DebrossianPortraits of the people that occupy the small shops of the Rue Daguerre, Paris, where the filmmaker lived.
- DirectorRick BarnesOlivia Neergaard-HolmJon NguyenStarsDavid LynchLula LynchEdwina LynchArtist and filmmaker David Lynch discusses his early life and the events that shaped his outlook on art and the creative process.
- DirectorBill MorrisonStarsMichael GatesKathy Jones-GatesRoscoe 'Fatty' ArbuckleThe history of Dawson City, the gold rush town that had a historical treasure of forgotten silent films buried in permafrost for decades until 1978.
- DirectorRomina PaulaRosario CervioStarsRomina PaulaMónica RankRamón Cohen AraziActress Romina Paula points the camera at herself, her son and her mother in this mixture of documentary and fiction. A returns to her roots to rediscover who she is.
- DirectorBill CouturiéStarsTom BerengerEllen BurstynJ. Kenneth CampbellFeature-length documentary film featuring real-life letters written by American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines during the Vietnam War to their families and friends back home.
- DirectorJames MillerStarsJames MillerSaira ShahThe harrowing documentary that portrays the horror of the Israeli conflict and the resulting death of its director, James Miller.
- DirectorAmy BergStarsOliver O'GradyThomas DoyleAdamDocumentary about Father Oliver O'Grady, a Catholic priest who was relocated to various parishes around the United States during the 1970s in an attempt by the Catholic Church to cover up his rape of dozens of children.
- DirectorCamilla NielssonStarsPaul MangwanaRobert MugabeDouglas MwonzoraIn politically unstable Zimbabwe, a new constitution is being put together by the ruling party of strongman Robert Mugabe and the divided opposition. Various political, local and personal interests are bogging the process down.
- DirectorClaude LanzmannStarsBenjamin MurmelsteinClaude LanzmannA place: Theresienstadt. A unique place of propaganda which Adolf Eichmann called the "model ghetto", designed to mislead the world and Jewish people regarding its real nature, to be the last step before the gas chamber. A man: Benjamin Murmelstein, last president of the Theresienstadt Jewish Council, a fallen hero condemned to exile, who was forced to negotiate day after day from 1938 until the end of the war with Eichmann, to whose trial Murmelstein wasn't even called to testify. Even though he was without a doubt the one who knew the Nazi executioner best. More than twenty-five years after Shoah, Claude Lanzmann's new film reveals a little-known yet fundamental aspect of the Holocaust, and sheds light on the origins of the "Final Solution" like never before.
- DirectorMargaret BrownStarsTheodore ArthurGary AutreyChris DavisFollows descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, as they reclaim their story.
- DirectorKirsten JohnsonStarsMichael HilowAna HoffmanDick JohnsonA daughter helps her father prepare for the end of his life.
- DirectorTravis WilkersonStarsTravis WilkersonEd VaughnEd VaughnA documentary murder mystery about the filmmaker's family, set in lower Alabama.
- DirectorAsif KapadiaStarsDiego MaradonaDalma MaradonaPeléConstructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage, this documentary centers on the career of celebrated football player Diego Maradona, who played for S.S.C. Napoli in the 1980s.
- DirectorRick RowleyStarsJeremy ScahillNasser Al AulaqiSaleha Al AulaqiInvestigative journalist Jeremy Scahill is pulled into an unexpected journey as he chases down the hidden truth behind America's expanding covert wars.
- DirectorJoaquim PintoStarsJoaquim PintoNuno LeonelSerge DaneyJoaquim Pinto, who has been living with HIV for more than two decades, looks back at his life in cinema, at his friendships and loves, at the mysteries of art and nature - while undergoing an experimental drug treatment.
- DirectorPetra CostaStarsLi AnElena AndradePetra CostaElena, a young Brazilian woman, travels to New York with the same dream as her mother, to become a movie actress. She leaves behind her childhood spent in hiding during the years of the military dictatorship. She also leaves Petra, her seven year old sister. Two decades later, Petra also becomes an actress and goes to New York in search of Elena. She only has a few clues about her: home movies, newspaper clippings, a diary and letters. At any moment Petra hopes to find Elena walking in the streets in a silk blouse. Gradually, the features of the two sisters are confused; we no longer know one from the other. When Petra finally finds Elena in an unexpected place, she has to learn to let her go.
- DirectorJulien FarautStarsJohn McEnroeIvan LendlMathieu AmalricA documentary set at the final of the 1984 French Open between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl at a time when McEnroe was the world's top-ranked player.
- DirectorHeidi EwingRachel GradyStarsCarl BernsteinPedro BialJair BolsonaroAn investigation of threats against journalists in the United States and internationally, from intimidation to physical violence.
- DirectorMarlon RiggsStarsBarbara T. ChristianGeorge FredericksonLarry C. LevineThis documentary traces the deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled anti-black prejudice.
- 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.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertStarsGeorges LopezAlizéAxel ThouveninA documentary portrait of a one-room school in rural France, where the students (ranging in age from 4 to 11) are educated by a single dedicated teacher.
- StarsRaoul PeckJosh HartnettCaisa AnkarsparreThe path to the new world, an unsettling and intricate story of genocides. Conquest, slavery and the fabrication of "Whiteness".
- DirectorOrson WellesGary GraverOja KodarStarsOrson WellesOja KodarFrançois ReichenbachA documentary about fraud and fakery.
- DirectorWerner HerzogClive OppenheimerStarsWerner HerzogClive OppenheimerSimon SchafferA documentary from Werner Herzog about meteors and comets and their influence on ancient religions and other cultural and physical impacts they've had on Earth.
- DirectorAlan BerlinerStarsEli BerlinerStuart BlazerSusan BrownAcclaimed filmmaker Alan Berliner chronicles the deeply personal story of his mother's first cousin--well-known poet/translator/professor Edwin Honig--on his journey into the depths of Alzheimer's disease. Shot over the course of five years, the film presents an unflinching portrait of Edwin's work and life while documenting his slow mental deterioration through visits and interviews with Edwin and his friends, former students, and others, along with archival footage and more.
- DirectorEmad BurnatGuy DavidiStarsEmad BurnatSoraya BurnatMohammed BurnatA documentary on a Palestinian farmer's chronicle of his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army.
- DirectorArnon GoldfingerStarsMichael AdlerYaron AmitAvrham BarkaiAs a documentarian cleans out the flat that belonged to his grandparents--both immigrants from Nazi Germany--he uncovers clues pointing to a complicated, shocking story.
- StarsTim JohnsonBridgette BalaskoRobert FrostDocumentary following the police department in Flint, Michigan as they struggle with dwindling resources and crumbling infrastructure in a community crippled by violence and a contaminated water crisis.
- DirectorJonas Poher RasmussenStarsDaniel KarimyarFardin MijdzadehMilad EskandariFLEE tells the extraordinary true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRobert McNamaraJohn F. KennedyFidel CastroThe story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara.
- DirectorAl ReinertStarsJim LovellKen MattinglyRussell SchweickartAn in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.
- DirectorWaad Al-KateabEdward WattsStarsWaad Al-KateabSama Al-KhateabHamza Al-KhateabFOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsStephen GaudinChantell HigginsDaniel JonesFollows the story of Abu Zubaydah, the first high-value detainee subjected to the CIA's program, later identified as torture by those outside the agency.
- DirectorJamie RobertsStarsEddie BlockBuddy CarterJim McGovernA chronicle of the incursion at the U.S. Capitol, when thousands of citizens from across the country gathered in Washington D.C., many with the intent of disrupting the certification of Joe Biden's presidency.