Top 10 Rhode Island Documentaries
A list of the best documentaries about or from the State of Rhode Island.
List activity
1.5K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
10 titles
- DirectorDavid BettencourtStarsWalter BaileyBuddy CianciVincent Ferla Jr.This film documents the long history of Rocky Point Park, an amusement park and shore dinner hall situated along the coast of the Narragansett Bay. For over 150 years, New Englanders flocked to the spot, for a game of Sunday baseball, for a picnic, for a rock-n-roll concert, or to ride on the Tilt-a-Whirl . Then, in 1996, the park closed. With its rides sold off, the park sits as a ghost town, scheduled for demolition and primed for the construction of condominiums. The story of Rocky Point Park will be told entirely by the people who lived there, who worked there, and who spent every waking moment of every summer at the park. We have collected found footage, family photographs, and memorabilia from the park. Along with a couple of local still photographers, we have shot extensively inside the ruined buildings and on the hallowed grounds of the former amusement park. From Babe Ruth to George Bush, from the first presidential phone call to a devastating hurricane, You Must Be This Tall hopes to capture all the fond memories left behind at Rocky Point, leaving future generations with a visually-stimulating reminder of the way things were.
- DirectorChristian de RezendesChristian O'NeillStarsNick O'NeillChristian O'NeillJoanne O'NeillIn the winter of 2003, a catastrophic fire erupted in a Rhode Island concert club, ultimately claiming 100 lives. For this state of just over a million residents, the devastation was profound, leaving unanswered questions and deep scars in its wake. But out of the ashes of the tragedy arose an equally profound story of hope. One year after the fire, a community theatre in the small city of Woonsocket gathered together to perform a play written by the fire's youngest victim close to the end of his life - a play that many felt could only be described as prophetic. "41" tells the story of Nicky O'Neill, the young actor, writer and musician who left the world at age 18 but who left behind a message. "41" weaves together the story of a life cut short, the saga of a community in mourning, and a family finding its way out of the darkness.
- DirectorCherry ArnoldStarsRudy CheeksBuddy CianciFrank CorrenteThis film documents the rise and fall of Buddy Cianci, former Mayor of Providence, RI. It shows how he turned a rundown New England city in a vibrant community. It also shows the corruption of the community from which he benefited. Despite have been convicted on Federal RICO charges and having gone to prison, he remains beloved in Providence. Many argue that he could easily be elected again.
- DirectorTara HurleyStarsDavid CicillineSteven BrownJoanne GianniniAn intriguing exploration of the Asian massage parlor industry in Providence, RI, where a 25 year-old loophole has made the exchange of sex for money legal - as long as it happens behind closed doors. As the documentary follows a recent Korean immigrant, "Heather", working to operate her spa, the city's mayor fights to change the law that allows her business a legal existence. The film includes interviews with Korean women who work in spas, clients who frequent the spas, politicians from 1980 and today, police, local news footage, radio call-in shows and "voiced" reviews from inter-net escort review boards.
- DirectorMurray LernerStarsJoan BaezHorton BarkerFiddler BeersThis documentary captures performances, interviews, and conversations from 1963-1966 Newport Folk Festivals.
- DirectorBert SternAram AvakianStarsLouis ArmstrongMahalia JacksonChuck BerryThe highlights of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
- DirectorRocco MichalukApples are the basis of much of our food supply in the world. Do you know where apples come from.
- DirectorMarian GagnonStarsMarilyn Murphy MeardonThis historical documentary brings to life the extraordinary life of Ida Zoradia Lewis, America's most famous woman lighthouse keeper and national heroine. Hailed as the 'bravest woman in America,' Ida tended the light on Lime Rock in Newport, R.I. for more than 50 years and saved more than 25 people from certain peril. This film provides an intimate portrayal of Ida's life from 15 to 69 (1857 to 1911). Despite her age, gender, class, and lack of education, Ida managed to transcend the implicit and overwhelming bias and discrimination against women and fulfill her true potential and her life's work. The director's goal is to renew the 'national memory' of Ida Lewis as an American heroine and return her to her rightful place in history.
- DirectorJon RabenStarsBuddy CianciFederal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island's "Little Italy," is one of America's most storied neighborhoods. Relive the traditions and challenges of Italian Americans whose ancestors immigrated for a better future. Once a bustling Italian enclave of cold-water flats and peddlers, Federal Hill now features upscale restaurants and markets known throughout the world. For immigrants challenged by poverty, the language barrier and discrimination, hard work and education became the path to a better life. Today, Italian Americans from Federal Hill are among the mainstream and elite of society. Italian Americans and Federal Hill, produced and directed by Jon Raben, features personalities with ties to Federal Hill including three former Providence mayors, a Rhode Island lieutenant governor and a Providence City Council president. Also included are an historian, a judge and a U.S. ambassador, as well as priests, artisans, entrepreneurs and other Italian Americans from Federal Hill. Attacking stereotypes, this moving and lively depiction of the Italian American experience was filmed on location in historic Federal Hill. The soundtrack features traditional Italian folk and classical music recorded live.
- DirectorSteven FeinbergStarsDavid DooleyDavid EvansThomas Hughes