Life-Changing Documentaries

In 2001, 28-year-old Dr. Andrew Bagby died in a Pennsylvania park. His ex-girlfriend shot him, then fled to Canada. There, she walked free on bail, pregnant with Andrew's child. Andrew's angry parents seek custody of the child and want to convict his killer. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne uses home movies and interviews with acquaintances to show his best friend's son who his dad was.

The story of Tilikum, a killer whale that has taken lives, shows problems in the sea-park industry. It shows man's relationship to nature. It shows how little we know about these smart mammals.

Filmmaker Alex Gibney interviews former Church of Scientology members. He reveals abuses and strange practices inside the controversial organization.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a major San Francisco tourist spot. People struggling with depression, addiction, or mental illness sometimes jump into the bay waters. Filmmaker Eric Steel documents these suicides and talks to survivors grieving the victims.

The Friedmans appeared normal until Thanksgiving. While they prepared for a quiet dinner, a police battering ram broke the front door. Officers entered, searched everything, and seized family possessions. Arnold and his 18-year-old son Jesse were arrested. As the police investigated and the community reacted, the family structure began to break down, showing disturbing issues.

Werner Herzog's documentary uses Timothy Treadwell's real video footage. The film examines the drive that made Treadwell live with a tribe of wild grizzly bears on an Alaskan reserve. A conservationist who loved adventure, Timothy thought he connected humans and beasts. When one bear he loved and protected turns on him, the footage shows our view of nature and its harsh truths.

Tell Me Who I Am is a 2019 American documentary film by Ed Perkins. Alex Lewis's memory vanishes after a motorcycle accident. Only the face of his identical twin, Marcus, remains. This film documents their story for 35 years after the accident.

Filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady visit Kids on Fire, an evangelical Christian summer camp. Children participate in programs that strengthen and intensify their beliefs. Camp founder Becky Fischer discusses her mission to teach youth God's word. Young campers play combat video games and speak about their love for Jesus.

Slenderman, a faceless digital-age bogeyman, originated on the Internet. Real-world influence appeared when two 12-year-old girls lured a friend into the woods for a brutal murder.

Local fishermen in Taiji, Japan, hide a grim secret: they capture and slaughter dolphins. Activist Ric O'Barry, who trained dolphins for the "Flipper" TV series, joins Louis Psihoyos and the Ocean Preservation Society to expose the brutal practice, risking life and limb.

Reporters from The Indianapolis Star exposed Dr. Larry Nassar's sexual abuse of young gymnasts.

Elizabeth Holmes became the world's youngest self-made billionaire with a new blood testing invention, hailed as the next Steve Jobs. Two years later, her company dissolved.

Liz Garbus directed the 2015 biographical documentary, "What Happened, Miss Simone?". The film examines Nina Simone's life, mixing unreleased archival footage and interviews with her daughter and friends.

This documentary shows drag queens in New York City and their "house" culture. This culture offers community and support for flamboyant, often shunned performers. Groups from each house compete in fashion-inspired balls. The film also covers racism and poverty, featuring interviews with drag queens like Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, and Dorian Corey.

The film reveals the widespread issue of sexual assault on college campuses and the institutional cover-ups that often follow. Survivors share their stories, showing how they fight for systemic change.

A trip across the planet shows simple, extraordinary ways dogs affect people's daily lives.

Alex Honnold completed the first free solo climb of El Capitan's 3,000-foot vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park.

Daniel Lindsay and T. J. Martin directed the 2017 American documentary, "LA 92". The film uses only archival footage to cover the 1992 Los Angeles riots after 25 years.

Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht directed the 2020 American documentary, "Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution". The film gives an intimate look at Camp Jened, a summer camp where teens with disabilities became activists fighting for disability rights and accessibility laws.

Men and women, from former SS members to civilians, discuss their memories and views of the Holocaust.

Filmmaker Lance Oppenheim exposes The Villages, a huge retirement community in Central Florida. Residents and one outsider struggle to find happiness in this planned paradise.

Filmmaker Sam Pollard looks at U.S. government surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr., using recently declassified files.

Fredrick Munk directed the 2021 American true crime documentary film, 'Why Did You Kill Me?'. The line between justice and revenge blurs as a devastated family uses social media to track down the people who killed 24-year-old Crystal Theobald.

Ursula Macfarlane directed the 2019 American documentary film, 'Untouchable'. The film examines abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein, featuring interviews with his accusers like Rosanna Arquette, Paz de la Huerta, and Erika Rosenbaum.

Archival footage and personal stories paint a picture of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse's life and career.

Filmmaker Elizabeth Lo tracks three stray dogs as they find human companionship on the streets of Turkey.

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores racial inequality in the United States' history. She focuses on how the nation's prisons hold disproportionate numbers of African-Americans.

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his agent about his next project, 'Remember This House.' The book planned to be a personal account of the lives and assassinations of friends Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Baldwin left only 30 finished pages of this manuscript when he died in 1987. Filmmaker Raoul Peck imagines the book James Baldwin never finished.

Evan Scott Perry got a bipolar disorder diagnosis as a preteen. He committed suicide in 2005 at age 15. His family had a history of mental illness; his Uncle Scott killed himself in 1971 at age 22. Evan first showed suicidal signs at age 5. His mother, filmmaker Dana Heinz Perry, directed the film tracing Evan's mental illness, using videotapes and interviews with friends and doctors.

Filmmakers show the horrific mass executions of accused communists in Indonesia and those celebrated in their country for committing the crime.

Rodriguez became a huge hit in South Africa despite fading in the U.S. and rumors of his death. Two obsessed fans sought to find the musician's real fate.

Keith Maitland directed the 2016 American rotoscope-animated documentary film, 'Tower'. The film shows the 1966 shootings at the University of Texas at Austin through the eyes of several survivors, recreating their stories using actors filmed and then animated in rotoscoping.

Norma McCorvey is Jane Roe.

Garret Price directed and produced the 2019 American documentary 'Love, Antosha.' The film shows the life and career of late actor Anton Yelchin. Nicolas Cage narrates.

Banksy, the infamous British graffiti street artist, left his mark on cities globally. He met Thierry Guetta, a Frenchman from Los Angeles who filmed underground art escapades. Guetta became the art phenomenon "Mr. Brainwash." Rhys Ifans narrates this overlapping documentary. The film blurs the line between real and fake art and celebrity.

Hoop Dreams chronicles two Chicago high school students, William Gates and Arthur Agee. They both dream of playing professional basketball. Steve James directed the film. It shows the harsh reality of their journey, from school stress to family problems. The film explores American life, goals, and social structures. Hoop Dreams won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Sundance in 1994. This is a story of fighting through hard times and ambition.

Jon Clay directed the 2021 American documentary 'Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet.' David Attenborough and scientist Johan Rockström examine Earth's biodiversity collapse. They discuss how this crisis can be stopped.

The documentary examines the American military's torture use. It focuses on the unsolved murder of an Afghan taxi driver. That driver was taken for questioning at Bagram Force Air Base in 2002. Five days later, the man died. The medical examiner stated the driver died from excessive physical abuse. The film uses this case to look at torture claims at bases like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay during the Bush administration.

This is the definitive story of the man who embodied soccer. He called it "the beautiful game." He changed the history of the sport.

The film explores science and philosophy to ask if humans live in a simulation. It questions if the world we know is not real. The film uses testimonies, evidence, and explanations to seek an answer.

Garrett Bradley directed the 2020 American documentary 'Time.' Sibil Fox Richardson (also Fox Rich), an entrepreneur, abolitionist, author, and mother of six, fights for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving 60 years in prison.

Travis Wilkerson directed the 2017 American documentary film, 'Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?'. Wilkerson attempts to investigate the 1946 murder of an African-American man committed by his white supremacist grandfather. People resist Wilkerson's investigation, and they threaten to kill him.

David A. Oster directed the American documentary film 'Todd McFarlane: Like Hell I Won't.' This film profiles the life and career of comics and toy industry rebel Todd McFarlane, from a record-breaking artist to a collectible tycoon.

Journalists found health care fraud after a deadly nightclub fire in Bucharest, Romania, in 2015.

In 1991, eight visionaries started a two-year test to isolate themselves inside Biosphere 2, a self-built copy of Earth's ecosystem.

Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert directed the 2019 American documentary 'American Factory.' A Chinese company brings a General Motors plant in Moraine, Ohio, back to life.

Vincent Chin, an engineer dreaming of designing cars in Detroit, met a violent end in the summer of 1982. Two men assaulted and killed him after a bar fight. The assailants initially got light sentences through a plea deal. Civil rights advocates were outraged by this outcome and fought to show Chin's attackers had racist motives.

The Black Power Mixtape tracks the Black Power Movement's shift in the Black community and Diaspora from 1967 to 1975. The film mixes music, shocking 16mm footage (found undiscovered in Swedish Television's cellar for 30 years), and audio interviews with leading African-American artists, activists, musicians, and scholars.

Benjamin Ree directed the 2020 Norwegian documentary 'The Painter and the Thief.' The film follows an artist who learns about the thief who stole her painting. They bond after a car crash injures him badly, but that is not the end.

Christine Fugate directed the 1999 American documentary 'The Girl Next Door.' Unconfident Stacy Valentine wins a Hustler Magazine contest. She quickly gains fame, leaves her husband, and starts a successful career in hardcore porn movies.