Best Documentaries

Filmmaker Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica. He finds a desolate, beautiful place, mostly untouched by people. A group of unique people risk their lives studying it. Herzog explores the minds of scientists. They leave civilization and endure harsh conditions to learn about the continent's wildlife and amazing natural wonders. This happens at McMurdo Station, the United States' biggest Antarctic research center.

Filmmaker Jeff Feuerzeig follows a manic-depressive musician and artist's life. He uses home movies, Daniel Johnston's audiotapes, old performances, and current footage. Johnston recorded over 10 full albums and made many sketches. Supporters include Matt Groening, David Bowie, Sonic Youth, Beck, and Tom Waits.

The Gaffneys' lives change with new neighbors. Their looks match their sophisticated, worldly lives. Tim Jones writes travel stories, hobbies include glassblowing, and his wife, Natalie, consults on social media and cooks for Sri Lankan orphans. The Gaffneys soon face international espionage, showing them life outside their street.

Performance artist Marina Abramovic prepares for a major show of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Samsara is a 2011 non-narrative film. Ron Fricke directed it, and Mark Magidson produced it. Magidson also worked on Baraka. Fricke filmed Samsara over five years in 25 countries. The film used 70 mm format and went to digital. Samsara premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and had a limited release in August 2012.

Ben Stein, an author, actor, and political commentator, argues intelligent design and evolution are both valid science for life's development. He claims institutions ignoring both views stifle academic freedom. Stein uses film clips, interviews with creationists and scientists, and his sharp observations. He suggests Darwin's evolution theory partly caused the Holocaust.

This documentary starts with a detail from the 14th Amendment: law views corporations as individuals. Filmmaker Mark Achbar asks what kind of person a corporation is. Evidence from activists like Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore, plus heads like carpet magnate Ray Anderson, points to a bad one. The film exposes IBM's Nazi ties and these large businesses' human rights abuses.

This documentary uses rare footage and deep interviews to show The Notorious B.I.G.'s life, moving from hustler to rap king.

Filmmaker Nina Davenport documents her journey as a mother, from pregnancy through raising a child alone.

Author Poe Ballantine looks into the vanishing of a sharp math professor. The professor was found tied to a tree and burned.

Jonathan Demme produced and directed the 2011 American concert documentary film, Neil Young Journeys, featuring Neil Young. Sony Pictures Classics produced this film. Demme created a Neil Young trilogy, including Neil Young: Heart of Gold and Neil Young Trunk Show.

Filmmakers Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri examine actor Björn Andresen's life. Luchino Visconti once called him the world's most beautiful boy.

The pro bowling circuit shrank after its mid-20th-century peak, nearly ending in the 1990s. This documentary shows four professional bowlers discussing life in the leagues. Bowling fans like Charles Barkley, Bernard Goldberg, and Timothy Busfield share their love for the sport.

Katherine Brooks directed the feature-length documentary Face 2 Face. She traveled across the US to meet fifty Facebook friends she connected with online. Brooks posted a status asking who would spend a day with her for filming. Six of the fifty stories made it into a film submitted to Sundance. Additional project profits went to the Trevor Project.

Gary Hustwit directed the feature-length documentary Objectified. The film examines everyday non-living objects and their designers in daily life. Objectified premiered at the South By Southwest Festival on March 14, 2009. Swiss Dots Production calls Objectified the second film in a three-film Design Trilogy; Helvetica is the first, and Urbanized is the third and final film.

"Trembling Before G-d" is a new documentary. It breaks down ideas about faith, sexuality, and religious extremism. The film uses personal stories of gay or lesbian Hasidic and Orthodox Jews facing the conflict between their love for Judaism and Biblical bans on homosexuality.

Filmmaker Steve McQueen examines the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during World War II.

Morgan Neville directed this 2008 American film, 'The Cool School.' It shows how a few renegade artists built an art scene from scratch. This is about how LA learned to love modern art.

An enormous dam project in central India leaves villagers with few choices. They must relocate to slums, move to harsh land, or drown. Luharia Sonkaria, the village medicine man, guides viewers through the protests and long court case against the government. The film also shows who benefits from the dam and what happened to those displaced by industrial growth.

NBA player Ron Artest, also Metta World Peace, speaks openly about mental health for athletes.

Barney Rosset bought Grove Press in 1951, becoming America's most controversial publisher. Scandal followed almost every book he released, from uncensored D.H. Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' to Henry Miller's 'Tropic of Cancer,' which sparked an obscenity trial reaching the Supreme Court. Filmmaker Neil Ortenberg traces Rosset's life and career, interviewing many authors Rosset made famous or infamous.

Avery Klein-Cloud, a teenage African-American girl in Brooklyn, N.Y., lives with her Caucasian Jewish lesbian mothers and two brothers of other races. Contacting her birth mother causes Avery a major identity crisis. This crisis leads to troubling behavior that endangers her college plans and her family relationships. Can Avery merge her origins with her daily life?

Actor Marlon Brando shares personal thoughts on audio tape, giving insight into his life and career.

Hot dog-eating champion Joey Chestnut competes against rival Takeru Kobayashi in the wiener-takes-all contest.

This film celebrates the return of tiger populations. It shows them reclaiming their territories, venturing past forest reserves and challenging humans and animals.

Dragonslayer, a 2011 documentary, covers skateboarder Josh "Skreech" Sandoval. Tristan Patterson directed it. It won the best documentary prize at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival and Best International Feature at Hot Docs.

The attempt to find human remains in Arizona's Sonora Desert highlights the struggle of illegal immigrants trying to enter the United States.

Across five continents, the film meets farmers, scientists, and Indigenous leaders reshaping humanity's bond with land.

A Russian teacher secretly films his school turning into a war recruitment center during the Ukraine invasion. This reveals the ethical problems educators face with propaganda and militarization.

Thirty-four U.S. Government insiders reveal an 80-year global cover-up of non-human intelligent life. They expose a secret war among major nations to reverse engineer advanced technology from non-human origins.

This film explores the origins and disputed authorship of a Vietnam War photograph. That photo defined an entire era.

Filmmaker Steven Leckart examines the complex bond between hip-hop icon Eminem and the fans shaped by his music.

January 2021. The UK started its third lockdown. All theaters remain closed. Actors Sam and Mark face a bleak future. Mark, living alone, becomes more isolated. Sam panics about supporting his family.

Documentary filmmaker Louis Schwartzberg drives across the United States. He explores the nation's grand scenery and the people who live there. He builds connections with many Americans. He shows a diverse group united by shared goals and love for their country.

Filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson follow their son and his best friend through the U.S. school system. Both boys start at Dalton School. Circumstances later push one to a public high school.

This documentary explores Tom Green's rise to stardom.

Kansas City Chiefs superfan Xaviar Babudar, known as ChiefsAholic, gained fame through his antics. Arrest uncovered a secret life involving unsolved bank robberies across the Midwest.

A time traveler risks everything to alter history. He seeks to save humanity's future.

Bestselling author Mark Manson uses sharp humor and entertaining stories. He shows his counterintuitive way to live a good life.

COVID-19 increases global vulnerabilities. Unsung heroes in all society levels help shift the tide toward a better future.

"Promises" skips political events. Seven children show a human side of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. The film lets Jerusalem's children speak, showing those held by hatred and those who overcome it. Viewers meet Palestinian and Israeli kids as complex people, not media stereotypes.

Eight filmmakers offer distinct views on the 1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games. Claude Lelouch shows Olympic losers facing disappointment and striving for dignity. Mai Zetterling explores the weightlifting world. Michael Pfleghar covers young Russian gymnast Ludmilla Tourischev's performance on the uneven bars.

Alex Winter examines how music downloading affects kids who do it, the bands and businesses involved, and the global impact.

Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out.