Must See Documentaries
A list of the best documentaries to watch. From the well established to the unknown.
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- DirectorMarc IsaacsStarsMarc IsaacsDirector Marc Isaacs installs himself in the lift of a typical English tower. People start talking to him and we discover their lives.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldJoan ChurchillStarsGregory AbingClara AlvesJackie HallA documentary about women's basic training in Fort Georgia.
- DirectorTegan BukowskiLoressa ClisbyKevin MacdonaldStarsHiroaki AikawaCindy BaerTeagan BentleyA documentary shot by film-makers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the twenty-fourth of July, 2010.
- DirectorTod LendingStarsAlaissa CollinsMarquis CollinsNickcole CollinsA documentary that tracks five years and three generations of a Chicago family's life in public housing. The murder of a family member has an immediate impact, but eventually changes them toward a more positive outlook on life in the end.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreTucker AlbrizziTony BennA documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories including shotgun deaths.
- DirectorMorgan Jon FoxStarsAlice BuchananLance CarrollChris DavisIn the summer of 2005 a 16yo Memphis, TN wrote on his MySpace blog about his parents sending him to a "Fundamentalist Christian" program that strives to turn gay teens straight. This documentary follows the inspirational story of this teens local community standing up for their friend with daily protests at the facility in what would become an international news story. The documentary features several former clients of the organization who tell their personal stories about the time they spent within the programs walls.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsAllakariallakAlice NevalingaCunayouIn this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.
- DirectorHarry WattBasil WrightStarsArthur ClarkJohn GriersonStuart LeggShows the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland overnight.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorPatrick CollertonStarsEdna KennedyJonny KennedyNell McAndrewA year ago, 36-year-old Jonny Kennedy died. He had a terrible genetic condition called Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) - which meant that his skin literally fell off at the slightest touch, leaving his body covered in agonizing sores and leading to a final fight against skin cancer. In his last months Jonny decided to work with filmmaker Patrick Collerton to document his life and death, and the result was a film, first broadcast in March, that was an uplifting, confounding and provocatively humorous story of a singular man. Not shying away from the grim reality of EB, the film was also a celebration of a life lived to the full.
- DirectorCarol MorleyStarsZawe AshtonAlix Luka-CainAlistair AbrahamsA filmmaker sets out to discover the life of Joyce Vincent, who died in her bedsit in North London in 2003. Her body wasn't discovered for three years, and newspaper reports offered few details of her life - not even a photograph.
- DirectorMarc IsaacsOn the oldest Roman road in the capital, filmmaker Marc Isaacs weaves together numerous poignant stories of loss and the search for belonging into a tapestry of the human experience. Young Irishwoman Keelta leaves home to build a new life for herself on the road where old Irish labourer Billy is struggling to find meaning to his life. Peggy, a 95-year-old Jewish refugee from Vienna, and Brigitte, a German-born former air hostess, have both suffered bad husbands; Iqbal, an unassuming Indian hotel concierge, awaits the arrival of his wife from Kashmir. This film forces us to recognise the struggles and preoccupations of its characters as our own.
- DirectorBart LaytonStarsAdam O'BrianNicholas BarclayCarey GibsonA documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years.
- DirectorMike LernerMaxim PozdorovkinStarsNadezhda TolokonnikovaMariya AlyokhinaYekaterina SamutsevichFollows the court case of three members of the Russian feminist punk protest group Pussy Riot after their performance in a Russian Orthodox cathedral.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldStarsCourtney LoveNick BroomfieldKurt CobainA documentary on the life of Kurt Cobain and his relationship with Courtney Love.
- DirectorGabriela CowperthwaiteStarsTilikumDave DuffusSamantha BergA documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldStarsMistress BeatriceNick BroomfieldMistress CatherineMasochism, rubber, corporal punishment, wrestling, and infantilism are all examined into detail as a documentary crew visits a bondage house and its mistresses in upstate New York.
- StarsLouis TherouxDavid PaulJ.J. MichaelsLouis Theroux documents some of the US's most bizarre happenings, events and rituals, by getting involved himself.
- 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.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsSimon YatesJoe SimpsonBrendan MackeyThe true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
- DirectorAJ SchnackStarsKurt CobainEvan FortinNathan StreifelIn this visual essay style documentary, intimate audio of journalist Michael Azerrad's interviews with Kurt Cobain is played over more recently photographed footage of Cobain's Washington state homes and haunts.
- DirectorFranny ArmstrongStarsPete PostlethwaiteJehangir WadiaAlvin DuVernayA future archivist looks at old footage from the year 2008 to understand why humankind failed to address climate change.
- DirectorDavid BondStarsMichael DepledgeSusan GreenfieldJay GriffithsFilmmaker David Bond invites parents everywhere to help their kids re-connect with nature in our digital age.
- DirectorBrett HarveyStarsSnoop DoggJoe RoganRonald ReaganScours the deep-seated roots of this morally induced Marijuana campaign and reveal the fascinating path it has taken to get to where it is today.