Documentaries to Watch
by fahidq | created - 11 Jan 2019 | updated - 2 weeks ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Cielo (2017)
78 min | Documentary
A love poem to the night sky, set in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
Director: Alison McAlpine | Stars: Raúl Adriazola, Casiano Ardiles, Cipriano Castillo, Gabriel Castillo
Votes: 157
2. Generation Revolution (2016)
Unrated | 74 min | Documentary
Generation Revolution brings to screen the powerful story of how a new generation of black and brown activists are changing the social and political landscape in London and beyond.
Directors: Cassie Quarless, Usayd Younis | Star: Arnie Hill
Votes: 24
3. Human Terrain (2010)
TV-14 | 82 min | Documentary
'Human Terrain' is two stories in one. The first exposes the U.S. effort to enlist the best and the brightest of American universities in a struggle for the hearts and minds of its enemies.... See full summary »
Directors: James Der Derian, David Udris, Michael Udris
Votes: 18
4. The Reagan Show (2017)
TV-PG | 74 min | Documentary
Made up entirely of archival news and White House footage, this documentary captures the pageantry, absurdity, and mastery of the made-for-TV politics of Ronald Reagan.
Directors: Sierra Pettengill, Pacho Velez | Stars: Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, George Bush
Votes: 482
5. Minding the Gap (2018)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Sport
Filmmaker Bing Liu searches for correlations between his skateboarder friends' turbulent upbringings and the complexities of modern masculinity.
Director: Bing Liu | Stars: Kent Abernathy, Mengyue Bolen, Nina Bowgren, Keire Johnson
Votes: 10,471 | Gross: $0.01M
6. Cradle of Champions (2017)
TV-14 | 100 min | Documentary
Three young people battle to change their lives through a three-month odyssey of the New York Daily News Golden Gloves-the biggest and oldest amateur boxing tournament in the world.
Director: Bartle Bull | Stars: Brian Adams, Teddy Atlas, Duquan Chambers, Christine Ciccone
Votes: 69
7. Diego Maradona (2019)
TV-14 | 130 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
Constructed 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.
Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Diego Maradona, Dalma Maradona, Pelé, Corrado Ferlaino
Votes: 18,272
8. The Brink (2019)
Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary
A fly-on-the-wall chronicle of embattled former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon's global mission to spread extreme nationalism.
Director: Alison Klayman | Stars: Steve Bannon, Sean Bannon, Raheem Kassam, Andy Surabian
Votes: 862 | Gross: $0.11M
9. For Sama (2019)
TV-PG | 100 min | Documentary, Biography, War
FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war.
Directors: Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts | Stars: Waad Al-Kateab, Sama Al-Khateab, Hamza Al-Khateab, Afra
Votes: 12,825 | Gross: $0.04M
10. The Hottest August (2019)
94 min | Documentary
Ordinary people in New York are asked to talk about their lives and their hopes for the future in a time marked by political division and climate change.
Director: Brett Story | Star: Clare Coulter
Votes: 249
11. Midnight Traveler (2019)
88 min | Documentary, War
When the Taliban puts a bounty on Hassan Fazili's head, he is forced to flee with his wife and two daughters. Capturing the journey, Fazili shows the dangers facing refugees seeking asylum and the love shared between a family on the run.
Director: Hassan Fazili | Stars: Hassan Fazili, Nargis Fazili, Zahra Fazili, Fatima Hossaini
Votes: 627
12. Citizen K (2019)
Not Rated | 126 min | Documentary
The strange case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia, who rocketed to prosperity and prominence in the 1990s, served a decade in prison, and became an unlikely martyr for the anti-Putin movement.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Putin, Leonid Nevzlin, Boris Berezovsky
Votes: 1,609
13. Ride Like a Girl (2019)
PG | 98 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup.
Director: Rachel Griffiths | Stars: Teresa Palmer, Sam Neill, Brooke Satchwell, Anneliese Apps
Votes: 4,684
14. On the Record (2020)
TV-MA | 95 min | Documentary
A former hip hop executive decides whether to make public her rape by one of the most powerful men in the music industry.
Directors: Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering | Stars: Sil Lai Abrams, Joe Biden, Tarana Burke, Kimberle Crenshaw
Votes: 993
15. White Riot (2019)
80 min | Documentary, Music
Rock Against Racism was formed in 1976, prompted by Eric Clapton. It blends fresh interviews with archive footage to recreate a hostile environment of anti-immigrant hysteria and National Front marches.
Director: Rubika Shah | Stars: Red Saunders, Roger Huddle, Kate Webb, Syd Shelton
Votes: 938
16. Assassins (I) (2020)
104 min | Documentary, Biography
An 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.
Director: Ryan White | Stars: Siti Aisyah, Hadi Azmi, Anna Fifield, Doan Thi Huong
Votes: 2,857
17. King In The Wilderness (2018)
TV-14 | 111 min | Documentary
A look at the final years in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Director: Peter W. Kunhardt
Votes: 915
18. MLK/FBI (2020)
TV-PG | 104 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Based on newly declassified files, Sam Pollard's resonant film explores the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Director: Sam Pollard | Stars: Martin Luther King, J. Edgar Hoover, David Garrow, Clarence B. Jones
Votes: 1,757
19. The Dirty War on the National Health Service (2019)
106 min | Documentary
Veteran filmmaker John Pilger takes us through a history of threats to Britain's National Health Service ,from its 1948 founding by Labor through a privatizing push by Margaret Thatcher's bureaucrats, to challenges by new Conservatives.
Director: John Pilger | Star: John Pilger
Votes: 112
20. The Feeling of Being Watched (2018)
86 min | Documentary
When journalist Assia Boundaoui investigates rumors of surveillance in her Arab-American neighborhood in Chicago, she uncovers one of the largest FBI terrorism probes conducted before 9/11 and reveals its enduring impact on the community.
Director: Assia Boundaoui | Stars: Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, Christina Abraham, Assia Boundaoui, Iman Boundaoui
Votes: 159
21. Collective (2019)
Not Rated | 109 min | Documentary, Crime
Director 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.
Director: Alexander Nanau | Stars: Dan Alexandru Condrea, Liviu Iolu, Razvan Lutac, Mirela Neag
Votes: 13,447
22. Hunger Ward (2020)
TV-14 | 40 min | Documentary, Short, War
Filmed from inside two of the most active therapeutic feeding centers in Yemen, HUNGER WARD documents two female health care workers fighting to thwart the spread of starvation against the ... See full summary »
Director: Skye Fitzgerald | Stars: Aida Alsadeeq, Omeima Essa Salem Abdullah, Mekkia Mahdi, Abeer Otham Thaneb
Votes: 807
23. Some Kind of Heaven (2020)
81 min | Documentary
Behind the gates of a palm tree-lined fantasyland, four residents of America's largest retirement community, The Villages, FL, strive to find solace and meaning.
Director: Lance Oppenheim | Stars: Dennis Dean, Lynn Henry, Anne Kincer, Reggie Kincer
Votes: 3,537
24. Freeway: Crack in the System (2015)
R | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
FREEWAY: CRACK IN THE SYSTEM tells the story of broken dreams, drug dealers, dirty cops, and government complicity-more compelling than fiction, it's the real story behind America's longest... See full summary »
Director: Marc Levin | Stars: Michael Levine, 'Freeway' Ricky Ross, Eric Sterling
Votes: 899
25. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
PG-13 | 118 min | Documentary, History, Music
Documentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African-American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity.
Director: Questlove | Stars: Dorinda Drake, Barbara Bland-Acosta, Darryl Lewis, Ethel Beatty
Votes: 13,888
26. In the Shadow of 9/11 (2021)
111 min | Documentary
Follows the story of the so-called Liberty City Seven, a group of young Black men accused of assisting Al Qaeda in a plot to blow up buildings within the USA.
Director: Dan Reed | Stars: Larry King, Anderson Cooper, Gayle King, George W. Bush
Votes: 127
27. Fauci (2021)
PG-13 | 104 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A glimpse into infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci who has led the U.S. fight against every epidemic the country has faced from AIDS to SARS to Ebola, and the ongoing COVID-19.
Directors: John Hoffman, Janet Tobias | Stars: Bono, George W. Bush, Francis Collins, Anthony Fauci
Votes: 12,758
28. The War You Don't See (2010)
97 min | Documentary, War
Thought-provoking documentary on war propaganda: how governments manipulate the facts and how most media let them get away with it.
Directors: Alan Lowery, John Pilger | Stars: John Pilger, Stuart Ewen, Melvin Goodman, Dan Rather
Votes: 1,527
29. The Newburgh Sting (2014)
87 min | Documentary
The FBI targets a Muslim community in Newburgh, New York and arrests four men in 2009 during a sting operation, claiming they tried to help a Pakistani business man, who was working with the FBI, with terrorist attacks.
Directors: Kate Davis, David Heilbroner
Votes: 487
30. Control Room (2004)
Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary
A documentary on perception of the United States's war with Iraq, with an emphasis on Al Jazeera's coverage.
Director: Jehane Noujaim | Stars: Samir Khader, Josh Rushing, George W. Bush, Hassan Ibrahim
Votes: 5,265 | Gross: $2.59M
31. Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007)
TV-MA | 78 min | Documentary, Crime, History
An examination of the prisoner abuse scandal involving U.S. soldiers and detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in the fall of 2003.
Director: Rory Kennedy | Stars: Israel Rivera, Megan Ambuhl Graner, Javal Davis, George W. Bush
Votes: 1,180
32. USA vs Al-Arian (2007)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary
USA vs AL-ARIAN is a close portrait of an Arab-American family facing terrorism charges leveled by the U.S. Government. The film shows a personal story of a family living in a society where... See full summary »
Director: Line Halvorsen | Stars: Abdullah Al-Arian, Laila Al-Arian, Lama Al-Arian, Nahla Al-Arian
Votes: 114
33. Procession (2021)
R | 118 min | Documentary
A group of survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests battle for justice.
Director: Robert Greene | Stars: Joe Eldred, Mike Foreman, Ed Gavagan, Dan Laurine
Votes: 1,398
34. Ailey (2021)
PG-13 | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, History
An immersive portrait of dance pioneer Alvin Ailey, told through his own words and a new dance inspired by his life.
Director: Jamila Wignot | Stars: Alvin Ailey, Cicely Tyson, Rennie Harris, Robert Battle
Votes: 302
35. Can't Get You Out of My Head (2021)
80 min | Documentary, History
Love, power, money, ghosts of empire, conspiracies, artificial intelligence and You. An emotional history of the modern world by Adam Curtis.
Star: Adam Curtis
Votes: 2,363
36. Eleven Days in May (2022)
85 min | Documentary
A documentary on 11 days of bombing at Palestinian territory of Gaza in May 2021.
Directors: Mohammed Sawwaf, Michael Winterbottom | Star: Zoe Waites
Votes: 58
37. McEnroe (2022)
TV-MA | 104 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
It follows John McEnroe as he finally tells his side of his storied career and performances on the court.
Director: Barney Douglas | Stars: Björn Borg, Peter Fleming, Chrissie Hynde, Billie Jean King
Votes: 1,139
38. Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021)
Not Rated | 127 min | Documentary
Recounting the extraordinary life of author Kurt Vonnegut, and the 25-year friendship with the filmmaker who set out to document it.
Directors: Robert B. Weide, Don Argott | Stars: Linda Bates, John Irving, Jerome Klinkowitz, Sidney Offit
Votes: 1,372
39. Fire of Love (2022)
PG | 98 min | Documentary, Biography
Intrepid scientists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft died in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that brought them together: unraveling the mysteries of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded.
Director: Sara Dosa | Stars: Miranda July, Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft, Roland Haas
Votes: 14,451
40. Blind Ambition (2021)
96 min | Documentary
Four Zimbabwean men form their country's first Wine Tasting Olympics team.
Directors: Robert Coe, Warwick Ross
Votes: 302
41. My Old School (2022)
104 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years became the stuff of legend.
Director: Jono McLeod | Stars: Alan Cumming, Brandon Lee, Dawn Steele, Lulu
Votes: 1,704
42. When We Speak (2022)
80 min | Documentary
WHEN WE SPEAK follows three incredible stories of women who risked everything to tell the truth. Their stories became worldwide scandals and took a personal toll on each of their lives
Director: Tas Brooker | Stars: Rose McGowan, Helen Evans, Katharine Gun
Votes: 80
43. Hostile (2022)
98 min | Documentary
Hostile is a feature-length documentary focusing on the impact of the evolving 'hostile environment' policies, which are designed to make living conditions so difficult for migrants that they voluntarily leave the country.
Director: Sonita Gale | Star: Farrukh Sair
Votes: 62
44. Tantura (2022)
94 min | Documentary, History
In the war of 1948 hundreds of Palestinian villages were depopulated. Israelis call it 'The War of Independence. Palestinians call it 'Nakba"'. The film examines one village- Tantura and why "Nakba" is taboo in Israeli society.
Director: Alon Schwarz | Stars: Avigdor Feldman, Yoav Gelber, Teddy Katz, Ilan Pappe
Votes: 1,259
45. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)
Unrated | 113 min | Documentary
Follows 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.
Director: Laura Poitras | Stars: Nan Goldin, David Velasco, Megan Kapler, Marina Berio
Votes: 7,819
46. Navalny (2022)
R | 99 min | Documentary, Biography
Follows the man who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent in August 2020. During his months-long recovery he makes shocking discoveries about the attempt on his life and decides to return home.
Director: Daniel Roher | Stars: Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, Christo Grozev, Dasha Navalnaya
Votes: 29,945
47. Fashion Reimagined (2022)
100 min | Documentary
Follows Amy Powney, a daughter of environmental activists, during her trajectory from outsider to industry leader as she sets out to create a fashion collection that's ethical and sustainable at every level.
Director: Becky Hutner | Stars: Chloe Marks, Amy Powney
Votes: 133
48. Electric Malady (2022)
84 min | Documentary
An intimate window into William's isolated world and a moving and poignant depiction of a family, devoted to finding a way to save their son.
Director: Marie Lidén
Votes: 73
49. Name Me Lawand (2022)
91 min | Documentary
Void of any language, communication or true sense of self, Lawand struggles to piece together his surroundings in his new home in Derbyshire, England after a traumatic and turbulent year of seeking asylum through Europe.
Director: Edward Lovelace
Votes: 149
50. While We Watched (2022)
94 min | Documentary, Biography, News
How independent news reporting in India and beyond is increasingly under threat by budgetary cuts and especially, extremists leveraging alternative platforms to spread misinformation.
Director: Vinay Shukla | Stars: Ravish Kumar, Sushil Bahuguna, Deepak Chaubey, Sushil Mohapatra
Votes: 2,258
51. All That Breathes (2022)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary
Amidst 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.
Director: Shaunak Sen | Stars: Salik Rehman, Mohammad Saud, Nadeem Shehzad
Votes: 4,805
52. Silver Dollar Road (2023)
PG | 100 min | Documentary
A Black family in North Carolina has been harassed for decades by land developers attempting to take their waterfront property.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: John C. Barnett, Classie Curley, Melvin Davis, Kim Duhon
Votes: 427
53. The Automat (2021)
TV-PG | 79 min | Documentary, History
Documentary centers on the vending machine popularized in the 20th century that offered fresh cooked meals in a commissary-style eatery.
Director: Lisa Hurwitz | Stars: Mel Brooks, John W. Romas, Carl Reiner, Krystyna Romas
Votes: 1,569
54. Phantom Parrot (2023)
89 min | Documentary
The revelation of a top-secret British surveillance programme brings down the dominoes in a dark and analytical film about technology, rights and structural racism - and about a man with the courage to speak out.
Director: Kate Stonehill
Votes: 24
55. Your Fat Friend (2023)
96 min | Documentary, Biography
The rise of Aubrey Gordon, from anonymous blogger to best selling author. Her aim? A paradigm shift in the way that we view fatness. A film about fat, family, the complexities of change and the deep, messy feelings we hold about our bodies
Director: Jeanie Finlay | Stars: Aubrey Gordon, Michael Hobbes
Votes: 102
56. Occupied City (2023)
PG-13 | 266 min | Documentary, History, War
The past collides with the present in this excavation of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam: a journey from World War II to recent years of pandemic and protest and a provocative, life-affirming reflection on memory, time and what's to come.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander, Melanie Hyams, Peter R. de Vries
Votes: 494
57. Someone's Daughter, Someone's Son (2024)
87 min | Documentary
25 years after being herself a rough sleeper on the streets of London, Lorna Tucker returns to the places she used to frequent to discover what has or has not changed in the intervening years.
Director: Lorna Tucker
Votes: 10
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