My Favourite Documentaries
by ed-994-471711 | created - 06 Jan 2013 | updated - 23 Feb 2023 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 13th (2016)
TV-MA | 100 min | Documentary, Crime, History
An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
Director: Ava DuVernay | Stars: Melina Abdullah, Michelle Alexander, Cory Booker, Dolores Canales
Votes: 37,678
2. The Act of Killing (2012)
Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A 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.
Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn | Stars: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik
Votes: 40,811 | Gross: $0.49M
3. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)
R | 91 min | Documentary
A documentary that chronicles artist and activist Ai Weiwei as he prepares for a series of exhibitions and gets into an increasing number of clashes with the Chinese government.
Director: Alison Klayman | Stars: Ai Weiwei, Dan Ai, Lao Ai, Lee Ambrozy
Votes: 4,527 | Gross: $0.53M
4. The Ambassador (2011)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary
Danish journalist Mads Brügger goes undercover as a Liberian Ambassador to embark on a dangerous yet hysterical journey to uncover the blood diamond trade in Africa.
Director: Mads Brügger | Stars: Mads Brügger, Heather Schmid
Votes: 4,246 | Gross: $0.03M
5. Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011)
PG | 80 min | Documentary, Biography
The Muppet Elmo is one of the most beloved characters among children across the globe. Meet the unlikely man behind the puppet - the heart and soul of Elmo - Kevin Clash.
Directors: Constance Marks, Philip Shane | Stars: Kevin Clash, Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Oz, Bill Barretta
Votes: 7,220 | Gross: $0.30M
6. Bitter Lake (2015)
136 min | Documentary
An experimental documentary that explores Saudi Arabia's relationship with the U.S. and the role this has played in the war in Afghanistan.
Director: Adam Curtis | Stars: George Bush, George W. Bush, Joanne Herring, Hamid Karzai
Votes: 3,525
7. Catfish (2010)
PG-13 | 87 min | Documentary, Drama, Mystery
Young filmmakers document their colleague's budding online friendship with a young woman and her family which leads to an unexpected series of discoveries.
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | Stars: Nev Schulman, Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost, Angela Wesselman-Pierce
Votes: 43,741 | Gross: $3.23M
8. A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008)
Unrated | 90 min | Documentary, Comedy
A humorous look at life for a loser in love.
Director: Chris Waitt | Stars: Aleksandra Boyarskaya, Danielle McLeod, Olivia Trench, Chris Waitt
Votes: 3,855
9. The Crash Reel (2013)
Not Rated | 108 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
Fifteen years of verite footage show the epic rivalry between half-pipe legends Shaun White and Kevin Pearce, childhood friends who become number one and two in the world leading up to the ... See full summary »
Director: Lucy Walker | Stars: Kevin Pearce, Shaun White, Mason Aguirre, Daniel Amen
Votes: 5,080
10. Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
Not Rated | 101 min | Documentary, Crime
Documentary 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.
Director: Amy Berg | Stars: Oliver O'Grady, Thomas Doyle, Adam, Jeff Anderson
Votes: 10,827 | Gross: $30.58M
11. The Devil Came on Horseback (2007)
85 min | Documentary
A documentary that exposes the genocide raging in Darfur, Sudan as seen through the eyes of a former U.S. marine who returns home to make the story public.
Directors: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg | Stars: Nicholas Kristof, Brian Steidle
Votes: 1,622 | Gross: $0.13M
12. The Eagle Huntress (2016)
G | 87 min | Documentary, Adventure, Sport
Thirteen-year-old Aisholpan trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her nomad family to become an eagle huntress.
Director: Otto Bell | Stars: Aisholpan Nurgaiv, Daisy Ridley, Rys Nurgaiv
Votes: 4,185 | Gross: $3.17M
13. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
R | 122 min | Documentary, Drama, War
Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Ben Affleck, Stevie Wonder
Votes: 132,395 | Gross: $119.19M
14. 5 Broken Cameras (2011)
Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, War
A documentary on a Palestinian farmer's chronicle of his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army.
Directors: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi | Stars: Emad Burnat, Soraya Burnat, Mohammed Burnat, Yasin Burnat
Votes: 6,642 | Gross: $0.11M
15. The Gatekeepers (2012)
PG-13 | 101 min | Documentary, History, War
A documentary featuring interviews with all surviving former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency whose activities and membership are closely held state secrets.
Director: Dror Moreh | Stars: Ami Ayalon, Avraham Shalom, Avi Dichter, Yaakov Peri
Votes: 5,888 | Gross: $2.42M
16. Hoop Dreams (1994)
PG-13 | 170 min | Documentary, Drama, Sport
A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
Director: Steve James | Stars: William Gates, Arthur Agee, Emma Gates, Curtis Gates
Votes: 28,018 | Gross: $7.83M
17. The House I Live In (2012)
Not Rated | 98 min | Documentary
From the dealer to the narcotics officer, the inmate to the federal judge, a penetrating look inside America's criminal justice system, revealing the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy.
Director: Eugene Jarecki | Stars: Eugene Jarecki, David Simon, Shanequa Benitez, William Julius Wilson
Votes: 5,395 | Gross: $0.21M
18. How to Die in Oregon (2011)
Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary, Drama, Family
In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize a terminally ill person's request to end his or her life with medication. At the time, only Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands had ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Richardson | Stars: Harry Bruton, Ray Carnay, Cody Curtis, Paul Darley
Votes: 2,019
19. The Imposter (2012)
R | 99 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A 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.
Director: Bart Layton | Stars: Adam O'Brian, Nicholas Barclay, Carey Gibson, Bryan Gibson
Votes: 50,458 | Gross: $0.89M
20. The Red Chapel (2009)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary, Comedy
Two Danish comedians join the director on a trip to North Korea, where they have been allowed access under the pretext of wanting to perform a vaudeville act.
Director: Mads Brügger | Stars: Mads Brügger, Simon Jul Jørgensen, Tommy Kenter, Jacob Nossell
Votes: 2,158 | Gross: $0.01M
21. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
Die-hard gamers compete to break world records on classic arcade games.
Director: Seth Gordon | Stars: Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell, Mark Alpiger, Adam Wood
Votes: 37,578 | Gross: $0.68M
22. Life in a Day (2011)
PG-13 | 95 min | Documentary, Drama
A 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.
Directors: Tegan Bukowski, Loressa Clisby, Kevin Macdonald, Hiroaki Aikawa, Natalia Andreadis, Jack Attridge, Cristina Bocchialini, Zillah Bowes, Andrea Dalla Costa, Lisa Cottrell-Bentley, Alejo Crisóstomo, Sócrates Cuadri, Ayman El Gazwy, Shawn Gadberry, Seth Grant, Jane Haubrich, Soma Helmi, Jennifer M. Howd, Clementine Isaac, Aditya Kolli, Gabor Kukucska, Francesco La Regina, Frederic Lumiere, Marek Mackovic, Zuqy Cruz Marquez, Linda Matarasso, Kevin McMahon, Joseph Michael, Joaquin Montalvan, Lilit Movsisyan, Emmanuelle Pickett, Christopher Redmond, Alejandro Romeo, Alaa Sheikh Hassan, Marcus Tedenryd | Stars: Hiroaki Aikawa, Cindy Baer, Teagan Bentley, Ester Brym
Votes: 15,564 | Gross: $0.25M
23. The Look of Silence (2014)
PG-13 | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer | Stars: Adi Rukun, M.Y. Basrun, Volker Hanisch, Amir Hasan
Votes: 13,884 | Gross: $0.11M
24. Murderball (2005)
R | 88 min | Documentary, Sport
Quadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Directors: Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro | Stars: Joe Soares, Keith Cavill, Mark Zupan, Robert Soares
Votes: 10,458 | Gross: $1.52M
25. My Flesh and Blood (2003)
Unrated | 83 min | Documentary
Documentary following Susan Tom of Fairfield, California and her 11 adopted special needs children.
Director: Jonathan Karsh | Stars: Susan Tom, Anthony Tom, Faith Tom, Joe Tom
Votes: 1,766
26. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
Not Rated | 150 min | Documentary, Crime
A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky | Stars: Tony Brooks, Diana Davis, Terry Wood, Dick Clay
Votes: 18,147
27. Project Nim (2011)
PG-13 | 93 min | Documentary
Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Nim Chimpsky, Stephanie LaFarge, Herbert Terrace, Wer LaFarge
Votes: 8,601 | Gross: $0.41M
28. Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
PG-13 | 86 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.
Director: Malik Bendjelloul | Stars: Rodriguez, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Mike Theodore
Votes: 72,911 | Gross: $3.97M
29. Senna (2010)
PG-13 | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Ayrton Senna, Reginaldo Leme, John Bisignano, Neyde Senna
Votes: 75,789 | Gross: $1.61M
30. The Square (2013)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Drama, History
A group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.
Director: Jehane Noujaim | Stars: Ahmed Hassan, Khalid Abdalla, Magdy Ashour, Ramy Essam
Votes: 9,403 | Gross: $0.12M
31. Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Crime, History
Alex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Alex Gibney, Brian Keith Allen, Moazzam Begg, Christopher Beiring
Votes: 16,804 | Gross: $0.27M
32. Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma (2008)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary
Acclaimed doctor James Orbinski, former head of Doctors Without Borders, returns to Africa to confront the harsh reality of conditions there and explores what it means to be a humanitarian.
Director: Patrick Reed
Votes: 136
33. Tupac: Resurrection (2003)
R | 112 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop M.Cs. of all time.
Director: Lauren Lazin | Stars: Tupac Shakur, Rappin' 4-Tay, Conrad Bain, Bill Bellamy
Votes: 9,811 | Gross: $7.72M
34. TV Junkie (2006)
Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary
A man tries to discover his purpose in life after searching through 3000 hours of video and over 5000 photos.
Directors: Michael Cain, Matt Radecki | Stars: Rick Kirkham, Tom Brokaw, James Brown, George Bush
Votes: 855
35. The Two Escobars (2010)
104 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
A look at how the lives of Colombian footballer Andres Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar were intertwined, alongside the mysterious events that led to Andres' murder in 1994.
Directors: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist | Stars: María Ester Escobar, Francisco Maturana, Alexis García V., Jaime Gaviria Gómez
Votes: 2,203
36. Undefeated (2011)
PG-13 | 113 min | Documentary, Sport
Chronicles three underprivileged students from inner-city Memphis and their volunteer coach who tries to help them beat the odds on and off the field.
Directors: Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin | Stars: Bill Courtney, O.C. Brown, Montrail 'Money' Brown, Chavis Daniels
Votes: 7,341 | Gross: $0.56M
37. Virunga (2014)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, War
A team of brave individuals risk their lives to protect the last mountain gorillas.
Director: Orlando von Einsiedel | Stars: André Bauma, Emmanuel de Merode, Mélanie Gouby, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo
Votes: 12,260
38. Waltz with Bashir (2008)
R | 90 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography
An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
Director: Ari Folman | Stars: Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ori Sivan
Votes: 60,414 | Gross: $2.28M
39. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
Director: Kurt Kuenne | Stars: Kurt Kuenne, Andrew Bagby, David Bagby, Kathleen Bagby
Votes: 40,715 | Gross: $0.02M
40. Valley Uprising (2014)
Not Rated | 103 min | Documentary
In the shady campgrounds of Yosemite valley, climbers carved out a counterculture lifestyle of dumpster-diving and wild parties that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service.
Directors: Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen, Josh Lowell | Stars: Peter Sarsgaard, Alex Honnold, Yvon Chouinard, Royal Robbins
Votes: 6,276
41. 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: 29,901
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