Documentary Films
Displaying 101 films
A Life for Ballet
The life of the legendary ballet reconstructionist, Pierre Lacotte and his wife and longtime dance partner Ghislaine Thesmar.
Director: Marlène Ionesco
A Life in Dirty Movies
A Life in Dirty Movies is a love story about legendary sexploitation director Joe Sarno and his wife and collaborator Peggy, as he struggles to get one last film on screen in an industry that's long d...
Director: Wiktor Ericsson
Aalto
A documentary film journey into the life and work of one of the greatest modern architects: Alvar Aalto, and his partnership with his wife Aino.
Director: Virpi Suutari
Advocate
ADVOCATE deconstructs controversial activist and Jewish-Israeli attorney Lea Tsemel, who has made a career out of defending Palestinians.
Director: Philippe Bellaiche
An American Satan
Founded in 1966 in California by Anton Szandor LaVey, the Church of Satan has often been surrounded by mysteries, scandals and moral panics. An immersive journey into one the most fascinating phenomen...
Director: Aram Garriga
An Art That Nature Makes: The Work of Rosamond Purcell
Finding unexpected beauty in the discarded and decayed, photographer Rosamond Purcell has developed an oeuvre of work that has garnered international acclaim.
Director: Molly Bernstein
Angry Inuk
The film interweaves the reality of Inuit life with the story of their challenge to both the anti-sealing industry and those nations that mine resources on Inuit lands while simultaneously destroying ...
Director: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco
A feature documentary-based time capsule concerning Paris and New York between 1969 and 1973 and viewed through the eyes of Antonio Lopez (1943-1987), the dominant fashion illustrator of the time, and...
Director: James Crump
Architects of Denial
"Architects of Denial" digs into the persecution of Armenians and other Christians in the Middle East and sheds light on those politicians who refuse to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.
Director: David Lee George
Atheist America
"The Atheist Experience" is the only atheist TV show in the United States. Every Sunday afternoon, two atheists debate people on the phone for one hour - on camera.
Director: Ralf Buecheler
Beautiful Darling
A documentary about Candy Darling, the transgender pioneer, actress and Andy Warhol Superstar.
Director: James Rasin
Being Thunder
Sherenté, a Two Spirit teenager performs in fancy shawl dance competitions at annual powwows despite the insensitive behavior of tribal leaders.
Director: Stéphanie Lamorré
Bending Steel
Bending Steel examines the mental and physical battle of inspiring old-world strongman Chris Shoeck.
Director: Dave Carroll
Beowulf
A one-man tour de force performance of the epic Beowulf, Benjamin Bagby delivers this gripping tale in Old English while accompanied on the ancient Anglo-Saxon harp.
Director: Stellan Olsson
Between Land and Sea
A year in the life of an Irish surf town at the mercy of the Atlantic Ocean.
Director: Ross Whitaker
Bosch: The Garden of Dreams
BOSCH: THE GARDEN OF DREAMS is a study of Hieronymus Bosch’s renowned painting The Garden of Earthly Delights.
Director: José Luis López-Linares
Botero
Botero is a poetic documentary of one of the world's most prolific living artists,
Director: Don Millar
Cassandro, the Exotico!
After 26 years and dozens of broken bones and metal pins in his body, gender-bending lucha libre star, Cassandro, is far from retiring. .
Director: Marie Losier
Children of the Mist
In the misty mountains of Vietnam, a teenage girl comes of age as she faces the local custom of "bride kidnapping" in this documentary.
Director: Hà Lệ Diễm
Coby
In a small town in the Midwest, Suzanna, age 23, is transitioning into a man, Coby, while his family struggles to cope.
Director: Christian Sonderegger
Comedy Confessions
A journey into the lives of three struggling comedians who have decided to pursue their dreams despite the harsh realities of being homeless.
Director: Gabrielle Sebastian
Conduct! Every Move Counts
A documentary that explores the secret of conducting with a unique intensity that culminates in a great showdown at Frankfurt’s Opera.
Director: Götz Schauder
Cooking at the World's End
In 2003, nine young chefs joined their forces and their knowledge to transform the cuisine of their land: in Galicia, Grupo Nove was born. Culinary revolution already emerged in other Spanish regions ...
Director: Alberto Baamonde Bello
Deep Blues
Director Robert Mugge and renowned music scholar Robert Palmer venture deep into the Mississippi Delta to seek out the best rural blues acts.
Director: Robert Mugge
Dispatches from Cleveland
A documentary focused on ordinary Clevelanders who have been long shaken by police misconduct, social discrimination, and poverty.
Director: Catherine Gund
East Jerusalem West Jerusalem
In Palestinian East Jerusalem, Singer-Songwriter David Broza records a new album with American, Palestinian and Israeli musicians in defiance of the Middle East's dark realities.
Director: Henrique Cymerman
Einstein's Universe
A documentary produced in 1979 to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Albert Einstein.
Director: Martin Freeth
Faith
Warriors of Light, a religious sect consisting of mostly former martial arts champions, has been preparing or a higher war for over 20 years.
Director: Valentina Pedicini
Famous Nathan
FAMOUS NATHAN is the insider documentary about Nathan’s Famous, the iconic Coney Island eatery founded in 1916, told through exclusive audio clips, family archives and extensive interviews with dedi...
Director: Lloyd Handwerker
Fanny: The Right to Rock
The untold story of a Filipina American garage band that morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny, who almost became the female Beatles.
Director: Bobbi Jo Hart
Far Western
The phenomenal story of the transplant of American country music to post-World War II Japan.
Director: James Payne
Finding Gaston
Meet chef Gaston Acurio and follow him in a journey to find out the stories, the inspirations and the dreams behind the man that has taken his cuisine outside the kitchen in a mission to change his co...
Director: Patricia Perez
Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask
FRANTZ FANON: BLACK SKIN, WHITE MASK tells the story of the life and work of the highly influential anti-colonialist writer Frantz Fanon.
Director: Mark Nash
From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern In China
From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China is a 1979 Academy Award-winning documentary about Western culture breaking into China.
Director: Murray Lerner
Hamada
An unusual portrait of a group of young friends living in a refugee camp in the middle of the stony Saharan desert.
Director: Eloy Domínguez Serén
Hands of God
HANDS OF GOD is a portrait of resilience following the Iraqi National Boxing Team's historic attempt to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Director: Riccardo Romani
Her Name is Sabine
An intelligent, moving and beautiful documentary portrait of Sabine, a 38-year-old autistic woman, filmed by her sister, the famous French actress Sandrine Bonnaire.
Director: Sandrine Bonnaire
Hitler's Children
A documentary looking into the lives of the descendants of the top Nazi officials who worked under Hitler's command.
Director: Chanoch Ze'evi
Hockney
HOCKNEY is a documentary on one of the most significant artists of his generation, British painter David Hockney. At 78 years of age, the charismatic Hockney still works in his studio seven days a wee...
Director: Randall Wright
Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives
HOLLY NEAR: SINGING FOR OUR LIVES tells the tale of a singer-songwriter who inspired generations during the height of the LGBTQ and Women's movement.
Director: Jim Brown
Hollywood On Trial
Director: David Helpern
I Am A Dancer
Golden Globes-nominee, I AM A DANCER captures the discipline and dedication of world-renowned ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Now presented in HD.
Director: Pierre Jourdan
I Am Sun Mu
The life and work of North Korean defector turned political pop artist Sun Mu.
Director: Adam Sjöberg
I Am the Blues
From juke joints to church halls, up the mountain and down to the bayou, I AM THE BLUES travels the back roads with the last of the blues legends.
Director: Daniel Cross
Imber's Left Hand
An inspiring documentary chronicling the life and career of renowned painter Jon Imber, who faced great adversity after being diagnosed with ALS.
Director: Richard Kane
In Country
With striking historical accuracy, rare archival footage and a deeply personal inspection on the effects of PTSD, In Country artfully activates the similarities between past wars and the military conf...
Director: Mike Attie
Joy Womack: The White Swan
This documentary follows several years in the life of Joy Womack, the first American woman to sign a contract with Russia's Bolshoi Ballet.
Director: Dina Burlis
Karl Marx City
25 years after the collapse of the GDR, filmmaker Petra Epperlein returns to the proletarian Oz of her childhood to find the truth about her late father’s suicide and his rumored Stasi past.
Director: Petra Epperlein
Leaps of Faiths
Love tests faith. Faith tests love. Interfaith marriage - how does that work?
Director: David Kovacs
Line 41
LINE 41 documents a Holocaust and Lodz Ghetto survivor's return back to today's Lodz (Poland)
Director: Tanja Cummings
Mad Tiger
Two best friends have spent the last fifteen years touring the country in their performance art punk band. When one of them decides to quit, they both face deeper challenges than expected.
Director: Jonathan Yi
Mayor
A look at the life of Musa Hadid, the charismatic mayor of Palestinian city Ramallah, who aspires to lead the city into the future.
Director: David Osit
Molecules
Stuck in Venice during the pandemic, director Andrea Segre turns the camera on the frozen city, reminiscing about his father, and the past.
Director: Andrea Segre
My Love, Don't Cross that River
A couple who have lived together for 76 years faces the last moment of their marriage.
Director: Jin Moyoung
Narcissister Organ Player
Narcissister is the subject of this smart, sassy documentary showcasing her spectacle-rich approach to explorations of racial identity and sexuality.
Director: Narcissister
Nazi Junkies
Inspired by Norman Ohler’s revelatory book, Blitzed: Drugs In The Third Reich, NAZI JUNKIES reveals how both Hitler and Nazi Germany were heavily addicted to drugs
Director: Christian Huleu
Nuclear Nightmares
A visually frightening documentary examining the world’s Cold War era nuclear weapon infrastructure.
Director: Peter Batty
Oeconomia
OECONOMIA reveals the rules of the game of capitalism and makes visible that paradoxically, profits are only possible when we are in debt.
Director: Carmen Losmann
One More Jump
The pain and frustration of young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are shown through the prism of a parkour team.
Director: Emanuele Gerosa
Only When I Dance
This stunning documentary follows two teenage ballet dancers aspiring to leave their violent favela homes in Brazil to join a revolutionary dance company in the US
Director: Beadie Finzi
Our Times
Documentary covering women's political involvement and contribution in the 2001 Iranian elections.
Director: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad
Over The Limit
OVER THE LIMIT a nail-biting documentary about the intense physical and mental labor put into a sport that thrives on its beautiful aesthetics.
Director: Marta Prus
Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack
An intimate look at the life and creative process of feminist, rebel and visual artist Audrey Flack over her often-controversial 40-year career.
Director: Deborah Shaffer
Revolution: New Art for a New World
Artists like Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich--pioneers flourished in response to the challenge of building a new art for a new world, only to be broken by implacable authority after 15 short years and...
Director: Margy Kinmonth
Salvador Dali: In Search of Immortality
An an eye-opening journey through the life and work of the great Salvador Dalí and his longtime muse and collaborator, Gala.
Director: David Pujol
Scared of Revolution
A portrait of the performance poet Umar Bin Hassan and his personal struggle with the revolution he propagated himself with The Last Poets.
Director: Daniel Krikke
Selfie
Alessandro and Pietro film themselves with a cell phone to tell the story of their friendship, the tragedy of Davide, and their everyday lives in Naples.
Director: Agostino Ferrente
Shadowman
In the 1980s, Richard Hambleton was the Shadowman, a specter in the night who painted hundreds of startling silhouettes on the walls of lower Manhattan and, along with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Bas...
Director: Oren Jacoby
Shake the Dust
Break dancers from third world communities become linked through their passion for hip-hop culture.
Director: Adam Sjöberg
Shtetlers
For several centuries and until the fall of the Soviet Union, shtetls were inhabited by tight-knit Yiddish-speaking communities.
Director: Katya Ustinova
Sign Painters
SIGN PAINTERS examines the painters who persevered despite dwindling demand for the specialized skill and catalyzed a resurgence in the craft.
Director: Sam Macon
Strike a Pose
The surprising and moving story of Madonna's most famous troupe of dancers.
Director: Ester Gould
That Click
From Marilyn Monroe to Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio, Douglas Kirkland has photographed the Hollywood elite for more than 60 years.
Director: Luca Severi
The Barefoot Artist
Lily Yeh is a global artist who is fueled by a belief that art is a human right, and that artists can create a foundation for profound social change.
Director: Glenn Holsten
The Beatles: Made on Merseyside
The incredible story of how The Beatles emerged from post-war Liverpool and turned music on its head with their changes from skiffle to rock 'n' roll and the creation of the Mersey Beat sound.
Director: Alan Byron
The Earth is Blue as an Orange
To cope with the daily trauma of living in a war-zone, Anna and her children make a film together about their life in the most surreal surroundings.
Director: Iryna Tsilyk
The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story
A documentary about the Grammy-winning music producer Arif Mardin.
Director: Joe Mardin
The Ice King
John Curry transformed a dated sport to an art form and made history by becoming the first openly gay Olympian when homosexuality was not even legal.
Director: James Erskine
The Last Autumn
A desolate farm, pushed up against the Arctic Ocean has been breeding sheep for centuries. This is the last autumn they herd their sheep.
Director: Yrsa Roca Fannberg
The Miracle of the Little Prince
The passionate translators of best-selling children’s book The Little Prince, fight for the preservation of their endangered languages.
Director: Marjoleine Boonstra
The Mission
THE MISSION follows four American LDS teenagers who to travel to the frozen, forested lands of Finland.
Director: Tania Anderson
The New Deal For Artists
The Arts Project of the WPA (1935-1942) was a government agency established to support writers, actors, painters, sculptors, and photographers.
Director: Wieland Schulz-Keil
The Notorious Mr. Bout
The Notorious Mr. Bout examines the life of international arms dealer Viktor Bout as he builds his empire under the shadows of the fall of Communism, as a series of governments willingly look the othe...
Director: Tony Gerber
The Other Side
U.S.-based Italian filmmaker follows up his documentary trilogy from Texas with this docu-hybrid film following three characters on the margins of Louisiana’s drug and paramilitary communities.
Director: Roberto Minervini
The Paris Opera
Go behind the scenes for an all-access look at the Paris Opera, where backstage drama and triumphs play out each night before the curtain rises.
Director: Jean-Stéphane Bron
The Real American: Joe McCarthy
An unflinching look at the rise and fall of one of the most infamous political figures in US history.
Director: Lutz Hachmeister
The Rising Sun
A documentary that follows the Roc Kidz Crew, a European breakdancing team whose dancers decide to leave home to pursue their true calling.
Director: Fabian Kimoto
The Seventh Fire
Terrence Malick presents this haunting and visually arresting nonfiction film about the Native American gang crisis.
Director: Jack Pettibone Riccobono
The Space In Between: Marina Abramovic and Brazil
In search of personal healing and artistic inspiration, boundary-pushing performance artist Marina Abramovic travels through Brazil.
Director: Marco Aurélio del Fiol
The Square
A group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.
Director: Jehane Noujaim
The War Show
A Syrian radio DJ shares her experiences in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring.
Director: Andreas Dalsgaard
Theory of Obscurity: A Film About the Residents
The story of the iconic renegade cult music and art collective known as The Residents who have achieved levels of fame most groups can only dream of, yet no one knows who they are.
Director: Don Hardy Jr.
Voices from Ukraine
This collection of new, critically-acclaimed Ukrainian films depicts the experience of Ukrainians in the Donbass.
Director: Sergei Loznitsa
Walchensee Forever
The director tells the story of the women in her family, set amongst Walchensee, hippie dreams and the commune surrounding Rainer Langhans.
Director: Janna Ji Wonders
What If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace
Twenty years after the failure of the 2000 Camp David summit, Ehud Barak looks back on his life and analyzes the Israeli reality with a critical eye.
Director: Ran Tal
What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael
A portrait of the work and life of controversial film critic Pauline Kael, and her battle to achieve success and influence in the movie business.
Director: Rob Garver
White Riot
A motley crew of mavericks band together with top punk bands to create Britain's biggest-ever civil rights movement, Rock Against Racism (RAR).
Director: Rubika Shah
Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?
The life and work of the enigmatic folk rock singer-songwriter.
Director: John Scheinfeld
Why Is We Americans?
WHY IS WE AMERICANS? focuses on Newark's Baraka family and its involvement in social activism, poetry, music, art and politics.
Director: Udi Aloni
Women Composers
An examination of the historical and personal circumstances under which three remarkable women created their works in the 1800s and early 1900s.
Director: Kyra Steckeweh
Yarn
Every stitch tells a tale. International artists and knitters take a simple skein of yarn to create their extraordinary ideas and stories.
Director: Una Lorenzen