Documentaries worth watching
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- DirectorRodney AscherStarsBill BlakemoreGeoffrey CocksJuli KearnsAn exploration of various interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror film, The Shining (1980).
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsNoam ChomskyMichel GondryRichard FeynmanA series of interviews featuring linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky done in hand-drawn animation.
- DirectorBanksyStarsBanksyMr. BrainwashSpace InvaderFollowing the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.
- DirectorLucy WalkerStarsGavin AttwoodSally BergSonam BhumtsoSix blind Tibetan teenagers climb the Lhakpa-Ri peak of Mount Everest, led by seven-summit blind mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer.
- DirectorAaron RoseJoshua LeonardStarsJulian Bennett HolmesThomas CampbellShepard FaireyThis documentary follows the lives and careers of a collective group of Do-it-yourself artists and designers who inadvertently affected the art world.
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsEdward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldWilliam BinneyA documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
- DirectorClaire GormanStarsBethany HamiltonCoco HoThis feature length surf film First Love is about friendship, passion and following your dreams.
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsMichael PolleyJohn BuchanMark PolleyA film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.
- DirectorPetra CostaStarsLi AnElena AndradePetra CostaElena, a young Brazilian woman, travels to New York with the same dream as her mother, to become a movie actress. She leaves behind her childhood spent in hiding during the years of the military dictatorship. She also leaves Petra, her seven year old sister. Two decades later, Petra also becomes an actress and goes to New York in search of Elena. She only has a few clues about her: home movies, newspaper clippings, a diary and letters. At any moment Petra hopes to find Elena walking in the streets in a silk blouse. Gradually, the features of the two sisters are confused; we no longer know one from the other. When Petra finally finds Elena in an unexpected place, she has to learn to let her go.
- DirectorJenna FischerStarsJames GunnJenna FischerPeter AltonMockumentary about a wealthy couple who set out to make a difference in the lives of homeless people by giving each of them a lollipop with a cheery slogan on the wrapper.
- DirectorHenry JoostAriel SchulmanStarsNev SchulmanAriel SchulmanHenry JoostYoung filmmakers document their colleague's budding online friendship with a young woman and her family which leads to an unexpected series of discoveries.
- DirectorKurt KuenneStarsKurt KuenneAndrew BagbyDavid BagbyA filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
- DirectorJohn MaloofCharlie SiskelStarsVivian MaierJohn MaloofDaniel ArnaudA documentary on the late Vivian Maier, a nanny whose previously unknown cache of 100,000 photographs earned her a posthumous reputation as one of the most accomplished street photographers.
- DirectorTimothy WheelerObsessive egg thieves threaten the rarest birds by robbing their nests each Spring while a UK national police operation tries to stop them. Money is not a factor for these bandits. They are motivated by both their passion for the beauty of the egg as well as the thrill of the chase. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds teams with the National Wildlife Crime Unit for Operation Easter, to hunt and jail these robbers. Thousands of eggs confiscated in police raids have been found strapped under beds, beneath floorboards, and in secret rooms. With unprecedented access to the most notorious and most unsuspecting perpetrators, POACHED delves into the psychology of these wildlife criminals as they confront their obsession. Ultimately showing when passion turns to obsession, it can destroy the very object of ones desire.
- DirectorLiv CorfixenStarsLiv CorfixenNicolas Winding RefnRyan GoslingLiv Corfixen documents her husband, filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, during the production and release of his movie Only God Forgives (2013).
- DirectorMichal MarczakStarsKrzysztof BaginskiMichal HuszczaEva LebuefA new era is coming, and Warsaw stands uncomfortably at its edge. Art school classmates Christopher and Michal, on the precipice of their own coming of age, restlessly roam their city's streets in search of living forever inside the beautiful moment. Never content with answers, they push each experience to its breaking point, testing what it might mean to be truly awake in a world that seems satisfied to be asleep.
- DirectorKirsten JohnsonStarsKirsten JohnsonAisha BukarEric W. DavisExposing her role behind the camera, Kirsten Johnson reaches into the vast trove of footage she has shot over decades around the world. What emerges is a visually bold memoir and a revelatory interrogation of the power of the camera.
- DirectorChristina Alexandra VorosStarsPeter AcworthMaitresse MadelineChris NorrisA documentary on fetish website Kink.com.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachJake PaltrowStarsBrian De PalmaMark HamillAmy IrvingA documentary about writer and director Brian De Palma.
- DirectorGianfranco RosiStarsSamuele PucilloMattias CucinaSamuele CaruanaCapturing life on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a frontline in the European migrant crisis.
- DirectorZefrey ThrowellJosephine DeckerStarsJosephine DeckerZefrey ThrowellHollis WitherspoonA real romance filmed over five years. Josephine and Zefrey simmer in the white hot apocalypse of first love until the throw of a dart finds them on a spontaneous trip to the Maldives and cracks open the question -- is their love true or just a performance?
- DirectorFrederick WisemanStarsLaura ObiolsJackson Heights, Queens is one of the most culturally diverse communities in the US where 167 languages are spoken. IN JACKSON HEIGHTS explores the conflict between maintaining ties to old traditions and adapting to American values.
- DirectorJennifer BreaStarsJennifer BreaOmar WasowJessica l e TaylorWhen Harvard Ph.D. student Jennifer Brea is struck down by a fever that leaves her bedridden, she sets out on a virtual journey to document her story as she fights a disease that medicine forgot.
- DirectorCeyda TorunStarsYaman BarlasSariArzu GölA profile of an ancient city and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.
- 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.
- DirectorMalik BendjelloulStarsRodriguezStephen 'Sugar' SegermanDennis CoffeyTwo South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.
- DirectorTamuna KarumidzeSalome MachaidzeDavid MeskhiStarsSandro SulakauriImpressions from the lives of young skaters, artists and musicians in the Republic of Georgia, creating their own open spaces.
- DirectorBill Ross IVTurner RossStarsSimon BennettDavid ByrneChristian DelmotteIn the summer of 2015, legendary musician David Byrne staged an event at Brooklyn's Barclays Center to celebrate the art of Color Guard: synchronized dance routines involving flags, rifles, and sabers. Recruiting performers that include the likes of Saint Vincent, Nelly Furtado, Ad-Rock, and Ira Glass to collaborate on original pieces with 10 color guard teams from across the US and Canada, Contemporary Color is a beautifully filmed snapshot of a one-of-a-kind live event.
- DirectorGiedre ZickyteStarsTatjana LuckieneVitas LuckusSome called him a madman, others - a genius. Because he kept a live lion in his apartment. Because he was the first to go beyond Lithuanian surroundings and document the spontaneous reality of Soviet Republics. He worked a lot and drank a lot. He lived in Vilnius with his beautiful wife Tatyana. They were the vibrant couple of the '60s. Just as vibrant was their home, always full of people, wine, nightlong conversations, guests from the farthermost places of the Soviet Union. He was engulfed by his passion for truth and photography.
- DirectorAlison KlaymanStarsArianaDelaneyJasper Holt-TezaEvery era gets the drug it deserves. In America today, where competition is ceaseless from school to the workforce and everyone wants a performance edge, Adderall and other prescription stimulants are the defining drugs of this generation.
- DirectorIain ForsythJane PollardStarsNick CaveSusie BickWarren EllisWriter and musician Nick Cave marks his 20,000th day on the planet Earth.
- DirectorRichard RobbinsStarsAminaAzmeraArindol BagchiThis film follows 9 girls from Haiti, Nepal, Ethiopia, India, Egypt, Peru, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan on their journey to education.
- DirectorDan ReedStarsMichael JacksonWade RobsonJoy RobsonAt the height of his stardom, the world's biggest pop star, Michael Jackson, began long-running relationships with two young boys, aged between seven and ten, along their families. They now allege that he sexually abused them.
- DirectorRoger Ross WilliamsStarsOwen SuskindCornelia SuskindRon SuskindA coming-of-age story about a boy and his family who overcame great challenges by turning Disney animated movies into a language to express love, loss, kinship and brotherhood.
- DirectorRoss WilsonStarsStephen FryAndy BehrmanJo BrandStephen Fry presents this documentary exploring the disease of manic depression; a little understood but potentially devastating condition affecting an estimated two percent of the population. Stephen embarks on an emotional journey to meet fellow sufferers, and discuss the literal highs and lows of being bi-polar. Celebrities such as Carrie Fisher and Richard Dreyfuss invite the comedian into their home to relate their stories. Plus Stephen looks into the lives of ordinary people trying to deal with the illness at work and home, and of course to the people studying manic depression in an effort to better control it. A fascinating, moving and ultimately very entertaining Emmy Award-winning program.
- DirectorAngela ChristliebStephen KijakStarsJack AngstreichEric ChadbourneBill HeidbrederThis documentary about the culture of intense cinephilia in New York City reveals the impassioned world of five obsessed movie buffs. The filmmakers expose this delightfully deranged cult by capturing the daily lives of its members. Interviews in movie houses, on the street and in the homes of the subjects tell the story of each individual. Many cannot hold a job, or choose not to. All of them have demoted the importance of the real world, giving all of their attention to the fantasy world of the movies. These human encyclopedias of cinema see two to five films a day, and from 600 to 2,000 films per year. Many have no physical sex lives, living instead in a world of romance with stars like James Dean or Audrey Hepburn. In Cinemania, Hollywood's biggest fans become the true stars. This is the story of their lives, their memories, their unbending habits and the films they love.