documentary films
List activity
230 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
78 titles
- DirectorRichard LadkaniSean BogleMatthew PodolskyStarsRomel Eduardo Ledezma AbaroaRafael Pacchiano AlamánHector CapetilloThe vaquita, the world's smallest whale, is near extinction as its habitat is destroyed by Mexican cartels and Chinese mafia, who harvest the swim bladder of the totoaba fish, the "cocaine of the sea." Environmental activists, Mexican navy and undercover investigators are fighting back against this illegal multi-million-dollar business.
- CreatorDaniel HartAlan KwanTacita MorwayStarsJay O. SandersCraig SechlerStacy KeachScience documentaries about various topics.
- DirectorCarlos Llerena AguirreSaynatakuna is an ethnographic film. It tells the story of the mask makers and dancers during the festival of the Virgen del Carmen in Paukartambo, Cuzco. The dancers reinterpret their history and socio-political forces that drive them to perform their rituals of magic and resistance. The 18 dance troupes reenact and satirize the different ethnic groups that passed through Paukartambo since the beginning of time. They connect and tell a story of the past, the present, and the future wearing hand-made colorful masks and intricate beaded costumes.
- CreatorMarc WeissStarsStacey AbramsRashida TlaibLucy McBathPOV, a cinema term for "point of view," is television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films. Since 1988, POV has presented more than 300 of the best, boldest, and most innovative documentaries to PBS audiences across the country.
- DirectorMax LewkowiczStarsMarc AronsonMichael BernardiJerry BockThe origin story behind one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, Fiddler on The Roof, and its creative roots in early 1960s New York, when "tradition" was on the wane as gender roles, sexuality, race relations and religion were evolving.
- DirectorCatherine CadouStarsTheodoros AngelopoulosBernardo BertolucciClint EastwoodEleven major filmmakers from Europe, Asia and America talk about Akira Kurosawa and explore some ways on which he influenced their own work.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsShigehiko HasumiChris MarkerAkira KurosawaA documentary that shows the production of Ran and discusses the film techniques of Kurosawa himself.
- StarsKevin CostnerGregory HarrisonEric SchweigAn exploration of the various Native American nations and their fall to the European conquerors.
- DirectorEstevão CiavattaStarsAlidra AkayRilliete AkayJorge ApiakaA documentary film about the Amazon Forest deforestation and its implication not only to the human rights of Indigenous and traditional peoples who live there, but also to the entire planet's ecosystem.
- StarsBill KrackombergerKelly StewartDave OanceaThis four-part docu-series explores the legalization of sports gambling and its evolving impact on the gambling community. It chronicles professional gamblers, bookies, oddsmakers and documents effects of legalization through their eyes.
- DirectorAleksandras BrokasMindaugas UrbonaviciusStarsJeremy IronsNarrated by Jeremy Irons, this definitive account tells of the heart-rending human rights tragedy in 1992 when hundreds of Azerbaijanis were massacred after Armenians stormed the city of Khojaly.
- DirectorAsif KapadiaStarsDiego MaradonaDalma MaradonaPeléConstructed 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.
- DirectorMatthew HeinemanStarsTim FoleyJosé Manuel 'El Doctor' MirelesPaco ValenciaFilmmaker Matthew Heineman examines the state of the ongoing drug problem along the U.S.-Mexican border.
- DirectorJon KasbeIn the Kenyan bush, a small-time ivory dealer fights to stay on top while forces mobilize to destroy his trade. When he turns to his younger cousin, a conflicted wildlife ranger who hasn't been paid in months, they both see a possible lifeline.
- DirectorKeith MaitlandStarsMonty MuirViolett BeaneCole Bee WilsonAnimation, testimony, and archival footage combine to relate the events of August 1, 1966 when a gunman opened fire from the University of Texas clock tower, killing 16 people.
- CreatorMati KochaviStarsLauren TerpKristieDrewExplores the furthest reaches of the internet and the people who frequently use it, providing a revealing and cautionary look inside a vast cyber netherworld.
- DirectorMel StuartStarsThe DramaticsThe Staple SingersKim WestonDocumentary covering a Stax Records-sponsored all-day concert at the 1972 Watts Summer Festival with performances by Stax Records artists such as Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas, The Staples Singers, and more.
- DirectorDaniel GabrielStarsBashar AtiyatAli MulaAnouar H. SmaineThe gritty, thrilling story of local militias and uneasy allies who banded together to liberate Iraq's second-largest city of 1.3 million people from ISIS in 2017.
- DirectorDaniel LindsayT.J. MartinStarsHenry AlfaroDanny BakewellJohn D. BarnettTwenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, filmmakers examine that tumultuous period through rarely seen archival footage.
- StarsLiz BonninMax Hug WilliamsVictor LukarevskyThe Siberian tiger is one of Earth's rarest and most elusive animals, with as few as 300 remaining. It is so rare, more scientists have been to space than have seen one in the wild. In this series, Liz Bonnin, a former tiger biologist herself, travels to the frozen forests of the Russian Far East to help a team of scientists studying these big cats. Their goal is to uncover the hidden world of these mysterious predators, determine why they are declining and what can be done to save them.
- DirectorMatteo GagliardiStarsWillem DafoeMassimo DapportoHal YamanouchiA powerful documentary - shot from March 11th, 2011 through March 2015 - that sheds some light on what really happened at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the 2011 earthquake and the tsunami that followed.
- DirectorPeter DavisStarsTin ChanChau DiemNgo Dinh DiemA startling and courageous landmark documentary that unflinchingly confronted the United States' involvement in Vietnam at the height of the controversy that surrounded it.
- DirectorTim LewisTim ReamStarsJake FergusonMick GarvinTim IngalsbeeA diverse coalition of activists rises to defend an ancient forest from logging in Warner Creek, within Oregon's Willamette National Forest. They block a logging access road and fend off state police.
- DirectorMarshall CurrySam CullmanStarsDaniel McGowanLisa McGowanTim LewisA rare behind-the-curtain look at the Earth Liberation Front, the radical environmental group that the FBI calls America's 'number one domestic terrorist threat.'
- DirectorChris CoferStarsJames C. ScottStephan KinsellaAndrew NapolitanoAcademics opposing the rule of the Government and the ability to make laws and tax. Trying to use a rationale perspective to offer anarchy as acceptable.
- StarsWade DavisAn investigative point-of-view documentary about David Lavallee's journey down the Athabasca River and across Western Canada in search of answers about the battle between water and oil. Following an imaginary drop of water, and later an imaginary drop of oil, he discovers the threats to the third largest watershed in the world and two separate oceans. White Water, Black Gold is a film about the inextricable link between water and oil in our modern world.
- StarsMariana van ZellerAnthony HughesAlex AlonsoTRAFFICKED explores the complex and often dangerous inner workings of the global underworld - smuggling networks, and black and informal markets.
- DirectorHein SeokSaving lives in the world's most secretive state.
- DirectorPeter WebberStarsStephen EmmottThe Earth's population is expected to reach 10 billion people by 2050. The consequences will be catastrophic. Based on Stephen Emmott's hit theater show, Ten Billion is a wake up call to an unprecedented planetary emergency.
- CreatorGeorge PageThomas LovejoyStarsF. Murray AbrahamGeorge PageChris MorganDocumentary series exploring various global wildlife issues and subjects.
- DirectorHoward Hall
- DirectorJustine HenzellDionne WalkerAdrian AllenStarsDiane AbbottThe AdmiralElizabeth AlexanderOnePeople is a documentary to celebrate Jamaica's global reach and significance in her 50th year and how that came to be. One aspect of the documentary is interviews the many Jamaicans who have excelled at home and in the diaspora. Some in the diaspora that were interviewed include the icon Harry Belafonte, essayist Malcolm Gladwell, General Colin Powell (Ret.), and many more. At home the Most Honourable P.J. Patterson, the Most Honourable Edward Seaga, Michael Lee Chin, Yohan Blake, Rita Marley, Stephen Marley, Shaggy, Toots etc. OnePeople also explores the reciprocal link between Jamaica and the African continent, while showcasing user generated submissions that span the globe. This is a truly Jamaican documentary; conceptualized, directed, produced and edited 100% by Jamaicans... for the world!
- DirectorMarek MackovicThe story of a man on a bicycle, overcoming the borders of continents and body to reunite Korea.
- DirectorMarc WieseStarsDong-Hyuk ShinOh YangnamHyuk KwonShin Dong-Huyk was born on November 19, 1983 as a political prisoner in a North Korean re-education camp. He was a child of two prisoners who had been married by order of the wardens. He spent his entire childhood and youth in Camp 14, in fact a death camp. He was forced to labor since he was six years old and suffered from hunger, beatings and torture, always at the mercy of the wardens. He knew nothing about the world outside the barbed-wire fences. At the age of 23, with the help of an older prisoner, he managed to escape. For months he traveled through North Korea and China and finally to South Korea, where he encountered a world completely strange to him.
- DirectorOtar IosselianiStarsAndré ForestEtienne RozeOlivier NelleThe contrast between the daily lives of five french Augustinian monks in the monastery Castelnuovo dell'Abate and the life in the village of Montalcino.
- DirectorTrish AdlesicGeeta GandbhirStarsGail AbarbanelRichard BellJoe BidenAn investigation into the way sexual assault cases are handled by police departments across the United States.
- DirectorGarrett HubbardEvery year, millions of Americans are incarcerated before even being convicted of a crime - all because they can't afford to post bail. How did we get here? "Trapped: Cash Bail in America" shines a light on our deeply flawed criminal justice system and the activists working to reform it. This new documentary explores the growing movement to end the inherent economic and racial inequalities of cash bail while highlighting victims impacted by an unjust system, the tireless campaigners fighting for criminal justice reform, and a bail industry lobbying to maintain the status quo. YouTube Originals "Trapped: Cash Bail in America" is produced and written by Chris L. Jenkins and edited and directed by Garrett Hubbard.
- DirectorEvan Grae DavisEvery year in India and China, millions of babies are killed, neglected or abandoned simply because they are girls.
- DirectorMichal SiewierskiStarsJason StephensGlenn HurowitzNeal BarnardIt is a movie about the amazon forest fires and its connection to the meat industry in Brazil and around the world.
- DirectorGöran Hugo OlssonStarsLauryn HillKati OutinenGayatri Chakravorty SpivakThe most daring moments in the struggle for liberation from colonial rule.
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMatthew ModineRoger RignackJillian PetersonReenactments drive this documentary investigating the mastermind behind a scam to sneak the kids of rich and famous families into top US universities.
- DirectorAli TabriziStarsAli TabriziRichard O'BarryLucy TabriziPassionate about ocean life, a filmmaker sets out to document the harm that humans do to marine species - and uncovers alarming global corruption.
- DirectorMichael SchwarzStarsHealthy EmmieMichael PollanStephen RitzIn Defense of Food tackles a question more and more people around the world have been asking: What should I eat to be healthy? Based on award-winning journalist Michael Pollan's best-selling book, the program explores how the modern diet has been making us sick and what we can do to change it.
- DirectorHoward HallKaleidoscopic reefs of Indonesia, Fiji, Philippines, the Maldives Islands. A collection of beautiful coral reef seascapes by 6-time Emmy director Howard Hall with original music by Alan Williams.
- DirectorHenriette MantelSteve SkrovanStarsRalph NaderPat BuchananHoward ZinnA look at the career of consumer advocate Ralph Nader.
- DirectorBryan FogelStarsJamal KhashoggiOmar AbdulazizIrfan FidanWhen Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears in Istanbul, his fiancée and dissidents around the world piece together the clues to a murder and expose a global cover up.
- StarsDavid GasmanCharles TisseyreÉmilie JossetOur planet's lakes make up a huge freshwater reserve.
- DirectorLéa PoolBreast cancer has become the poster child of corporate cause-related marketing campaigns. Countless women and men walk, bike, climb and shop for the cure. Each year, millions of dollars are raised in the name of breast cancer, but where does this money go and what does it actually achieve? Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a feature documentary that shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause," becomes obfuscated by a shiny, pink story of success.
- DirectorJeff Orlowski-YangStarsAndrew AckermanPim BongaertsNeal CantinCoral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.
- StarsBill PullmanNature’s dramas play out in one of the most remarkable ecosystems on Earth: Yellowstone.
- DirectorRoman DrouxStarsDavid BittnerMarcus SignerAt the far end of the Alaskan peninsula, for filmmaker Roman Droux a childhood dream comes true. Together with the researcher David Bittner he discovers the universe of wild grizzlies at smelling-distance.
- DirectorBrent E. HuffmanStarsQadir TemoriSaving Mes Aynak follows Afghan archaeologist Qadir Temori as he races against time to save a 5,000-year-old archaeological site in Afghanistan from imminent demolition. A Chinese state-owned mining company is closing in on the ancient site, eager to harvest $100 billion dollars worth of copper buried directly beneath the archaeological ruins. Only 10% of Mes Aynak has been excavated, though, and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of Afghanistan and the history of Buddhism itself. Qadir Temori and his fellow Afghan archaeologists face what seems an impossible battle against the Chinese, the Taliban and local politics to save their cultural heritage from likely erasure.
- StarsPeter CoyoteHuy DucJames WillbanksA comprehensive history of the United States' involvement in the bitterly divisive armed conflict in Southeast Asia.
- StarsDavid AttenboroughJohn BrownSophie DarlingtonA nature documentary series on five vulnerable or endangered species known to form enduring populations: chimpanzee, emperor penguin, lion, tiger and African wild dog.
- DirectorChris DelforceStarsJoaquin PhoenixRooney MaraSiaDominion uses drones, hidden and handheld cameras to expose the dark underbelly of modern animal agriculture, questioning the morality and validity of humankind's dominion over the animal kingdom.
- DirectorReuben AaronsonSarah DuPontStarsAntonio Brack EggHerbie HancockRon HavivNarrated by Academy Award winners Sissy Spacek and Herbie Hancock, River of Gold is the disturbing account of a clandestine journey bearing witness to the apocalyptic destruction of the rainforest in the pursuit of illegally mined gold. War journalists Ron Haviv and Donovan Webster travel along Peru's Madre de Dios River to reveal the savage unraveling of pristine rainforest. Peruvian environmental activist and biologist, Enrique Ortiz, guides the team, pointing out the heedless exploitation of the land for minor gain. Miners rush to the Amazon to scrape together enough money to start a business or to feed their family while disregarding the catastrophic consequences to their health and homeland. Vulnerable trees, over one thousand years old, and countless species of plants, animals, and insects, both known to science and yet to be discovered, fall victim to the annihilation as well. Environmental degradation and human degradation are irrevocably intertwined as illegal gold mining is directly tied to corruption, human trafficking, narcotics, and organized crime. An animated agouti springs to life to tell the story of its ecosystem, as it represents the only species capable of cracking open the Brazil nut and thereby repopulating this essential apex forest tree. The valuable Amazon rainforest is not only being stripped of life, but also forever poisoned with mercury, a by-product of illegal mining practices. Flash forward four years to a massive intervention by the Peruvian government. What will be the fate of this critical region as these extraordinarily beautiful forests are turned into a hellish wasteland? River of Gold reaffirms the right of the rainforest to exist as a repository of priceless biodiversity and not as the toxic remains of man's greed for gold.
- StarsErnie DingoAaron Fa'aosoNarelda JacobsErnie Dingo explores Australia's iconic destinations from the Kakadu National Park to the Great Barrier Reef, and introduces us to the people who live there in a symbiotic relationship with nature.
- DirectorMichal SiewierskiStarsPam PopperT. Colin CampbellJoe CrossThis new ground-breaking documentary explores the impact that food choices have on people's health, the health of our planet and on the lives of other living species. And also discusses several misconceptions about food and diet.
- DirectorChristopher Dillon QuinnStarsNatalie PortmanPete KaiserJim KeenAn examination of our dietary choices and the food we put in our bodies. Based on Jonathan Safran Foer's memoir.
- DirectorVolker SchlöndorffStarsTony RinaudoTogether with African small farmholders Tony Rinaudo, an Australian agronomist, has been fighting against the spread of the desert for 30 years and challenges ideas of conventional reforestation with his simple yet effective method.
- DirectorMaxim ArbugaevEvgenia ArbugaevaStarsMaxim ChakilevFollows a man waiting in his hut in the desolate expanse of the Russian Arctic. He is holding out in order to observe a natural event that occurs here, every year, but ocean warming is taking its toll.
- DirectorDeirdre BrennanStarsGabriel Byrne"Lost at Sea" takes the viewer on an epic journey through the oceanic kingdom of the Atlantic Salmon - in an attempt to unravel the mystery of why as a species they are dying at sea.
- DirectorMike EisenbergThe #3 leading cause of death in the United States is its own health care system. 1.7 million Americans experience a preventable mistake during medical care, and these mistakes lead to many as 440,000 deaths annually. Directed by the son of late patient safety pioneer, Dr. John M. Eisenberg, To Err Is Human is an in-depth documentary about this silent epidemic and those working quietly behind the scenes to create a new age of patient safety. Through interviews with leaders in healthcare, footage of real-world efforts leading to safer care, and one family's compelling journey from victim to empowerment, the film provides a unique look at the future of our healthcare system's ongoing fight against preventable harm.
- DirectorDavid McIlvrideRoger WilliamsStarsJason PriestleyMark AngeloOrsola De CastroRiverBlue chronicles an unprecedented around-the-world river adventure, led by renowned paddler and conservationist, Mark Angelo, who ends up uncovering and documenting the dark side of the global fashion industry.
- DirectorDenis DelestracStarsSumaira AbdulaliGeorge BordenEric ChaumillonIs sand an infinite resource? Can the existing supply satisfy a gigantic demand fueled by construction booms? What are the consequences of intensive beach sand mining for the environment and the neighboring populations?
- DirectorGary HustwitStarsPaola AntonelliChris BangleAndrew BlauveltA feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.
- StarsStephen FryFilmed in over 60 different locations this epic documentary series will draw on the most spellbinding and dramatic stories from all corners of the globe. It will reveal the ways all life is connected and how natural events affect animals.
- StarsKing Felipe VI of SpainQueen Letizia of SpainJuan Carlos de BorbónThe four-part investigative doc-series "Juan Carlos: Downfall of The King" charts the rise and fall of the former Spanish King Juan Carlos I from his enthronement to the present day, accompanied by affairs, greed for money, accusations of corruption and abuse of power on an unimaginable scale.
- StarsLanessa TremblettAndrea OrsagIsabella TreeBenedikt Bösel was an investment banker, but then the financial crisis hit and with it the question of meaning. Today, he is a farmer, a visionary and leads a young team that is testing a radical new type of agriculture in the fight against climate change. On his farm, near Berlin, Benedikt has to deal with drought and very sandy soils. A scenario that we will encounter more and more often around the world. For Paula, a career changer, his farm becomes an opportunity for a different life, and for José and Lea it is the first step on the way to their own farm in Chile. With his team and his partner Tess Ward, Benedikt wants to prove that their regenerative experiments can be a role model for the whole world. It is the start of a tough year, the fight against drought and personal limits.
- StarsPeter CoyoteGrace SlickJanis JoplinFeatures several artists of the time and tells the story of the scene between 1966 and 1976, framed by Monterey Pop, Altamont, Woodstock and The Last Waltz.
- DirectorGregg MitmanSarita SiegelStarsPhilomena Bloh SayehCecil T.O. BrandyMiatta FahnbullehWhen lost footage from the 1920s depicting a corporate land grab in the early days of globalization arrives back in Liberia, it sparks inquiry into how Liberians lost sovereignty over the very land that sustains them.
- DirectorChristian KrönesFlorian WeigensamerStarsMohammed AbubakarAwal MohammedKwasi YefterHundreds of thousands of mobile phones, LCD TVs, notebooks and the likes become useless and "out" relatively soon and end up in Ghana where children and adolescents dismantle them in toxic smoke. A "clean" business for some, a poisonous routine for others.
- StarsJack DouglasBarbara KammererDavid HalleranFeatures exclusive eyewitness interviews and previously unseen crime scene photos of cultural icon John Lennon and the investigation and conviction of Mark David Chapman, his confessed killer.
- StarsDavid AttenboroughExplores and unravels the mystery of how and why animals migrate, showing some of the most dramatic and compelling stories in the natural world through spectacular and innovative cinematography.
- StarsAwkwafinaA Real Bug's Life is an adventure into a world beyond your imagination where life is on a completely different scale and little creatures rely on amazing powers to make it through the day.
- StarsKaniehtiio HornEdna ManitowabiDorothée Gauthier NolettCommunity members tell the histories, experiences, outlooks, and aspirations of 11 different First Nations, illuminating the cultures, the stories, and the resilience of Indigenous peoples whose homelands now host Canada.
- DirectorMikhail KalatozovStarsSergio CorrieriSalvador WoodJosé GallardoFour vignettes about the lives of the Cuban people set during the pre-revolutionary era.