My Favorite Documentaries
by whpunt | created - 29 Jul 2017 | updated - 03 Jun 2020 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 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: 60,427 | Gross: $2.28M
2. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
PG-13 | 93 min | Documentary, History
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X
Votes: 23,517 | Gross: $7.12M
3. 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: 40,829 | Gross: $0.49M
4. 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: 9,405 | Gross: $0.12M
5. Sergio (2009)
Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, Biography
A look at the life and work of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and the rescue operation when he was trapped and injured by a bomb explosion at UN headquarters in Baghdad.
Director: Greg Barker | Stars: Sergio Vieira de Mello, Tony Blair, Samantha Power, Condoleezza Rice
Votes: 965
6. 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: 72,926 | Gross: $3.97M
7. O.J.: Made in America (2016)
TV-MA | 467 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.
Director: Ezra Edelman | Stars: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mike Albanese, Muhammad Ali, Marcus Allen
Votes: 21,953
8. Citizenfour (2014)
R | 114 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
Director: Laura Poitras | Stars: Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, William Binney, Jacob Appelbaum
Votes: 57,994 | Gross: $2.80M
9. A Syrian Love Story (2015)
76 min | Documentary, Drama
Filmed over 5 years, A Syrian Love Story charts an incredible odyssey to political freedom. For Raghda and Amer, it is a journey of hope, dreams and despair: for the revolution, their homeland and each other.
Director: Sean McAllister | Stars: Tia Alkerdi, Yara Ibrahim
Votes: 674
10. 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: 13,889 | Gross: $0.11M
11. Ethel (2012)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary on Ethel Kennedy that provides an insider's view of a political dynasty, including her life with Robert F. Kennedy and the years following his death when she raised their eleven children on her own.
Director: Rory Kennedy | Stars: Ethel Kennedy, Rory Kennedy, Ralph Bunche, Fidel Castro
Votes: 768
12. Weiner (2016)
R | 96 min | Documentary
An examination of disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner's mayoral campaign and today's political landscape.
Directors: Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg | Stars: Anthony Weiner, Huma Abedin, Jordan Zain Weiner, Barbara Morgan
Votes: 10,533 | Gross: $1.61M
13. Making a Murderer (2015–2018)
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary, Crime
Filmed over a 10-year period, Steven Avery, a DNA exoneree who, while in the midst of exposing corruption in local law enforcement, finds himself the prime suspect in a grisly new crime.
Stars: Steven Avery, Dolores Avery, Laura Nirider, Allan Avery
Votes: 102,901
14. Amy (III) (2015)
R | 128 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Archival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.
Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Amy Winehouse, Mitch Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Russell Brand
Votes: 55,127 | Gross: $8.41M
15. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
R | 87 min | Documentary, Comedy, Crime
Following the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.
Director: Banksy | Stars: Banksy, Mr. Brainwash, Space Invader, Debora Guetta
Votes: 68,836 | Gross: $3.29M
16. Life, Animated (2016)
PG | 92 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
A 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.
Director: Roger Ross Williams | Stars: Owen Suskind, Cornelia Suskind, Ron Suskind, Walter Suskind
Votes: 6,178 | Gross: $0.26M
17. 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: 7,343 | Gross: $0.56M
18. Inside Job (2010)
PG-13 | 109 min | Documentary, Crime
Takes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.
Director: Charles Ferguson | Stars: Matt Damon, Gylfi Zoega, Andri Snær Magnason, Sigridur Benediktsdottir
Votes: 78,998 | Gross: $4.31M
19. The Cove (2009)
PG-13 | 92 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
Director: Louie Psihoyos | Stars: Richard O'Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Hardy Jones, Michael Illiff
Votes: 51,459 | Gross: $0.87M
20. Tickling Giants (2016)
TV-14 | 111 min | Documentary
While the Egyptian revolution of 2011 is underway, surgeon turned comedian Bassem Youssef airs a television show that makes him popular to his countrymen but disliked by the government.
Director: Sara Taksler | Stars: Bassem Youssef, Jon Stewart, Shadi Alfons, Injy Abou El So'oud
Votes: 1,687 | Gross: $0.04M
21. Marley (2012)
PG-13 | 144 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
A documentary on the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley, Jimmy Cliff
Votes: 14,501 | Gross: $1.41M
22. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
PG | 81 min | Documentary
A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.
Director: David Gelb | Stars: Jiro Ono, Yoshikazu Ono, Masuhiro Yamamoto, Daisuke Nakazama
Votes: 38,034 | Gross: $2.55M
23. Jihad: A Story of the Others (2015)
50 min | Documentary
An unflinching but sensitive and personal examination of jihadism and radicalisation, its causes and its possible solutions.
Director: Deeyah Khan | Stars: Deeyah Khan, Abu Muntasir, Alyas Karmani, Usama Hasan
Votes: 447
24.
ITV Exposure (2011– )
Episode:
White Right: Meeting the Enemy
(2017)
55 min | Documentary, News
Emmy award-winning film-maker Deeyah Khan joins the front line of the race wars in America, sitting down face-to-face with Neo-Nazis and fascists.
Director: Deeyah Khan | Stars: Deeyah Khan, Jeff Schoep, Brian Culpepper, Mike Schloer
Votes: 673
25. AlphaGo (2017)
90 min | Documentary, Sport
Google's DeepMind has developed a program for playing the 3000 year old game Go using AI. They test AlphaGo on the European champion, then March 9-15, 2016, on the top player, Lee Sedol, in a best of 5 tournament in Seoul.
Director: Greg Kohs | Stars: Ioannis Antonoglou, Lucas Baker, Nick Bostrom, Yoo Changhyuk
Votes: 6,926
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