Favorite Documentaries
They made a impact or left a huge impression that I cannot let go. That’s why they are my favorite.
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- DirectorSteve HooverStarsRocky BraatSteve HooverAnithaDocumentarian visits best friend in India to see the mutual unconditional love that keeps his buddy bonded to a village hostel housing AIDS-afflicted children.
- DirectorGabriela CowperthwaiteStarsTilikumDave DuffusSamantha BergA documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
- DirectorDan KraussStarsMonica BhargavaJessica ZitterWitness the wrenching emotions that accompany end-of-life decisions as doctors, patients and families in a hospital ICU face harrowing choices.
- DirectorBrian OakesStarsJames FoleyUnai AranzadiZac BaillieAn in-depth look at the life and work of American journalist James Foley, who was killed by ISIS terrorists in 2014.
- DirectorDavid DargBody Team 12 is tasked with collecting the dead at the height of the Ebola outbreak. These body collectors have arguably the most dangerous and gruesome job in the world. Yet despite the strain they emerge as heroes while the film explores their philosophy and strength.
- DirectorLiz GarbusDocumentary chronicling America's justice system. Follows two female inmates - victims of horrific violence and tragedy - who are serving time in a Maryland juvenile detention center.
- StarsGemma HoskinsAbbie SchaubVirginia AnzengruberA seven-part docuseries about the unsolved murder of a nun and the horrific secrets and pain that linger nearly five decades after her death.
- DirectorEvgeny AfineevskyStarsHadi Al AbdullahRaed Al SalehRiad Al-AsaadCRIES FROM SYRIA is a searing, comprehensive account of a brutal five-year conflict from the inside out, drawing on hundreds of hours of war footage from Syrian activists and citizen journalists, as well as testimony from child protesters, leaders of the revolution, human rights defenders, ordinary citizens, and high-ranking army generals who defected from the government. Their collective stories are a cry for attention and help from a world that little understands their reality or agrees on what to do about it. A documentary by Evgeny Afineevsky, director of the Oscar-nominated film WINTER ON FIRE, CRIES FROM SYRIA premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
- StarsMa Anand SheelaPhilip ToelkesJane StorkWhen Osho, the world's most controversial guru, builds an Utopian city deep in the Oregon country, conflict with the locals escalates into a national scandal.
- StarsSteven AveryDolores AveryLaura NiriderFilmed 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.
- StarsVernon GosneyLeslie Wagner-WilsonTim CarterDocuseries looking back on the Jonestown Massacre on the 40th anniversary.
- DirectorSkye BorgmanStarsJan BrobergBob BrobergMary Ann BrobergThe twisting, turning, stranger-than-fiction true story of the Brobergs, a naive, church-going Idaho family that fell under the spell of a sociopathic neighbor with designs on their twelve-year-old daughter.
- DirectorJimmy ChinElizabeth Chai VasarhelyiStarsAlex HonnoldTommy CaldwellJimmy ChinAlex Honnold faces the biggest challenge of his career, climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He pursues it Free Solo, which means climbing without a rope and alone.
- DirectorAlastair FothergillJeff WilsonMark LinfieldStarsEd HelmsA coming-of-age story about an Adélie penguin named Steve who joins millions of fellow males in the icy Antarctic spring on a quest to build a suitable nest, find a life partner and start a family.
- DirectorErin Lee CarrStarsSimone BilesScott BlackmunRichard BlumenthalUSA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar is convicted of serial sexual abuse of young athletes.
- StarsMonsterTaylor CoatneyYasmin SundermeyerAt the Sacramento County Jail, incarcerated women fight the power and one another as they try to make the best of life - and love - on the inside.
- StarsConrad Roy Jr.Lynn RoyJesse BarronTeen Michelle Carter's actions shocked a nation - but what really happened behind closed doors? This HBO special showcases the prosecution's point of view and alternately the defense's. Which side do you fall on?
- DirectorNancy SchwartzmanStarsMark ColeAnthony CraigRachel DissellAn account of a notable sexual assault that took place in Steubenville, Ohio in 2012, and the role that social media played in the crime and on the community.
- A look at the lives of undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
- DirectorOrlando von EinsiedelStarsDana AbedTia AlkerdiKhalid FarahAs daily airstrikes pound civilian targets in Syria, a group of indomitable first responders risk their lives to rescue victims from the rubble.
- DirectorKenneth A. CarlsonStarsCornelio CatenaGene CatenaNancy CatenaIn the war-torn Nuba Mountains of Sudan, American doctor Tom Catena selflessly and courageously serves the needs of a forgotten people, while the region is bombed relentlessly by an indicted war criminal, Omar Al-Bashir. Two things remain constant: Dr. Tom's faith and his enduring love for the Nuba people.
- DirectorZackary CanepariDrea CooperStarsJoy BeesonBeth BowersoxAbbie DavisOn 8th November, 2018, a fire broke out in California near the town of Paradise. Over the course of a few hours, the Camp Fire grew into the country's deadliest wildfire in over a century. Through first-hand footage of the disaster and interviews with survivors and responders, FIRE IN PARADISE retells the survival stories from that day.
- DirectorJohn ChesterStarsJohn ChesterMolly ChesterToddDocumentarian John Chester and his wife Molly work to develop a sustainable farm on 200 acres outside of Los Angeles.
- DirectorMohammed Ali NaqviStarsMukhtaran MaiFaiz Buy MastoiShaqoor G. FareedIn modern Pakistan, Ghulam Fareed lives a poor lifestyle in Meerwala along with his daughter, Mukhtaran Mai and son, Shaqoor. Meerwala is a village without any roads, schools, a Police Station, or even electricity. Girls' marriages are arranged when they are barely 12 years old. During March, 2002, Shaqoor allegedly molests a girl from the Mashtoi family, who live next door. The local Panchayat meets and decides that Mukhtaran must also be molested by males of the Mashtoi family, accordingly she is raped by about 14 men. Shunned, hurt, confused, devastated, she makes her way to the Police Station to file a report against this rape. This is where she will find out that it is not easy to find justice in a country that has been ruled by men and the military for eons, where the woman is still considered a possession - when she does well, she lives up to the family's reputation, but when she does bad, she brings shame to the entire clan. Her persistence pays off, and with the intervention of two female politicians, she has the 14 arrested. Amidst threats made against her by the Mashtoi clan, she is provided 24 hours protection by the national guard. Shortly thereafter the Courts reached it's decision: 8 of the men are set free, while 6 are sentenced to be hanged and fined 40,000 Pakistani Rupees. The media's attention is focused on Meerwala, and Pervez Musharaff's government makes the most of it to improve conditions there. Mukhtaran is awarded 5 Lakh Rupees, which she uses to build a girls' school; a road & a Police station manned by 4 constables is built, and electricity is provided. Then a school is built for males named as Ghulam Fareed Boys' School. Ironically, while the government provides funding for the boys' school, Mukhtaran herself pays for the salaries and maintenance of the girls' school. When the accused appeal to the High Court, 5 of the 6 are freed, resulting in an uproar not only in Pakistan but also in the United States. Mukhtaran meets with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and has the 5 re-arrested. She is then invited to Spain. Thereafter, she is invited to visit the U.S., a visa is provided for her, but before she could travel, she is arrested by the Police under orders from Pervez Musharraff himself, so as not to publicly humiliate his country. Mukhtaran disappears for several days, only to emerge later, admitting that she has been coerced to not visit the U.S.. Subsequently, she does visit the U.S. where is felicitated by Glamour Magazine, while the Times New York cites her as one of 100 the most influential people in the world. When she returns home to Meerwala, she is shocked to learn that a nine year old girl has been raped, and files a Police Complaint on her behalf. During the course of the four years of her trials, Mukhtaran has not only built and run a school for girls, albeit with some donations collected by U.S.-based Journalist Nicholas Kristof; a woman's crisis center, but also a sense of security and well-being amongst the general population, especially women, in Meerwala. Add to that, a male student from the embittered Mashtoi family had also enrolled in the boys' school. She is herself enrolled in the girls' school, appropriately named after her, and hopes that by enlightening young minds she can make way for a better Pakistan. As of the end of 2006, the Pakistani Supreme is yet to decide the fate of the 6 accused in this incident.
- DirectorMarta PrusStarsYana KudryavtsevaMargarita MamunIrina VinerAn intimate portrait of the world's most outstanding rhythmic gymnast Margarita Mamun who needs to overcome mental fragility to take part in the Olympic Games.