1. Big Rig
Big Rig is a documentary film by Doug Pray about long-haul truck drivers. The film consists of a series of interviews with different drivers, focusing on both their personal life stories and also the life and culture of truck drivers in the United States.
It has an average vote of 5.571 on TMDB.
2. The Ghosts of Jeju
Documentary about the struggle of the people of Jeju Island, South Korea. Set in the context of the U.S. presence in Korea after World War II, the film reveals horrible atrocities at the hands of the U.S. Military Government of Korea.
3. Para Onde Vão As Mulheres? (Para Onde Vão As Mulheres?)
(Para Onde Vão As Mulheres?)
4. Okinawa: The Afterburn (沖縄 うりずんの雨)
On April 1, 1945, the United States military launched its invasion of the main island of Okinawa, the start of a battle that was to last 12 weeks and claim the lives of some 240,000 people. This film depicts the Battle through the eyes of Japanese and American soldiers who fought each other on the same battlefield, along with Okinawa civilians who were swept up in the fighting. The film also depicts the history of discrimination and oppression forced upon Okinawa by the American and Japanese governments. Carrying up to the current controversy over the construction of a new base at Henoko, the film explores the root causes of the widespread disillusionment and anger expressed by many Okinawans. This ambitious documentary was directed by the American John Junkerman, long-term resident of Japan and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker. Okinawa: The Afterburn is a heartfelt plea for peace and an expression of deep respect for the unyielding spirit of the Okinawa people.
It has an average vote of 1 on TMDB.
5. Palestine 1920: The Other Side of the Palestinian Story (فلسطين 1920)
“A land without a people, and a people without a land” is how the relationship between Palestine and the Jewish people was described by Christian writers in the 1800s. And the 20th-century history of the Middle East has largely been written through these eyes. But this film from Al Jazeera Arabic looks at Palestine from a different angle. It hears from historians and witness accounts, and features archive documents that show Palestine as a thriving province of Greater Syria and the Ottoman Empire at the dawn of the 20th century. The evidence suggests that its cities had a developing trade and commercial sector, growing infrastructure, and embryonic culture that would enable it to meet the challenges of the decades ahead. This film is the other side of the Palestinian story.
6. Depois da Ocupação (Depois da Ocupação)
(Depois da Ocupação)
7. Taking Alcatraz
A documentary account by award-winning filmmaker John Ferry of the events that led up to the 1969 Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island as told by principal organizer, Adam Fortunate Eagle. The story unfolds through Fortunate Eagle's remembrances, archival newsreel footage and photographs.
8. Dandara: Enquanto Morar for um Privilégio, Ocupar é um Direito (Dandara: Enquanto Morar for um Privilégio, Ocupar é um Direito)
(Dandara: Enquanto Morar for um Privilégio, Ocupar é um Direito)
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
9. Acabou a Paz: Isto Aqui Vai Virar o Chile (Acabou a Paz: Isto Aqui Vai Virar o Chile)
(Acabou a Paz: Isto Aqui Vai Virar o Chile)
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
10. Notes of Resistance and Erasure
This experimental short traces the lifespan of the graffiti and murals present at the occupation of NYC’s City Hall in June and July of 2020. The encampment formed to demand the abolishment of the NYPD and the reallocation of its resources to housing, education, and other social programs.
11. Tantura (טנטורה)
The tape-recorded words “erase it” take on new weight in the context of history and war. When the state of Israel was established in 1948, war broke out and hundreds of Palestinian villages were depopulated in its aftermath. Israelis know this as the War of Independence. Palestinians call it “Nakba” . In the late 1990s, graduate student Teddy Katz conducted research into a large-scale massacre that had allegedly occurred in the village of Tantura in 1948. His work later came under attack and his reputation was ruined, but 140 hours of audio testimonies remain.
It has an average vote of 7.05 on TMDB.
12. videomemoria (videomemoria)
(videomemoria)
13. Kukutza III (Kukutza III)
Kukutza III was a gaztetxe in the neighbourhood of Rekalde, Bilbao. It was occupied in 1998, and it was evicted by the police in 2011. The documentary shows some activities that were hosted by the gaztetxe.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
14. An Oppressed People Is Always Right (Et undertrykt folk har altid ret)
In May 1974, the Israeli Air Force carried out an extermination operation against the Palestinian refugee camp Nabatiyeh. With this as a starting point, it is reviewed how the last 50 years of Zionist colonization of Palestine have partly led to the establishment of the state of Israel, partly to the expulsion of a people, the Palestinians, from their land. The film shows scenes of daily life in Palestinian refugee camps. We hear various of the inhabitants talk about their desire to return to their country, and we follow how the resistance movement works to free women from their traditional backward role. At the same time, the emergence of the armed resistance struggle is analysed, and the significance of the latest military technological developments for guerilla wars in the 3rd world is explained.
15. Gaza (Gaza)
After the latest Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, once the bombings cease, the reality of the conflict disappears from the media. The documentary is a trip to Gaza, where through various characters we know the violation of human rights they suffer daily and the post-war blockade and situation that the Palestinian population is trying to survive in the Gaza Strip. A journey through their cities, their people and also, somehow, their history under the occupation of Israel.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
16. Undercover in Tibet
Undercover in Tibet reveals the regime of terror which dominates daily life and makes freedom of expression an impossibility. Tash meets victims of arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and ‘disappearances’ and uncovers evidence of enforced sterilizations on ethnic Tibetan women. He sees for himself the impact of the enormous military and police presence in the region, the hunger and hardship being endured by many Tibetans and hears warnings of the uprising taking place across the provinces now.
17. The Prostitutes of Lyon Speak (Les Prostituées de Lyon parlent)
Documentary about the Lyon sex workers who occupied the church of St. Nizier on June 3, 1975.
It has an average vote of 7.7 on TMDB.
18. 5 Broken Cameras
Five broken cameras – and each one has a powerful tale to tell. Embedded in the bullet-ridden remains of digital technology is the story of Emad Burnat, a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, which famously chose nonviolent resistance when the Israeli army encroached upon its land to make room for Jewish colonists. Emad buys his first camera in 2005 to document the birth of his fourth son, Gibreel. Over the course of the film, he becomes the peaceful archivist of an escalating struggle as olive trees are bulldozed, lives are lost, and a wall is built to segregate burgeoning Israeli settlements.
It has an average vote of 7.396 on TMDB.
19. The First 54 Years: An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation (The First 54 Years: An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation)
An exhaustive explanation of how the military occupation of an invaded territory occurs and its consequences, using as a paradigmatic example the recent history of Israel and the Palestinian territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, from 1967, when the Six-Day War took place, to the present day; an account by filmmaker Avi Mograbi enriched by the testimonies of Israeli army veterans.
It has an average vote of 6.9 on TMDB.
20. The Truth About Pula (Istina o Puli)
Yugoslav Partisan propaganda film about the post-World War II events in Pula.