1. The Biggest Little Farm
The successes and failures of a couple determined to live in harmony with nature on a farm outside of Los Angeles are lovingly chronicled by filmmaking farmer John Chester, in this inspiring documentary.
It has an average vote of 7.5 on TMDB.
2. Patriarcado, Uma História Por Acabar (Patriarcado, Uma História Por Acabar)
A documentary that brings together interviews with 20 activists who address the issue of intersectional feminism and patriarchy in Portugal.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
3. Generation Columbine
More than two decades after the shooting at Columbine, an entire generation has grown up under the threat of gun violence. This film examines the epidemic of school shootings and their lasting impact through the eyes of survivors.
It has an average vote of 6.667 on TMDB.
4. On the Way to School (Sur le chemin de l'école)
These children live in the four corners of the earth, but share the same thirst for learning. They understand that only education will allow them a better future and that is why, every day, they must set out on the long and perilous journey that will lead them to knowledge. Jackson and his younger sister from Kenya walk 15 kilometres each way through a savannah populated by wild animals; Carlito rides more than 18 kilometres twice a day with his younger sister, across the plains of Argentina; Zahira lives in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains who has an exhausting 22 kilometres walk along punishing mountain paths before she reaches her boarding school; Samuel from India sits in a clumsy DIY wheelchair and the 4 kilometres journey is an ordeal each day, as his two younger brothers have to push him all the way to school…
It has an average vote of 6.781 on TMDB.
5. Flying Paper
Flying Paper tells the uplifting story of resilient Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip on a quest to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most kites ever flown.
It has an average vote of 9 on TMDB.
6. Programming Hope
The inspirational story of a race-car driving software developer whose career suddenly switches gears when his son with autism inspires him to create a video game company that trains and employs adults on the autism spectrum.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
7. Land Without Bread (Las Hurdes)
An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.
It has an average vote of 7.081 on TMDB.
8. The other city (העיר האחרת)
In 2007 Livi, a photography student, moves into an empty building in downtown Haifa. Just before her loneliness urges her to leave, Shahar, Zvi, Iddo and Talia move into that very building - young artists themselves. The friendship ignites in an instant and when Zvi can't pay his rent, they decide to rent a space together, half of which will be Zvi's dwelling and half - an art gallery and bar. The joint work thrives and their voice is heard across the distance, but cracks begin to show, the gallery closes and they disperse. For 12 years, Livi follows their journey to fulfill their dreams as they face the reality of livelihood difficulties, manic depression and alcoholism, unfolding both intimately and lovingly, revealing the story of five friends and their maturing process.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
9. As Though Nothing Happened (وكأن شيئا لم يكن)
Seven Damascenes, eight years apart, one collective trauma. This is the story of a city and the psychological scars its people bear from years of war.
10. Scarpette bianche (Scarpette bianche)
RAI documentary filmed in 1996 about Angola, whose people, after more than ten years of anti-colonial struggle and twenty of civil war, still suffer due to the amount of active landmines scattered all over the country.
11. It Looks Like Me (Parece Comigo)
'Black girls don't play with black dolls', says the lyrics of Preta Rara's rap, one of the characters in It Looks Like Me. The documentary explores the lack of black dolls in the Brazilian market and shows the work of the artisans who try to change this scenario facing the gigantic toy industry with their handmade dolls.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
12. The Society of the Spectacle (La Société du spectacle)
Guy Debord's analysis of a consumer society.
It has an average vote of 6.7 on TMDB.
13. Last Whites of the East End
Documentary exploring the effect of mass immigration on the dwindling white community of the East End, from the perspective of those who remain and those who chose to leave.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
14. Sugar Sisters
Following Hannah, a queer twenty-something filmmaker, and her two sisters as they explore the globally popular phenomenon of sugar-dating where people in their 20s date older, wealthier men in exchange for money and gifts. Hannah's exploration into the lucrative life of a sugar baby challenges her morals and feminist ideals as she tries to maintain her personal relationships.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
15. COMPLEXion
"COMPLEXion is a documentary that aims to unpack the hegemony of skin color globally and challenge the archaic notions that exist surrounding it. Our mission is to defy toxic beauty standards through raw human stories."
16. Savages: The Story of Human Zoos (Sauvages, au cœur des zoos humains)
For more than a century the great colonial powers put human beings, taken by force from their native lands, on show as entertainment, just like animals in zoos; a shameful, outrageous and savage treatment of people who were considered subhuman.
It has an average vote of 7.8 on TMDB.
17. NARC. Mini-Doc – North East Cultural Activism
This documentary speaks to local activist groups in the music industry and culture scene to find out why people are driven to fight back and speak out on subjects they’re passionate about.</p><p> With an aim of inspiring the next generation, each activist gives their advice on how you can put a cause you are passionate about in the local scene into action. Hope Lynes spoke to Phil Douglas from LGBTQIA+ organisation Curious Arts; grassroots promoter Hana Harrison from Art Mouse; Tracks' Sarah Wilson, who campaigns for better female representation in the music scene with her project Noisy Daughters; Chantal Herbert from feminist Black and queer-led organisation Sister Shack; and disability activist and musician Ruth Lyon.</p><p> It’s hoped that this intimate and personal documentary will explore the starting points to beginning your own activism.
18. Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Catherine Jones
Jeffrey Catherine Jones is one of the most revered comic book and fantasy artists of all time and a complex character with an unusual life, an ideal subject for an insightful and captivating documentary. Tracing the early history as part of The Studio with fellow artists Bernie Wrightson, Barry Windsor-Smith and Michael William Kaluta through to gender transition in later life, Maria Paz Cabardo assembles a collage of artwork and archive alongside interviews with collaborators and some touchingly intimate conversations with the artist herself shortly before she died.
It has an average vote of 6.3 on TMDB.
19. Concerning Violence (Om våld)
Concerning Violence is based on newly discovered, powerful archival material documenting the most daring moments in the struggle for liberation in the Third World, accompanied by classic text from The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon.
It has an average vote of 6.9 on TMDB.
20. Themepark 1984
Filmed on the 60th anniversary of the republic, this dark-humor documentary delves on the highs and lows of living in North Korea.