1. Untold: Deal with the Devil
Christy Martin broke boundaries and noses as she rose in the boxing world, but her public persona belied personal demons, abuse and a threat on her life.
It has an average vote of 6.9 on TMDB.
2. Untold: Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Jenner's unlikely path to Olympic glory was inspirational. But her more challenging road to embracing her true self proved even more meaningful.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
3. MonaLisa Story
"I was born stoned". The words come from MonaLisa, who's struggling to put the heroin on the shelf. Documentary filmmaker Jessica Nettelbladt has followed the long-suffering, but far from broken, MonaLisa for eight years. The result is as honest as the raw film about a woman's struggle with herself and the world.
It has an average vote of 6.3 on TMDB.
4. Born Sweet
Arsenic-laced water has poisoned a 15 year old boy from a small, rural village in Cambodia.
It has an average vote of 4 on TMDB.
5. Turn Off the Lights (Lumea in patratele)
After years behind bars, three young men begin to rediscover lives of aggression and excess in their raucous Roma community. Among them is Alex, a captivating figure with a disturbingly blasé attitude toward violence, women, and guilt. In this absorbing documentary, offering a rare peek into contemporary Roma culture, Alex and his fellow ex-cons reconcile the outside world with the gray-shaded areas of morality with which they all struggle.
It has an average vote of 6.4 on TMDB.
6. The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni (Les trois disparitions de Soad Hosni)
This haunting and beautifully formed documentary is a meditation on the life of Egyptian screen legend Soad Hosni, who starred in eighty-two feature films between 1959 and 1991. Hosni’s mysterious death in London in 2001 sent shockwaves through the Arab world, and this is the first film which look into her life and work. Using filmic montage, director and video artist Rania Stephan reveals the diverse modes of female representation embodied in Hosni's charismatic roles, and creates an ebullient picture of the iconic actress who captivated the modern Arab imagination.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
7. I'm My Own Dolly Parton (Jag är min egen Dolly Parton)
Five women musicians are brought together by their love for singer Dolly Parton. They all have dreams for their futures, but they are also burdened by their painful pasts. During a series of tribute concerts a warm friendship develops which leads to in-depth descriptions of the women's life stories.
It has an average vote of 5.3 on TMDB.
8. SAS and the Normandy Campaign: Operation Bulbasket
This programme follows the deployment of the main body of the SAS, the Recces on targets, the raids carried out both by the SAS and the bombing attacks they called in. As the SAS created havoc to the railway system the Germans were hunting them down. Eventually by the use of torture and information by collaborators the Germans tracked them down to their camp near Verrieres. The majority of the SAS were killed or captured. Those captured were later murdered by the Germans.. Their actions tied up large numbers of Germans in guarding the railways and imposed a severe delay on the movements of the 2nd SS Pz Div to Normandy. A few brave men had an impact on the liberation of France out of all proportion to their numbers
9. Ancestral Voices
An educational documentary spanning two continents, opening up a much-needed debate about traditional African spiritual systems; their cosmologies, ideologies and underlying ethical principles. Modern science no longer refutes the origins of mankind being in Africa and similarities in the cosmological ideologies of African esoteric systems with those found many established world religions today, suggest that it was not only people that migrated, but also concepts and themes that then provided bedrock for the formation of other systems of belief.
10. Lee Miller: A Life on the Frontline
A documentary celebrating Lee Miller, a model-turned-photographer-turned-war reporter who defied anyone who tried to pin her down, put her on a pedestal, or pigeonhole her in any way.
It has an average vote of 7.8 on TMDB.
11. Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary (Im toten Winkel - Hitlers Sekretärin)
Documentarians Andre Heller and Othmar Schmiderer turn their camera on 81-year-old Traudl Junge, who served as Adolf Hitler's secretary from 1942 to 1945, and allow her to speak about her experiences. Junge sheds light on life in the Third Reich and the days leading up to Hitler's death in the famed bunker, where Junge recorded Hitler's last will and testament. Her gripping account is nothing short of mesmerizing.
It has an average vote of 6.4 on TMDB.
12. Blood (Кровь)
Documentary following a mobile blood donation team travelling through rural Russia, where people sell their blood to make ends meet.
13. The Infamous Chalk Girl
Two years since her arrest made her an accidental superhero of the Umbrella Movement, the infamous 'Chalk Girl', now 16, must decide whether to rejoin the battle for Hong Kong's democracy.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
14. Selbe: One Among Many (Selbé et tant d'autres)
This revealing documentary offers a rare view of daily life in West Africa. Shot in Senegal, Selbe focuses on the social role and economic responsibility of women in African society. Because men often leave their communities to earn money in the city, women are left with sole responsibility for their families. Through the character of Selbe we observe how one woman's personal struggle reflects the broader issues faced by many women in developing countries.
15. Tesito (Tesito)
In 1989, this film was part of the PAMEZ project in Senegal which was part of the sea program of the CCFD, Catholic Committee against Hunger and for Development. It presents the economic and social role of women in the Casamance region for the development of fishing. These women who process and market fish, who are responsible for management, have a voice and express their opinion.
16. The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart
Elaine Shepherd’s classic BBC documentary, introduced and narrated by John Peel. Completely wonderful, a 50 minute joy: reviews, articles, blog posts, etc. relating to The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart.
17. Night and Fog (Nuit et Brouillard)
Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.
It has an average vote of 8.198 on TMDB.
18. Bitch Academy (Как стать стервой)
A documentary on women in St. Petersburg who enroll in a program which will help them land millionaire husbands.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
19. Maestra
Cuba, 1961: 250,000 volunteers taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. 100,000 of the teachers were under 18 years old. Over half were women. MAESTRA explores this story through the personal testimonies of the young women who went out to teach literacy in rural communities across the island - and found themselves deeply transformed in the process.
20. Bizarre: A Circus Story
An intimate look at the extraordinary life of Master Lu Yi, hailed as the father of modern acrobatics, and the vast community of big-top lovers who share his dream of a thriving US circus industry.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
