1. Gorillas in the Mist
The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.
It has an average vote of 6.969 on TMDB.
2. The War to End all Wars: And its American Veterans
Relying on newly discovered archival footage, memoirs from the fallen, and expert commentary from scholars, this documentary tells the story of World War I from the American perspective: Its ace pilots, mine-laying Sailors, heroic doughboys, Harlem Hell Fighters, and courageous nurses.
3. Weapon of War: Confessions of rape in Congo
Wherever war breaks out, men with guns rape. During the decades of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo possibly hundreds of thousands of women and girls were brutally raped. In WEAPON OF WAR military perpetrators unveil what lies behind this brutal behavior and the strategies of rape as a war crime. An ex-rebel explains how he raped. Like for many ex-soldiers, starting a normal life again is a struggle filled with trauma. In an attempt to reconcile with his past, he decides to meets one of his victims in an attempt to obtain forgiveness. Captain Basima is working as a priest in Congo's army and confronts perpetrators of rape. He urges them to change. Just like he did.
4. Forest of the Dancing Spirits (De dansande andarnas skog)
“In the beginning, women lived apart, unaware of the existence of men. Until one day, when the first woman, Toli, who was brave and adventurous traveled deep into the forest. Toli discovered solitary creatures with big muscles who knew how to climb trees and harvest wild honey. When Toli tasted their honey, she thought they should all live together….” That is how one of the creation stories of the Aka people from the tropical rainforest of the Congo Basin goes. Akaya, Kengole, Dibota and their friends and family are hunters-gatherers who guide us through their world. They explain their origins, myths, and the very spiritual meaning of life.
It has an average vote of 7.5 on TMDB.
5. Rory Fanning: From Ranger to Resister
After ex-NFL star turned soldier Pat Tillman's death is covered up by the U.S. Army, Rory Fanning is discharged from the Army for resisting a second combat tour. Back home, he walks across the country while studying the history of war resistors.
6. Passchendaele
Sergeant Michael Dunne fights in the 10th Battalion, AKA The "Fighting Tenth" with the 1st Canadian Division and participated in all major Canadian battles of the war, and set the record for highest number of individual bravery awards for a single battle
It has an average vote of 6.136 on TMDB.
7. The Forgotten War
The Korean War saw three years of heavy combat take place on the small Korean peninsula, ending in a stalemate that remains contested to this day. This documentary tells the story of the Forgotten War from the point of view of the veterans that were sent to fight it.
8. The Peacekeepers
With unprecedented access to the UN Department of Peacekeeping, The Peacekeepers provides an intimate and dramatic portrait of the struggle to save "a failed state" The film follows the determined and often desperate maneuvers to avert another Rwandan disaster, this time in the Democratic Republic of Congo . Focusing on the UN mission, the film cuts back and forth between the UN headquarters in New York and events on the ground in the DRC. We are with the peacekeepers in the "Crisis Room" as they balance the risk of loss of life on the ground with the enormous sums of money required from uncertain donor countries. We are with UN troops as the northeast Congo erupts and the future of the DRC, if not all of central Africa, hangs in the balance. In the background, but often impinging on peacekeeping decisions, are the painful memory of Rwanda, the worsening crisis in Iraq, global terrorism, and American hegemony in world affairs.
9. We Are Not Done Yet
Follows veterans and active-duty service members from varied backgrounds who come together to combat their traumas through the written word in a USO-sponsored arts workshop at Walter Reed National Military Hospital.
It has an average vote of 6.8 on TMDB.
10. The Good Shepherd
Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly founded OSS. His dedication to his work does not come without a price though, leading him to sacrifice his ideals and eventually his family.
It has an average vote of 6.336 on TMDB.
11. The Congolese Rainforests: Living on Borrowed Time (Congo: Des forêts en sursis)
In June 2010, French actress Marion Cotillard spent a week in the heart of the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo with members of Greenpeace France and Greenpeace Africa. She delivers in video a strong testimony on the looting of Congolese forests which benefits a few industrial groups, often European.
12. Raoul Lufbery: Fighter Ace
The story of WWI Pilot Gervais Raoul Lufbery, a triple confirmed WWI ace, mechanic and world traveler. Explores the Lafayette Escadrille squadron, a formation of volunteer pilots serving in France on behalf of the United States whose service marked the early origins of the U.S. Air Force.
13. Samuel Wilder King: Fighting For Statehood
Samuel Wilder King: Fighting for Statehood tells the story of Samuel Wilder King's service in WWI and WWII, including his efforts to minimized the internment of Japanese Americans in Hawaii, as well as his post-war efforts that led to the territory becoming the 50th State of the Union.
14. John Henry Balch: Congressional Medal of Honor
The life of WWI U.S. Navy Pharmacist Mate and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, John Henry Balch, with a focus on his assignment to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, during the infamous Battle of Belleau Wood.
15. Nurse Helen Fairchild: Killed in Action?
Bravery, compassion and the will to save lives motivated the young Nurse Helen Fairchild to leave home in Pennsylvania and embark on a journey to Europe, where she served as a surgical nurse during World War I before dying on the front lines.
16. After Fire
Set in the military outpost of San Antonio, Texas, AFTER FIRE highlights the challenges faced by the fastest-growing group of American veterans: women, who now account for one in five new recruits to the U.S. Armed Forces. Demonstrating courage during their military service and resilience in its aftermath, three women military veterans candidly confront the fallout of their experiences on their personal lives as they adjust to the civilian world. The film throws a spotlight on the human toll of military service - including military sexual trauma, combat injuries and bureaucratic dysfunction - telling a universal story about strength in the aftermath of trauma.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
17. Hope Has A Name
In urban America, the bush of Africa, the war zone of the Congo, and in closed nations there are women who are living outside their own cultures, society, and comfort level to care for orphans, build schools, liberate addicts, feed the poor, and love the broken. These ordinary women are reaching into hopeless situations of people and creating hope.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
18. General Della Rovere (Il generale Della Rovere)
The Gestapo forces con man Victorio Bardone to impersonate a dead partisan general in order to extract information from his fellow inmates.
It has an average vote of 7.4 on TMDB.
19. Africa Addio (Africa Addio)
A documentary about the end of the colonial era in Africa, portraying acts of animal poaching, violence, executions, and tribal slaughter.
It has an average vote of 6.7 on TMDB.
20. Lords of the Forest (Les Seigneurs de la forêt)
Documentary about the inhabitants, both human and animal, of the Belgian Congo. Released in 1958.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
