1. Living Water (Живая вода)
A city awakens. There are sights and sounds we do not experience if we sleep late.
It has an average vote of 6.8 on TMDB.
2. Twin Sisters (Tvillingsøstrene)
In 2003, the infant Chinese twin sisters Mia and Alexandra were found in a cardboard box. They ended up in an orphanage and were put up for adoption, at which time the authorities apparently decided that it was a good idea to separate them, and to keep silent about the fact that they were twins. Twin Sisters tells their story from the perspective of both sets of adoptive parents: one from Sacramento, California, the other from a tiny village in picturesque Norway. Through a series of coincidences that they later attribute to fate, the parents meet each other during the adoption procedure in China and launch an investigation that reveals the little girls are sisters.
It has an average vote of 8.3 on TMDB.
3. Girls Don't Fly
An airstrip, a hangar and a classroom somewhere in rural Ghana: This is the place where 18-year-old Lydia and 20-year-old Esther hope to achieve their dream: learning how to fly. They have joined the first aviation school for girls in West Africa. There, an ambitious Englishman wants to train young women from rural areas to become pilots. Yet, during training and everyday life at the Aviation Academy Western ideals collide with African values, and the girls gradually realize, that their dream of flying comes at a price.
4. The Wonderful Kingdom of Papa Alaev
Meet Tajikistan's answer to the Jackson family. Nearly 80, Allo "Papa" Alaev rules his celebrated folk music clan with an iron tambourine. Beginning with his unilateral decision to emigrate to Israel, the gifted musician micro-manages nearly every aspect of their lives, both on stage and off. From every meal made in his kitchen to what instrument each member will play, the patriarch accepts nothing less than total commitment and obedience. Every child and grandchild lives in their single-family house in Tel Aviv. All but one, that is. His only daughter, Ada, chose her own way in life, a sin her father will not forgive. As generations clash over new musical directions, competing personal interests and Papa's advancing age, the family show must go on—but who will lead the band? Set to a blazing tribal soundtrack, drama and drumbeats sing out from every entertaining exchange in this grand family affair.
It has an average vote of 6.2 on TMDB.
5. Nuyorican Básquet (Nuyorican Básquet)
The story of the basketball players that represented Puerto Rico at the San Juan's 1979 Pan Am Games.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
6. Julia, toda en mí (Julia, toda en mí)
A poetic journey about the life and work of Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos.
7. Anatomy of a Dress (Anatomía de un vestido)
This documentary presents the passion, the talents, the history, the struggles, and the local and international triumphs of the most renowned fashion designers in Puerto Rico. The history of garment making in Puerto Rico has marked our history, culture, and traditions forever. The exploitative history, as a labor manual industry, which served as the base for what we have today as a fashion industry is also portrayed.
8. Music 100x35, Notes of a Transformation (Música 100x35, notas de una transformación)
Focuses on children and young adults from disadvantaged communities that learn to play an instrument. Through this learning process, they overcome limitations and assert themselves. This program serves as a prevention tool. The stories of these kids will take us on their personal journey and everyday struggle while they prepare for the big concert.
It has an average vote of 3.5 on TMDB.
9. The Things I Cannot Change
"This feature documentary is considered to be the forerunner of the NFB's Challenge for Change Program. The film offers in inside look at 3 weeks in the life of the Bailey family. Trouble with the police, begging for stale bread, and the birth of another child are just some of the issues they face. Through it all, the father tries to explain his family's predicament. Although filmed in Montreal, the film offers an anatomy of poverty as it occurs throughout North America." - NFB
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
10. The Golden Brothers (Guldbröderna)
Documentary about legendary Swedish footballing family the Nordahls who all went on to become professional footballers after winning Olympic Gold in 1948.
11. Under the Electric Sky
This 3-D film chronicles the love, community, and life of festival-goers during Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, the largest music festival in the U.S. Behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive interviews with Insomniac's Pasquale Rotella reveal the magic that makes this three-night, 345,000-person event a global phenomenon.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
12. Picturing a People: George Johnston, Tlingit Photographer
The life and times of George Johnston, photographer and keeper of memories for the Tlingit nation.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
13. A Short History of the Highrise
“A Short History of the Highrise” is an interactive documentary that explores the 2,500-year global history of vertical living and issues of social equality in an increasingly urbanized world. The centerpiece of the project is four short films. The first three draw on The New York Times's extraordinary visual archives, a repository of millions of photographs that have largely been unseen in decades. Each film is intended to evoke a chapter in a storybook, with rhyming narration and photographs brought to life with intricate animation. The fourth chapter comprises images submitted by the public. The interactive experience incorporates the films and, like a visual accordion, allows viewers to dig deeper into the project’s themes with additional archival materials, text and microgames.
14. Im Westen ging die Sonne auf (Im Westen ging die Sonne auf)
The mining industry, which always had been “sponsor” and “financier” of the soccer clubs in the Ruhr valley during the post-war period, doesn’t exist anymore nowadays in that form. Many of the once glorious clubs which dominated German soccer until the 1970s faded into obscurity without financial backers.</p><p> The documentary “Im Westen ging die Sonne auf" shows the history of the “Revierfußball” from after the second World War until the decline of the mining industry and recalls legendary players and forgotten clubs. The film shows especially how deeply rooted the sport was back then in the entire lifestyle of the Ruhr area - in private life as well as in society - and how structural change also left clearly visible marks in sports. With pictures from back then, interviews with contemporary witnesses, and footage of original locations nowadays, a contemporary document of German post-war history, by taking the example of soccer, has been created.
15. Say Hey, Willie Mays!
Follow Willie Mays’ life both on and off the field over five decades as he navigated the American sports landscape and the country’s ever-evolving cultural backdrop, all while helping to define what it means to be one of America’s first Black sports superstars. He left an indelible mark in New York City and San Francisco, building a love affair with both cities’ fans.
It has an average vote of 6.375 on TMDB.
16. Tricked: The Documentary
This character-driven film considers the evolving sex trafficking landscape as seen by the main players: the exploited, the pimps, the johns that fuel the business, and the cops who fight to stop it.
It has an average vote of 6.2 on TMDB.
17. The Nun (Nunnan)
After Marta had decided to become a nun at a young age, filmmaker Maud Nycander followed her and her family for ten years.
It has an average vote of 7.7 on TMDB.
18. L'oiseau de la nuit (L'oiseau de la nuit)
Mysterious portrait of Fernando, aka Deborah Krystal, the glittering and poetic performer of the Lisbon club Finalmente, where he has been performing every night over thirty years in golden dresses. Under the layers of his colorful fabrics, the many skins of Fernando are revealed, letting Lisbon’s legends come to life. Alternately woman mermaid, female birds, woman lion, we are taken into the desires and dreams of metamorphosis and myths.
19. Underage
Underage lifts the lid on the insular world of a group of wayward Coventry teenagers in the early 1980s. In the run up to the summer holidays, struggling to make sense of their lives, the teens take solace in glue sniffing, drinking excessively, getting arrested or head-banging to Motorhead
20. The Black Belt
In September 2015, the state of Alabama closed 31 Department of Motor Vehicles offices, disproportionately affecting African-American communities and their ability to register to vote. A band-aid solution in the form of a pop-up mobile voter registration unit is quickly dispatched. It's so disorganized and unprofessional it could be a comedy skit—if it weren't so infuriatingly disrespectful.
