1. A Test of Violence
Stuart Cooper's short about the work of Spanish artist Juan Genovés is an inspired introduction to the works of this extraordinary artist, exploring its minimalist aesthetic and storytelling qualities through a variety of cinematic techniques, including rostrum, animation, news footage and live action recreations.
It has an average vote of 6.7 on TMDB.
2. Looking Like My Mother
LOOKING LIKE MY MOTHER is a film about family relationships and personal destiny, about realizing one's own potential and one's limitations. It traces the individual experience, showing the emptiness one can feel as well as the discovery of a sense of meaning in life. It is a very personal and courageous film that doesn’t search for scientific explanations but instead uses documentary and fictional material to weave an intimate biography. This combination of perception and memory suggests a deep reconciliation and allows tender feelings of a mother’s love to emerge.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
3. No Address
This feature-length documentary by Alanis Obomsawin examines the plight of Native people who come to Montreal searching for jobs and a better life. Often arriving without money, friends or jobs, a number of them quickly become part of the homeless population. Both dislocated from their traditional values and alienated from the rest of the population, they are torn between staying and returning home.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
4. The Eyes of Thailand
Tells the true story of one woman's quest to help two elephant landmine survivors-Motala and Baby Mosha-walk on their own four legs.
It has an average vote of 7.2 on TMDB.
5. The Hooping Life
Learn the origins and rise of modern day hula-hooping through eight extraordinary stories of hoop devotees who have embraced it as an art form, a teaching aid, and even an instrument of redemption. From the streets, to intimate clubs, to giant arenas, we alternate between self-filmed video diaries, verité documentary footage, and spectacularly filmed performances in an attempt to celebrate the healing power of movement and the spirit of human inventiveness.
It has an average vote of 8.7 on TMDB.
6. The Light in Her Eyes
Houda al-Habash, a conservative Muslim preacher, founded a Qur'an school for girls in Damascus, Syria when she was just 17 years old. Every summer, her female students immerse themselves in a rigorous study of Islam, in addition to their secular schooling. A surprising cultural shift is underway-women are claiming space within the mosque, a place historically dominated by men. Challenging tradition, Houda insists education for women is a form of worship. Using Qur'anic teachings, she encourages her students to pursue higher education, jobs, and public lives, while remaining committed to an interpretation of Islam prioritizing women's role as wives and mothers. In a world rarely seen, The Light In Her Eyes tells the story of a leader who challenges the women of her community to live according to Islam, without giving up their dreams. Shot right before the uprising in Syria erupted, the film is an exclusive look at a social movement thriving in a country controlled by a repressive regime
7. Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life & Times of Katrina Gilbert
This is the story of a year in the life of one mother whose daily struggles illuminate the challenges faced by more than 42 million American women and the 28 million children who depend on them.
It has an average vote of 5.2 on TMDB.
8. Looking for the Wild (El viaje de Unai)
Have you ever wanted to take a year traveling the globe? 10-year-old Unai and his family do just that on an extraordinary mission to photograph an endangered animal on each continent in its natural environment. A documentary made by nature photographer Andoni Canela with his family is narrated by his young son who shares his experiences and observations as they camp in jungles, deserts, and glaciers in search of wolves, elephants, lions, bison, penguins, hornbills and crocodiles. Seen through the boy's eyes, their journey across all continents conveys an innocent and unconditional love of nature and reveals an urgency to protect the delicate diversity of our planet's wildlife. Breathtaking cinematography and an insider's view on the daily life of a professional photographer on assignment enhance the documentary's story of a family learning, playing, and living on a trip of a lifetime together.
It has an average vote of 5.5 on TMDB.
9. My America... or Honk If You Love Buddha
Renee Tajima-Peña takes to the road to investigate questions about Asian-American identity.
10. Muxes (Muxes)
Highlighting the unique culture of the Zapotec people of Oaxaca, Mexico, this groundbreaking documentary chronicles the lives of those who identify as muxes, a widely recognized third gender.
It has an average vote of 2 on TMDB.
11. John Ford & Monument Valley
John Wayne, Henry Fonda and James Stewart discuss working with John Ford
It has an average vote of 1 on TMDB.
12. Warriors of the Discotheque
The place is the notorious Starck Club The Starck Club opened in Dallas in 1984 and not long after hosted the 1984 national Republican Convention. Ironically, it was actually legal to buy MDMA aka ecstasy there, people would put it on their credit cards. The DEA stepped in and made it a category 1 drug on July 1, 1985... In a time when ecstasy was legal & guyliner was cool.
It has an average vote of 5.3 on TMDB.
13. Diana de Santa Fe (Diana de Santa Fe)
Walking the dark, invisible passageways hidden behind Bogotá’s bright neon lights, Diana, a transgender woman becomes a crucial catalyst of the Zona Especial de Servicios de Alto Impacto . ZESAI is a social policy experiment intended to promote social integration by legalizing sex work within the residential neighborhood of Santa Fe.
14. Feed Them to the Cannibals!
Originally broadcast on ABC's True Stories in 1993, Feed Them to the Cannibals tells the story of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. It was the first time cameras were allowed at Sleaze Ball and the Mardi Gras Party.
It has an average vote of 3.5 on TMDB.
15. Veteran Car Rally, Brighton
Vintage vehicles on parade in this amateur film record of the longest-running motor event in the world.
16. Hockney: Seeing Beauty
Hockney: Seeing Beauty He is one of the great surviving icons of the 1960s and arguably the most popular British artist of the 20th century. David Hockney's career started with almost instant success, and despite private struggles with his art, relationships, and the tragedy of AIDS, he continued to explore, experiment, and create masterpieces in a variety of mediums. Take a deeply personal look into the life, career, and creative mind of this versatile genius in a portrait that, like its subject, is funny, inspiring, bold, and visionary.
17. Election Day
Forget the pie charts, color-coded maps and hyperventilating pundits. What's the street-level experience of voters in today's America? In a triumph of documentary storytelling, ELECTION DAY combines eleven stories--all shot simultaneously on November 2, 2004, from dawn until long past midnight--into one. Factory workers, ex-felons, harried moms, Native American activists and diligent poll watchers, from South Dakota to Florida, take the process of democracy into their own hands. The result: an entertaining, inspiring and sometimes unsettling tapestry of citizens determined on one fateful day to make their votes count.
18. The Future of Food
Before compiling your next grocery list, you might want to watch filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia's eye-opening documentary, which sheds light on a shadowy relationship between agriculture, big business and government. By examining the effects of biotechnology on the nation's smallest farmers, the film reveals the unappetizing truth about genetically modified foods: You could unknowingly be serving them for dinner.
It has an average vote of 7.4 on TMDB.
19. Treyf (Treyf)
TREYF —“unkosher” in Yiddish— is an unorthodox documentary by and about two Jewish lesbians who met and fell in love at a Passover “seder”. With personal narration, real and imagined educational films, and haunting imagery, filmmakers Alisa Lebow and Cynthia Madansky examine the Jewish identity of their upbringings and its impact on their lives.
It has an average vote of 1 on TMDB.
20. Gender Me: Homosexuality and Islam (Gender Me: Homosexuality and Islam)
Gender Me is a road movie about Mansour’s voyage into the world of Islam. It is a personal odyssey through a world of taboos, filled with contradictory images. He explores questions regarding faith and gender in Islam with a special focus on the unusual stories of Muslim gays. Mansour is a homosexual Iranian refugee who has been living in Oslo for the past 18 years where he works as a pharmacist. Now he wants to travel back to Istanbul, where he lived for two years before he was granted asylum in Norway.