1. Back To Africa
(Back To Africa)
2. Cod Wars (Cod Wars)
It’s now 40 years since the end of the Cod Wars between Britain and Iceland. During the 1950s and 60s, Britain consumed 430,000 tons of cod each year, but as the stocks started to diminish the livelihoods of fishing communities in both countries were at stake. Iceland took steps to protect their fishing industry - the mainstay of their economy - resulting in the three so-called Cod Wars. This was a David and Goliath struggle, where the small fleet of Icelandic gunboats were pitted against the British trawlers and the Royal Navy in the North Atlantic. This Icelandic film, made in 2001, tells the story from both sides and reflects on the impact of the Cod Wars in Grimsby and Hull.
3. Greenland, 1932
Danish documentary filmed in Greenland. Shows a lot of Greenlanders, skiing, hunting for birds, seals and whales, and ice fishing. Filmed by Dr. Leif Folke.
4. Capturing the Friedmans
An Oscar nominated documentary about a middle-class American family who is torn apart when the father Arnold and son Jesse are accused of sexually abusing numerous children. Director Jarecki interviews people from different sides of this tragic story and raises the question of whether they were rightfully tried when they claim they were innocent and there was never any evidence against them.
It has an average vote of 7.163 on TMDB.
5. Daddy's Girl (Pappas flicka)
Daddy’s Girl is a story about differences, but also about similarities, reunions and the difficulty to hate. Father and daughter know each other so well, that even the most tragic scenes start to seem comical. Melisa’s relationship to her father is so painful, because there’s so much love involved.
6. Morkovcha [Korean Carrot Salad] (Морковча)
This film tells a story of ethnic Koreans from Russia and the post-Soviet territories making their new home in New York City. The history of the diaspora is told through conversations with Lidiya Kan’s mother, personal stories, fragmented memories, and her family photo archive. An important character of the film is Morkovcha, the Korean carrot salad, an invention of the Russian Korean diaspora; its essence is symbolic of their mixed identity.
7. Naître d'une autre (Naître d'une autre)
(Naître d'une autre)
8. Tribu (Tribu)
Ruben and Gio have been recently adopted by Evelyn and Memo. The four of them try to create a home where the past, the bad and good stories, and the dreams in common for the future blend all together.
9. To Be and to Have (Être et avoir)
The documentary's title translates as "to be and to have", the two auxiliary verbs in the French language. It is about a primary school in the commune of Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson, Puy-de-Dôme, France, the population of which is just over 200. The school has one small class of mixed ages , with a dedicated teacher, Georges Lopez, who shows patience and respect for the children as we follow their story through a single school year.
It has an average vote of 7.254 on TMDB.
10. Nai Nai (奶奶)
Nai Nai follows the story of a Chinese immigrant grandmother, Chu-Ming Wu. Known as “Nai Nai,” Chu-Ming has always been a woman of control. But her grasp of reality and the control of her own mind is slipping away. Told through the lens of her grandson, the film focuses on the joyful, heartbreaking and intimate moments in the last chapters of her life.
11. Arctic Tale
Arctic Tale is a 2007 documentary film from the National Geographic Society about the life cycle of a walrus and her calf, and a polar bear and her cubs, in a similar vein to the 2005 hit production March of the Penguins, also from National Geographic.
It has an average vote of 6.8 on TMDB.
12. Fullsterkur
FULLSTERKUR is the third documentary in a collection of films produced by Rogue Fitness, exploring strength culture around the world, connected specifically by the ancient tradition of stone lifting. Nestled at the doorstep of the Arctic Circle, the country of Iceland is uniquely acquainted with the relationship between strength and survival. For hundreds of years, men and women were challenged to overcome harsh weather and endless winter nights by developing their own distinct physical and mental fortitude—passed down from the age of the Vikings, and iconically represented by the lifting of heavy stones. Today, on an island with a population of just over 300,000, a disproportionate number of the world’s greatest strength athletes still call Iceland home.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
13. The Sociologist and the Bear Cub (La sociologue et l'ourson)
Between September 2012 and May 2013, France is debating the upcoming marriage equality laws. During those nine months, sociologist Irène Théry talks about what is at stake with her son Mathias Théry, who will make a movie with Étienne Chaillou out of those hours of conversations. It is a documentary about the social debate in France, but also about family and intimacy.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
14. Bleed Out
After a routine partial hip replacement operation leaves his mother in a coma with permanent brain damage, what starts as a son's video diary becomes a citizen's investigation into the future of American health care.
It has an average vote of 7.923 on TMDB.
15. Sieben Mulden und eine Leiche (Sieben Mulden und eine Leiche)
Thomas Haemmerli is about to celebrate his fortieth birthday when he learns of his mother's death. A further shock follows when he and his brother Erik discover her apartment, which is filthy and full to bursting with junk. It takes the brothers an entire month to clean out the place. Among the chaos, they find films going back to the 1930s, photos and other memorabilia.
It has an average vote of 8.2 on TMDB.
16. The Story of the Weeping Camel (Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel)
When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
It has an average vote of 7.1 on TMDB.
17. Bibis of 14 (Bibis de 14)
Through a film letter, Lara communicates with her great-grandfather Paco, whom she barely knew. She explains to him what has happened since he died.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
18. Fiona Humphrey: A Family Album
Fiona Humphrey suffers from Sanfilippo Syndrome, a rare form of MPS that is slowly destroying her abilities and will ultimately kill her. Her mother Catriona suffers from an equally rare kidney disease. Her adolescent sisters Paige and Heather function as parents when their father Randy is working at Cracker Barrel, as the sole source of income. This is a look into their life, and the sacrifices they make to be happy.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
19. Apart (Lejanía)
The story of a family marked by tragedy gives rise to a reflection on memory, emotional ties, family secrets and the difficulty for new generations of knowing and accepting life events.
20. Papa s'en va (Papa s'en va)
Pauline Horovitz has been filming her father since 2009. In this new chapter with hints of a bittersweet documentary comedy, the hero, a former doctor “programmed” to work, takes advantage of his retirement to become an actor. Following the first steps of this liberating new life, the daughter-filmmaker watches her “creature” escape her…