1. A Life On Screen: Stephen Fry
In this documentary, Stephen Fry tells the story behind his success, after presenting the BAFTAs for more than ten years. With an outstanding career in film and television which began with a chance meeting with comedy partner Hugh Laurie at Cambridge, he went on to create the outrageous Melchett in Blackadder and has become a firm favourite on BBC2 with the quite interesting quiz QI. Featuring a supporting cast of friends, including interviews with Michael Sheen, Hugh Laurie and Alan Davies.
2. Debate Team
Debate Team is a documentary exploring the weird subculture of competitive college debate. Competitors battle at 360 words per minute, hauling around mountains of evidence called "cards" and nearly every debate ends in global nuclear annihilation. In 2005, some 200 teams converged on San Francisco State to compete in the National Championship. The documentary follows four teams, from Michigan State, Harvard, West Georgia, and Berkeley in their quest for the national title. What emerges is not simply the chronicle of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, but a more disturbing examination into the nature of competition itself and the American fetish with championships and champions.
3. Gangbé! (Gangbé!)
The Gangbé Brass Band, a musical group from Benin, sets out to conquer Lagos, capital of Nigeria.
4. JFK Remembered: 50 Years Later
A look back at the 1000 days of the John F. Kennedy presidency.
It has an average vote of 3 on TMDB.
5. Rock 'n Roll Junkie
Rock 'n Roll Junkie is a documentary about the extraordinary life of dutch rock 'n roll myth and personification of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll Herman Brood.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
6. Danado de Bom (Danado de Bom)
Born in Arcoverde, in the backlands of Pernambuco, the lonely boy who was raised by his father after his mother left, João Silva soon discovered a passion for the northeastern rhythms, such as the baião, xote and forró. He went to Rio de Janeiro when he was still a little boy to meet the idol Luiz Gonzaga. Both men, who were not very fond of each other when they first met, became not only great friends but also partners in many hits like “Doutor do Baião”, “Nem se Despediu de Mim” and “Pagode Russo”.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
7. Anatomie d'un miracle (Anatomie d'un miracle)
Marcos, blind and deaf, learned to speak in the institute for the blind run with an iron fist by Guadalupe. Saul, commissioned by the director to interview the one who is presented as a young miracle, befriends him.</p><p> Saul's mission is to interview Marcos, a young blind and deaf man who learned to speak at an institute for the blind in Guadalajara, run by Guadalupe. A miracle that hides certain mysteries, and a strong friendship that is created between the two young people.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
8. Finding Beauty In the Rubble
In Japan, a survivor of the 2011 tsunami turns beach debris into gorgeous jewelry.
9. Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett
A special celebrating the origins and legacy of Star Wars' legendary bounty hunter, Boba Fett.
It has an average vote of 6.931 on TMDB.
10. Fanatic (성덕)
A teenage girl who appears on a TV show as an idol singer's fan calls herself a ‘seongdeok’ , because her idol appeared on the same program. Years later, the same idol singer is arrested on charges of gang rape and illegally filming and distributing sex tapes. The seongdeok, who has suddenly become a criminal’s fan, decides to meet with other fans of the criminal singer in a confused state of anger and sadness.
It has an average vote of 5.5 on TMDB.
11. Die Vampirprinzessin (Die Vampirprinzessin)
Introduces the theory of the Viennese media scholar Rainer Maria Köppl that Bram Stoker was indirectly inspired by the figure of Princess Eleonore zu Schwarzenberg.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
12. 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.
13. I Heart Monster Movies
Documentary about horror fans
It has an average vote of 5.333 on TMDB.
14. The Dazzling Light of Sunset (დაისის მიზიდულობა)
Flanked by her phlegmatic sidekick, Dariko is the only outside broadcast journalist at a local Georgian television channel. With derisory resources, she races from one report to another to give an honest, if not objective, image of the current events that shape her environment.
It has an average vote of 5.6 on TMDB.
15. Women's Bodies (Il corpo delle donne)
The representation of women in contemporary Italian media
It has an average vote of 7.7 on TMDB.
16. Yallah! Underground
Yallah! Underground follows some of today’s most influential and progressive artists in Arab underground culture from 2009 to 2013 and documents their work, dreams and fears in a time of great change for Arab societies. In a region full of tension, young Arab artists in the Middle East have struggled for years to express themselves freely and to promote more liberal attitudes within their societies. During the Arab Spring, like many others of this new generation, local artists had high hopes for the future and took part in the protests. However, after years of turmoil and instability, young Arabs now have to challenge both old and new problems, being torn between feelings of disillusion and a vague hope for a better future.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
17. Decade of Discovery
Chris Packham presents, mentioning others that didn't quite make the list, his favorite top ten animal - and plant species from the half million discovered in the first decade of the 21st century. The animals include the most endangered African monkey, a lemur , a mouse-size and -resembling relative of the elephant, a Caribean island-adapted sloth, a shark which 'walks coral reefs on an arm', the largest mega-stick, a deep sea jellyfish without tentacles and a jungle gecko mutation happening in Malaysian state Perlis in order to flee serpent predation into caves. Plant species include a giant Venus-flytrap on Palawan and the largest ever orchid from Peru.
18. Back from Madness: The Struggle for Sanity
In part of the HBO's America Undercover series, this documentary provides an insider's view of mental illness, and the use of psychotropic drugs to alleviate some of its symptoms. Tracks the odyssey of four psychiatric patients, beginning with their arrival at Massachusetts General Hospital and the affiliated Lindemann Center, revealing their personal struggles and inner strength as they enter the world of psychiatric treatment to seek relief from insanity.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
19. The Strange Life of Dr. Frankenstein (Le Funeste Destin du docteur Frankenstein)
In 1818, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, a powerful and timelessness novel which eternal theme is nothing other than man's quest for the secret of life. Since then, the Creature became a pop culture icon, overshadowing the novel and Doctor Frankenstein himself.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
20. This American Journey
As children, British actor Paul Blackthorne and Australian photographer Mister Basquali both fell in love with America. Later they each fulfilled their dream to live here, but after two wars, a near economic collapse, and uncertainty about the country's direction, these two expats began to have doubts -- was America still the great place they once dreamed of? They drive across America to find out, interviewing random people about issues that affect and confront us all. From the ghetto to the gun show, the courthouse to the cattle yard, they are touched by the wisdom and insight of the people they meet. This American Journey is a cinematic postcard from the people to the people, teaching us that hearts can be healed at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected places.
