Must See Documentaries
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- DirectorJehane NoujaimStarsSamir KhaderJosh RushingGeorge W. BushA documentary on perception of the United States's war with Iraq, with an emphasis on Al Jazeera's coverage.
- DirectorTed BraunStarsDon CheadleAhmed Mahammed AbakaSheikh Ahmed Mohamad AbakarAn examination of the genocide in Sudan's western region of Darfur.
- DirectorRicki SternAnne SundbergStarsNicholas KristofBrian SteidleA documentary that exposes the genocide raging in Darfur, Sudan as seen through the eyes of a former U.S. marine who returns home to make the story public.
- 20091h 32mNot Rated7.7 (2.4K)75MetascoreDirectorJudith EhrlichRick GoldsmithStarsPeter ArnettBen BagdikianAnn BeesonAn exploration of the life and work of Dr. Daniel Ellsberg, former Marine and military strategist, who was responsible for the publication of secret government documents that revealed the truth behind America's involvement in Vietnam.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRobert McNamaraJohn F. KennedyFidel CastroThe story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara.
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsCampbell ScottGerald BurkeAli FadhilA comprehensive look at the Bush Administration's conduct of the Iraq war and its occupation of the country.
- DirectorEugene JareckiStarsGore VidalJohn McCainKen AdelmanIs American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? Jarecki's shrewd and intelligent polemic would seem to give an affirmative answer to each of these questions.
- DirectorRobert GreenwaldStarsDouglas CheekWalter CronkiteBob McChesneyDocumentary on reported Conservative bias of the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News Channel (FNC), which promotes itself as "Fair and Balanced". Material includes interviews with former FNC employees and the inter-office memos they provided.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsAl GoreBilly WestGeorge BushFilmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on the lecture circuit, as the former presidential candidate campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.
- DirectorJames LongleyStarsMarmar AlhilaliMohammed HaithemSuleiman MahmoudStories from modern day Iraq as told by Iraqis living in a time of war, occupation and ethnic tension.
- DirectorRobert GreenwaldStarsDavid AlbrightRobert BaerMilton BeardenRobert Greenwald's gripping and controversial documentary, detailing the administration's march to war, as seen through the eyes of countless experts. 2004 National Theatrical Release.
- DirectorMark AchbarPeter WintonickStarsNoam ChomskyMark AchbarKarin Aguilar-San JuanA film about the noted American linguist/political dissident and his warning about corporate media's role in modern propaganda.
- DirectorIan OldsGarrett ScottStarsMatthew BacikChris CorcioneEric ForbesIn January, 2004, in Al-Falluja, Iraq, a documentary film crew follows an infantry squad of the 82nd Airborne, US Army. Cameras accompany the squad of seven on day and night patrols, as they watch their backs, kick down doors, search for weapons, interrogate women, detain a few people, and listen to the complaints of locals. At their barracks, a former Baathist retreat called Dreamland, the men talk: about why they enlisted, civilian prospects, feelings about the war and Iraqis, where they were when a comrade died a few weeks before. We see them wait for translators and try a few words of Arabic; we hear their frustrations. We watch them pressured to reenlist. Tensions mount in Falluja.
- DirectorDeborah ScrantonStarsZack BazziDuncan DomeyBen FlandersCalled up for service in Iraq, several members of the National Guard were given digital video cameras. This film, edited from their footage, provides a perspective on a complex and troubled conflict.
- DirectorJoshua OppenheimerAnonymousChristine CynnStarsAnwar CongoHerman KotoSyamsul ArifinA documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
- DirectorRob LemkinThet SambathStarsThet SambathNuon CheaPol PotOne of the most harrowing and compelling personal documentaries of our time, ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE exposes for the first time the truth about the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge who were behind Cambodia's genocide.
- DirectorLucy WalkerKaren HarleyJoão JardimStarsVik MunizOn the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro is Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill, where men and women sift through garbage for a living. Artist Vik Muniz produces portraits of the workers and learns about their lives.
- DirectorRithy PanhStarsRandal DoucJean-Baptiste PhouRithy Panh uses clay figures, archival footage, and his narration to recreate the atrocities Cambodia's Khmer Rouge committed between 1975 and 1979.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsJulian AssangeAdrian LamoJohn 'FuzzFace' McMahonA documentary that details the creation of Julian Assange's controversial website, which facilitated the largest security breach in U.S. history.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- DirectorDavid GelbStarsJiro OnoYoshikazu OnoMasuhiro YamamotoA documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.
- DirectorShaun MonsonStarsJoaquin PhoenixUsing hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
- DirectorLouie PsihoyosStarsRichard O'BarryLouie PsihoyosHardy JonesUsing state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsMatt DamonGylfi ZoegaAndri Snær MagnasonTakes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.
- DirectorRobert ConnollyStarsRachel GriffithsAnthony LaPagliaAlex WilliamsA look at the early career of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange.
- DirectorCharlie Hill-SmithMusic can rise above tyranny.
- StarsDavid McCulloughSam WaterstonJulie HarrisA comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.
- StarsDavid McCulloughSam WaterstonJulie HarrisA comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.
- DirectorRoger Ross WilliamsAn account of the American Evangelicals' attempts to indoctrinate their Christian Right beliefs in Uganda.
- DirectorKatherine Fairfax WrightMalika Zouhali-WorrallStarsDavid BahatiLou EngleLong JohnIn Uganda, a new bill threatens to make homosexuality punishable by death. David Kato - Uganda's first openly gay man - and his fellow activists work against the clock to defeat the legislation while combating vicious persecution in their daily lives. But no one, not even the filmmakers, is prepared for the brutal murder that shakes the movement to its core and sends shock waves around the world.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsJohn BeardTim BeldenBarbara BoxerA documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsDelbert WardRoscoe WardLyman WardThis compelling documentary details the strange-but-true murder trial of Delbert Ward, accused of the mercy killing of his brother in rural upstate NY. This real-life murder mystery won the Audience Award at Sundance.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldStarsNick BroomfieldEugene Terre'BlancheJ.P. MeyerFrom the award-winning Director Nick Broomfield, The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife portrays the sinister and comic sides of Eugene Terre'Blanche, leader of the neo-Nazi AWB Afrikaner Party in South Africa.
- DirectorAndrew JareckiStarsArnold FriedmanJesse FriedmanDavid FriedmanDocumentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
- DirectorZana BriskiRoss KauffmanStarsKochiAvijit HalderShanti DasTwo documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district.
- DirectorT. Steve AyenyStarsT. Steve AyenyElizabeth AkulluJoel Okuyo PrynceTwo children (Otti and Aguti) fall in love during the tumultuous Northern Uganda Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency, but are separated when Otti is abducted at the age of 11. While in abduction, he tries to escape back home in vain and gets battered with each futile attempt. So he decides to stay in the bush with the LRA rebels and is soon introduced into the inner command circle of notorious LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony. Despite his concession to notoriety, his love for Aguti remains undeterred. In an attempt to sustain it, Otti write letters to Aguti - who is then attending school at Aboke Girl's school - through the village reverend. Soon enough, the LRA leadership gets wind of the communication and the ruthless captain Brown (high commander of the LRA) decides to attack the village, abducting everyone in it. The rebels also attack Aboke Girls School where Aguti is abducted too. Upon arrival at the rebel camp, the abductees are shown to Kony whose interest falls upon Aguti instantly, ignorant of the relationship between her and Otti. He then forcefully takes her as a wife and she becomes his youngest woman. However, being in the inner circle gets her close to Otti who is coincidentally Kony's favorite and most trusted soldier. Otti is then tasked with the security of Kony's latest wife Aguti - torn between loyalty to the rebel cause and his love for her.
- DirectorEbony Butler'A Brilliant Genocide' is an expose of how an African dictator has been able to commit mass murder and still get a regular audience at The White House and 10 Downing Street.