Documenting reality
Collection of interesting feature length documentary films
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- DirectorAris ChatzistefanouKaterina KitidiStarsDean BakerAlex CallinicosCostas DouzinasThe creators of Debtocracy, analyze the shifting of state assets to private hands. They travel round the world gathering data on privatization and search for clues on the day after Greece's massive privatization program.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsCompay SegundoIbrahim FerrerRubén GonzálezAging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.
- DirectorJennifer BaichwalStarsEdward BurtynskyPhotographer Edward Burtynsky travels the world observing changes in landscapes due to industrial work and manufacturing.
- StarsKlaus LöwitschBarbara ValentinMascha RabbenSomewhere in the future there is a computer project called Simulacron one of which is able to simulate a full featured reality, when suddenly project leader Henry Vollmer dies. His successor Dr. Fred Stiller experiences odd phenomena. A good friend, Guenther Lause, disappears in the middle of a conversation and a week later nobody has ever heard of him. And those fits of dizzyness - Stiller cannot believe himself to be fool. There has to be an explanation for all this. Could Simulacron have something to do with it?
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogGraham DorringtonDieter PlageEngineers attempt daring journey above Guyanese rainforest canopy with airship prototype. Adventure fraught with risks, as previous expedition ended tragically. This is a unique story of exploring uncharted jungle from the air.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsTimothy TreadwellAmie HuguenardWerner HerzogA devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.
- DirectorMalik BendjelloulStarsRodriguezStephen 'Sugar' SegermanDennis CoffeyTwo South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.
- DirectorBanksyStarsBanksyMr. BrainwashSpace InvaderFollowing the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.
- 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.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsFela KutiYeni KutiFemi KutiA look at the life and music of Nigerian singer Fela Kuti.
- DirectorJuliano Ribeiro SalgadoWim WendersStarsSebastião SalgadoWim WendersLélia Wanick SalgadoThe life and work of photographer Sebastião Salgado, who has spent forty years documenting societies in hidden corners of the world.
- DirectorOndi TimonerStarsAnton NewcombeCourtney Taylor-TaylorJoel GionA documentary on the once-promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, and the friendship/rivalry between their respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor.
- DirectorJeff FeuerzeigStarsDaniel JohnstonMabel JohnstonBill JohnstonDaniel Johnston, manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love.
- DirectorStephen KijakStarsSara KestelmanArnie PottsJarvis CockerA documentary on the influential musician Scott Walker.
- DirectorBruce NeibaurStarsChems-Eddine ZinouneHassam GhancyEssam EdrissOne of the greatest travellers in human history, twenty-one-year-old law student Ibn Battutah set out alone to Mecca from Tangiers in 1325 and returned to Morocco almost thirty years later. This is the story of his first pilgrimage, book-ended with never-before seen documentary footage of the contemporary Hajj. Filmed for initial presentation in IMAX and other giant screen cinemas.
- DirectorSophie FiennesStarsSlavoj ZizekPhilosopher Slavoj Zizek examines the hidden themes and existential questions asked by world renowned films.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsBalinese Tari Legong DancersNi Made Megahadi PratiwiPuti Sri Candra DewiFilmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsPatrick DisantoA collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
- DirectorJean-Pierre GorinStarsJean-Pierre GorinIdentical young twin girls in the USA have invented their own shared language. Scientists are wanting to study the language but social workers are trying to get the twins to leave their secret language world and enter the mainstream. This means forcing them to speak normal English and lose their secret language. The filmmaker's own questions about this process run across as text at the bottom of the screen, a first use of that technique in documentary.
- DirectorWaad Al-KateabEdward WattsStarsWaad Al-KateabSama Al-KhateabHamza Al-KhateabFOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war.
- DirectorTamara KotevskaLjubomir StefanovStarsHatidze MuratovaNazife MuratovaHussein SamThe last female bee-hunter in Europe must save the bees and return the natural balance in Honeyland, when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood.
- DirectorSteven BognarJulia ReichertStarsJunming 'Jimmy' WangRobert AllenSherrod BrownIn post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
- DirectorPetra CostaStarsDilma RousseffLuiz Inácio Lula da SilvaMarisa Letícia Lula da SilvaPolitical documentary and personal memoir collide in this exploration into the complex truth behind the unraveling of two Brazilian presidencies.
- DirectorPeter WatkinsStarsGeir WestbyGro FraasKerstii AllumThis biopic of Norwegian Expressionist painter Edvard Munch focuses on the influences that shaped his art, his devastating affair with a married woman that will haunt him for the rest of his life
- DirectorJoshua OppenheimerStarsAdi RukunM.Y. BasrunVolker HanischA family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
- DirectorNikolaus GeyrhalterStarsClaus Hansen PetzArkadiusz RydellekBarbara HinzOUR DAILY BREAD is a wide-screen tableau of a feast which isn't always easy to digest - and in which we all take part. A pure, meticulous and high-end film experience that enables the audience to form their own ideas.
- 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.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorChris MartinJohn PilgerSean CrottyStarsJohn PilgerPhilip AgeeSalvador AllendeVenezuela, Guatemala, Cuba, Chile, Salvador, Bolivia: people's struggle for democracy versus US imperialism in Latin America since the 1950s, backing coups and supporting dictatorships.
- StarsAdam CurtisRobert ReichAnn BernaysA documentary about the rise of psychoanalysis as a powerful means of persuasion for both governments and corporations.
- StarsGilles KepelWilliam KristolMelvin GoodmanA series of three documentaries about the use of fear for political gain.
- DirectorScott NobleStarsMichael AlbertMorris BermannNoam ChomskyHuman Resources is a documentary about Social Control, examining the history, the philosophy and ultimately the pathology of elite power.
- DirectorRoss AshcroftStarsDominic FrisbyGillian TettLawrence WilkersonThe modern day Four Horsemen continue to ride roughshod over the people who can least afford it. Crises are converging when governments, religion and mainstream economists have stalled. 23 international thinkers come together and break their silence about how the world really works and why there is still hope in re-establishing a moral and just society. Four Horsemen is free from mainstream media propaganda, doesn't bash bankers, criticize politicians or get involved in conspiracy theories. The film ignites the debate about how we usher a new economic paradigm into the world which, globally, would dramatically improve the quality of life for billions.
- DirectorDirk SimonStarsYoudon AukatsangBhusangTenzin ChoeyingUnfortunately, the 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people receive little political support in their drive to put an end to the Chinese brutal regime, as international governments are seemingly motivated by economic interests in China. The lack of progress toward a free, or even a truly autonomous Tibet, urges more and more young Tibetans to consider alternatives to the Dalai Lama's Middle Way Policy, a compromise on Tibet's Independence. The controversial discussion about the right strategy for achieving a free Tibet - non-violent or violent, autonomy or complete independence - is becoming more emotionally charged day by day. Monks have been leading Tibet and Tibetans for generations, not only in religious, but also in worldly matters. But monks have vows that bind them. And often those vows conflict with the needs of politics. The Tibetan movement today is divided and weakened by an ongoing argument whether the Dalai Lama"s Middle Way Policy is the right strategy or not. Tibetans are torn between their religious beliefs and their desire to free their homeland. In November 2008, the Dalai Lama acknowledged for the first time the failure of his policy and that the situation for Tibetans in Tibet has worsened. His unprecedented call for a special meeting upon 500 Tibetan leaders from all over the world led to a discussion about the future of the movement and a way to re-unite all Tibetans behind one goal.
- DirectorMariano BarrosoIsabel CoixetJavier CorcueraStarsLia ChapmanLuz-Neida PerdomoIsabelle StoffelA series of short films examining the world's overlooked problems and the people who suffer from them.
- 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.
- DirectorDirk SimonStarsYoudon AukatsangBhusangTenzin ChoeyingUnfortunately, the 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people receive little political support in their drive to put an end to the Chinese brutal regime, as international governments are seemingly motivated by economic interests in China. The lack of progress toward a free, or even a truly autonomous Tibet, urges more and more young Tibetans to consider alternatives to the Dalai Lama's Middle Way Policy, a compromise on Tibet's Independence. The controversial discussion about the right strategy for achieving a free Tibet - non-violent or violent, autonomy or complete independence - is becoming more emotionally charged day by day. Monks have been leading Tibet and Tibetans for generations, not only in religious, but also in worldly matters. But monks have vows that bind them. And often those vows conflict with the needs of politics. The Tibetan movement today is divided and weakened by an ongoing argument whether the Dalai Lama"s Middle Way Policy is the right strategy or not. Tibetans are torn between their religious beliefs and their desire to free their homeland. In November 2008, the Dalai Lama acknowledged for the first time the failure of his policy and that the situation for Tibetans in Tibet has worsened. His unprecedented call for a special meeting upon 500 Tibetan leaders from all over the world led to a discussion about the future of the movement and a way to re-unite all Tibetans behind one goal.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsAgnès VardaAndré LubranoBlaise FournierAgnès Varda explores her memories, mostly chronologically, with photographs, film clips, interviews, reenactments, and droll, playful contemporary scenes of her narrating her story.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsPhilippe PetitJean François HeckelJean-Louis BlondeauA look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
- DirectorKen LoachStarsCarol WhiteRay BrooksWinifred DennisA wedding. Happy and promising. A young couple, new to the ways of life. The joys of parenthood: A dream comes true. Then the first incident in a long, spiraling chain of events, and down they go. No job, no money. Moving from house to house, each smaller than the last. Hope is briefly found, But fate strikes again under a cruel word: Eviction. The family flees. A caravan is their shelter. But little did they know what was to come. Fire, destruction. Rage. Discrimination towards the poor. Hope is lost. The last straw is pulled. Distress. Separation. The family torn apart. Mother and children, father all alone. The ship can sink no lower. Or so they thought. Broke. Crushed. Chased from their last shelter. A mother clings to her children. And the final blow: children ripped from her loving arms.
- DirectorEllen HovdeAlbert MayslesDavid MayslesStarsEdith Bouvier BealeEdith 'Little Edie' Bouvier BealeBrooks HyersMeet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot.
- DirectorFrank PavichStarsAlejandro JodorowskyMichel SeydouxH.R. GigerThe story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.
- DirectorJafar PanahiStarsJafar PanahiNasrin SotoudehBanned from making movies by the Iranian government, Jafar Panahi poses as a taxi driver and makes a movie about social challenges in Iran.