Popular Documentary Movies on Fandor - Page 5

Lessons of Darkness

1992

Lessons of Darkness

1992
7.8
Shortly after the Gulf War, oil fires were raging all through Kuwait. In the week before this sea of fire would be extinguished, Werner Herzog filmed this apocalyptic landscape with its murky skies, scorched earth and capricious flames.
States of UnBelonging

2006

States of UnBelonging

2006
The core of this haunting meditation on war, land, the Bible, and filmmaking is a portrait of Revital Ohayon, an Israeli filmmaker and mother killed near the West Bank. Director Lynne Sachs creates a film on the violence of the Middle East by exchanging letters with an Israeli friend. Together, they reveal Revital's story through her films, news reports, and interviews, culminating in heartbreaking footage of children discussing the violence they've witnessed. Without taking sides or casting blame, the film becomes a cine-essay on fear and filmmaking, tragedy and transformation, violence and the land of Israel/Palestine.
Storm Children, Book One

2014

Storm Children, Book One

2014
7.5
The Philippines is visited by an average of 20~28 strong typhoons and storms every year. It is the most storm-battered country in the world. Last year, Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), considered the strongest storm in history, struck the Philipines, leaving in its path apocalyptic devastation.
Frank Zappa – Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily

2014

Frank Zappa – Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily

2014
7.8
In the feature documentary, Summer 82 – When Zappa Came to Sicily, filmmaker and Zappa fan Salvo Cuccia tells the behind-the-scenes story of Frank Zappa's star-crossed concert in Palermo, Sicily, the wrap-up to a European tour that ended in public disturbances and police intervention. Cuccia had a ticket to the concert but never made it. Thirty years later, collaborating with Zappa's family, he re-creates the events through a combination of rare concert and backstage footage; photographs; anecdotes from family, band members, and concertgoers; and insights from Zappa biographer and friend Massimo Bassoli. The story is also a personal one, as Cuccia interweaves the story of Zappa's trip to Sicily with his own memories from that summer.
Church & State

2018

Church & State

2018
4.8
Church & State is the improbable story of a brash, inexperienced gay activist and a tiny Salt Lake City law firm that joined forces to topple Utah’s gay marriage ban. The film’s ride on the bumpy road to equality in Utah offers a glimpse at the Mormon church’s influence in state politics and the squabbles inside the gay community that nearly derailed a chance to make history. Church & State is a story of triumph, setback and a little-known lawsuit that should have failed, but instead paved the way for a U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gay unions nationwide.
To Auschwitz and Back: The Joe Engel Story

2017

To Auschwitz and Back: The Joe Engel Story

2017
This is a story of faith, renewal and redemption. Joe Engel, with an unwavering will to live, overcame unimaginable horrors to become a treasured citizen, community leader, teacher and philanthropist.
Motian in Motion

2020

Motian in Motion

2020
Motian In Motion is a documentary film about iconic jazz drummer Paul Motian, with rare footage of Paul playing and recording at the world renowned Village Vanguard, Birdland and other venues.
The Weather Underground

2002

The Weather Underground

2002
6.7
The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.
Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago

2020

Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago

2020
6
Author Barry Gifford's gritty autobiographical stories of growing up in 1950s Chicago provide the backdrop for an impressionistic documentary portrait of a vanished time and place.
Land of Silence and Darkness

1971

Land of Silence and Darkness

1971
7.4
Through examining Fini Straubinger, an old woman who has been deaf and blind since her teens, and her work on behalf of other deaf-blind people, this film shows how the deaf-blind struggle to understand and accept a world from which they are almost wholly isolated.
Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie?

2003

Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie?

2003
7.2
Undaunted by a commission to make a film about his mentors and aesthetic exemplars, the filmmaking team of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, Costa records with great sensitivity and insight the exacting process by which the two re-edit their film Sicilia!, discussing and arguing over each cut and its effect. Incorporating comments about the influence of figures as diverse as Chaplin and Eisenstein, about the ethical and aesthetic implications of film technique and such matters as rhythm, sound mixing, and acting. The film becomes a tour de force, immersing us in the mysteries of cinema as practiced by some of its greatest creators. Costa calls the film both his first comedy and his first love story.
Cannes Man

1996

Cannes Man

1996
5.2
Film producer Sy Lerner makes a bet with a fellow film executive that he can turn any nobody into a star at the Cannes Film Festival. A New York cab driver who is visiting the festival is chosen as the test subject to settle the bet and Sy uses his skills of hype and manipulation to try and turn the cab driver named Frank into the talk of the town. Many celebrities make cameos throughout the film.
Hated: GG Allin and The Murder Junkies

1993

Hated: GG Allin and The Murder Junkies

1993
6.6
An overview of the life of the most shocking, vile, and notorious of punk rock legends.
Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life

2007

Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life

2007
6.2
The greatest rapper to ever pick up a mic - with his velvety flow and unparalleled rhyme style he captivated everyone from Jay Z to Tupac. Now Notorious B.I.G. is revealed.
Escapes

2017

Escapes

2017
5.8
Escapes blazes a path through mid-20th-century Hollywood via the experiences of Hampton Fancher – flamenco dancer, actor, and the unlikely producer and screenwriter of the landmark sci-fi classic Blade Runner. Fancher recounts episodes from his life — romantic misadventures with silver-screen stars, wayward acts of chivalry, jealousy, and friendship — matched with a parallel world of film and TV footage wherein Fancher plays cowboys, killers, fops, cads, and the occasional hero. Escapes shows how one man’s personal journey can unexpectedly shape a medium’s future.
Where's the Soul?

2018

Where's the Soul?

2018
Explores today's music business and tries to figure out what happened to the great soul music of yesteryears; focusing on the changes within the label system with the advent of technology, social media and sampling. The emerging indie movement has resulted in an onslaught of quickly produced rap and hip hop songs that are taking over the industry.
Bowie: The Man Who Changed the World

2016

Bowie: The Man Who Changed the World

2016
5.7
Experience an inside look at David Bowie's incredible influence on music, art and culture via interviews with some of the people who knew him best.
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer

2013

Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer

2013
6.7
In the winter of 2011, after a controversial election, Vladimir Putin was reinstalled as president of Russia. In response, hundreds of thousands of citizens rose up all over the country to challenge the legitimacy of Putin’s rule. Among them were a group of young, radical-feminist punk rockers, better known as Pussy Riot. Wearing colored balaclavas, tights, and summer dresses, they entered Moscow’s most venerated cathedral and dared to sing “Mother Mary, Banish Putin!” Now they have become victims of a “show” trial.
I Am the Queen

2011

I Am the Queen

2011
4.6
In Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, the Vida/Sida Cacica Pageant brings together members of the Puerto Rican community to celebrate its transgender participants. I Am The Queen follows Bianca, Julissa and Jolizza as they prepare for the pageant under the guidance of Ginger Valdez, an experienced transgender from the neighborhood. These trans women share stories of their transition, their relatives’ varying reactions, and how they find support from within the community. Family dynamics, cultural heritage, and personal identity all play a part in how the contestants face the daily struggle that comes from being true to themselves.
Murder on a Sunday Morning

2001

Murder on a Sunday Morning

2001
7.4
2001 French documentary about the murder trial of a 15 year old black teen accused of murder in Jacksonville, Florida. Winner of 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary.