23 interesting documentaries that you cannot miss

Documentary cinema is a genre capable of investigating reality in ways that are sometimes unthinkable for fictional cinema.

Interesting documentaries are those that make you reflect and are capable of changing your gaze to make it more critical and conscious; They are those that invite you to learn and discover stories that, if it weren't for these, you would never know. They are the gateway to a new world.

Documentary film themes are endless and there are something for all tastes. Here we propose a list of 23 interesting documentaries that you cannot miss, ordered in descending order. We also explain why they are interesting.

1. Shoah (1985)

Direction: Claude lazmann
Category: Story.

If you like documentaries about history, this is undoubtedly a title that you cannot miss since it is is one of the most representative audiovisual productions of the Holocaust ever made in recent years years.

Claude Lazmann narrates one of the most atrocious episodes in contemporary history in a meticulous way and with original images and the hand of the testimonies of some of the victims and witnesses.

Because it's interesting?

• It will allow you to delve into the Holocaust for 9 hours.
• It serves as a memory to remind you that past mistakes should not be made again.

2. Nostalgia for the light (2010)

Direction: Patricio guzman
Category: Story. Astronomy.

The Atacama Desert (Chile) gathers astronomers from all over the planet to examine the stars. In the same place, but on the ground, some women search for the human remains of their relatives who disappeared during the Pinochet dictatorship.

The same place, in which, in a poetic way, Patricio Guzmán tries to give an account of the topic of the search. While some want to find life on another planet, others want to find the human remains that will finally bring them peace in a dry land.

Because it's interesting?

• Work on a subject as hard as the search for loved ones in a place as arid as a desert, where we know the intimacy of some stories that will undoubtedly move you.
• The beauty of the images in this documentary is unmatched.

3. Salt of the Earth (2014)

Direction: Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
Category: Photography.

The salt of the earth explores the photographic work of Sebastião Salgado, a Brazilian photographer and photojournalist, who has traveled the continent capturing the changes of humanity and witnessing them at first person.

This production discovers another of his projects, a journey that leads him to completely virgin places on planet earth, and he does it at the hands of Juliano, the photographer's son. It is a documentary that you will love if you like the world of photography.
Because it's interesting?

• It contains very beautiful images and is presented as a deliberation between nature and the human condition.

4. Waltz with Bashir (2008)

Direction: Ari folman
Category: Warlike.

This documentary film delves into the event of the Sabra and Shatila massacre (Lebanon) of September 1982. Folman, who lived that event in the first person, recorded testimonies of witnesses and, from of this, he made this shocking documentary and created animated characters that relate the events.

Because it's interesting?

• Explore a new genre within documentary films, this time it is made with an animation technique.
• The events that are narrated are the real experiences that the director of this film lived in the first person.

5. I am not your black (2016)

Direction: Raoul peck
Category: Racism.

This film is based on the unfinished work "Remember This House" by James Baldwin. It makes use of excerpts from the book and highlights the history of the African-American movement in America and how it has changed since the 1970s.

Because it's interesting?

• It will make you feel what it is like to live in your own flesh being African American in the United States, a reality that is still valid today.

6. Inside Job (2010)

Direction: Charles ferguson
Category: Politics. Economy.

What are the causes of the crisis that ruined thousands of people in 2008? In this documentary, Charles Ferguson tries to respond to one of the biggest financial crises in the world in recent history through the causes and those responsible for it.

Because it's interesting?

• It is a meticulous investigative work and a portrait of human greed and its consequences.

7. Apollo 11 (2019)

Direction: Todd miller
Category: Astronautics.

How was the Apollo 11 mission that allowed a human being to step on the lunar surface for the first time? This documentary contains unpublished images and tells a piece of the history of space missions that continue to be talked about today.

Because it's interesting?

• Contains unpublished material from one of the most ambitious missions of the 20th century.
• You will have the sensation of moving into space with the images and sounds of this tape.

8. Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

Direction: Malik Bendjelloul
Category: Music.

This film brings an exciting story about Sixto Rodríguez, a singer who during the 60s was discovered by some producers, who thought they would launch him to success. However, the artist was never recognized and disappeared from the music scene.

Later, his work came to South Africa, where he became a cult musician. In this production Malik Bendjelloul focuses on two young South Africans who declare themselves followers of the artist and who try to find out what is behind the figure of him.

Because it's interesting?

• It is an inspiring and moving documentary that shows that the power of music knows no borders.

9. Man on Wire (2008)

Direction: James Marsh
Category: Biographical.

What is known today as a show was once considered a crime. In August 1974 Philippe Petit walked a cable hanging from the twin towers, from one to the other. After his experience he was arrested for doing it illegally and was psychologically examined and imprisoned. His feat was later recognized as "the crime of the century." This film deals with the experience of this tightrope walker, who tells his story in the first person.

Because it's interesting?

• It reconstructs the moment, as if it were an investigation, through interviews with the protagonist and the organizers and contains unpublished photographs of the event.

10. Honeyland (2019)

Direction: Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov
Category: Sociocultural. Nature.

This award-winning Macedonian documentary revolves around Hatidze Muratova, a woman from a Balkan region. There, she lives in a house with her mother and, with hardly any supplies, she is dedicated to raising bees in baskets that she makes herself. Soon, the arrival of new neighbors threatens Hatidze's livelihood.

Because it's interesting?

• It stands out for its beauty and sensitivity, both narrative and aesthetic.
• It allows us to reflect on the environmental crisis and on the danger posed by the depopulation of bees.

11. Pina (2011)

Direction: Wim wenders
Category: Dance.

Through a German dance company, this documentary takes us into the artistic work of Pina Baush, and is a great tribute to her figure as a dancer and choreographer of contemporary dance. It is a journey through the urban areas of Pina's hometown, where the dancers transmit what is impossible to express in words.

Because it's interesting?

• It is recorded in 3-D and will allow you to immerse yourself in the world of dance, while discovering the figure of Pina Baush.

12. The Gleaners and the Gleaner (2000)

Direction: Agnes Varda
Category: Ethnographic. Social.

Based on Millet's painting, the filmmaker takes a tour to introduce different collectors of objects, materials or waste that other people throw away.

The documentary aims to confront the gleaners and gleaners of past times, which they tried to collect wheat grains, with today's gatherers trying to get hold of discarded food and objects abandoned.

Because it's interesting?

• It will immerse you in the life of the collectors while you discover a critique of the consumer society taking the same activity as a starting point.

13. Nomads of the Wind (2021)

Direction: Jacques Perrin, Michel Debats, Jacques Cluzaud
Category: Nature.

Have you ever wondered what is the journey that migratory birds take? This documentary is a meticulous study of this, it explores the migration process of the species whose journey ensures their survival.

Because it's interesting?

• It will take you through more than 40 countries while you follow the journey of the birds without leaving your home.
• It contains a very careful photograph and a narrative that allows us to look at the world from above.

14. The Nacre Button (2015)

Direction: Patricio guzman
Category: Historical. Nature.

This film is the second part of "Nostalgia de la Luz". This time, Patricio Guzmán addresses the issue of political prisoners thrown into the sea during the dictatorship of Pinochet making a parallel with the extermination of six ethnic groups in Patagonia during the century XIX.

Because it's interesting?

• It invites reflection, giving importance to the silences and relegating the prominence to the image and the amazing Chilean geography.
• It delves into the history and memory of Chile making a metaphorical use of ocean water.

15. Devil's Freedom (2017)

Direction: Everardo Gonzalez
Category: Crime.

The devil's freedom explores violence in Mexico through the testimonies of victims and murderers and deals with how this fact has settled in the collective unconscious.

Because it's interesting?

• It reflects a daily problem in an introspective way and puts a face to violence.
• He is capable of awakening all kinds of emotions thanks to the raw stories he presents.

16. The pioneer (2018)

Direction: Pamela B. Green
Category: Biographical.

Alice Guy-Blanché was the first female filmmaker. In the pioneering days of the seventh art Guy was the first person to direct a narrative story in 1869. Over the years she became the forgotten mother of cinema, a victim of an industry that she helped create.

Because it's interesting?

• Explore the figure of a filmmaker who is often overlooked in film manuals.

17. The True Smile (2015)

Direction: Juan Rayos
Category: Disability.

A tandem, 1,300 km and 30 days ahead. Thus begins the journey of Sergio, a blind autistic man who ventures with his brother on a journey through Morocco. While the protagonists approach different places in the desert and the mountains, the spectators discover a person who, despite the difficulties, never allows himself to be defeated.

Because it's interesting?

• It is a trip that makes autism visible and will make you reflect on the subject.
• You will discover the importance of valuing life and living it intensely.

18. No Intense Agora (2017)

Direction: João Moreira Salles
Category: Historical.

In the 1960s, different revolutionary movements appeared in the world that took place in Prague, France and Brazil. This documentary talks about these historical events using archive images.

Because it's interesting?

• It is one of the most ambitious projects on May '68 made with archive images built in the key of a cinematographic essay.

19. From the core to the sun (2018)

Direction: Oliver garland
Category: Sports.

This documentary delves into the history of Millán Ludeña, an Ecuadorian man who began to he tried and managed to run an ultramarathon at the Mponeng Mine, the closest point to the core of the land. Later, he managed to reach the closest point to the sun, the Chimborazo volcano.

Because it's interesting:

• You test your physical and mental limits through sports.

20. Of Fathers and Sons (2019)

Direction: Talal derki
Category: Warlike.

It is a crude testimony that takes us into the reality of children whose father, a devotee of the Taliban ideology, prepares them from an early age to become future jihadist soldiers.

Because it's interesting?

• It contains an introspective look that will allow you to understand the complexity and tragedy of the Syrian conflict.

21. Daughter of the lagoon (2015)

Direction: Ernesto Cabellos placeholder image
Category: Sociocultural.

A mining corporation threatens to destroy the Conga lagoon after the discovery of a gold deposit there. Nérida is a girl who starts a march to the capital of the country in protest to prevent the government from intervening.

Because it's interesting?

• You will know one of the most important conflicts of one of the largest gold deposits in South America and it will allow you to reflect on the importance of preserving the resources of the nature.

22. Amazon (2016)

Direction: Clare weiskopf
Category: Autobiographical. Maternity.

Two women are the protagonists of this documentary based on the director's personal story. Clare was 11 years old when her mother left for the Colombian jungle after the loss of her eldest daughter. In adulthood, when Clare is pregnant, she decides to meet her mother again to find answers about what happened.

Because it's interesting?

• It will make you reflect on mother-child relationships and where the limits lie between responsibility and freedom.
• It is a journey towards the discovery of what motherhood means from which you cannot avoid becoming emotionally involved.

23. Mercedes Sosa, the voice of Latin America (2013)

Direction: Rodrigo H. Vila
Category: Biographical. Musical.
.

This documentary is a very intimate portrait of the Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa. Family members and acquaintances of Mercedes discover not only the great artist that she was, but also as a woman and her work as an activist.

Because it's interesting?

• It is a beautiful tribute to one of the most relevant musical figures in Latin America through unpublished images.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• The 40 best documentaries you have to watch on Netflix
• 130 Recommended Movies