Channels
Documentary
2019

Popular Documentary Movies

The Movies
The Movies
CNN Original Series explores American cinema through the decades and the cultural, societal and political shifts that framed its evolution. Combining archival footage and interviews with leading actors, directors, producers, critics and historians, the series showcases the most pivotal moments in film that have stirred the imagination and influenced our culture.
The Movies 2019
Grass and Glass
Grass and Glass
A glacial psychedelic experience exhibiting the abstract images seen by an individual slowly dying on the floor of their home.
Grass and Glass 2019
Bleeding Solar
Bleeding Solar
An experimental landscape film shot across three countries -- the USA, Canada & Sweden -- and collaboration with ambient musician, Arterial Red (silent apart from the composer’s 96 minute score), which explores the abstract essence of space in the context of naturalistic environments, through four chapters and an interlude.
Bleeding Solar 2019
The Queens
The Queens
This documentary chronicles over two years in the heels of four of the world’s most famous drag queens including former RuPaul’s Drag Race winners Jinkx Monsoon and Sharon Needles, former All Stars champion Alaska Thunderf*ck and season 7 and All Stars 2 contestant Katya Zamolodchikova. From performing across world stages to winning (and losing) Drag Race or dealing with major tragedies, The Queens lifts the lace front, giving an insight into one of the most fascinating and quickly ascending entertainment artforms.
The Queens 2019
A Florida Melancholy
A Florida Melancholy
At the beginning of the summer of 2018, filmmaker Eli Hayes, who has been struggling with depression for his entire life, fell deep into the inky chasms of the disease. Days later, Hayes was called down to Tallahassee, Florida for a job opportunity. While in Florida, the despondency grew more severe and eventually took complete control of his psychological well-being. Over the course of the summer, good days would occur sparsely and sporadically; on these days, Hayes would bring his camera outside to film the beauty of his environment, despite knowing full well that the dejection would soon return. "A Florida Melancholy" is a landscape film of emotional survival, comprised of the footage that Hayes shot while in Florida throughout the darkest season of his life, during which all that he could rely on for hope & direction were his camera, and his surroundings.
A Florida Melancholy 2019
Brecht
Brecht
Bertolt Brecht, a theatre revolutionary, poet of the state, outsider, looks back on his life in 1956, the year of his death, in East Berlin: adolescent provocations in Augsburg during the First World War, early poetic and amorous flights of fancy in the Munich and Berlin of the 1920s, his escape from Hitler, returning from the US exile, followed by his later years caught in a dilemma between timeless classic and a failing GDR class fighter, an indefatigable free spirit and compromised artist.
Brecht 2019
Animation Outlaws
Animation Outlaws
Walt Disney said “We have created characters and animated them in the dimension of depth, revealing through them to our perturbed world that the things we have in common far outnumber and outweigh those that divide us.” Outside of Walt himself there are few people who have brought together and united more animators in the history of the genre than Craig "Spike" Decker and Mike Gribble, known to all as Spike & Mike. They created an animation festival that helped launch the careers of John Lasseter, Peter Lord, Will Vinton, Bill Plympton and Mike Judge to name just a few. Their Spike & Mike festival had an enormous impact on animation that was felt the world over. The festival was known as much for the breakthrough animation it presented as the outrageous antics of the founders.
Animation Outlaws 2019
Chasing the Moon
Chasing the Moon
An unprecedented look at the decade-long odyssey to land a man on the moon that pulls back the curtain on the familiar narrative of the moonshot that we think we know, revealing a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama.
Chasing the Moon 2019
Psychomagie, un art pour guérir
Psychomagie, un art pour guérir
If each of us has a genetic heritage, it also has a psychological legacy, passed from generation to generation. Alejandro Jodorowsky, filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist, convinces us that art only has a deeper meaning if it heals and releases our consciousness. Thus, creating Psychomagic. Through theatrical and poetic acts directed directly to the unconscious, this therapy has the ability to free blockages. Psychomagic, an art for healing, is the most comprehensive documentary on the evolution of the creative and therapeutic works of Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Psychomagie, un art pour guérir 2019
Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption, Rock 'n Roll
Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption, Rock 'n Roll
Documentary about Asbury Park.
Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption, Rock 'n Roll 2019
Mia Martini - I Am Mia
Mia Martini - I Am Mia
The movie is a biopic about Mia Martini, an italian singer who died in 1995.
Mia Martini - I Am Mia 2019
Beautiful Things
Beautiful Things
A symphonic journey into our obsessive consumption. The many objects we accumulate begin their production journey in silent secluded industrial site where borderline men work in isolation without any interference. These men trigger, unconsciously, the long chain of creation, transport, commercialization and destruction of the objects feeding our bulimic lifestyle.
Beautiful Things 2019
College Behind Bars
College Behind Bars
Out of the more than 50,000 men and 2500 women incarcerated in New York State, only a tiny fraction have access to higher education. The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) enrolls incarcerated men and women earning Associate and Bachelor’s degrees; it’s a program with wide-ranging benefits, including lower rates of recidivism, and it challenges our prioritization of punishment over education.
College Behind Bars 2019
The Edge of Democracy
The Edge of Democracy
A cautionary tale for these times of democracy in crisis—the personal and political fuse to explore one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history. With unprecedented access to Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, we witness their rise and fall and the tragically polarized nation that remains.
The Edge of Democracy 2019
Elliott Erwitt - Silence Sounds Good
Elliott Erwitt - Silence Sounds Good
Elliott Erwitt has spent his entire adult life taking photographs, of presidents, popes and movie stars, as well as regular people and their pets. His work is iconic in world culture while his life is largely unknown.
Elliott Erwitt - Silence Sounds Good 2019
After Summer
After Summer
Upon returning to Nashville, Tennessee after spending the summer in northern Florida, Eli Hayes, still in the grips of depression, sunk into the isolation of his apartment and continued to close himself off from the world. Nearing a state of agoraphobia, Hayes once again turned to his camera, and the act of capturing images, as a therapeutic means of reengaging with his surroundings. Companion pieces, "After Summer" and "Static" are slow landscape films, examining the textures of nearby environments through gradual expressions of light, color, and movement.
After Summer 2019
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator
The spectacular rise and scandalous fall of hot-yoga evangelist Bikram Choudhury is chronicled through archival footage and extensive insider interviews.
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator 2019
Our Godfather
Our Godfather
The story of how Sicilian Mafia boss Tommaso Buscetta (1928-2000), the Godfather of Two Worlds, revealed, starting in 1984, the deepest secrets of the organization, thus helping to convict the hundreds of mafiosi who were tried in the trial held in Palermo between 1986 and 1987.
Our Godfather 2019
#AnneFrank. Parallel Stories
#AnneFrank. Parallel Stories
One single Anne Frank moves us more than the countless others who suffered just as she did but whose faces have remained in the shadows-Primo Levi. The Oscar®-winning Helen Mirren will introduce audiences to Anne Frank's story through the words in her diary. The set will be her room in the secret refuge in Amsterdam, reconstructed in every detail by set designers from the Piccolo Theatre in Milan. Anne Frank this year would have been 90 years old. Anne's story is intertwined with that of five Holocaust survivors, teenage girls just like her, with the same ideals, the same desire to live: Arianna Szörenyi, Sarah Lichtsztejn-Montard, Helga Weiss and sisters Andra and Tatiana Bucci. Their testimonies alternate with those of their children and grandchildren.
#AnneFrank. Parallel Stories 2019
90s Divas: Whitney, Mariah, Céline
90s Divas: Whitney, Mariah, Céline
They're called the "vocal trinity": Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Céline Dion are the first divas of the pop era. But what defines a diva?
90s Divas: Whitney, Mariah, Céline 2019
I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter
I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter
Teen Michelle Carter’s actions shocked a nation — but what really happened behind closed doors? This HBO special showcases the prosecution’s point of view and alternately the defense’s. Which side do you fall on?
I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter 2019
Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks
Prime Video
Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks
The fantastic story of how an ancient martial art, Chinese kung fu, conquered the world through the hundreds of films that were produced in Hong Kong over the decades, transformed Western action cinema and inspired the birth of cultural movements such as blaxploitation, hip hop music, parkour and Wakaliwood cinema.
Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks 2019
Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind
Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind
From the song he refuses to perform to his admiration for Drake, a songwriting legend reflects on his lyrics and longevity with candour and humour. At 80 years young (and currently recording another album), Gordon Lightfoot continues to entertain and enlighten. Personal archive materials and studio sessions paint an intimate picture of an artist in his element, candidly revisiting his idealistic years in Yorkville's coffeehouses, up through stadium tours and the hedonistic '70s.
Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind 2019
Suits: Retrospective Special
Suits: Retrospective Special
In celebration of the final season of Suits, a look back at the most talked about moments of the drama series with all-new cast interviews.
Suits: Retrospective Special 2019
The Summers of It – Chapter One: You'll Float Too
The Summers of It – Chapter One: You'll Float Too
This documentary focuses on the actors and their journey over two summers to create the remake to the original IT, by Stephen King. The documentary originally released as bonus material, bundled with IT: Chapter Two.
The Summers of It – Chapter One: You'll Float Too 2019
Faustina: Love and Mercy
Faustina: Love and Mercy
Docudrama tracing the life of Saint Faustina Kowalska, whose visions of Jesus Christ inspired the Roman Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy and earned her the title of "Apostle of Divine Mercy".
Faustina: Love and Mercy 2019
Knight Immortal
Knight Immortal
A visual and visceral celebration of the Dark Knight’s 80 years of crime fighting, narrated by storytellers of the past, present, and future.
Knight Immortal 2019
The Kingmaker
The Kingmaker
Documentary centering on the controversial political career of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines whose behind-the-scenes influence of her husband Ferdinand's presidency rocketed her to the global political stage.
The Kingmaker 2019
Korea: The Never-Ending War
Korea: The Never-Ending War
Shedding new light on a geopolitical hot spot, the film — written and produced by John Maggio and narrated by Korean-American actor John Cho — confronts the myth of the “Forgotten War,” documenting the post-1953 conflict and global consequences.
Korea: The Never-Ending War 2019
Cold Case Hammarskjöld
Cold Case Hammarskjöld
Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (currently Zambia), September 18, 1961. Swedish economist and diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the UN, dies mysteriously in a plane crash. Decades later, Danish journalist and filmmaker Mads Brügger and Swedish researcher Göran Björkdahl investigate the case in search of definitive closure.
Cold Case Hammarskjöld 2019
Les Trésors de Marcel Pagnol
Les Trésors de Marcel Pagnol
The works of Marcel Pagnol are a veritable monument of French cultural heritage. Based on previously unseen archive material, film extracts, novels, plays, interviews and letters, the film pays tribute to the major author and popular filmmaker, who made his life a work and his work a life's project.
Les Trésors de Marcel Pagnol 2019
No Time for Quiet
No Time for Quiet
A group of young girls and gender-fluid youths discover the empowering strength of music through a GIRLS ROCK! camp in Melbourne.
No Time for Quiet 2019
Meeting Gorbachev
Meeting Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, sits down with filmmaker Werner Herzog to discuss his many achievements. Topics include the talks to reduce nuclear weapons, the reunification of Germany and the dissolution of his country.
Meeting Gorbachev 2019
Off Sides
Off Sides
When the junior ice hockey team from the small town of Náchod, in the Czech Republic, sets off in a bus to Morocco to play the away game in an exchange programme, the players and their coach expect an easy victory and a cultural shock: “bring ear plugs”, the coach suggests them with a touch of undisguised condescendence, so as not to hear the call to prayer early in the morning. Both on and off the ice, Rozálie Kohoutová and Tomáš Bojar’s camera focuses on a few teenagers and their exchanges, simultaneously funny and cruel, in a clumsy English.
Off Sides 2019
In My Blood It Runs
In My Blood It Runs
The story of Dujuan, a 10-year-old Aboriginal boy living in Alice Springs, Australia, who is struggling to balance his traditional Arrernte/Garrwa upbringing with a state education.
In My Blood It Runs 2019
Brave Blue World: Racing to Solve Our Water Crisis
Brave Blue World: Racing to Solve Our Water Crisis
From reuse to energy generation, new innovations across five continents are explored in this documentary about building a future for sustainable water.
Brave Blue World: Racing to Solve Our Water Crisis 2019
At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal
At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal
A look inside the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal that shook the sports world in 2017 depicting a landscape in which women spend their youth seeking victory on a world stage, juxtaposed against a culture where abuse prevails and lives are damaged forever.
At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal 2019
No Safe Spaces
No Safe Spaces
Adam Carolla and Dennis Prager examine the reality of life and discourse on college campuses in modern America.
No Safe Spaces 2019
The Pollinators
Prime Video
The Pollinators
Our complex food system rests on the wings of the honey bee and the commercial beekeepers that move them from farm to orchard, pollinating the crops that we eat.
The Pollinators 2019
BLACKPINK: Coachella
BLACKPINK: Coachella
BLACKPINK's highly-anticipated US festival debut on the Sahara Stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
BLACKPINK: Coachella 2019