100 best documentary movies of 2019

Once upon a time in Russia, communism fell and Rock 'n' Roll rose to power. One band reigned supreme and toured far and wide across the eastern earth, but never even left Russia - until now. They only have once chance, to not only rule Russia -but to become the best band in the West. The strategy is simple - get on the boat, create an album - and make new friends. All with hopes of finally becoming a household name in the United States. But sometimes fame is harder than just toppling a government.

After the father’s death, the daughter of one of the forefathers of modern Russian democracy, Ksenia Sobchak, tries to understand the 18 years of his political fate. Together with the director Vera Krichevskaya she gives the word to Anatoli Sobchak’s colleagues and opponents, gets acquainted with the criminal case which annulled his career, and tries to find an answer to the question what Anatoly Sobchak’s fate would be in today’s Russia.

In the mountains of Sichuan, China, a researcher forms a bond with Qian Qian, a panda who is about to experience nature for the first time.

Drawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions.

The remarkable story of iconoclastic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood as she fights to maintain her brand’s integrity, her principles and her legacy.

Explore the life and legacy of actor Paul Walker, the Southern California native who cut his teeth as a child actor before breaking out in the blockbuster Fast and Furious movie franchise.

A funny, intimate and heartbreaking portrait of one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians, Robin Williams, told largely through his own words. Celebrates what he brought to comedy and to the culture at large, from the wild days of late-1970s L.A. to his death in 2014.

A focuses on 1957, one of the most prolific years for the Swedish director. During the year he shot two films, opened two of his most celebrated films (The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries), and produced four plays and a TV movie while juggling with a complicated private life.

A well-preserved mammoth carcass is found in the remote New Siberian Islands in the Arctic Ocean, opening up the possibility of a world-changing “Jurassic Park” moment in genetics.

Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's 3,000 foot high El Capitan wall. With no ropes or safety gear, this would arguably be the greatest feat in rock climbing history.

A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.

Fred Rogers used puppets and play to explore complex social issues: race, disability, equality and tragedy, helping form the American concept of childhood. He spoke directly to children and they responded enthusiastically. Yet today, his impact is unclear. Have we lived up to Fred's ideal of good neighbors?

New York, 1980. Three complete strangers accidentally discover that they're identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds' joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.

This baffling true crime story starts with the grisly death of a pizza man who robs a bank with a bomb around his neck - and gets weirder from there.

Exposing the dark underbelly of modern animal agriculture through drones, hidden & handheld cameras, the feature-length film explores the morality and validity of our dominion over the animal kingdom.

Seven months of filming brown bear cubs life resulted in a movie that allows to plunge into the beauty of wild nature, and experience a boundary, beyond which a man should not interfere.

An in-depth and intimate portrait of Coldplay's spectacular rise from the backrooms of Camden pubs to selling out stadiums across the planet. At the heart of the story is the band's unshakeable brotherhood which has endured through many highs and lows.

Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.

Legendary coach Pep Guardiola leads his premiership football team through the 2017/18 season.

An insight into the life of the world's most famous male dancer, Rudolf Nureyev.

Girl next door, activist, so-called traitor, fitness tycoon, Oscar winner: Jane Fonda has lived a life of controversy, tragedy and transformation – and she’s done it all in the public eye. An intimate look at one woman’s singular journey.

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Filmmaker Kevin Macdonald examines the life and career of singer Whitney Houston. Features never-before-seen archival footage, exclusive recordings, rare performances and interviews with the people who knew her best.

Now one of the world’s most celebrated artists, Yayoi Kusama broke free of the rigid society in which she was raised, and overcame sexism, racism, and mental illness to bring her artistic vision to the world stage. At 88 she lives in a mental hospital and continues to create art.

In 1992, teenager Sandi Tan shot Singapore's first indie road movie with her enigmatic American mentor Georges – who then vanished with all the footage. Twenty years later, the 16mm film is recovered, sending Tan, now a novelist in Los Angeles, on a personal odyssey in search of Georges' vanishing footprints.

A film about Russian surf culture. A story about what it is to truly live, about the joy of being free. From the surprisingly smooth waves of the Baltic to the powerful oceanic swells of Kamchatka; down to the welcoming waves of the Black Sea and the challenge of surfing in the Arctic Ocean – these are the stories of people who have dedicated their entire lives to the surf.

A 30 years odyssey: the world's most intriguing artists and thinkers from the fields of visual art, music, filmmaking, acting, literature, philosophy, politics, business and science, are asked the same question: "Why are you creative?"

In Poor Folk, Ilya Kabakov talks about his sources and influences, including the tragic life of his mother, which had a profound effect on his views and artistic career. Together with his wife and collaborator Emilia he discusses Soviet underground art, the birth of Moscow Conceptualism, the couple’s emigration to the USA, and international acclaim after thirty years of almost no exhibitions (Kabakov did not show his work at state-sanctioned exhibitions in the Soviet Union): today the duo’s works are in the world’s leading museums, including MoMA, New York; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; and Hamburger Kunsthalle.

The film tells about the time in which the characters of the movie "Leto" lived. Performer of the role of "Skeptic" Alexandr Kuznetsov interviews Natalya Naumenko, Artemy Troitsky, Igor Petrovsky, Seva Novgorodtsev and Andrey Tropillo about Russian rock, the 80s, Soviet youth, the Leningrad way of life and the spirit of that time. The conversations take place in the real locations of the movie "Leto", where the characters come to tell how everything was in reality, and plunge into nostalgia and praise or, on the contrary, criticize "artistic fiction".

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg now 84, and still inspired by the lawyers who defended free speech during the Red Scare, Ginsburg refuses to relinquish her passionate duty, steadily fighting for equal rights for all citizens under the law. Through intimate interviews and unprecedented access to Ginsburg’s life outside the court, RBG tells the electric story of Ginsburg’s consuming love affairs with both the Constitution and her beloved husband Marty—and of a life’s work that led her to become an icon of justice in the highest court in the land.

In 2007, the anonymous graffiti artist Banksy painted a series of political works around Palestine, only to have them cut down and sold off to the highest bidder. A stylish examination of public space and the commodification of street art, narrated by Iggy Pop.

Educational project and documentary. The purpose of the almanac is to give a systematic picture of the path that design has taken from the Bauhaus school until 2018.

“Last autumn, a good childhood friend of mine, Florin, told me that his brother, Laurentiu, invented a new sport by changing the rules of football. One month later I went to Vaslui, my hometown, with a small film crew in order to learn more about this new sport...”

Nothing but silence. Nothing but a revolutionary song. A story in five chapters like the five fingers of a hand.

A new film written and directed by Jeremy Deller explores the social history of the UK between 1985 and 1993 through the lens of acid house and rave music. The film is based on a real-life lecture given to a class of students in London.

Follow the true stories of five of the world's most celebrated, yet endangered animals; penguins, chimpanzees, lions, painted wolves and tigers. Each in a heroic struggle against rivals and against the forces of nature, these families fight for their own survival and for the future of their dynasties.

The story of the five Russian hockey stars who helped propel the Detroit Red Wings to two Stanley Cup championships and created one of the most memorable chapters in Motor City sports history.

Burn the Stage: The Movie is the first movie from BTS, going behind-the-scenes of the BTS WINGS TOUR to reveal the full story of the band’s meteoric rise to fame. This unmissable cinema event provides an intimate look at what happens when the most successful global boyband of all time breaks down barriers and invades the mainstream music scene. Exclusive tour footage and brand-new one-on-one interviews with BTS members give fans an unprecedented glimpse into their lives and an opportunity for everyone to celebrate together in movie theaters worldwide.

As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other Side of the Wind.

Discover the meteoric rise of Elon Musk, the man who is transforming the way we think about travel technology through electric cars, the Hyperloop, and revolutionary ideas on how we live through artificial intelligence and colonizing Mars.

In 1930 in Moscow, USSR. the Soviet government puts a group of top rank economists and engineers on trial, accusing them of plotting a coup d'état. The charges are fabricated and the punishment, if convicted, is death.

Studio 54 was the epicenter of 70s hedonism - a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolize an entire era. Its co-owners, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, two friends from Brooklyn, seemed to come out of nowhere to suddenly preside over a new kind of New York society. Now, 39 years after the velvet rope was first slung across the club's hallowed threshold, a feature documentary tells the real story behind the greatest club of all time.

Every year, on the 9th of May, people gather in Treptower Park in Berlin. They come dressed in their best outfits or in Soviet military uniform. They carry flags, banners and posters. They lay flowers at the monument to the Soviet soldier; they sing, dance and drink. They celebrate the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany.The film is a direct reportage from Treptower Park 72 years after the victory.

A daredevil photographer, an aspiring swimsuit model, and a midwest girl next door are all looking for the same things from their Instagram accounts––a little love, acceptance and, of course, fame––and they’ll do just about anything to get it.

In a hypercompetitive world, drugs like Adderall offer students, athletes, coders and others a way to do more -- faster and better. But at what cost?

In the world, there is a city-port Odessa, which was specially created as a refuge for people of different nationalities and religions. Humor is a special language that helps people from Odessa to communicate and get along with each other. Legends are spreading about Odessa's humor and accent. But - a paradox - people are constantly leaving it. It is loved, but it is left as a child leaves his mother. On the example of this city and its inhabitants, we wanted to understand - why people flee from their cities. We tried to find the answer taking pictures of Odessa citizens in Germany, Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Austria, France and other places. Michael Zhvanetskij, Roman Kartsev, Leonid Barats and Rostislav Khait Victor Loshak,  Oksana Fandera, Valerij Todotovskij, Mikhail and Anatoly Kontush and many others are telling their stories and giving their opinions on what is the phenomenon of the city by the Black Sea.

The documentary proposes an exhaustive journey through the life and work of Salvador Dalí, and also of Gala, his muse and collaborator. It starts in 1929, a crucial year in Dalí's career and life, as he joined the surrealist group and met Gala, and advances until the year of the artist's death in 1989.

The stranger-than-fiction true story of a Russian mobster, a Miami playboy, and a Cuban spy who teamed up in the early 90’s to sell a Soviet submarine to the Cali Cartel.

The city from the unique perspective of the many wild animals and plants that inhabit it. Seen through the eyes of the adventurous urban cat, Abatutu.

Science fiction has long anticipated the rise of machine intelligence, and today a new generation of self-learning computers has begun to reshape every aspect of our lives. Will A.I. usher in an age of unprecedented potential, or prove to be our final invention?

A deep dive into the hidden industry of digital cleaning, which rids the Internet of unwanted violence, porn and political content.

A Sniper’s War is a story of a sniper, whose anti-US views led him to join the pro-Russian rebels in the ongoing Ukrainian conflict—a primary source of tension between the United States and Russia. When social media becomes a communication platform to schedule sniper duels, Deki’s rival threatens to kill him. The New York-based filmmaker, Olya Schechter, obtains unprecedented access to military bases and front line battles to paint an intimate portrait of the complex and fascinating nature of a man walking the tightrope that often comes to the morality of war: is Deki a solder or a killer?

Culled from more than 100 hours of new and archival interviews with former Manson cult members, this two-hour special goes inside Spahn’s Ranch, where the Manson cult lived, to offer an intimate and terrifying look into America’s most murderous group.

Paris Hilton, the Fat Jew, and Brittany Furlan have all used social media to achieve massive internet fame. But, American Meme explores, is it worth it?

The story of Elvis Presley the musical artist, a comprehensive creative journey from his childhood through the final 1976 Jungle Room recording sessions.

Pope Francis responds to questions from around the world, discussing topics including ecology, immigration, consumerism and social justice.

An intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones. A unique force in music and popular culture for 70 years, Jones has transcended racial and cultural boundaries; his story is inextricably woven into the fabric of America.

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Founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius, Bauhaus was supposed to unite sculpture, painting, design and architecture into a single combined constructive discipline. It is a synthesis of liberated imagination and stringent structure; cross-medial concepts that embellish and enrich our existence, illumination and clarity, order and playfulness. But Bauhaus was never just an artistic experiment. Confronted with the social conditions of that particular time, as well as the experience of WWI, the movement concerned itself with the political and social connotations of design from the very outset. Hence, Bauhaus history is not just the history of art, but also the history of an era that stretches from the early 20th century to the modern day.

Inspired even as a boy by the Folies Bergere, the legendary Paris cabaret venue, couturier Jean-Paul Gaultier always wanted to stage a show there. "But what story can I tell?" he muses in this doc about the six months of preparation that went into the show. "Mine." Combining fashion with film, dance, theater, and unapologetic over-the-top-ness, the revue offers a 40-year career retrospective of the designer who is practically never spoken of without using the phrase enfant terrible. Notorious among cinephiles for his costumes for The Fifth Element and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover and among pop fans for Madonna's pointy cone brassiere, he also incorporated teddy bears and S&M fetish gear as design motifs. In the show, the fanciful and outrageous meets the naughtily witty (a skit sending up Vogue dragon lady Anna Wintour) and the poignant (a tribute to his partner Francis Menuge, who died in 1990).

Featuring collectors, dealers, auctioneers and a rich range of artists, including market darlings George Condo, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, this documentary examines the role of art and artistic passion in today’s money-driven, consumer-based society.

Windows to Europe With Sergei Shnurov is a 2017 documentary film.

The rich inner world of famous Georgian theater and film director, artist and puppeteer Rezo Gabriadze is as fantastic as the animation into which he has poured this story of his life. Rezo’s director son Levan "Leo" Gabriadze, who previously made the horror film Unfriended (2014), leaves it to his father to talk about a life suffused with magical thinking.

Exploring the pre-fame years of the celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and how New York City, its people, and tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and '80s shaped his vision.

Margarita Mamun, an elite Russian rhythmic gymnast, is struggling to become an Olympic champion. It is the most important year of her career and her last chance to achieve the ultimate goal, the gold Olympic medal. The film creates a captivating portrait of a young woman who is desperately trying to handle her own ambitions and meet the expectations of the official Russian training system.

Talal Derki returns to his homeland where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses on Osama and his younger brother Ayman, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up in an Islamic Caliphate.

Sex Fashion and Disco is a documentary film concerning Antonio Lopez (1943-1987), the most influential fashion illustrator of 1970s Paris and New York, and his colorful and sometimes outrageous milieu.

In 1974, 12-year-old Jan Broberg is abducted from a small church-going community in Idaho by a trusted neighbour and close family friend.

Take the Ball, Pass the Ball is the definitive story of the greatest football team ever assembled. For four explosive years, Pep Guardiola's Barça produced the greatest football in history, seducing fans around the world. In this exclusive, first-hand account of events between 2008 and 2012, the players themselves reveal the tension of the bitter Guardiola-Mourinho rivalry, the emotion of Abidal's fight back from cancer to lift the European Cup and how Messi, the best footballer the world's ever seen, was almost rejected by Barça as a 13-year-old.

Traveling across the world including India, Brazil, Europe, Africa, Canada, and the USA - Generation Iron 3 will interview and follow bodybuilders, trainers, experts, and fans to determine what the universal ideal physique should look like. With so many divisions appearing within the bodybuilding leagues - what body type should be championed as the absolute best in the world?

Documentary that delves deep into the history of abortion law, revealing the contradictory ways in which women's bodies have been used to further political and ideological agendas.

A documentary feature film about the biggest global corruption scandal in history, and the hundreds of journalists who risked their lives to break the story.

BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Elieen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.

One man’s journey to find meaning in Bill Murray’s many unexpected adventures with everyday people, rare and never-before seen footage of the comedic icon participating in stories previously presumed to be urban legend.

A celebration of the life and career of one of America's most influential and celebrated filmmakers and comedians—Buster Keaton—whose singular style and fertile output during the silent era created his legacy as a true cinematic visionary.

Parallels are drawn between Abraham Lincoln's presidency and the presidency of Donald Trump. Not since 1860 have the Democrats so fanatically refused to accept the result of a free election. That year, their target was Lincoln. They smeared him. They went to war to defeat him. In the end, they assassinated him.

In 1994, Sarajevo was a city under siege. Mortars and rocket propelled grenades rained onto the city, killing indiscriminately, every day. Amongst the madness, two United Nations personnel: a British military officer and another Brit working for the UN Fire Department, decided it would be fun to persuade a global rock star, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, to come and play a gig to the population. Scream for Me Sarajevo brings that story, in all its madness, to the big screen. A story of musicians who risked their lives to play a gig to people who risked their lives to live them.

Centuries ago, many cultures believed the Earth was a flat disc. As scientific thought and technology evolved, the Earth was revealed to be a globe, a view that's widely accepted today—but not by everyone. The flat Earth movement has seen a recent resurgence. These conspiracy theorists deny the scientific model of the globe and join together through conventions, forums and online platforms to discuss their belief system. On the other end of the spectrum, the scientific community aims to counter this resurrected myth, resulting in an ever-growing public battle of conspiracies and anti-intellectualism. Giving a well-rounded look at all sides of the debate, Behind the Curve shows that no matter where you stand on this issue, the conversations and people around it are anything but flat.

Russian president Vladimir Putin attacks the 2016 American Presidential Election in collaboration with The Trump Campaign.

An ambitious and wide-ranging documentary exploring Andre’s upbringing in France, his celebrated career in WWE, and his forays in the entertainment world.

As mass hysteria breaks-out over an alleged demonic possession in an Indiana home, referred to as a “Portal to Hell,” Ghost Adventures host and paranormal investigator Zak Bagans buys the house, sight unseen, over the phone. He and his crew then become the next victims of the most documented case of demonic possession in US history… the “house of 200 demons.

In an effort to improve feminine hygiene, a machine that creates low-cost biodegradable sanitary pads is installed in a rural village in Northern India. Using the machine, a group of local women is employed to produce and sell pads, offering them newfound independence and helping to destigmatize menstruation for all.

Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community, this film is constructed in a form that allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South - trumpeting the beauty of life and consequences of the social construction of race, while simultaneously a testament to dreaming.

Over the past 25 years, Lauren Greenfield's documentary photography and film projects have explored youth culture, gender, body image, and affluence. In this fascinating meld of career retrospective and film essay, Greenfield offers a meditation on her extensive body of work, structuring it through the lens of materialism and its increasing sway on culture and society in America and throughout the world. Underscoring the ever-increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots, her portraits reveal a focus on cultivating image over substance, where subjects unable to attain actual wealth instead settle for its trappings, no matter their ability to pay for it.

An American stand-up comedy special starring Marlon Wayans who jokes about racism, hip-hop, gay rights, and raising kids.

Filmed and edited in intimate vérité style, this movie follows visionary medical practitioners who are working on the cutting edge of life and death and are dedicated to changing our thinking about both.

Each year in the United States, unparalleled innovations in medical diagnostics, treatment, and technology hit the market. But when the same devices designed to save patients end up harming them, who is accountable?

Documentary on psychedelic potash mines, expansive concrete seawalls, mammoth industrial machines, and other examples of humanity’s massive, destructive reengineering of the planet.

A look at the evolving nature of sex and dating in the digital age that offers candid insights from twentysomethings and experts in the field.

A family man with no drug running experience searches the Caribbean for a lost stash of cocaine said to be worth at least $2 million.

The captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity's greatest achievements in exploration: NASA's Voyager mission.

A propaganda documentary film for the Communist Party of China.

The life and career of the hailed Hollywood movie star and underappreciated genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.

Tom Segura gives voice to the sordid thoughts you'd never say out loud, with blunt musings on porn, parking lot power struggles, parenthood and more.

Featuring unprecedented access inside the White House and State Department, The Final Year offers an uncompromising view of the inner workings of the Obama Administration as they prepare to leave power after eight years.

An unsettling and eye-opening Wall Street horror story about Chinese companies, the American stock market, and the opportunistic greed behind the biggest heist you've never heard of.

Ronnie Coleman is known as "The King" and for good reason. He is the 8x Mr. Olympia champion in the world of bodybuilding - sharing the world record for most Olympia wins. Now retired, he has undergone over 6 surgeries leaving him unable to walk without crutches but his desire to train like a pro bodybuilder has not dissipated. Exploring the history of his career as a bodybuilding legend and following his journey to recovery; for the first time ever discover the true man behind The King.

The definitive portrait of one of sport's most inspirational, influential figures - whose legacy lives on far beyond the football field.

The story of Leon Vitali, who surrendered his promising acting career to become Stanley Kubrick's devoted right-hand man.

Seth Rogen and friends combine stand-up, sketches and music for an outrageous comedy special that could only come from the mind of Seth. Guests include Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Silverman, Michelle Wolf, John Mulaney, Michael Che, David Chang, Ike Barinholtz, Chelsea Peretti, Kumail Nanjiani, Jon Lovitz, Jeff Goldblum, Sacha Baron Cohen, Nick Kroll, Post Malone, Chris Hardwick, and Craig Robinson & The Nasty Delicious.