Genre: Documentary
Nonfiction storytelling that documents the real — events, people, and places captured and shaped into narrative without invention.
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Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)
Werner Herzog's 2010 Chauvet Cave doc. 30,000-year-old paintings. 3D filming. Albino crocodiles coda. Herzog narrates. -
Roger & Me (1989)
Michael Moore's 1989 directorial debut. GM CEO Roger Smith and Flint Michigan plant closures. Launched the Moore template. -
The Act of Killing (2012)
Joshua Oppenheimer's 2012 Indonesian genocide doc. Aging death squad leaders reenact their killings as movie scenes. Singular. -
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
Morgan Neville's 2018 Fred Rogers doc. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and the man behind it. Made viewers cry in theaters. -
Citizenfour (2014)
Laura Poitras' 2014 Edward Snowden doc. Hong Kong hotel room during the leak. Real time. Won Best Documentary. -
Senna (2010)
Asif Kapadia's 2010 Ayrton Senna F1 doc. Archive footage only, no talking heads. Brazilian champion's career through his 1994 death. -
The Last Dance (2020)
Jason Hehir's 2020 Jordan Bulls doc. Ten-part ESPN series. 1997-98 championship season as spine. Pandemic-era release. -
O.J.: Made in America (2016)
Ezra Edelman's 2016 seven-hour ESPN doc. O.J. Simpson trial through race-and-celebrity prism. Won Oscar despite TV format. -
Apollo 11 (2019)
Todd Douglas Miller's 2019 archival doc. Newly discovered 65mm footage of 1969 moon landing. No narration. Real-time tension. -
Free Solo (2018)
Chin-Vasarhelyi 2018 Alex Honnold doc. El Capitan free solo climb. Camera operators with PTSD from filming. Won Best Documentary.