The director of My Undesirable Friends, a documentary about Russia’s crackdown on journalists before the invasion of Ukraine, talks about making her epic five-hour film and why it’s a warning for the U.S.
The director of My Undesirable Friends, a documentary about Russia’s crackdown on journalists before the invasion of Ukraine, talks about making her epic five-hour film and why it’s a warning for the U.S.
19 feature documentaries have received funding through the Theatrical Documentary Stream of Telefilm Canada. The list represents a coast-to-coast snapshot of Canadian talent and international co-productions with veterans, emerging filmmakers, and Oscar nominees. Eight films represent the French market, while eleven represent the English side.
Projects tapped for funding include Nicholas de Pencier and Jennifer Baichwal’s latest documentary. The untitled wildfires doc features de Pencier as director and Baichwal as producer. Meanwhile, veteran film critic turned filmmaker Brian D. Johnson will follow his acclaimed The Colour of Ink, which won a Canadian Screen Award for de Pencier’s cinematography, with Deep Time.
Indigenous productions in the slate include an untitled project from Lisa Jackson (Wilfred Buck) and Barbara Hagar’s Tomson Highway: Permanent Astonishment about the acclaimed author and playwright.
Meanwhile, Oscar nominees Pedro Kos and Ina Fichman join forces for the co-production Rufus, Requiem about acclaimed musician and artist Rufus Wainwright. Kos, who serves as director, scored an Oscar nomination for the short doc Lead Me Home, while Fichman, nominated for the feature Fire of Love, serves as producer and screenwriter alongside Sophie Farkas Bolla.
The full slate of selected projects represent a funding commitment of $4.6 million and were drawn from a pool of 109 submissions.
The 19 projects tapped for funding are:
Bulletin 442-126-128
Director: Louise Leroux
Screenwriters: Dr. Richard Blackburn and Louise Leroux
Production: Les Productions Shootfilms Inc.
Distribution: Immina Films
Province: Quebec | Language: French, English and Ukrainian
Désobéissantes
Directors and screenwriters: Arnaud Bouquet and Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette
Production: Babel Films 01 inc.
Distribution: National Film Board of Canada
Province: Quebec | Language: French
En Orbite
Director and screenwriter: François Jacob
Production: 9256-8658 QUEBEC INC.
Distribution: Les Films du 3 Mars
Province: Quebec | Language: French and English
Les yeux fermés
Director and screenwriter: Julien Faraut
Production: Films Portage inc. and Velouria Pictures
Distribution: H264
Province: Quebec | Language: French and English
*France/Canada co-production
Marquer le Congo
Director and screenwriter: Mathieu Roy
Production: MR2 Films Inc.
Distribution: Filmoption International
Province: Quebec | Language: French and Swahili
Projet Laurentides
Director and screenwriter: Benoit Massé
Production: A Media Inc.
Distribution: Les Films du 3 Mars
Province: Quebec | Language: French
Renaître
Directors: Sylvie Van Brabant and Katerine Giguère
Screenwriter: Sylvie Van Brabant
Production: Films du Rapide-Blanc Inc.
Distribution: Noble Arts Inc.
Province: Quebec | Language: French and English
Transcendance
Directors and screenwriters: Sébastien Rist and Aude Leroux-Lévesque
Production: Les Films Extérieur Jour Inc.
Distribution: Les Films du 3 Mars
Province: Quebec | Language: French and English
Cancún
Director and screenwriter: Nadine Gomez
Production: Les Productions des Films de l’Autre Inc.
Distribution: Les Films du 3 Mars
Province: Quebec | Language: French and Spanish
Carnies
Director: Leah Schulli
Screenwriters: Leah Schulli and Sean O’Neill
Production: 2709836 Ontario Inc.
Distribution: Blue Ice Docs
Province: Ontario | Language: English
Deep Time
Director and screenwriter: Brian Johnson
Production: 136469 Canada Limited o/a Sphinx Productions
Distribution: Films We Like
Province: Ontario | Language: English
Facing the Future: The Art and Life of Antony Clavet
Director: Clem McIntoch
Screenwriter: Taylor Alison
Production: Cazador Inc.
Distribution: Blue Ice Docs
Province: New Brunswick | Language: English and French
GAWLO
Director and screenwriter: Aïcha Diop
Production: Studio Tokosel Inc. and Lantern Films Inc.
Distribution: Studio H264
Province: Ontario and British Columbia | Language: English, French and Fulah
Invasivore
Directors and screenwriters: Amanda Bulman and Michael Peers
Production: BetterLate Films
Province: Newfoundland and Labrador | Language: English
Rufus, Requiem
Director: Pedro Kos
Screenwriters: Sophie Farkas Bolla and Ina Fichman
Production: Rufus Films Productions Inc. and sounding images GmbH
Province: Quebec | Language: English and French
*Canada/Germany co-production
The Gymnasts of Machar Colony
Director and screenwriter: Habiba Nosheen
Production: PK GYMNASTS PRODUCTIONS INC.
Distribution: Blue Ice Docs
Province: Ontario | Language: English and Urdu
Tomson Highway: Permanent Astonishment
Director and screenwriter: Barbara Hagar
Production: TH Documentary Productions Inc.
Province: Ontario and British Columbia | Language: English and Cree
Untitled Ceremony Film Director and screenwriter: Lisa Jackson
Production: DOOR NUMBER 3 PRODUCTIONS INC.
Distribution: Blue Ice Docs
Province: Ontario | Language: English
Untitled Fire Documentary (f/k/a Incendiary)
Director: Nicholas de Pencier
Screenwriter: Jennifer Baichwal
Production: Wildfire Productions Inc.
Distribution: Elevation Pictures Corp
Province: Ontario | Language: English
The post Telefilm Canada Funds 19 Films through Theatrical Documentary Stream appeared first on POV Magazine.
The Canadian documentary The Road Between Us has reportedly had its invitation rescinded from this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Deadline broke the news last night that the documentary directed and produced by Barry Avrich allegedly saw its invitation overturned by the festival with TIFF citing concerns for image clearance and crediting. The news was subsequently reported by Screen featuring the same statements from TIFF.
The Road Between Us tells the story of retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) General Noam Tibon, who saved several people, including his granddaughters and survivors fleeing the Nova music festival massacre amid the attacks by Hamas on October 7. POV has not yet seen the documentary.
Director/producer Avrich is among Canada’s most prolific documentary filmmakers, often premiering new films at TIFF and Hot Docs annually, sometimes making stops at both festivals in the same year. He recently screened docs at TIFF including Oscar Peterson: Black + White (2021), Prosecuting Evil: the Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz (2018), and The Man Who Shot Hollywood (2015). Avrich is also a former member of TIFF’s board of directors.
News of the documentary’s potential inclusion leaked last week following the release of the TIFF Docs line-up. Local film critic and programmer C.J. Prince noted on X that the film’s trailer on Vimeo advertised its inclusion in the festival. (TIFF regularly releases its selections in batches.) POV viewed the trailer at the time and can confirm that the promotional material mentioned the doc’s status as an official selection. The trailer has subsequently been taken down.
As per Deadline, TIFF explains the rationale behind the reversal by saying that the film was “withdrawn by TIFF because general requirements for inclusion in the festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met, including legal clearance of all footage. The purpose of the requested conditions was to protect TIFF from legal implications and to allow TIFF to manage and mitigate anticipated and known risks around the screening of a film about highly sensitive subject matter, including potential threat of significant disruption.” TIFF’s terms and conditions note its right to exclude films that would not be in its best interest to screen. Many arts events across Toronto have been sites of protest if the financing, programming, or artists associated with them have connections to Israel and/or the IDF.
Deadline reports that TIFF requested the filmmakers provide confirmation of legal clearance for footage used in the film and include attribution. That request reportedly pertains to footage livestreamed by Hamas to the public on October 7.
It is industry standard that festivals require clearance for footage in films and documentaries, with music licensing, news, and archive leaving festivals vulnerable if they screen material without clearance or compelling fair use context. However, asking to provide clearance for material publically released by a terrorist organization certainly proves new terrain. The filmmakers are also Jewish.
Moreover, many films, especially documentaries, include videos pulled from social media platforms with varying ranges of attribution. POV sought clarification from TIFF if it has made such requests of other selections that included livestreamed video or social content, and whether additional clips were included in the request for clearance from Avrich’s team. Social media remains a murky territory in copyright law, but excerpts of live streamed video could fall under fair dealing in Canada under contexts such as news and commentary if the proper attribution is provided.
As per Deadline, filmmakers “were asked and provided an errors and omissions insurance letter that added TIFF as the insured. Filmmakers were also asked to provide a legal reporting letter confirming clearance of the footage, as well as added security.”
The filmmakers called the decision an act of censorship in their statement to Deadline, adding, “Ultimately, film is an art form that stimulates debate from every perspective that can both entertain us and make us uncomfortable. A film festival lays out the feast and the audience decides what they will or won’t see. We are not political filmmakers, nor are we activists; we are storytellers. We remain defiant, we will release the film, and we invite audiences, broadcasters, and streamers to make up their own mind, once they have seen it.”
TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement from the festival, “I remain committed to working with the filmmaker to meet TIFF’s screening requirements to allow the film to be screened at this year’s festival. I have asked our legal team to work with the filmmaker on considering all options available.”
The news comes amid a reportedly challenging climate for Israeli productions or stories about Jewish experiences related to October 7. Last year, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that TIFF rejected Oscar hopeful (and eventual nominee) September 5 (but later hosted a private screening for awards voters and industry peers with director Tim Fehlbaum), while Variety reported that Israel’s Oscar submission Come Closer was rejected by several major film festivals, and the documentary October 8 faced industry-wide rejection. A petition to TIFF executives is reportedly brewing with Jewish filmmakers expressing concerns regarding double standards.
Last year, TIFF was rocked by controversy when the documentary Russians at War was labelled propaganda, largely by protesters who hadn’t seen the film. The doc, which featured videos posted to Telegram by Ukrainian soldiers, had its screenings paused amid threats to the filmmakers, staff, and the public. Russians at War screened after the festival with tight security. Last year, TIFF successfully screened controversial docs No Other Land and The Bibi Files with heightened security and full audiences. The latter featured secret leaked footage from interrogations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Update: this article was updated to include Cameron Bailey’s statement.
Bailey’s full statement is below:
“Dear Members of the TIFF Community,
I want to take a moment to address recent reports regarding the documentary film The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue. This situation calls for compassion and sensitivity, and I recognize the concerns it has raised among members of the Jewish community and beyond.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere apologies for any pain this situation may have caused. It was never my intention to offend or alienate anyone. At TIFF, we believe in the transformative power of film to foster understanding and dialogue, especially during challenging times.
My intention was to screen The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, which is why I extended the invitation for the film to participate in this year’s festival. Given the sensitive and significant nature of the film’s subject, I believe that it tells an important story and contributes to the rich tapestry of perspectives in our lineup – stories that resonate both here at home and around the world.
I want to be clear: claims that the film was rejected due to censorship are unequivocally false. I remain committed to working with the filmmaker to meet TIFF’s screening requirements to allow the film to be screened at this year’s festival. I have asked our legal team to work with the filmmaker on considering all options available.
The events of October 7, 2023 and the ongoing suffering in Gaza weigh heavily on us, underscoring the urgent need for compassion amid rising antisemitism and Islamophobia. While we are not a political organization, TIFF will always strive to present our programming in a safe, inclusive environment.
I ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this complex landscape. Thank you for your continued support. It is my great hope that this year’s Festival will be a celebration of these values, and the power film holds to bring people together.”
The post Barry Avrich’s Doc The Road Between Us Reportedly Has TIFF Acceptance Reversed appeared first on POV Magazine.
Amazon’s track record with conservative art is sketchy, at best.
Censorial may be a better adjective.
The mega-company yanked “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas In His Own Words” four years ago from its digital shelves. No warning. No explanation.
The company did so during Black History Month, making the move all the more confounding.
Amazon Boots Clarence Thomas Doc From Streaming During Black History Month https://t.co/05OE1K5BMl pic.twitter.com/L2yg7MqJlO
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) February 26, 2021
Amazon briefly censored the cover of conservative author Jack Posobiec’s book, “Bulletproof,” last year. It blocked Robby Starbuck’s right-leaning documentary “The War on Children,” restricting the number of potential voters who could see the vital film.
And, most alarmingly, it initially rejected director Eli Steele’s 2020 documentary “What Killed Michael Brown?” Amazon argued the film’s quality didn’t measure up to its standards. The claim was embarrassing given the film’s measured tone and solid craftsmanship.
A crush of media outlets cried foul on the movie’s behalf, and Amazon swiftly backpedaled.
“What Killed Michael Brown?” upends media narratives regarding the late Ferguson, Miss. resident. It suggests race hustlers turned a regrettable incident into a cry for racial justice, leaving the truth in its wake.
Turns out the company may not be done with director Steele’s film after all.
Steele says the film’s Amazon page once boasted nearly 1,500 Amazon Prime reviews with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5. That’s critical for the film’s marketing efforts and branding.
Steele told subscribers to his Substack page that he visited the film’s Amazon page in June and found only 17 reviews.
“Its hard-won credibility had been erased,” Steele wrote. The page now has 24 global user ratings, still a far cry from the original number.
It has been 10 years since Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown. Shelby Steele and I made “What Killed Michael Brown?” & I am often asked what the lasting impact has been.
Answer: What happened in Ferguson split America into two & we have not recovered. https://t.co/Lk82D69wWp pic.twitter.com/eFQOqQguAo
— Eli Steele (@Hebro_Steele) August 9, 2024
He immediately reached out to Amazon’s customer service department to find out what happened and, hopefully, restore the reviews. The director supplied Amazon’s team with screen shots to back up his claim.
He was eventually told the reviews were “lost in a merger,” gone for good. Most websites have sizable backup systems to prevent such a loss, he noted. Plus, some of the remaining reviews dated back before 2023, when the merger allegedly took place.
Have other Amazon film pages suffered a similar fate? Steele explained to subscribers why this matters.
In our review-driven world, a five-year-old film with just 17 reviews lacks credibility, doomed by algorithms. Not only that, those missing reviews were my filmmaker’s resume, critical for establishing credibility and for raising funds for future projects. Amazon received 50% of every dollar that film made and it would seem that protecting the integrity of the film’s page would be a given — a trust between corporation and artist, if such a thing exists.
Steele’s films routinely challenge progressive narratives. His 2017 documentary, “How Jack Became Black,” countered Identity Politics dogma to grand effect. Steele is black, Jewish, deaf and part Native American, further confounding the Left’s racial categorizations.
Steele’s quest to challenge the status quo makes him an important filmmaking voice.
That voice, he argues, is dulled by Amazon’s actions.
It’s a battle to keep the film’s voice alive in a culture that still seeks to silence dissent. To lose those reviews is to risk losing the chorus of voices that dared to speak, to question, to stand unbowed.
The post Is Amazon Punishing ‘Michael Brown’ Doc (Again)? appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
In 1969, one classic MGM star paid tribute to another with a documentary film… but it’s hard to find.
Watching the world premiere of My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow last September in the Main Slate of the 62nd New York Film Festival, I knew I was experiencing a milestone in vérité documentary filmmaking. Not because My Undesirable Friends was filmed using an iPhone per se. Filming with iPhones is a commonplace now, from this summer’s Danny Boyle hit, 28 Years Later, to Aardman’s latest Wallace & Gromit animation. Last April’s NAB show delivered booths full of iPhone cages, gimbals, adapters, and power banks. Apple’s popular “Shot on iPhone” campaign has been running since 2015. […]
The post In Conversation with Julia Loktev About the Nuts and Bolts of Making Part 1 (5 1/2 hours) of her Monumental Vérité Documentary, My Undesirable Friends — Frederick Wiseman Weighs In, Too first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
This month’s news that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will close shop is devastating for the documentary community and its fans. Since 1967, the nonprofit has helped fund numerous nonfiction programs for PBS and NPR. Ken Burns said about 20 percent of his funding for his documentaries has come from CPB. The PBS doc showcase Independent Lens credits the corporation as its primary sponsor. American Masters received “major support” from CPB, and American Experience lists them under their “additional funding provided by” section. Any films funded through ITVS, including many POV titles, were also mainly aided financially by CPB.
To keep those and other great doc programs going, they’ll need us to donate and watch more. Subscribe to PBS Passport and/or the PBS Documentaries channel on Prime Video. Donations to smaller and rural area local PBS affiliates are particularly encouraged since they’ll be hurt the worst. We need those little films that cater exclusively to their regional audiences, but we also need those stations to exist to bring the national programming to everyone. If action is more your thing than giving, learn more about how to do that at the Protect My Public Media website.
I don’t have any new PBS documentaries to highlight this week, but I recommend looking at other recent editions of This Week in Documentary for some of my favorites. You should definitely go see Mstyslav Chernov’s 2000 Meters to Andriivka, which is now in theaters. The film is produced by Frontline, which gets some of its funding from CPB. You should also watch Slumlord Millionaire via the CPB-funded series VOCES, We Want the Funk! via Independent Lens, and the James Beard Award-winning Marcella via American Masters. Currently, POV doesn’t include CPB as one of its funding partners, but you could also watch any of their great films available now.
Below are this week’s documentary highlights, including reviews of new nonfiction films and series. They are followed by daily listings for all notable releases and a brief look at what’s coming soon for doc fans (including a making-of doc about Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis). Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future, and to give me more time to watch more (if not everything) available.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (2025)
Too many music documentaries aren’t just generic; they’re barely qualified to be visual media. They’re oral histories on tape, pieced together by seemingly randomly selected archival photos and clips. They’re tributes filled with hyperbole provided by celebrity guests. Most of the ones I have to watch, I barely “watch” because there’s not much to look at. Amy Berg’s It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley could easily have fallen into that trap and been enough to please fans of the titular musician. Instead, it’s one of the most compelling music docs of the year, narratively and visually.
Berg respects the cinematic audience with her pacing and imagery, the latter including animation that permeates the stills and footage to the effect that the film isn’t the usual hodgepodge of aesthetically clashing illustrative elements cut together. There’s a dynamic artfulness rarely seen outside of Brett Morgen’s docs (though certainly not to the kaleidoscopic extreme of Moonage Daydream; I was mostly reminded of Cobain: Montage of Heck). I don’t even find Jeff Buckley’s story that interesting, and I don’t feel the documentary ever gets to who he was as a real person. But his brief life and what he meant especially to a handful of women, including his mother and girlfriends, is presented so well that I was drawn in for every anecdotal bit.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley opens in theaters on Friday, August 8.
Other Documentary Highlights
American Prince: JFK Jr. (2025)
Two years ago, CNN Films was being mourned the way the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is now. Fortunately, last fall, the cable news channel’s motion picture division, known for collaborating on such features as the Oscar-winning Navalny and the archival masterpiece Apollo 11, was reportedly back. Still, for every Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, they’ve got some less-cinematic docs on their docket. American Prince: JFK Jr., about the other Kennedy Jr., marks the final series in a trilogy of new works directed by longtime CNN Films executive producer Amy Entelis, following last month’s Billionaire Boys Clubs and Live Aid: When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took on the World.
American Prince: JFK Jr. premieres on CNN on Saturday, August 9.
The Best Black Documentaries Ever
Last week, the Black Movie Hall of Fame unveiled its list of the Best Black Movies Ever, highlighting 100 essentials of Black cinema going back as far as 1920 and even including one 2025 release. There are seven nonfiction features on the list, including the concert film Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (now streaming on Netflix). The other documentaries, in order of their ranking, are Hoop Dreams (streaming on HBO Max, The Criterion Channel, Pluto TV, and more platforms), O.J.: Made in America (Netflix), I Am Not Your Negro (HBO Max and Kanopy), When We Were Kings (HBO Max, The Criterion Channel, Pluto TV, and Shout! TV), When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (HBO Max), and Paris is Burning (HBO Max and The Criterion Channel).
I also want to shout out to some of the Black critics who included other documentaries on their individual top 10 lists. Destiny Jackson named The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Netflix), Trey Mangum named Hale County This Morning, This Evening (Kanopy), tt stern-enzi listed the 2025 release Sly Lives! (a.k.a. The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu), Stacey Yvonne named The Original Kings of Comedy (Kanopy), Samuel Leggett Jr. named Descendant (Netflix), Tre’vell Anderson included Kokomo City (Paramount+ with Showtime) and Tongues Untied (Kanopy and OVID), and both Rendy Jones and Wilfred Okiche included Time (Prime Video). Ronda Racha Penrice was the only critic to name one of the films on the big list: I Am Not Your Negro.
Grizzly Man (2005)
This week, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the U.S. theatrical release of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man, which grossed more than $4 million worldwide. For the occasion, and because the documentary was recently included on a notable list of the best films of the 21st century, I wrote a separate showcase for paid subscribers highlighting why it’s considered a classic. Here’s an excerpt from that column:
“Werner Herzog’s 2005 feature seems to include but also scrutinize everything that made documentaries so successful at the time (and maybe predated some trends as well). Grizzly Man combines a nature film with a study of an eccentric yet charismatic character, while occasionally feeling like a true-crime investigation in its tone and an examination of independent filmmaking technique in its structure. It capitalizes on trauma, anticipates certain elements of influencer culture, and entangles itself with ethical dilemmas regarding the sensationalism of it all. Of course, tying the documentary together is Herzog’s voice, which, before Grizzly Man, was known exclusively to hardcore cinephiles. The film helped make Herzog and his profoundly captivating and distinctly accented narration famous to everyone.”
Grizzly Man is currently available to stream on Prime Video, Kanopy, and Tubi.
Name Of The Game (2023)
Will Forbes and Douglas Skinner’s Name of the Game is another documentary that should be recognized by the Black Movie Hall of Fame. It’s not the most polished feature, but its raw production values match the underground nature of its subject. The film invites viewers into the world of the L.A. male exotic scene, sharing every wild and raunchy detail, visually and orally. This documentary has everything, including a history of the city’s Black male strip clubs, why they recruited men just out of prison, how much money its biggest stars could make in a night, and why the profession is more lucrative for men than women. Also, so much whipped cream.
Name of the Game opens in theaters on Saturday, August 9.
Sudan, Remember Us (2024)
While some international conflicts are regularly big news in the U.S., the civil war in Sudan has gotten very little attention here. That makes a film like Sudan, Remember Us all the more important, but also all the more difficult to attract audiences. The fact that the film doesn’t provide much in the way of context in its spotlight on young Sudanese activists isn’t helpful, though it’s not necessarily a flaw.
Journalist and filmmaker Hind Meddeb first began documenting her subjects during the 2019 Army headquarters sit-in, which was met with military force in what came to be known as the Khartoum massacre. The film covers another four years leading up to the civil war that sent most of these activists into exile. Meddeb begins with April 2023, noting that there’s not much talk about the war in France either. She then takes us back to 2019 and narrates her interest and reason for covering this story, which unfolds with footage of the protests, massacre, military coup, and less eventful days. We experience these years through her lens and the activists’ commentary, the former reminding us of the need for independent embedded journalists like Meddeb and of the power of young voices in times of revolution, oppression, corruption, and war.
Sudan, Remember Us opens in theaters on Friday, August 8.
Documentary Release Calendar 8/8/25 – 8/14/25
Friday, August 8, 2025
Action on the Beach (1964) – A short documentary about the making of the D-Day sequence in the film The Americanization of Emily. (TCM)
Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex (2022) – A documentary feature about a tribute album honoring the glam rock icon Marc Bolan. (In Theaters)
Grand Prix: Challenge of the Champions (1966) – A short documentary about the making of the film Grand Prix during race day at Monaco. (TCM)
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (2025) – A biographical documentary by Amy Berg (Janis: Little Girl Lost) about the titular musician. (In Theaters)
Stolen: Heist of the Century (2025) – A documentary feature about a jewelry heist in Antwerp in 2003. (Netflix)
Sudan, Remember Us – An award-winning documentary following young Sudanese activists before the current civil war. (In Theaters)
Saturday, August 9, 2025
American Prince: JFK Jr. (2025) – A docuseries about the famous namesake son of President John F. Kennedy. (CNN)
Buried in the Backyard Season 6, Episode 5: “Deadly Dishonor” – The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about the odd locations where murder victims were found. This episode involves a missing ROTC student. (Oxygen True Crime)
Famous Movie Dogs (1940) – A short documentary starring canine performers in Hollywood. (TCM)
Name of the Game (2023) – A documentary about male exotic dancers. (In Theaters)
Naming the Dead Season 1, Episode 2: “A Box of Bones” – The latest installment of a docuseries about bodies being identified through genealogical investigations. This episode concerns a murder victim. (National Geographic)
Souvenirs of Death (1948) – A short film following the journey of a souvenir World War II pistol. (TCM)
Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller Season 5, Episode 4: “Brides for Sale” – The latest installment of this award-winning series involves Vietnamese women sold into marriages in China. (National Geographic)
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Cub Camp (2025) – A docuseries about a couple who care for traumatized black bear cubs. (National Geographic WILD)
Naming the Dead Season 1, Episode 2: “A Box of Bones” – The latest installment of a docuseries about bodies being identified through genealogical investigations. This episode concerns a murder victim. (Hulu and Disney+)
Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller Season 5, Episode 4: “Brides for Sale” – The latest installment of this award-winning series involves Vietnamese women sold into marriages in China. (Hulu)
The Yogurt Shop Murders Episode 2: “The Fifth Victim” – The second installment of a four-part true-crime docuseries by Margaret Brown (Descendant) about the killing of four teenagers in 1991. (HBO and HBO Max)
Monday, August 11, 2025
Cub Camp (2025) – A docuseries about a couple who care for traumatized black bear cubs. (Hulu)
A Killer Among Friends Season 1, Episode 5: “Secrets to Reveal” – The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about murders that tear friend groups apart. This episode involves a girls’ trip to Vegas gone wrong. (Investigation Discovery)
Survival Mode Season 1, Episode 6: “Fort Worth Pileup” – The latest installment of this docuseries focuses on a massive traffic accident in Texas. (NBC)
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
25 Cats from Qatar (2025) – A feature-length documentary about an American woman who transported 25 feral cats from Doha to Milwaukee. (DVD and Blu-ray)
American Santa (2023) – A short documentary about Black Santas in America. (OVID)
Andy Warhol’s Factory People (2008) – A docuseries about Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory. (DVD)
Bad Company – Bad Company – Official 40th Anniversary Documentary (2025) – A documentary feature about the titular rock band. (DVD)
Beyond Trainspotting: The World of Irvine Welsh (2025) – A documentary about the author of Trainspotting. (DVD)
CodeSwitching: Race and Identity in the Suburban Schoolhouse (2020) – A medium-length documentary about Black students who attend better schools outside their district. (OVID)
Cosmic Dawn (2025) – A documentary feature about the making of the James Webb Space Telescope. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Higher Power (2023) – A medium-length documentary about cannabis laws in Washington, D.C. (OVID)
Legends of the Canyon: The Origins of West Coast Rock (2010) – A documentary feature about the Laurel Canyon music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. (DVD)
Rather (2023) – A documentary about TV journalist Dan Rather. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible (2023) – A documentary about the titular Scottish band best known for the ‘80s hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”. (DVD)
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
The Grateful Dead Movie (1977) – A re-release of the classic concert film with bonus footage. (In IMAX Theaters)
Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis (2022) – A documentary feature following four immigration attorneys during Trump’s first term as president. (OVID)
Mysteries of the Abandoned Season 12 – The return of a docuseries about ancient marvels now in ruins. (Discovery)
Soledad (2020) – A short documentary about a woman from Central America seeking asylum in the U.S. (OVID)
Stop Time (2022) – A medium-length documentary about an immigrant who lived in a church basement for three years to avoid deportation. (OVID)
To Catch a Smuggler Season 9, Episode 5 – The latest installment of a docuseries following U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. This episode involves the smuggling of drugs and ancient statues. (National Geographic)
Vida Diferida: Life, Deferred (2013) – A short documentary about the impact of DACA on an undocumented student and her family. (OVID)
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Deaf Jam (2011) – A documentary feature about a deaf teen who performs sign language poetry in the New York City slam scene. (OVID)
Duties of My Heart (2024) – A short documentary presenting a performance combining sign language, contemporary dance, and spoken word. (OVID)
The Kingdom (2025) – A docuseries about the Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty. (ESPN+)
Lie Detector: Truth or Deception Season 1, Episode 6: “Raven Abaroa” – The latest installment of this docuseries about suspected but not charged individuals taking lie detectors to prove their innocence. This episode concerns a man hoping to prove he didn’t murder his wife. (A&E)
True Crime Story: Smugshot Season 2 – The return of a docuseries about disturbing cases of people who thought they could get away with crimes. (Sundance TV)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
8/15 – My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow – A lengthy documentary feature about independent journalism in Russia. (In Theaters)
8/22 – James Can Eat – A documentary feature about Australian competitive eater James Webb. (VOD and Prime Video)
8/24 – Girl Climber – A documentary following Emily Harrington as she climbs Yosemite’s El Capitan. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In IMAX Theaters)
9/1 – Make a Circle – A documentary about child care providers. (PBS)
9/5 – The American Southwest – A documentary feature narrated by Quannah ChasingHorse focused on water and wildlife conservation. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
9/12 – Naked Ambition – A biographical documentary about photographer Bunny Yeager. (In Theaters)
9/17 – David Gilmour: Live at the Circus Maximus, Rome – A concert film starring the Pink Floyd singer and guitarist performing solo. (In IMAX Theaters)
9/19 – Megadoc – A documentary feature by Mike Figgis about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. Watch the teaser trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
9/21 – Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe – A documentary portrait of the titular Italian tenor. (In Theaters)
11/21 – Zodiac Killer Project – A meta-textual true-crime documentary about an abandoned documentary on the Zodiac Killer. Read our review of Zodiac Killer Project. (In Theaters)
Nonfics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This month’s news that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will close shop is devastating for the documentary community and its fans. Since 1967, the nonprofit has helped fund numerous nonfiction programs for PBS and NPR. Ken Burns said about 20 percent of his funding for his documentaries has come from CPB. The PBS doc showcase Independent Lens credits the corporation as its primary sponsor. American Masters received “major support” from CPB, and American Experience lists them under their “additional funding provided by” section. Any films funded through ITVS, including many POV titles, were also mainly aided financially by CPB.
To keep those and other great doc programs going, they’ll need us to donate and watch more. Subscribe to PBS Passport and/or the PBS Documentaries channel on Prime Video. Donations to smaller and rural area local PBS affiliates are particularly encouraged since they’ll be hurt the worst. We need those little films that cater exclusively to their regional audiences, but we also need those stations to exist to bring the national programming to everyone. If action is more your thing than giving, learn more about how to do that at the Protect My Public Media website.
I don’t have any new PBS documentaries to highlight this week, but I recommend looking at other recent editions of This Week in Documentary for some of my favorites. You should definitely go see Mstyslav Chernov’s 2000 Meters to Andriivka, which is now in theaters. The film is produced by Frontline, which gets some of its funding from CPB. You should also watch Slumlord Millionaire via the CPB-funded series VOCES, We Want the Funk! via Independent Lens, and the James Beard Award-winning Marcella via American Masters. Currently, POV doesn’t include CPB as one of its funding partners, but you could also watch any of their great films available now.
Below are this week’s documentary highlights, including reviews of new nonfiction films and series. They are followed by daily listings for all notable releases and a brief look at what’s coming soon for doc fans (including a making-of doc about Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis). Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future, and to give me more time to watch more (if not everything) available.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (2025)
Too many music documentaries aren’t just generic; they’re barely qualified to be visual media. They’re oral histories on tape, pieced together by seemingly randomly selected archival photos and clips. They’re tributes filled with hyperbole provided by celebrity guests. Most of the ones I have to watch, I barely “watch” because there’s not much to look at. Amy Berg’s It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley could easily have fallen into that trap and been enough to please fans of the titular musician. Instead, it’s one of the most compelling music docs of the year, narratively and visually.
Berg respects the cinematic audience with her pacing and imagery, the latter including animation that permeates the stills and footage to the effect that the film isn’t the usual hodgepodge of aesthetically clashing illustrative elements cut together. There’s a dynamic artfulness rarely seen outside of Brett Morgen’s docs (though certainly not to the kaleidoscopic extreme of Moonage Daydream; I was mostly reminded of Cobain: Montage of Heck). I don’t even find Jeff Buckley’s story that interesting, and I don’t feel the documentary ever gets to who he was as a real person. But his brief life and what he meant especially to a handful of women, including his mother and girlfriends, is presented so well that I was drawn in for every anecdotal bit.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley opens in theaters on Friday, August 8.
Other Documentary Highlights
American Prince: JFK Jr. (2025)
Two years ago, CNN Films was being mourned the way the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is now. Fortunately, last fall, the cable news channel’s motion picture division, known for collaborating on such features as the Oscar-winning Navalny and the archival masterpiece Apollo 11, was reportedly back. Still, for every Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, they’ve got some less-cinematic docs on their docket. American Prince: JFK Jr., about the other Kennedy Jr., marks the final series in a trilogy of new works directed by longtime CNN Films executive producer Amy Entelis, following last month’s Billionaire Boys Clubs and Live Aid: When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took on the World.
American Prince: JFK Jr. premieres on CNN on Saturday, August 9.
The Best Black Documentaries Ever
Last week, the Black Movie Hall of Fame unveiled its list of the Best Black Movies Ever, highlighting 100 essentials of Black cinema going back as far as 1920 and even including one 2025 release. There are seven nonfiction features on the list, including the concert film Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (now streaming on Netflix). The other documentaries, in order of their ranking, are Hoop Dreams (streaming on HBO Max, The Criterion Channel, Pluto TV, and more platforms), O.J.: Made in America (Netflix), I Am Not Your Negro (HBO Max and Kanopy), When We Were Kings (HBO Max, The Criterion Channel, Pluto TV, and Shout! TV), When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (HBO Max), and Paris is Burning (HBO Max and The Criterion Channel).
I also want to shout out to some of the Black critics who included other documentaries on their individual top 10 lists. Destiny Jackson named The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Netflix), Trey Mangum named Hale County This Morning, This Evening (Kanopy), tt stern-enzi listed the 2025 release Sly Lives! (a.k.a. The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu), Stacey Yvonne named The Original Kings of Comedy (Kanopy), Samuel Leggett Jr. named Descendant (Netflix), Tre’vell Anderson included Kokomo City (Paramount+ with Showtime) and Tongues Untied (Kanopy and OVID), and both Rendy Jones and Wilfred Okiche included Time (Prime Video). Ronda Racha Penrice was the only critic to name one of the films on the big list: I Am Not Your Negro.
Grizzly Man (2005)
This week, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the U.S. theatrical release of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man, which grossed more than $4 million worldwide. For the occasion, and because the documentary was recently included on a notable list of the best films of the 21st century, I wrote a separate showcase for paid subscribers highlighting why it’s considered a classic. Here’s an excerpt from that column:
“Werner Herzog’s 2005 feature seems to include but also scrutinize everything that made documentaries so successful at the time (and maybe predated some trends as well). Grizzly Man combines a nature film with a study of an eccentric yet charismatic character, while occasionally feeling like a true-crime investigation in its tone and an examination of independent filmmaking technique in its structure. It capitalizes on trauma, anticipates certain elements of influencer culture, and entangles itself with ethical dilemmas regarding the sensationalism of it all. Of course, tying the documentary together is Herzog’s voice, which, before Grizzly Man, was known exclusively to hardcore cinephiles. The film helped make Herzog and his profoundly captivating and distinctly accented narration famous to everyone.”
Grizzly Man is currently available to stream on Prime Video, Kanopy, and Tubi.
Name Of The Game (2023)
Will Forbes and Douglas Skinner’s Name of the Game is another documentary that should be recognized by the Black Movie Hall of Fame. It’s not the most polished feature, but its raw production values match the underground nature of its subject. The film invites viewers into the world of the L.A. male exotic scene, sharing every wild and raunchy detail, visually and orally. This documentary has everything, including a history of the city’s Black male strip clubs, why they recruited men just out of prison, how much money its biggest stars could make in a night, and why the profession is more lucrative for men than women. Also, so much whipped cream.
Name of the Game opens in theaters on Saturday, August 9.
Sudan, Remember Us (2024)
While some international conflicts are regularly big news in the U.S., the civil war in Sudan has gotten very little attention here. That makes a film like Sudan, Remember Us all the more important, but also all the more difficult to attract audiences. The fact that the film doesn’t provide much in the way of context in its spotlight on young Sudanese activists isn’t helpful, though it’s not necessarily a flaw.
Journalist and filmmaker Hind Meddeb first began documenting her subjects during the 2019 Army headquarters sit-in, which was met with military force in what came to be known as the Khartoum massacre. The film covers another four years leading up to the civil war that sent most of these activists into exile. Meddeb begins with April 2023, noting that there’s not much talk about the war in France either. She then takes us back to 2019 and narrates her interest and reason for covering this story, which unfolds with footage of the protests, massacre, military coup, and less eventful days. We experience these years through her lens and the activists’ commentary, the former reminding us of the need for independent embedded journalists like Meddeb and of the power of young voices in times of revolution, oppression, corruption, and war.
Sudan, Remember Us opens in theaters on Friday, August 8.
Documentary Release Calendar 8/8/25 – 8/14/25
Friday, August 8, 2025
Action on the Beach (1964) – A short documentary about the making of the D-Day sequence in the film The Americanization of Emily. (TCM)
Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex (2022) – A documentary feature about a tribute album honoring the glam rock icon Marc Bolan. (In Theaters)
Grand Prix: Challenge of the Champions (1966) – A short documentary about the making of the film Grand Prix during race day at Monaco. (TCM)
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (2025) – A biographical documentary by Amy Berg (Janis: Little Girl Lost) about the titular musician. (In Theaters)
Stolen: Heist of the Century (2025) – A documentary feature about a jewelry heist in Antwerp in 2003. (Netflix)
Sudan, Remember Us – An award-winning documentary following young Sudanese activists before the current civil war. (In Theaters)
Saturday, August 9, 2025
American Prince: JFK Jr. (2025) – A docuseries about the famous namesake son of President John F. Kennedy. (CNN)
Buried in the Backyard Season 6, Episode 5: “Deadly Dishonor” – The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about the odd locations where murder victims were found. This episode involves a missing ROTC student. (Oxygen True Crime)
Famous Movie Dogs (1940) – A short documentary starring canine performers in Hollywood. (TCM)
Name of the Game (2023) – A documentary about male exotic dancers. (In Theaters)
Naming the Dead Season 1, Episode 2: “A Box of Bones” – The latest installment of a docuseries about bodies being identified through genealogical investigations. This episode concerns a murder victim. (National Geographic)
Souvenirs of Death (1948) – A short film following the journey of a souvenir World War II pistol. (TCM)
Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller Season 5, Episode 4: “Brides for Sale” – The latest installment of this award-winning series involves Vietnamese women sold into marriages in China. (National Geographic)
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Cub Camp (2025) – A docuseries about a couple who care for traumatized black bear cubs. (National Geographic WILD)
Naming the Dead Season 1, Episode 2: “A Box of Bones” – The latest installment of a docuseries about bodies being identified through genealogical investigations. This episode concerns a murder victim. (Hulu and Disney+)
Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller Season 5, Episode 4: “Brides for Sale” – The latest installment of this award-winning series involves Vietnamese women sold into marriages in China. (Hulu)
The Yogurt Shop Murders Episode 2: “The Fifth Victim” – The second installment of a four-part true-crime docuseries by Margaret Brown (Descendant) about the killing of four teenagers in 1991. (HBO and HBO Max)
Monday, August 11, 2025
Cub Camp (2025) – A docuseries about a couple who care for traumatized black bear cubs. (Hulu)
A Killer Among Friends Season 1, Episode 5: “Secrets to Reveal” – The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about murders that tear friend groups apart. This episode involves a girls’ trip to Vegas gone wrong. (Investigation Discovery)
Survival Mode Season 1, Episode 6: “Fort Worth Pileup” – The latest installment of this docuseries focuses on a massive traffic accident in Texas. (NBC)
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
25 Cats from Qatar (2025) – A feature-length documentary about an American woman who transported 25 feral cats from Doha to Milwaukee. (DVD and Blu-ray)
American Santa (2023) – A short documentary about Black Santas in America. (OVID)
Andy Warhol’s Factory People (2008) – A docuseries about Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory. (DVD)
Bad Company – Bad Company – Official 40th Anniversary Documentary (2025) – A documentary feature about the titular rock band. (DVD)
Beyond Trainspotting: The World of Irvine Welsh (2025) – A documentary about the author of Trainspotting. (DVD)
CodeSwitching: Race and Identity in the Suburban Schoolhouse (2020) – A medium-length documentary about Black students who attend better schools outside their district. (OVID)
Cosmic Dawn (2025) – A documentary feature about the making of the James Webb Space Telescope. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Higher Power (2023) – A medium-length documentary about cannabis laws in Washington, D.C. (OVID)
Legends of the Canyon: The Origins of West Coast Rock (2010) – A documentary feature about the Laurel Canyon music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. (DVD)
Rather (2023) – A documentary about TV journalist Dan Rather. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible (2023) – A documentary about the titular Scottish band best known for the ‘80s hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”. (DVD)
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
The Grateful Dead Movie (1977) – A re-release of the classic concert film with bonus footage. (In IMAX Theaters)
Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis (2022) – A documentary feature following four immigration attorneys during Trump’s first term as president. (OVID)
Mysteries of the Abandoned Season 12 – The return of a docuseries about ancient marvels now in ruins. (Discovery)
Soledad (2020) – A short documentary about a woman from Central America seeking asylum in the U.S. (OVID)
Stop Time (2022) – A medium-length documentary about an immigrant who lived in a church basement for three years to avoid deportation. (OVID)
To Catch a Smuggler Season 9, Episode 5 – The latest installment of a docuseries following U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. This episode involves the smuggling of drugs and ancient statues. (National Geographic)
Vida Diferida: Life, Deferred (2013) – A short documentary about the impact of DACA on an undocumented student and her family. (OVID)
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Deaf Jam (2011) – A documentary feature about a deaf teen who performs sign language poetry in the New York City slam scene. (OVID)
Duties of My Heart (2024) – A short documentary presenting a performance combining sign language, contemporary dance, and spoken word. (OVID)
The Kingdom (2025) – A docuseries about the Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty. (ESPN+)
Lie Detector: Truth or Deception Season 1, Episode 6: “Raven Abaroa” – The latest installment of this docuseries about suspected but not charged individuals taking lie detectors to prove their innocence. This episode concerns a man hoping to prove he didn’t murder his wife. (A&E)
True Crime Story: Smugshot Season 2 – The return of a docuseries about disturbing cases of people who thought they could get away with crimes. (Sundance TV)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
8/15 – My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow – A lengthy documentary feature about independent journalism in Russia. (In Theaters)
8/22 – James Can Eat – A documentary feature about Australian competitive eater James Webb. (VOD and Prime Video)
8/24 – Girl Climber – A documentary following Emily Harrington as she climbs Yosemite’s El Capitan. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In IMAX Theaters)
9/1 – Make a Circle – A documentary about child care providers. (PBS)
9/5 – The American Southwest – A documentary feature narrated by Quannah ChasingHorse focused on water and wildlife conservation. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
9/12 – Naked Ambition – A biographical documentary about photographer Bunny Yeager. (In Theaters)
9/17 – David Gilmour: Live at the Circus Maximus, Rome – A concert film starring the Pink Floyd singer and guitarist performing solo. (In IMAX Theaters)
9/19 – Megadoc – A documentary feature by Mike Figgis about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. Watch the teaser trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
9/21 – Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe – A documentary portrait of the titular Italian tenor. (In Theaters)
11/21 – Zodiac Killer Project – A meta-textual true-crime documentary about an abandoned documentary on the Zodiac Killer. Read our review of Zodiac Killer Project. (In Theaters)
Nonfics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This month’s news that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will close shop is devastating for the documentary community and its fans. Since 1967, the nonprofit has helped fund numerous nonfiction programs for PBS and NPR. Ken Burns said about 20 percent of his funding for his documentaries has come from CPB. The PBS doc showcase Independent Lens credits the corporation as its primary sponsor. American Masters received “major support” from CPB, and American Experience lists them under their “additional funding provided by” section. Any films funded through ITVS, including many POV titles, were also mainly aided financially by CPB.
To keep those and other great doc programs going, they’ll need us to donate and watch more. Subscribe to PBS Passport and/or the PBS Documentaries channel on Prime Video. Donations to smaller and rural area local PBS affiliates are particularly encouraged since they’ll be hurt the worst. We need those little films that cater exclusively to their regional audiences, but we also need those stations to exist to bring the national programming to everyone. If action is more your thing than giving, learn more about how to do that at the Protect My Public Media website.
I don’t have any new PBS documentaries to highlight this week, but I recommend looking at other recent editions of This Week in Documentary for some of my favorites. You should definitely go see Mstyslav Chernov’s 2000 Meters to Andriivka, which is now in theaters. The film is produced by Frontline, which gets some of its funding from CPB. You should also watch Slumlord Millionaire via the CPB-funded series VOCES, We Want the Funk! via Independent Lens, and the James Beard Award-winning Marcella via American Masters. Currently, POV doesn’t include CPB as one of its funding partners, but you could also watch any of their great films available now.
Below are this week’s documentary highlights, including reviews of new nonfiction films and series. They are followed by daily listings for all notable releases and a brief look at what’s coming soon for doc fans (including a making-of doc about Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis). Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future, and to give me more time to watch more (if not everything) available.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (2025)
Too many music documentaries aren’t just generic; they’re barely qualified to be visual media. They’re oral histories on tape, pieced together by seemingly randomly selected archival photos and clips. They’re tributes filled with hyperbole provided by celebrity guests. Most of the ones I have to watch, I barely “watch” because there’s not much to look at. Amy Berg’s It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley could easily have fallen into that trap and been enough to please fans of the titular musician. Instead, it’s one of the most compelling music docs of the year, narratively and visually.
Berg respects the cinematic audience with her pacing and imagery, the latter including animation that permeates the stills and footage to the effect that the film isn’t the usual hodgepodge of aesthetically clashing illustrative elements cut together. There’s a dynamic artfulness rarely seen outside of Brett Morgen’s docs (though certainly not to the kaleidoscopic extreme of Moonage Daydream; I was mostly reminded of Cobain: Montage of Heck). I don’t even find Jeff Buckley’s story that interesting, and I don’t feel the documentary ever gets to who he was as a real person. But his brief life and what he meant especially to a handful of women, including his mother and girlfriends, is presented so well that I was drawn in for every anecdotal bit.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley opens in theaters on Friday, August 8.
Other Documentary Highlights
American Prince: JFK Jr. (2025)
Two years ago, CNN Films was being mourned the way the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is now. Fortunately, last fall, the cable news channel’s motion picture division, known for collaborating on such features as the Oscar-winning Navalny and the archival masterpiece Apollo 11, was reportedly back. Still, for every Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, they’ve got some less-cinematic docs on their docket. American Prince: JFK Jr., about the other Kennedy Jr., marks the final series in a trilogy of new works directed by longtime CNN Films executive producer Amy Entelis, following last month’s Billionaire Boys Clubs and Live Aid: When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took on the World.
American Prince: JFK Jr. premieres on CNN on Saturday, August 9.
The Best Black Documentaries Ever
Last week, the Black Movie Hall of Fame unveiled its list of the Best Black Movies Ever, highlighting 100 essentials of Black cinema going back as far as 1920 and even including one 2025 release. There are seven nonfiction features on the list, including the concert film Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (now streaming on Netflix). The other documentaries, in order of their ranking, are Hoop Dreams (streaming on HBO Max, The Criterion Channel, Pluto TV, and more platforms), O.J.: Made in America (Netflix), I Am Not Your Negro (HBO Max and Kanopy), When We Were Kings (HBO Max, The Criterion Channel, Pluto TV, and Shout! TV), When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (HBO Max), and Paris is Burning (HBO Max and The Criterion Channel).
I also want to shout out to some of the Black critics who included other documentaries on their individual top 10 lists. Destiny Jackson named The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Netflix), Trey Mangum named Hale County This Morning, This Evening (Kanopy), tt stern-enzi listed the 2025 release Sly Lives! (a.k.a. The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu), Stacey Yvonne named The Original Kings of Comedy (Kanopy), Samuel Leggett Jr. named Descendant (Netflix), Tre’vell Anderson included Kokomo City (Paramount+ with Showtime) and Tongues Untied (Kanopy and OVID), and both Rendy Jones and Wilfred Okiche included Time (Prime Video). Ronda Racha Penrice was the only critic to name one of the films on the big list: I Am Not Your Negro.
Grizzly Man (2005)
This week, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the U.S. theatrical release of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man, which grossed more than $4 million worldwide. For the occasion, and because the documentary was recently included on a notable list of the best films of the 21st century, I wrote a separate showcase for paid subscribers highlighting why it’s considered a classic. Here’s an excerpt from that column:
“Werner Herzog’s 2005 feature seems to include but also scrutinize everything that made documentaries so successful at the time (and maybe predated some trends as well). Grizzly Man combines a nature film with a study of an eccentric yet charismatic character, while occasionally feeling like a true-crime investigation in its tone and an examination of independent filmmaking technique in its structure. It capitalizes on trauma, anticipates certain elements of influencer culture, and entangles itself with ethical dilemmas regarding the sensationalism of it all. Of course, tying the documentary together is Herzog’s voice, which, before Grizzly Man, was known exclusively to hardcore cinephiles. The film helped make Herzog and his profoundly captivating and distinctly accented narration famous to everyone.”
Grizzly Man is currently available to stream on Prime Video, Kanopy, and Tubi.
Name Of The Game (2023)
Will Forbes and Douglas Skinner’s Name of the Game is another documentary that should be recognized by the Black Movie Hall of Fame. It’s not the most polished feature, but its raw production values match the underground nature of its subject. The film invites viewers into the world of the L.A. male exotic scene, sharing every wild and raunchy detail, visually and orally. This documentary has everything, including a history of the city’s Black male strip clubs, why they recruited men just out of prison, how much money its biggest stars could make in a night, and why the profession is more lucrative for men than women. Also, so much whipped cream.
Name of the Game opens in theaters on Saturday, August 9.
Sudan, Remember Us (2024)
While some international conflicts are regularly big news in the U.S., the civil war in Sudan has gotten very little attention here. That makes a film like Sudan, Remember Us all the more important, but also all the more difficult to attract audiences. The fact that the film doesn’t provide much in the way of context in its spotlight on young Sudanese activists isn’t helpful, though it’s not necessarily a flaw.
Journalist and filmmaker Hind Meddeb first began documenting her subjects during the 2019 Army headquarters sit-in, which was met with military force in what came to be known as the Khartoum massacre. The film covers another four years leading up to the civil war that sent most of these activists into exile. Meddeb begins with April 2023, noting that there’s not much talk about the war in France either. She then takes us back to 2019 and narrates her interest and reason for covering this story, which unfolds with footage of the protests, massacre, military coup, and less eventful days. We experience these years through her lens and the activists’ commentary, the former reminding us of the need for independent embedded journalists like Meddeb and of the power of young voices in times of revolution, oppression, corruption, and war.
Sudan, Remember Us opens in theaters on Friday, August 8.
Documentary Release Calendar 8/8/25 – 8/14/25
Friday, August 8, 2025
Action on the Beach (1964) – A short documentary about the making of the D-Day sequence in the film The Americanization of Emily. (TCM)
Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex (2022) – A documentary feature about a tribute album honoring the glam rock icon Marc Bolan. (In Theaters)
Grand Prix: Challenge of the Champions (1966) – A short documentary about the making of the film Grand Prix during race day at Monaco. (TCM)
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (2025) – A biographical documentary by Amy Berg (Janis: Little Girl Lost) about the titular musician. (In Theaters)
Stolen: Heist of the Century (2025) – A documentary feature about a jewelry heist in Antwerp in 2003. (Netflix)
Sudan, Remember Us – An award-winning documentary following young Sudanese activists before the current civil war. (In Theaters)
Saturday, August 9, 2025
American Prince: JFK Jr. (2025) – A docuseries about the famous namesake son of President John F. Kennedy. (CNN)
Buried in the Backyard Season 6, Episode 5: “Deadly Dishonor” – The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about the odd locations where murder victims were found. This episode involves a missing ROTC student. (Oxygen True Crime)
Famous Movie Dogs (1940) – A short documentary starring canine performers in Hollywood. (TCM)
Name of the Game (2023) – A documentary about male exotic dancers. (In Theaters)
Naming the Dead Season 1, Episode 2: “A Box of Bones” – The latest installment of a docuseries about bodies being identified through genealogical investigations. This episode concerns a murder victim. (National Geographic)
Souvenirs of Death (1948) – A short film following the journey of a souvenir World War II pistol. (TCM)
Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller Season 5, Episode 4: “Brides for Sale” – The latest installment of this award-winning series involves Vietnamese women sold into marriages in China. (National Geographic)
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Cub Camp (2025) – A docuseries about a couple who care for traumatized black bear cubs. (National Geographic WILD)
Naming the Dead Season 1, Episode 2: “A Box of Bones” – The latest installment of a docuseries about bodies being identified through genealogical investigations. This episode concerns a murder victim. (Hulu and Disney+)
Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller Season 5, Episode 4: “Brides for Sale” – The latest installment of this award-winning series involves Vietnamese women sold into marriages in China. (Hulu)
The Yogurt Shop Murders Episode 2: “The Fifth Victim” – The second installment of a four-part true-crime docuseries by Margaret Brown (Descendant) about the killing of four teenagers in 1991. (HBO and HBO Max)
Monday, August 11, 2025
Cub Camp (2025) – A docuseries about a couple who care for traumatized black bear cubs. (Hulu)
A Killer Among Friends Season 1, Episode 5: “Secrets to Reveal” – The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about murders that tear friend groups apart. This episode involves a girls’ trip to Vegas gone wrong. (Investigation Discovery)
Survival Mode Season 1, Episode 6: “Fort Worth Pileup” – The latest installment of this docuseries focuses on a massive traffic accident in Texas. (NBC)
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
25 Cats from Qatar (2025) – A feature-length documentary about an American woman who transported 25 feral cats from Doha to Milwaukee. (DVD and Blu-ray)
American Santa (2023) – A short documentary about Black Santas in America. (OVID)
Andy Warhol’s Factory People (2008) – A docuseries about Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory. (DVD)
Bad Company – Bad Company – Official 40th Anniversary Documentary (2025) – A documentary feature about the titular rock band. (DVD)
Beyond Trainspotting: The World of Irvine Welsh (2025) – A documentary about the author of Trainspotting. (DVD)
CodeSwitching: Race and Identity in the Suburban Schoolhouse (2020) – A medium-length documentary about Black students who attend better schools outside their district. (OVID)
Cosmic Dawn (2025) – A documentary feature about the making of the James Webb Space Telescope. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Higher Power (2023) – A medium-length documentary about cannabis laws in Washington, D.C. (OVID)
Legends of the Canyon: The Origins of West Coast Rock (2010) – A documentary feature about the Laurel Canyon music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. (DVD)
Rather (2023) – A documentary about TV journalist Dan Rather. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible (2023) – A documentary about the titular Scottish band best known for the ‘80s hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”. (DVD)
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
The Grateful Dead Movie (1977) – A re-release of the classic concert film with bonus footage. (In IMAX Theaters)
Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis (2022) – A documentary feature following four immigration attorneys during Trump’s first term as president. (OVID)
Mysteries of the Abandoned Season 12 – The return of a docuseries about ancient marvels now in ruins. (Discovery)
Soledad (2020) – A short documentary about a woman from Central America seeking asylum in the U.S. (OVID)
Stop Time (2022) – A medium-length documentary about an immigrant who lived in a church basement for three years to avoid deportation. (OVID)
To Catch a Smuggler Season 9, Episode 5 – The latest installment of a docuseries following U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. This episode involves the smuggling of drugs and ancient statues. (National Geographic)
Vida Diferida: Life, Deferred (2013) – A short documentary about the impact of DACA on an undocumented student and her family. (OVID)
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Deaf Jam (2011) – A documentary feature about a deaf teen who performs sign language poetry in the New York City slam scene. (OVID)
Duties of My Heart (2024) – A short documentary presenting a performance combining sign language, contemporary dance, and spoken word. (OVID)
The Kingdom (2025) – A docuseries about the Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty. (ESPN+)
Lie Detector: Truth or Deception Season 1, Episode 6: “Raven Abaroa” – The latest installment of this docuseries about suspected but not charged individuals taking lie detectors to prove their innocence. This episode concerns a man hoping to prove he didn’t murder his wife. (A&E)
True Crime Story: Smugshot Season 2 – The return of a docuseries about disturbing cases of people who thought they could get away with crimes. (Sundance TV)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
8/15 – My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow – A lengthy documentary feature about independent journalism in Russia. (In Theaters)
8/22 – James Can Eat – A documentary feature about Australian competitive eater James Webb. (VOD and Prime Video)
8/24 – Girl Climber – A documentary following Emily Harrington as she climbs Yosemite’s El Capitan. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In IMAX Theaters)
9/1 – Make a Circle – A documentary about child care providers. (PBS)
9/5 – The American Southwest – A documentary feature narrated by Quannah ChasingHorse focused on water and wildlife conservation. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
9/12 – Naked Ambition – A biographical documentary about photographer Bunny Yeager. (In Theaters)
9/17 – David Gilmour: Live at the Circus Maximus, Rome – A concert film starring the Pink Floyd singer and guitarist performing solo. (In IMAX Theaters)
9/19 – Megadoc – A documentary feature by Mike Figgis about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. Watch the teaser trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
9/21 – Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe – A documentary portrait of the titular Italian tenor. (In Theaters)
11/21 – Zodiac Killer Project – A meta-textual true-crime documentary about an abandoned documentary on the Zodiac Killer. Read our review of Zodiac Killer Project. (In Theaters)
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