Terrific list. Definitely a few here I'll add to my own watch list.
I had the chance to see Summer of Soul in the theater with a Q&A with Questlove and it was fabulous. Such a great film and so interesting to see that history come back to life.
I went down a rabbit hole this past year with "scam/con documentaries" - the two about Fire Festival, the two about Twin Flames, the one about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, LulaRich, Bad Vegan, Cult of Mother God.
Glad you enjoyed it, Kathryn! I've seen a few of those scam-genre ones too, so many interesting and weird tales there. The screening and Q&A sounds incredible! What an amazing opportunity. 👌🏻
This is such a great list! I’m surprised I’ve only watched The Chef’s Table.
Thank you for pre-watching these and your suggestions. I have a full day off today and I’m excited to try one (or two!)
I just volunteered at the Lunenburg DocFest this fall and I saw two stunning documentaries.
Disco’s Revenge (which looks at disco through the lens of queer BIPOC culture and it made me cry, it was so amazing).
Mediha- this one was both so hard to watch and so uplifting; simultaneously. The story centres around a young woman who survived atrocities, and I was so grateful for the short interview in present time that assured us the subject of the story is safe, and living a life she’s excited about.
Working for the DocFest was such a powerful experience.
That sounds like a brilliant experience, Wake! I'll add both of those to my watchlist - they sound really interesting. Hope you find one (or two!) here that you enjoy on your day off. 🥰
Can I recommend the documentaries of Jeanie Finlay, recent addition to the Academy Awards voting board? https://www.jeaniefinlay.com/
Her work is always full of heart, humanity and emotion. Her most recent film, Your Fat Friend, made with Aubrey Gordon, is a stunning exploration of what it means to be a fat woman in (today's SM focused) society.
She is amazing. She did The Last Watch, a behind the scenes of the final Game of Thrones season, but honestly it's all small stories about small credit contributions to this behemoth series (some bits may make more sense if you watched any of the show, but really, it's not about big names but rather the emotionally big small stories).
I love the sound of this - behind the scenes stories and the crew involved in those productions are always great to hear about. It's one of the reasons I enjoyed Light & Magic.
Confession of bias: she's based in Nottingham at our local indie cinema and is an absolute sweetheart of a human (when I was going through chemo 8 years ago, she knitted me a hat - I'd only got to know her through attending a screening/Q&A with her, and then seeing her at races or an occasional parkrun!)
Urgh, yes, I had to take a few breaks through that one. Our Father was so utterly bizarre and enraging but overall easier to watch than Keep Sweet, I'd say.
Ah, yeah, I love how he always wanted to eat like the locals and would talk to anyone and everyone. I read Kitchen Confidential years ago - it was an eye-opener!
When we were in Asturias we walked in his footsteps up to Bulnes and ate like locals in the same tiny restaurant he’d visited with chef Jose Andreas. It was very touching. I don’t know if you know ‘Roads and Kingdoms’ … he was a contributor (maybe executive editor too) … so much excellent writing about seeing the world like a local.
Having been raised Mormon in Utah, I watched the story of Brother Jessop and his predatory interpretation of polygamy with horror and disgust. There are thousands of polygamists still in Utah drawn from a variety of groups. There are aspects of the lifestyle that are positive, especially for the children. Imagine having all those Moms to run to when you're hurt or scared. And I kind of feel sorry for the men who have to keep all those women happy and enough money coming in to pay the bills. It's a fascinating lifestyle, but Jessop turned it into a creepy, evil cult of old men who abused girls and women as well as exiling boys from the community. The "lost boys" were competition for the girls after all and must be eliminated. I am so glad that man met his fate in prison and may he serve an eternal sentence in a very hot place.
Chef's Table mesmerizes me. After watching the episode with Francis Mallman I went outside to my fire pit, built a huge fire and cooked a bunch of stuff in it. The thrill that went through me as I accomplished that was empowering. The episode with Christina Tosi is my absolute favorite. I think I've watched it at least 4 times.
Great list!
I've recently watched Strip Down Rise Up on Netflix. I really enjoyed it.
Mastermind:To Think Like a Killer on Disney. Dr Ann Burgess is an amazing woman. American Symphony on Netflix is an beautiful love story.
Thanks, Lisa - I think I'll do a part two at some point since there are so many to share. I'll look up both of those titles, thanks for sharing!
Terrific list. Definitely a few here I'll add to my own watch list.
I had the chance to see Summer of Soul in the theater with a Q&A with Questlove and it was fabulous. Such a great film and so interesting to see that history come back to life.
I went down a rabbit hole this past year with "scam/con documentaries" - the two about Fire Festival, the two about Twin Flames, the one about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, LulaRich, Bad Vegan, Cult of Mother God.
Glad you enjoyed it, Kathryn! I've seen a few of those scam-genre ones too, so many interesting and weird tales there. The screening and Q&A sounds incredible! What an amazing opportunity. 👌🏻
This is such a great list! I’m surprised I’ve only watched The Chef’s Table.
Thank you for pre-watching these and your suggestions. I have a full day off today and I’m excited to try one (or two!)
I just volunteered at the Lunenburg DocFest this fall and I saw two stunning documentaries.
Disco’s Revenge (which looks at disco through the lens of queer BIPOC culture and it made me cry, it was so amazing).
Mediha- this one was both so hard to watch and so uplifting; simultaneously. The story centres around a young woman who survived atrocities, and I was so grateful for the short interview in present time that assured us the subject of the story is safe, and living a life she’s excited about.
Working for the DocFest was such a powerful experience.
That sounds like a brilliant experience, Wake! I'll add both of those to my watchlist - they sound really interesting. Hope you find one (or two!) here that you enjoy on your day off. 🥰
Can I recommend the documentaries of Jeanie Finlay, recent addition to the Academy Awards voting board? https://www.jeaniefinlay.com/
Her work is always full of heart, humanity and emotion. Her most recent film, Your Fat Friend, made with Aubrey Gordon, is a stunning exploration of what it means to be a fat woman in (today's SM focused) society.
That's a great recommendation, Lisa, thanks for sharing - I've just looked up Jeanie's website and her storytelling looks really interesting. 👌🏻
She is amazing. She did The Last Watch, a behind the scenes of the final Game of Thrones season, but honestly it's all small stories about small credit contributions to this behemoth series (some bits may make more sense if you watched any of the show, but really, it's not about big names but rather the emotionally big small stories).
I love the sound of this - behind the scenes stories and the crew involved in those productions are always great to hear about. It's one of the reasons I enjoyed Light & Magic.
Confession of bias: she's based in Nottingham at our local indie cinema and is an absolute sweetheart of a human (when I was going through chemo 8 years ago, she knitted me a hat - I'd only got to know her through attending a screening/Q&A with her, and then seeing her at races or an occasional parkrun!)
That's so lovely - even more reason to watch her work!
Keep Sweet wrecked me! I’ve been avoiding Our Father…I’ll revisit it.
Urgh, yes, I had to take a few breaks through that one. Our Father was so utterly bizarre and enraging but overall easier to watch than Keep Sweet, I'd say.
That sounds manageable!
I've watched several mentioned herein: the Nina Simone, Summer of Soul, Disclosure, Our Father...
Honourable mentions for Pretend it's a City, The Inventor, The Crime of the Century, Dirty Money, Madoff, The Jinx.
Some I've not see there, Lisa, will look them up too!
We are massive fans of Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. Your list is mighty … here’s hoping for a wet winter as an excuse to curl up in front of the TV!
Ah, yeah, I love how he always wanted to eat like the locals and would talk to anyone and everyone. I read Kitchen Confidential years ago - it was an eye-opener!
When we were in Asturias we walked in his footsteps up to Bulnes and ate like locals in the same tiny restaurant he’d visited with chef Jose Andreas. It was very touching. I don’t know if you know ‘Roads and Kingdoms’ … he was a contributor (maybe executive editor too) … so much excellent writing about seeing the world like a local.
Thanks for the list! There are so many interesting ones I want to watch!!
I watched the behind the scenes of making the Pixar film “Elemental”. It’s a beautiful ode to being raised as a immigrant parents. I loved it. https://disneyplus.com/browse/entity-2fdcd8be-e299-4661-847f-ac85b2780a6d?sharesource=iOSI "Good Chemistry: The Story of Elemental | Disney+" on Disney+.
I love those kinds of documentaries! Thanks for sharing, Mika, and I'm glad you enjoyed the list. ☺️
Having been raised Mormon in Utah, I watched the story of Brother Jessop and his predatory interpretation of polygamy with horror and disgust. There are thousands of polygamists still in Utah drawn from a variety of groups. There are aspects of the lifestyle that are positive, especially for the children. Imagine having all those Moms to run to when you're hurt or scared. And I kind of feel sorry for the men who have to keep all those women happy and enough money coming in to pay the bills. It's a fascinating lifestyle, but Jessop turned it into a creepy, evil cult of old men who abused girls and women as well as exiling boys from the community. The "lost boys" were competition for the girls after all and must be eliminated. I am so glad that man met his fate in prison and may he serve an eternal sentence in a very hot place.
Chef's Table mesmerizes me. After watching the episode with Francis Mallman I went outside to my fire pit, built a huge fire and cooked a bunch of stuff in it. The thrill that went through me as I accomplished that was empowering. The episode with Christina Tosi is my absolute favorite. I think I've watched it at least 4 times.