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157 films

Documentary

Documentary uses real people and places to examine the world. Lumière actualities and Flaherty's Nanook of the North began it; Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera and Grierson's British school made it an art; direct cinema and cinéma vérité in the 1960s brought handheld intimacy; Lanzmann's Shoah and Wiseman's institutional portraits showed its power at length. Today it includes essay films, personal portraits and investigative work.

Where
Britain, the United States, France, the Soviet Union, Germany
When
From 1895; major waves in the 1920s, 1960s and since 2000
Key figures
Robert Flaherty, Dziga Vertov, Jean Rouch, Chris Marker, Frederick Wiseman, Claude Lanzmann
Landmark films
Nanook of the North (1922), Man with a Movie Camera (1929), Shoah (1985), Sans soleil (1983)
Legacy
Gave cinema a way to witness, argue and remember

What to look for

  • Observation versus staged reconstruction
  • Interviews and archive material
  • Voice-over and essayistic structure
  • Access to closed worlds
  • The filmmaker's presence or absence

Directors with the most films in this genre

Wang Bing9 filmsWerner Herzog9 filmsChris Marker7 filmsFrederick Wiseman7 filmsAgnès Varda6 filmsNicolas Philibert6 filmsClaude Lanzmann5 filmsDziga Vertov5 filmsChantal Akerman4 filmsGianfranco Rosi4 filmsLaura Poitras4 filmsMichael Moore4 filmsPatricio Guzmán4 filmsAbbas Kiarostami3 filmsJames Algar3 filmsLouis Lumière3 filmsWalter Ruttmann3 filmsWim Wenders3 filmsAlexander Nanau2 filmsAmos Gitai2 filmsCorneliu Porumboiu2 filmsDušan Makavejev2 filmsFernando Solanas2 filmsJacques Cousteau2 films
See all 79 directors
Jean Vigo2 filmsJia Zhangke2 filmsKaouther Ben Hania2 filmsMani Kaul2 filmsSpike Lee2 filmsAlain Resnais1 filmAndrea Arnold1 filmApichatpong Weerasethakul1 filmAri Folman1 filmAva DuVernay1 filmBenjamin Christensen1 filmCanan Gerede1 filmCarlos Saura1 filmDerek Jarman1 filmElem Klimov1 filmEmir Kusturica1 filmFernando Birri1 filmFernando Pérez1 filmFérid Boughedir1 filmGiuseppe De Santis1 filmGiuseppe Tornatore1 filmHaile Gerima1 filmHany Abu-Assad1 filmHenri-Georges Clouzot1 filmJafar Panahi1 filmJean-Luc Godard1 filmJoaquim Pedro de Andrade1 filmJosé Padilha1 filmKim Ki-duk1 filmKleber Mendonça Filho1 filmKon Ichikawa1 filmLars von Trier1 filmLindsay Anderson1 filmLuis Buñuel1 filmManoel de Oliveira1 filmMargarethe von Trotta1 filmMasaki Kobayashi1 filmMati Diop1 filmMikhail Kalatozov1 filmMohsen Makhmalbaf1 filmNaomi Kawase1 filmNicholas Ray1 filmOrson Welles1 filmPayal Kapadia1 filmRadu Jude1 filmRyusuke Hamaguchi1 filmSafi Faye1 filmSarah Polley1 filmShohei Imamura1 filmSteve McQueen1 filmTerence Davies1 filmUlrich Seidl1 filmVsevolod Pudovkin1 filmVíctor Erice1 filmŽelimir Žilnik1 film

Often combined with

History Drama Biography War Musical Crime

Top 100 rated films

  1. Shoah 1985 · Claude Lanzmann · IMDb 8.7
  2. Night and Fog 1956 · Alain Resnais · IMDb 8.6
  3. The Salt of the Earth 2014 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 8.4
  4. Man with a Movie Camera 1929 · Dziga Vertov · IMDb 8.3
  5. The Battle of Chile 1979 · Patricio Guzmán · IMDb 8.3
  6. 13th 2016 · Ava DuVernay · IMDb 8.2
  7. Ennio 2021 · Giuseppe Tornatore · IMDb 8.2
  8. Welfare 1975 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 8.2
  9. Collective 2019 · Alexander Nanau · IMDb 8.1
  10. Citizenfour 2014 · Laura Poitras · IMDb 8.0
  11. Dead Souls 2018 · Wang Bing · IMDb 8.0
  12. Little Dieter Needs to Fly 1997 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 8.0
  13. Sicko 2007 · Michael Moore · IMDb 8.0
  14. The Beaches of Agnès 2008 · Agnès Varda · IMDb 8.0
  15. Toto and His Sisters 2014 · Alexander Nanau · IMDb 8.0
  16. Waltz with Bashir 2008 · Ari Folman · IMDb 8.0
  17. Bowling for Columbine 2002 · Michael Moore · IMDb 7.9
  18. Hospital 1970 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 7.9
  19. Land of Silence and Darkness 1971 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.9
  20. Lessons of Darkness 1992 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.9
  21. Til Madness Do Us Part 2013 · Wang Bing · IMDb 7.9
  22. 4 Little Girls 1997 · Spike Lee · IMDb 7.8
  23. A Grin Without a Cat 1977 · Chris Marker · IMDb 7.8
  24. Bus 174 2002 · José Padilha · IMDb 7.8
  25. Faces Places 2017 · Agnès Varda · IMDb 7.8
  26. Homework 1989 · Abbas Kiarostami · IMDb 7.8
  27. Le joli mai 1963 · Chris Marker · IMDb 7.8
  28. My Best Fiend 1999 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.8
  29. The Last Bolshevik 1993 · Chris Marker · IMDb 7.8
  30. To Be and to Have 2002 · Nicolas Philibert · IMDb 7.8
  31. Encounters at the End of the World 2007 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.7
  32. F for Fake 1973 · Orson Welles · IMDb 7.7
  33. Fengming: A Chinese Memoir 2007 · Wang Bing · IMDb 7.7
  34. Five 2003 · Abbas Kiarostami · IMDb 7.7
  35. Grizzly Man 2005 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.7
  36. Sans soleil 1983 · Chris Marker · IMDb 7.7
  37. The Gleaners and I 2000 · Agnès Varda · IMDb 7.7
  38. Titicut Follies 1967 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 7.7
  39. Tokyo Olympiad 1965 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 7.7
  40. Buena Vista Social Club 1999 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.6
  41. Daguerréotypes 1976 · Agnès Varda · IMDb 7.6
  42. Every Little Thing 1997 · Nicolas Philibert · IMDb 7.6
  43. Häxan 1922 · Benjamin Christensen · IMDb 7.6
  44. Nostalgia for the Light 2010 · Patricio Guzmán · IMDb 7.6
  45. Pictures of Ghosts 2023 · Kleber Mendonça Filho · IMDb 7.6
  46. Pina 2011 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.6
  47. The Hour of the Furnaces 1968 · Fernando Solanas · IMDb 7.6
  48. The Pearl Button 2015 · Patricio Guzmán · IMDb 7.6
  49. Tokyo Trial 1983 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 7.6
  50. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed 2022 · Laura Poitras · IMDb 7.5
  51. Fahrenheit 9/11 2004 · Michael Moore · IMDb 7.5
  52. High School 1968 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 7.5
  53. Kenedi Goes Back Home 2003 · Želimir Žilnik · IMDb 7.5
  54. Roger & Me 1989 · Michael Moore · IMDb 7.5
  55. Salt for Svanetia 1930 · Mikhail Kalatozov · IMDb 7.5
  56. Statues Also Die 1953 · Chris Marker · IMDb 7.5
  57. Stories We Tell 2012 · Sarah Polley · IMDb 7.5
  58. The Mystery of Picasso 1956 · Henri-Georges Clouzot · IMDb 7.5
  59. Below Sea Level 2008 · Gianfranco Rosi · IMDb 7.4
  60. Cave of Forgotten Dreams 2010 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.4
  61. City Hall 2020 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 7.4
  62. Flamenco 1995 · Carlos Saura · IMDb 7.4
  63. Ford Transit 2002 · Hany Abu-Assad · IMDb 7.4
  64. Four Daughters 2023 · Kaouther Ben Hania · IMDb 7.4
  65. Letter from Siberia 1957 · Chris Marker · IMDb 7.4
  66. Mur Murs 1981 · Agnès Varda · IMDb 7.4
  67. The Five Obstructions 2003 · Lars von Trier · IMDb 7.4
  68. This Is Not a Film 2011 · Jafar Panahi · IMDb 7.4
  69. World Without Sun 1964 · Jacques Cousteau · IMDb 7.4
  70. Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat 1896 · Louis Lumière · IMDb 7.3
  71. Blue 1993 · Derek Jarman · IMDb 7.3
  72. Crude Oil 2008 · Wang Bing · IMDb 7.3
  73. Into the Abyss 2011 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.3
  74. Land Without Bread 1933 · Luis Buñuel · IMDb 7.3
  75. National Gallery 2014 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 7.3
  76. News from Home 1977 · Chantal Akerman · IMDb 7.3
  77. The Last of the Unjust 2013 · Claude Lanzmann · IMDb 7.3
  78. The Living Desert 1953 · James Algar · IMDb 7.3
  79. Three Sisters 2012 · Wang Bing · IMDb 7.3
  80. À propos de Nice 1930 · Jean Vigo · IMDb 7.3
  81. Douro, Faina Fluvial 1931 · Manoel de Oliveira · IMDb 7.2
  82. From the East 1993 · Chantal Akerman · IMDb 7.2
  83. La Danse 2009 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 7.2
  84. Of Time and the City 2008 · Terence Davies · IMDb 7.2
  85. Suite Habana 2003 · Fernando Pérez · IMDb 7.2
  86. The Cordillera of Dreams 2019 · Patricio Guzmán · IMDb 7.2
  87. The Oath 2010 · Laura Poitras · IMDb 7.2
  88. 24 City 2008 · Jia Zhangke · IMDb 7.1
  89. A Man Vanishes 1967 · Shohei Imamura · IMDb 7.1
  90. A Sixth Part of the World 1926 · Dziga Vertov · IMDb 7.1
  91. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City 1927 · Walter Ruttmann · IMDb 7.1
  92. Camera d'Afrique 1983 · Férid Boughedir · IMDb 7.1
  93. Cow 2021 · Andrea Arnold · IMDb 7.1
  94. Field Diary 1982 · Amos Gitai · IMDb 7.1
  95. Innocence Unprotected 1968 · Dušan Makavejev · IMDb 7.1
  96. Letter from My Village 1975 · Safi Faye · IMDb 7.1
  97. The Vanishing Prairie 1954 · James Algar · IMDb 7.1
  98. Youth (Spring) 2023 · Wang Bing · IMDb 7.1
  99. Bitter Money 2016 · Wang Bing · IMDb 7.0
  100. Embracing 1992 · Naomi Kawase · IMDb 7.0