Entertainment
10 Greatest Documentaries of the Last 10 Years, Ranked
Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. And sometimes it’s more fascinating, too. While we often seek out scripted movies to escape, documentaries serve as our way of learning the truth about a specific moment, movement, or person — something so richly worth telling that a dramatized depiction wouldn’t do it justice. While documentaries never reach the same level as blockbusters, they can be just as important and profound.
Over the last 10 years, the world of documentaries has taken audiences to daring and risky places, as they told stories some have never dared to tell. From individuals who fought for freedom and rights to those who helped shape who we are today, the topics on this list are wide-ranging and unique. What they have in common is that they are great. If you’re not a documentary person, these 10 films might change that.
10
‘Faces Places’ (2017)
Sometimes it’s just a human connection through art that is the most profound. The French film Faces Places follows legendary French New Wave filmmaker Agnès Varda and renowned street artist/photographer JR as they journey through the French countryside in a van equipped with a portable photo booth. Along the way, colossal black-and-white portraits of everyday people are plastered on the sides of barns, houses, and water towers. While honoring the forgotten, the film’s core theme is the intergenerational bond between a young, camera-obsessed JR and the aging, visually impaired cinematic icon Varda.
Faces Places is a memory film that is nothing short of charming. The duo is on a mission to celebrate the ordinary, but in the process, it’s their bond that becomes the allure. While their heroic acts turn the mundane into something extraordinary, Varda and JR push one another creatively and emotionally. Faces Places serves as a touching meditation on aging and memory, grounded in hope and joy. The profound beauty of humanity is alive and well in Faces Places. This documentary proves there is still good in this world.
9
‘Summer of Soul’ (2021)
Perhaps one of the more recognizable titles on this list is Summer of Soul. A documentary that’s more than a celebration of music, Summer of Soul is an unprecedented exploration of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the electrifying film restores archival footage of the six-week festival to celebrate Black joy, culture, and the healing power of music. Rescuing legendary performances by artists like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, and Sly and the Family Stone, Summer of Soul gave audiences a chance to witness a significant cultural event.
Rather than depict the dark times of the decade, Summer of Soul opts for a genuine celebration of pride and community. It serves as a reminder that there were significant moments beyond the moon landing and Woodstock in 1969. With a DJ and music producer at the helm, it infuses its storytelling with a toe-tapping rhythm and cadence that match the film’s tight pacing. With contemporary interviews from both festival attendees and the artists themselves, Summer of Soul puts the moment in the context of the broader Civil Rights movement and the era’s shifting cultural attitudes. A masterpiece for its technical achievements and historical storytelling, Summer of Soul deserved the Oscar.
8
‘Collective’ (2019)
Perhaps one of the most devastating documentaries about a harrowing event, Collective, directed, written, produced, shot, and edited by Alexander Nanau, follows the aftermath of a 2015 Bucharest nightclub fire that killed 64 people. Nanau’s film exposes systemic corruption within the Romanian healthcare system, detailing how diluted hospital disinfectants led to the deaths of burn victims who otherwise would have survived. Through parallel tracks — investigative journalists at the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper and whistleblower, Vlad Voiculescu, the newly appointed, reform-minded Health Minister — the film serves as a real-life, gripping look at the importance of a free press, the dangers of political greed, and how everyday citizens suffer when governments prioritize profit over human lives.
A heavily acclaimed near-perfect film, Collective transcends standard true-crime or tragedy coverage, instead delivering a blistering examination of institutional corruption and the mechanics of democracy. Through a strict fly-on-the-wall approach with no manipulative musical score or talking-head interviews, Collective puts the power in the viewer’s hands. In turn, it creates a powerful display of how journalists, medical informants, and the surviving victims who refused to stay silent activated a social change.
7
‘My Octopus Teacher’ (2020)
Don’t let the title fool you — My Octopus Teacher is a delightful documentary. Directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, My Octopus Teacher chronicles filmmaker Craig Foster as he begins daily freediving in a South African kelp forest, experiencing burnout and depression. In the process, Foster fosters a profound, year-long friendship with a wild octopus, which teaches him about the fragility of life and our connection to nature. The film is meant to challenge our traditional boundaries between humans and wild animals while also depicting the harsh realities of ocean life.
If My Octopus Teacher didn’t give you a desire to dive deep into the conservation conversation, nothing will. A profound human journey through the octopus’s world, the documentary is not only emotionally remarkable but cinematically brilliant. The underwater film work is sensational. My Octopus Teacher’s greatest gift is the philosophical lessons that Foster finds. The film is a visual meditation on life, death, and nature’s resilience. It’s a story of personal healing, but also a reminder that nature holds life-altering lessons for humanity.
6
‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’ (2018)
Many of us grew up with the iconic children’s television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, but nary did we think about the man behind the hero: Fred Rogers. In Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, director Morgan Neville brings viewers on a journey through the life, philosophy, and legacy of the beloved creator. An ultimate call for compassion, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? touches on the man behind the sweater who spent his life tackling the world’s toughest topics through his radical, unwavering message that every child is special and worthy of love exactly as they are. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? blends archival footage and interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, serving as an emotional journey through nostalgia that makes Rogers an even more beloved icon.
Perhaps the most profound discovery the documentary highlights is that there was more to the soft-spoken television personality: Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister who possessed deep creativity, immense empathy, and occasional moments of self-doubt. Everything you believed about him was genuine, and yet, he was even bigger than we could imagine. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is an emotionally resonant masterpiece that serves as a rainbow after the storm of our current society.
5
‘Navalny’ (2022)
You most certainly have heard of Alexei Navalny; now his story is brought to life in an extraordinary way. Met with critical acclaim, Navalny, directed by Daniel Roher, chronicles the life, near-fatal assassination attempt, and investigation surrounding the late Russian opposition leader. Winning the Academy Award, Navalny is a gripping, tense real-life political thriller that puts viewers in the midst of the battle between Navalny and his fierce opposition to Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. A genuine hero’s journey, Navalny provides striking scenes of spy work, a fight for democratic reform, and the grave decision to fly home to take a stand.
Because of the subject’s notoriety, Navalny had an automatic draw for the film. Fortunately, the exceptional execution made the film bigger than anyone could have imagined. Watching him in action is remarkable, but knowing his untimely fate, the heartbreaking climax remains a profound symbol of resilience. It’s inevitable that someone will try to dramatize Navalny’s story for a Hollywood blockbuster, but the fact of the matter is, Roher’s is already as perfect as it’s going to get. Navalny is equally enthralling as it is terrifying.
4
‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’ (2022)
If you were a fan of the hit Hulu miniseries Dopesick, you’ll most certainly be enamored with Nan Goldin’s remarkable story in the documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, as it puts a face to a fighter. The Oscar-nominated film directed by Laura Poitras chronicles the life of the renowned photographer. Across two timelines, the film is structured into distinct chapters: weaving her personal journey through trauma, addiction, and New York’s underground art scene, and her relentless activist campaign to hold the billionaire Sackler family accountable for the opioid crisis. Together, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed encapsulates Goldin’s belief in the intersection of art and political struggle.
From her present leading the fierce activist group called P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) to her past rebelling and immersing herself in the LGBTQ+, drag, and bohemian communities while fighting against the AIDS epidemic, Poitras brings both times together. The film’s thematic parallel acts as a brilliant argument about how personal trauma and a fervent call to action can be channeled into systemic change. An intensely intimate and private use of storytelling, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is filled with gravitas and inspiration. The power of the documentary is how it pushed impassioned viewers into taking a stand for themselves.
3
‘Cameraperson’ (2016)
Sometimes the best subject for a documentary is yourself. Called an autobiographical collage documentary, Cameraperson strips away the traditional narrative to weave together outtakes from Kirsten Johnson’s 25-year career shooting major documentaries, intercutting them with intimate personal footage and exploring the ethical responsibilities of filmmaking and how the camera shapes our memory. More than just a film for film people, Cameraperson goes from epic locales, including postwar Bosnia, Nigeria, and Yemen, to quiet moments with her two young twins, her father, and poignant footage of her mother as she succumbs to Alzheimer’s disease. A simply splendid film, Cameraperson is a love letter to herself.
Cameraperson provides a new perspective on filmmaking. In the process, Johnson questions the emotional and psychological toll placed on the cameraperson who documents the trauma and suffering of others. From there, the ethics of the person behind the lens and the subject are explored as Johnson shares the morality of what’s allowed to be shown. Cameraperson serves as a visual diary of Johnson’s life and career — one she can share with the world. It’s a highlight reel, if you will, but more importantly, Cameraperson is a memory film.
2
‘Flee’ (2021)
An animated documentary? How can that be? Watch Flee, and you’ll understand. In this international collaboration, Flee tells the true story of “Amin Nawabi,” an Afghan refugee who reveals his traumatic journey to Denmark to his close friend, director Jonas Poher Rasmussen. The film chronicles Amin, who confronts a 20-year secret — that his family was separated while fleeing — to finally build a future with his partner, creating a powerful look at trauma, memory, and the true meaning of “home.” By using animation to protect the subject’s identity while visually recreating his memories, Flee pairs this unique form of art with archival footage to craft a deeply personal account. Flee is a powerful film that bravely explores the multifaceted identity of a refugee, navigating displacement, the loss of a home country, and coming of age as a gay man in Europe.
Through this standout technique, Flee‘s innovative approach invites the audience into Amin’s memory in a way that sparks something universal. It gives Amin an identity beyond “refugee,” painting a grand portrait of a brave man navigating identity. His harrowing, suppressed accounts are captured through this filmmaking technique, which captures the emotional essence of the traumatic events. The film is grounded and rooted in vulnerability. If you were curious as to just how historic Flee is, it marked the first time a film was nominated for Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature, and Best International Feature Film at the Oscars. That’s the mark of something uniquely special.
1
’13th’ (2016)
Perhaps one of the most harrowing and fascinating films, and one that also helped shape Netflix as a streamer, is 13th. Directed by Ava DuVernay, the award-winning documentary examines the history of racial inequality in the United States, arguing that the nation’s prison system is a modern extension of slavery. The title refers to the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery but contains a loophole allowing forced labor as a punishment for a crime. Highlighting alarming statistics and tracing how different administrations, from Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton, shaped mass incarceration, 13th invites viewers in as activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated individuals educate on the amendment’s history in the face of the modern Black Lives Matter movement.
Through DuVernay’s masterful storytelling, 13th traces the history of racial inequality in the United States, where no one is off the hook. Accountability comes to all sides of the political aisle. Through sobering historical footage and gut-wrenching personal accounts, 13th’s complex academic theory is proven in an accessible and emotional manner. The diverse composition of experts, scholars, and victims gives viewers a necessary multi-faceted view of the crisis without becoming overtly overwhelming. 13th is a documentary that still resonates 10 years later. Perhaps it’s time to revisit it, as much has occurred over this past decade.
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