Despite the lack of narration to contextualise the historical footage, Loznitsa’s approach of letting the picture paint a thousand words convincingly shows us the abject reality of millions of Russians who suffered greatly during the devastating Leningrad blockade of WWII.
An essential African documentary about the brutality of Habre’s regime as recalled by Chadian survivors seeking justice and closure from the unimaginable trauma that they continue to suffer decades after.
Rosi’s eye-opening first-ever documentary could be his finest—he plants his camera on a boat along the holy Ganges River, capturing the assortment of sights, sounds and fervent opinions, as it meditates on the cycles of life and death.
This politically stirring and at times truly heartbreaking Golden Horse-winning documentary gives us that intense journalistic, on the ground experience of the 2019 Hong Kong protests from start to end.
Animated documentaries may be few and far between, but this is an affecting work that skilfully details an Afghan refugee’s harrowing life story fleeing from war and conflict, and more introspectively, from himself.
Akerman’s final film, shot in long takes that aren’t always compelling, features her late mother in the domesticity of her home as they enjoy the conversations and comfortable silences.
Any film about the Holocaust is always essential viewing—this Oscar-winning documentary details the testimonies of five Hungarian Jews who survived the concentration camps during the time when the Nazis brutally intensified their extermination plan despite knowing they were losing the war.
The Oscar-winning directors of ‘Free Solo’ tackle with lucidity and suspense the incredible international rescue efforts of a group of Thai boys trapped deep in a flooded cave back in 2018.
This quaint self-reflective piece by Oliveira doesn’t always work, but it is an introspective glimpse into the filmmaker’s mind, his life experiences and awareness of his mortality.
This is an extraordinary documentary about an even more astonishing feat of mankind—the landing on the Moon in 1969—primarily using archival footage, some never seen before, as it details the still mind-boggling journey, one suspenseful step at a time.
Eternality Tan 