A movie that documents something, usually some issue or event that that the filmmaker is interested in.
Netflix and director Joshua Rofé brings us ‘Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed,’ a documentary that explores the life and career of artist Bob Ross. ‘The Joy of Painting’ host Bob Ross brought joys to millions of viewers with his simplistic, but relatable look on art and painting. Every day he came on television…
A short documentary discussing the life of boxing trainer Francisco Mendez, ‘Everything But Fear,’ is making big waves at film festivals and on the red carpet. According to a press release: Everything But Fear is a short documentary about Francisco Mendez, a renowned boxing trainer and founder of Mendez Boxing, New York City’s premier boxing gym.…
‘Misha and the Wolves‘ is a Netflix documentary written and directed by Sam Hobkinson about the story of fraud surrounding Misha Defonseca and the plan to expose her. Misha Defonseca would tell a harrowing story of her time as a Belgium orphan of World War 2. She told neighbors, friends, and a book editor that…
‘Val‘ is an Amazon Studios documentary that follows the life of actor Val Kilmer. It is directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo and narrated by Jack Kilmer, son of Val. The story follows Val Kilmer who just went through a terrible ordeal with throat cancer that left his voice totally destroyed. Using archival footage…
Directed by Shannon Houchins and Kaiser Whitmire, ‘Howard’s Mill‘ presents itself as a documentary film from Hideout Pictures and Strike Back Studios. Howard’s Mill is located near Springfield, Tennessee. A pair of documentary filmmakers head there to meet Dwight Nixon, whose wife went missing on the property. At first, the police suspect him, but he…
Made by the production company Lightbox, ‘Sophie: A Murder in West Cork‘ is a three-part true crime Netflix documentary directed by John Dower. French film and TV producer Sophie Toscan Du Plantier frequently visited the Irish coastal town of West Cork where she also owned a vacation home. Loved the community, they are horrified when…
In 2016, filmmakers Robert Cannan and Ross Adam set out to make ‘The Lovers and the Despot,’ a documentary about the abduction of Korean movie director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee. On January 22, 1978, Choi Eun-hee was kidnapped by North Korean agents and taken to the communist country where she was forced to…
Directed by Joshua Zeman, ‘The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness‘ is a Netflix documentary miniseries that tells the story of journalist Maury Terry and his obsession with New York serial killer David Berkowitz. Maury Terry (voiced by Paul Giamatti) was a journalist reporting on the .44 Caliber Killer also known as the Son…
‘Sasquatch‘ is a three-part documentary series on Hulu directed by Joshua Rofé. It recounts the tale of investigative journalist David Holthouse who looking for clues about a triple murder that is said to be the work of Big Foot. Holthouse recounts a story from his youthful days in Mendocino County, California where he briefly worked…
Netflix and TriBeCa Productions bring us the four-part documentary series ‘This Is a Robbery: The World’s Greatest Art Heist.’ It covers the 1990 unsolved robbery of Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and is directed by Colin Barnicle. In May 1990, two men disguised as Boston police officers rang the backdoor of the Isabella Stewart Gardner…
‘Allen v. Farrow‘ is a four-part documentary streaming on HBO Max that details the disturbing allegations against movie director Woody Allen. It is directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. Mia Farrow, her adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, adopted son Ronan Farrow, and several of her other children discuss the allegations that Mia’s longtime partner, film…
‘Murder Among The Mormons‘ is a three-part true crime documentary series produced by BBC Studios and released on Netflix. All three episodes are directed by Jared Hess and Tyler Measom. In 1980, Mark Hofmann is a counterfeiter, forger, and convicted murderer. This documentary tells the story of how he set up a grand scheme to…
‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel‘ is a four-part Netflix true-crime documentary directed by Joe Berlinger. It recounts the disturbing story of Elisa Lam who was tragically found dead on the premises and the surrounding mystery of her death. Elisa Lam was a twenty-one-year-old Canadian student who arrived in Los Angeles as part…
‘Tiger‘ is an HBO sports documentary that follows the career of championship golfer Tiger Woods. It is co-directed by Matthew Hamachek and Matthew Heineman and streams on HBO Max. The documentary examines the career of Tiger Woods, who seemed to be appointed from the very beginning by his parents Earl and Kultida Woods. His father…
‘Suffer For Good‘ is a documentary that tells the story of Seb Zewdie, a boxing champion from Ethiopia. Filmmaker and director Danny Simmons interviews him, his family, and his trainees as they tell Seb’s inspirational story. They both joined StudioJake to talk about the film. Check out the interview below: According to the documentary’s press…
Marc Smerling directs this five-part FX true crime documentary series. ‘A Wilderness of Error‘ explores the case of Jeffrey MacDonald, who was convicted in 1970 of killing his pregnant wife and two daughters. With new evidence, hidden secrets, and salacious gossip, could he be innocent of the heinous crime? Colette, Kimberley, and Kristen MacDonald were…
Netflix released volume two of its ‘Unsolved Mysteries‘ revival. Original show creators John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer return along with Shawn Levy acting as executive producer. These six episodes deal with all manner of mysterious occurrences. Political intrigue, supernatural forces, child abductions, vanishing murderers, and strange suicides are all explored this time around. Each…
‘American Murder: The Family Next Door‘ is a true crime documentary that tells the shocking and horrifying story of the Watts family murders. It is directed by Jenny Popplewell and was released on Netflix. Shan’ann Watts arrived at her Colorado home at 2 a.m. after a business trip to Arizona. After that, she and her…
‘Class Action Park‘ is a documentary that discusses the iconic and now-defunct Action Park directed by Seth Porges and Chris Charles Scott III. It was released as an HBO Max exclusive and narrated by John Hodgman. Action Park is legendary as a water park as well as the number of lawsuits over safety violations, injuries,…
The Netflix documentary ‘The Speed Cubers‘ is directed by Sue Kim and takes on Speed Cubing, the competition for solving the Rubik’s Cube, as its subject. It specifically discusses the friendly competition between American “cuber” Max Park from California and Australian competitor Feliks Zemdegs, both world record-holders. The movie tells the story of how Zemdegs…
‘Fear City: New York vs The Mafia‘ is a three-part true crime documentary series on Netflix. It is directed by Sam Hobkinson and discusses law enforcement’s attempts to break the Mafia’s control of New York City. In 1970s-80s New York, the Big Apple is known as Fear City with the Gambino, Colombo, Bonanno, Lucchese, and…
ESPN Films and Netflix brings us ‘The Last Dance,’ a ten-part documentary series directed by Jason Hehir. It discusses NBA pro-athlete Michael Jordan and his 1984 – 1998 career which saw them create a dynasty that is still discussed in sports media to this day. The series begins with 1998 NBA season as they head…
Executive producer Shawn Levy brings the hit show ‘Unsolved Mysteries‘ back to life on the streaming service Netflix with a six-part volume one. Like the original show, it touches on various unsolved crimes and their lack of a satisfying conclusion. One episode deals with UFO sightings that affected an entire family who all claim they…
“Fishing With Dynamite” is a documentary film written and directed by Paul Wagner. It was released by Aspiration Entertainment and produced by American Focus, Inc. for the Olsson Center for Applied Ethics at the Darden School Of Business, University of Virginia. The documentary is a financial and economic feature that focuses on “Capitalism in Crisis”…
‘The Rise of Jordan Peterson‘ is a 2019 documentary directed by Patricia Marcoccia which follows the clinical psychologist and professor Jordan Peterson, the writing of his books, his stand against proposed Canadian law Bill C-16, and subsequent rise to fame. It was produced by Holding Space Films and released by Gravitas Ventures. The film starts with…
You must be logged in to post a comment.