Movies like Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man (2006)

South of the Border (2009)

A road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Dahomey (2024)

Thousands of royal artifacts of Dahomey, a West African kingdom, were taken by French colonists in the 19th century for collection and display in Paris. Centuries later, a fraction returned to their home in modern-day Benin. This dramatized documentary follows the journey of 26 of the treasures as told by cultural art historians, embattled university students, and one of the repatriated statues himself.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Statues Also Die (1953)

Commissioned by the journal Présence Africaine, this short documentary examines how African art is devalued and alienated through colonial and museum contexts. Beginning with the question of why African works are confined to ethnographic displays while Greek or Egyptian art is celebrated, the film became a landmark of anti-colonial cinema and was banned in France for eight years.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

In the Realms of the Unreal (2004)

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

General Idi Amin Dada (1974)

Filmmaker Barbet Schroeder shows the Ugandan dictator meeting his Cabinet, reviewing his troops, explaining his ideology.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Uncle Yanco (1967)

While in San Francisco for the promotion of her last film in October 1967, Agnès Varda, tipped by her friend Tom Luddy, gets to know a relative she had never heard of before, Jean Varda, nicknamed "Yanco". This hitherto unknown uncle lives on a boat in Sausalito, is a painter, has adopted a hippie lifestyle and loves life. The meeting is a very happy one.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011)

A presentation of a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society. This subject matter will transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical 'life ground' attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a 'Resource-Based Economy'.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (2012)

Takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, then moves to Anonymous' raucous beginnings on the website 4chan. Through interviews with current members, people recently returned from prison or facing trial, writers, academics, activists and major players in various "raids," the documentary traces Anonymous’ evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach, the most transformative civil disobedience of our time.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Bus: A French Football Mutiny (2026)

This documentary revisits the French football team's controversial 2010 World Cup and the bus strike that sparked global headlines and national outrage.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Bruce Lee, the Legend (1984)

The Official Golden Harvest tribute to the Master of the Martial Arts Film, Bruce Lee.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988)

Marcel Ophuls' riveting film details the heinous legacy of the Gestapo head dubbed "The Butcher of Lyon." Responsible for over 4,000 deaths in occupied France during World War II, Barbie would escape—with U.S. help—to South America in 1951, where he lived until a global manhunt led to his 1983 arrest and subsequent trial.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (2007)

The definitive 3½-hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic 'Blade Runner', culled from 80 interviews and hours of never-before-seen outtakes and lost footage.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Tupac: Resurrection (2003)

Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Sidney (2022)

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Director and the Jedi (2018)

An intimate documentary delving into Rian Johnson's process as he comes in as a director new to the Star Wars universe.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now (2023)

An intimate, all-access documentary that will chronicle Lewis Capaldi's journey from a scrappy teen with a viral performance to a Grammy-nominated pop star.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)

The story of the insane scandals related to the remake of “Island of Dr. Moreau” —originally a novel by H. G. Wells—, which was brought to the big screen in 1996. How director Richard Stanley spent four years developing the project just to find an abrupt end to his work while leading actor Marlon Brando pulled the strings in the shadows. Now for the first time, the living key players recount what really happened and why it all went so spectacularly wrong.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)

Examines the evolution of the Black Power Movement in US society from 1967 to 1975. It features footage of the movement shot by Swedish journalists in the United States during that period and includes the appearances of Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and other activists, artists, and leaders central to the movement.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

When We Were Kings (1996)

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Making of Yaaba (1989)

Djibril Diop Mambéty followed and filmed the shooting of Yaaba, Idrissa Ouédraogo's second feature film. A documentary full of humorous anecdotes regarding the dangers of shooting in Burkina Faso.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Flower Power Ost - Die Blumenkinder des Sozialismus (TBA)

There was also flower power under socialism. From the late 1960s to the late 1980s, hippies from East Berlin, Warsaw, Prague and Budapest dreamed of conquering a world that was actually closed to them. They wore long hair, beards and parkas, squatted houses, lived in communes, listened to blues and rock 'n' roll - music was their philosophy and world view. The documentary looks back at the flower children of the East, for whom Woodstock was further away than the moon.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Racismo: Uma Descolonização Em Curso (2025)

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

100 Years (2021)

As the Communist Party of China celebrates its 100th anniversary, this documentary looks back at the party’s history, from the 1920’s, to the Civil War, the Great Leap Forward, the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution and the reforms by Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Did the Great Famine cost more than 15 million lives? How does the Cultural Revolution continue to shape Chinese politics today? What was capitalism like after Mao’s death? Through rare and never-before-seen historical footage, expert interviews and eyewitness accounts of the Great Famine, Tiananmen incident, and the Cultural Revolution, get to know how one party has so profoundly shaped China.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

The Words Women Spoke One Day (2024)

1962, at the end of the Algerian War, Algerian independence activists are released from Rennes prison. For one night, filmmaker Yann Le Masson films them. They tell him their vision for the future of Algeria and the place women must occupy in the new society to be built. Fifty years later, with the soundtrack missing, Raphaël Pillosio sets out to find these women. Two deaf people set about lip-reading the women filmed by Yann Le Masson, revealing snatches of sentences, words cut short by the camera's shifts. An investigative film in which the few activists still alive discover their old testimonies and tell us their silent story. The reconstruction of the lost soundtrack will remain in suspense; no happy ending will come to absorb the absence, to cancel the ferocious operation of time. An essay film about cinema that depicts their disappearance, and forever keeps them alive.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Namibia: The Spirit of Wilderness (2016)

With more than 300 days a year, the sun dominates this country so much that it’s even shining from their flag. It’s a barren land, sometimes it’s like it’s from another planet but still familiar. It is land of contrasts and colours with wide landscapes and fascinating deserts. Influenced by various cultures during colonization and now reborn from the shadows of Apartheid in 1990, Namibia gives a beautiful collage of culture, language, art, music and food. Everyone who loves an adventure should travel to Namibia, the precious corner of our world full of incredible natural wonders. The experience of endless landscapes and an unparalleled blaze of colour make Namibia unforgettable. NAMIBIA – THE SPIRIT OF WILDERNESS invites you on a trip whose fascination will never let you go: From the Namib Desert over the breath-taking Fish River Canyon to the spectacular Etosha National Park where you will see wild elephants, antelopes, giraffes, zebras and lions.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Intercepted (2025)

A journey through Ukraine that reveals the banality of evil behind the Russian invasion with the shocking juxtaposition of two realities: the Ukrainians who have been suffering and resisting the war violence, and the Russian military, and civilians, who have been perpetrating it.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Mountain Gorilla (1992)

Mountain Gorilla takes us to a remote range of volcanic mountains in Africa, described by those who have been there as ""one of the most beautiful places in the world"", and home to the few hundred remaining mountain gorillas. In spending a day with a gorilla family in the mountain forest, audiences will be captivated by these intelligent and curious animals, as they eat, sleep, play and interact with each other. Although gorillas have been much-maligned in our popular culture, viewers will finally ""meet the legend"" face to face, and learn about their uncertain future.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Un homme de Parole (1991)

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Mariner of the Mountains (2023)

Filmmaker Karim Aïnouz decides to take a boat, cross the Mediterranean, and embark on his first journey to Algeria. Accompanied by the memory of his mother, Iracema, and his camera, Aïnouz gives a detailed account of the journey to his father’s homeland, interweaving present, past, and future.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary