Movies like The Big Wave Project II (2022)
The best movies like The Big Wave Project II (2022) are Riding Giants (2004), The Art of Flight (2011) and The Endless Summer (1966). If The Big Wave Project II hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- NewestWolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2026)Released 2026
Riding Giants (2004)
Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Art of Flight (2011)
Iconic snowboarder Travis Rice and friends redefine what is possible in the mountains. Experience the highs, as new tricks are landed and new zones opened, alongside the lows, where avalanches, accidents, and wrong-turns strike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Endless Summer (1966)
Documentary filmmaker Bruce Brown, himself a competition-level surfer, follows surfers Michael Hynson and Robert August on an around-the-world surfing adventure. With Brown's wry, sardonic narration and a twangy, guitar-driven instrumental soundtrack by The Sandals playing over the silent footage, Mike and Rob leave their California home to visit Hawaii, Australia, South Africa and other secluded surfing spots in a search for the surfer's holy grail that Brown dubs "The Perfect Wave.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2026)
Reconnecting with a pack of wolves he has followed for seven years, Bertie sets out to capture one of the Arctic's most dangerous and rarely filmed hunts: wolves taking on a bull moose, prey roughly ten times their size. Led by Kona, a striking white breeding male, the pack faces a critical winter as dwindling food supplies, an encroaching rival wolf and an aging leader threaten its survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThis Place Rules (2022)
Acclaimed for his unfiltered reporting and deadpan humor, Andrew Callaghan brings his gonzo style reporting to the undercurrents that led to the January 6 Capitol Riot. As one of the best-known and hardest working journalists of his generation, the 25-year-old ventures on a wild RV journey through America to take the pulse of a divided nation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Will Fall (2014)
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Deepest Breath (2023)
Bonded by their love of freediving, a record-setting champion and a heroic safety diver try to make history with a remarkable feat, ready to risk it all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026)
Experience the meteoric rise of Oasis through rare footage and untold stories as the band reunites for Oasis Live '25, chronicling their journey from Manchester streets to global rock stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGilbert (2017)
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe September Issue (2009)
A documentary chronicling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 fall-fashion issue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Summers of It - Chapter Two: It Ends (2019)
This documentary focuses on the actors and their journey over two summers to create the remake to the original IT, by Stephen King. The documentary originally released as bonus material, bundled with IT: Chapter Two.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShack Therapy (2006)
Shack up around the world as the crew explores South Africa, Hawaii, Norway, Mexico, Caroline Islands, and West Oz. Travel in Brian Conley's Hurricane Hunter to desolate Baja breaks... watch Weatherley and Walsh surf the icy waters of Norway's hidden gems... score endless barrels with the Rip Curl team in the South Pacific's Caroline Islands... witness the mayhem of a giant day at Peahi and do a little soul sesh Down Under with a trip to West Australia's untapped coast line. - Written by TGR
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Sixth Element: The Ross Clarke-Jones Story (2006)
Overview The Sixth Element By any standard, the life story of Ross Clarke-Jones qualifies as riveting. A daredevil ad extremis, Clarke-Jones learned to tackle and surmount some of the most mammoth waves on the face of the Earth. And that attitude fittingly mirrors the surfer's approach to life, colored and shaped by an insatiable restlessness and a hunger for new thrills. His drive transported him from one exotic corner of the world to another, Tasmania to the Amazon and everywhere in between. This documentary tells Clarke-Jones's amazing story, with insights from heavyweights including Jeff Bushman, Matt Hoy, Noah Johnson, Jamie Brisick, Kelly Slater and many others. The late Dennis Hopper narrates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Waveriders (2008)
Previously untold story of the unlikely Irish roots of the worldwide surfing phenomenom
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Pacific Vibrations (1970)
Psychedelic surfer documentary. Also see http://encyclopediaofsurfing.com/entries/drugs-and-surfing
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Perfect moment - L'aventure continue (2004)
On land, sea and air: sport and extreme sensations. On the program, among others: Garret McNamara's fight with "Jaws", a formidable surfing spot, snowboarding with Xavier De Le Rue, three times world champion, windsurfing with Josh Angulo in Cape Verde, freefly with the parachutists of Team Babylon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The September Sessions (2002)
Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, and others take a trip to the coast of Sumatra, where they find themselves surfing beautiful waves, and lose the urgency they have come to live with being professionals. September Sessions documents this trip with interviews and 16mm footage of life on a once in a lifetime surftrip.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Thicker Than Water (2000)
Chris Malloy, Emmett Malloy, and Jack Johnson got together to document the life and times of a pro surfer. Shot all on 16mm Film "Thicker Than Water" follows Rob Machado, Kelly Slater, Brad Gerlach, Shane Dorian, and others on a 18 month journey through the North Atlantic, South Pacific, and the Bay of Bengal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Billabong Odyssey (2003)
Action sports documentary that follows the industry's best big wave surfers as they travel the world searching for the largest waves that nature has to offer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Sons of the Surf (1926)
Surfing at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Most surfers are human, one is a dog. The educational documentary is part of the Bruce Scenic Novelties series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Peel: The Peru Project (2006)
Presenting the newest film from the family that made surf-film history, (Bruce Brown, Endless Summer, Dana Brown, Step into Liquid) Wes Brown and T.J. Barrack take us on-location to the beautiful waters of Peru where surfing is a way of life and surfers are worshiped as National Heroes. Including an enchanted visit to Machu Picchu, this surf odyssey fuses unique cultural aspects and electrifying surf footage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Big Wave Project II?
The closest matches to The Big Wave Project II are Riding Giants (2004), The Art of Flight (2011) and The Endless Summer (1966). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Big Wave Project II?
Start with Riding Giants (2004), the closest match to The Big Wave Project II.
What is the newest movie like The Big Wave Project II?
Wolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Big Wave Project II?
Yes: Riding Giants (2004), The Art of Flight (2011) and The Endless Summer (1966).
How are movies similar to The Big Wave Project II chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Big Wave Project II, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.