Movies like Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar (2015)
The best movies like Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar (2015) are I Called Him Morgan (2016), My Mom Jayne (2025) and Shawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020). If Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWoodstock (1970)7.6/10 from 307 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
I Called Him Morgan (2016)
Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.
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 thisShawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020)
A portrait of singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes' life, chronicling the past few years of his rise and journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLooking for Richard (1996)
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Heath Ledger (2017)
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019)
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
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 thisJohn & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky (2018)
Film telling the untold story of John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine, exploring the creative collaboration between Lennon and Yoko Ono and featuring interviews and never-seen-before footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAs 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnd of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003)
A years-in-the-making documentary on the legendary punk band the Ramones. Through a mixture of archival footage, archival and new interviews with all members of the band's various lineups, and new interviews with a number of their contemporaries, the film traces the peaks and valleys the band experienced over the course of its 20-plus year career before disbanding in 1995.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisMatangi / Maya / M.I.A. (2018)
Drawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJustin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids (2016)
In January 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the final nights of the "20/20 Experience World Tour", director Jonathan Demme captures what makes the show soar: gifted musicians, deft dancers and a magnetic star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoger Waters: Us + Them (2019)
Filmed in Amsterdam on the European leg of his 2017 – 2018 Us + Them tour which saw Waters perform to over two million people worldwide, the film features songs from his legendary Pink Floyd albums (The Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Animals, Wish You Were Here) and from his last album, Is This The Life We Really Want?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisLemmy (2010)
Over four decades, Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has registered an immeasurable impact on music history. Nearly 65, he remains the living embodiment of the rock and roll lifestyle, and this feature-length documentary tells his story, one of a hard-living rock icon who continues to enjoy the life of a man half his age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTupac: 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
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisSomething from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012)
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP is a feature length performance documentary about the runaway juggernaut that is Rap music. At the wheel of this unstoppable beast is the film's director and interviewer Ice-T. Taking us on a deeply personal journey Ice-T uncovers how this music of the street has grown to dominate the world. Along the way Ice-T meets a whole spectrum of Hip-Hop talent, from founders, to new faces, to the global superstars like Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West. He exposes the roots and history of Rap and then, through meeting many of its most famous protagonists, studies the living mechanism of the music to reveal 'The Art Of Rap'. This extraordinary film features unique performances from the entire cast, without resorting to archive material, to build a fresh and surprising take on the phenomenon that is Rap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisDear Director (2015)
During the summer of 1980, the American jazz concert pianist Kazzrie Jaxen writes a 16 pages long letter to director Ingmar Bergman. His film 'From the Life of the Marionettes' have sent her on a dramatic inner journey, making her realize that she is not alone in her own body.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Looking for Cesária Évora (2019)
Cesária Évora made the music of the Cape Verde islands famous throughout the world in the early 1990s. This film is an introduction to the culture, music and zest for life of the Cape Verdean people. On the occasion of the famous carnival of Mindelno, on the island of São Vicente where Cesaria Évora was born, this documentary offers a musical journey to discover "Sodade" and its legacy. Cesaria Évora, who died in 2011 after a twenty-year career, has allowed Cape Verde to shine throughout the world. The "barefoot diva", considered the queen of the morna has conquered the world and inspired many Cape Verdean artists. The small archipelago, which was for several centuries an important hub of the slave trade has promoted since then an important ethnic mix, which has played an important role in the evolution of local music.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Cincinnati's Rock 'N Roll Legends (1995)
An excellent comprehensive look at all the music that came out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati "Rock Legends" "James Brown" "King Records" "Pure Prairie League" "Lemon Pipers" "Syd Nathan" WEBN "Bootsy Collins" "Lonnie Mack" "The Who concert 1979" "Rick Derringer"
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Woodstock (1970)
An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this25 Tracks (2017)
'25' are two unknown, indie songwriters in a bare bones studio on a train in the industrial West of Melbourne - Australia’s music capital. They plan to write, record then release a fresh song every two weeks of the year. Cath loves pop; Nick loves garage rock. She wants jazz flute; he wants a dirty guitar. Is this ever going to work or are they totally deluded? Is it an impossible goal?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Black February: Music Is an Open Door (TBA)
Vipal Monga's first feature-length documentary chronicles an unprecedented series of concerts performed in February 2005 by the legendary jazz composer Lawrence D. Butch Morris. The concerts were in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Conduction, Butch's revolutionary technique for live music-making. Butch put on 44 performances in 28 days with 85 musicians pulled from all across New York's musical community. Along with footage from these remarkable concerts that span a full range of musical styles from big band jazz to funk to electronic and symphonic works. The documentary features some of the leading lights of the New York creative-music community, including Henry Threadgill, JD Allen, Brandon Ross, Graham Haynes, Howard Mandel, and Greg Tate. Although the film provides unique insight into New York's vibrant avant-garde music scene,
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Neil Young: Solo Trans (1984)
Solo Trans is a concert film by Neil Young, released in 1984. It was recorded at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio on September 18, 1983 during Young's Solo Trans tour.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Quiet Riot: Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back (2014)
An inspiring documentary chronicling the rise, fall and resurrection of '80s metal band Quiet Riot. The career of Frankie Banali, the band's drummer, reached a serious crossroads when his best friend and bandmate died in 2007. Years later, Banali realizes he must forge ahead and make a new life for himself and his daughter and he goes on a quest to reunite the band and fill the immense void left by his bandmate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Green Day: Bullet in a Bible (2005)
Bullet in a Bible documents one of the two biggest shows that Green Day have performed in their career. They played in front of a crowd of over 130,000 people at the Milton Keynes National Bowl in United Kingdom on June 18–19, 2005. The band was supported by Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, and Hard-Fi during their American Idiot world tour. Fourteen of the twenty songs performed at these shows were included on the disc; missing out "Jaded", "Knowledge", "She", "Maria", "Homecoming" and "We Are The Champions". Bullet in a Bible was released as a double-LP set on November 10, 2009, as part of the band's 2009 vinyl re-release campaign.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Blondie's New York and the Making of Parallel Lines (2014)
The story behind Blondie's album Parallel Lines, which sold 16 million copies and captured the spirit of 1970s New York at a time of poverty, crime and an exploding artistic life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar?
The closest matches to Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar are I Called Him Morgan (2016), My Mom Jayne (2025) and Shawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar?
Start with I Called Him Morgan (2016), the closest match to Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar.
What is the highest-rated movie like Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar?
Woodstock (1970), rated 7.6/10 by 307 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar?
Yes: I Called Him Morgan (2016), My Mom Jayne (2025) and Shawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020).
How are movies similar to Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El'Zabar, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.