Movies like Growing Up (1971)
The best movies like Growing Up (1971) are Disclosure (2020), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and Night Will Fall (2014). If Growing Up hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedFor Sama (2019)8.2/10 from 323 votes
- NewestTony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off (2022)Released 2022
Disclosure (2020)
An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to Chechnya (2020)
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.
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 thisFor Sama (2019)
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisNobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (2017)
The courtroom and publicity battles between the superstar wrestler and the notorious website explode in a sensational trial all about the limits of the First Amendment and the new no holds barred nature of celebrity life in an internet dominated society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off (2022)
A wide-ranging, definitive look at Hawk’s life and iconic career, and his relationship with the sport with which he’s been synonymous for decades, featuring unprecedented access, never-before-seen footage, and interviews with Hawk and prominent figures in the sport including Stacy Peralta, Rodney Mullen, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Neil Blender, Andy MacDonald, Duane Peters, Sean Mortimer, and Christian Hosoi.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClient 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010)
An in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGeneration Wealth (2018)
Over the past 25 years, Lauren Greenfield's documentary photography and film projects have explored youth culture, gender, body image, and affluence. Underscoring the ever-increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots, portraits reveal a focus on cultivating image over substance, where subjects unable to attain actual wealth instead settle for its trappings, no matter their ability to pay for it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoom 237 (2012)
A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
Documentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans, based on his famous 1994 autobiography.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHated: GG Allin and The Murder Junkies (1993)
An overview of the life of the most shocking, vile, and notorious of punk rock legends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBobby Robson: More Than a Manager (2018)
The definitive portrait of one of sport's most inspirational, influential figures - whose legacy lives on far beyond the football field.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFacing Ali (2009)
Ten of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute to the three-time world heavyweight champion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Child Nation (2019)
Through interviews with both victims and instigators, Nanfu Wang, a first-time mother, breaks open decades of silence on a vast, unprecedented social experiment that shaped — and destroyed — countless lives in China.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZ Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)
A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRobin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018)
A funny, intimate and heartbreaking portrait of one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians, Robin Williams, told largely through his own words. Celebrates what he brought to comedy and to the culture at large, from the wild days of late-1970s L.A. to his death in 2014.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOne More Time with Feeling (2016)
Andrew Dominik's One More Time With Feeling is a remarkable black and white documentary which chronicles the creation of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' album Skeleton Tree. Originally a performance based concept, the film evolved into something much more significant as Dominik delved into the tragic backdrop of the writing and recording of the album. The result is stark, fragile and raw, and a true testament to an artist trying to find his way through the darkness. It documents the writing, recording and performing of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ sixteenth studio album, Skeleton Tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWoodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation (2019)
50 years after the legendary fest, Barak Goodman’s electric retelling of Woodstock, from the point of view of those who were on the ground, evokes the freedom, passion, community, and joy the three-day music festival created.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCreating Gender Inclusive Schools (2016)
What happens when you bring gender training to an elementary school? In Creating Gender Inclusive Schools the Peralta Elementary School in Oakland, CA demonstrates the power of an open and honest conversation about gender.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Asking For It: the Ethics & Erotics of Sexual Consent (2010)
The line between sexual consent and sexual coercion is not always as clear as it seems -- and according to Harry Brod, this is exactly why we should approach our sexual interactions with great care. Brod, a professor of philosophy and leader in the pro-feminist men's movement, offers a unique take on the problem of sexual assault, one that complicates the issue even as it clarifies the bottom-line principle that consent must always be explicitly granted, never simply assumed. In a nonthreatening, non-hectoring discussion that ranges from the meanings of "yes" and "no" to the indeterminacy of silence to the way alcohol affects our ethical responsibilities, Brod challenges young people to envision a model of sexual interaction that is most erotic precisely when it is most thoughtful and empathetic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story (2020)
Exploring the rise and fall of the groundbreaking animated series Ren & Stimpy and its controversial creator, John Kricfalusi, through archival footage, show artwork and interviews with the artists, actors and executives behind the show.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Geißel der Menschheit (1926)
Venereal disease threatens to tear a young couple apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Youth Drug Scene (1970)
A Cristian educational film that tells the story of a former drug addict, Mark Lindley, and his recovery through finding God.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Poradila teta Beta (1974)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Neděle v pražské ZOO (1949)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Puberty: Sexual Education For Boys and Girls (1991)
This sex education movie explore themes of body development, sexual hygiene, masturbation, menstruation, puberty, sex and giving birth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Reading Signs is Fun (1967)
Presents an inductive experience in reading readiness. Shows a young boy as he interprets the meanings of various road signs during a long automobile trip.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Use Your Eyes (1970)
“Use Your Eyes” is a police training film produced by the Alhambra Police Department, California, in 1970. It is intended to demonstrate to police officers how to search a residence for evidence of marijuana use, and what rights they have to search the property once certain prima facia evidence is established.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like Growing Up and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Growing Up?
The closest matches to Growing Up are Disclosure (2020), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and Night Will Fall (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Growing Up?
Start with Disclosure (2020), the closest match to Growing Up.
What is the highest-rated movie like Growing Up?
For Sama (2019), rated 8.2/10 by 323 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Growing Up?
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Growing Up?
Yes: Disclosure (2020), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and Night Will Fall (2014).
How are movies similar to Growing Up chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Growing Up, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

























