Movies like The Church of the Open Sky (2018)
The best movies like The Church of the Open Sky (2018) are Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018), Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) and Deliver Us from Evil (2006). If The Church of the Open Sky hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDeliver Us from Evil (2006)7.2/10 from 216 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
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 thisDeliver Us from Evil (2006)
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
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 thisDownloaded (2013)
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFastest (2011)
What does it take to be the fastest? From award-winning filmmaker Mark Neale, comes Fastest, a spectacular maximum-speed, full-length documentary delving deep into the world of MotoGP™. This thrilling documentary, narrated by Ewan McGregor, highlights the thrills, spills and incredible commitment and courage the sport demands of it stars. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access and never before seen angles, interviews and insight, this truly cinematic experience charts the exhilarating highs, crushing lows, career-threatening crashes and spectacular comebacks, including Rossi’s 41 days turn around to race following a leg shattering crash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeduced and Abandoned (2013)
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCapital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 thisChris Brown: Welcome to My Life (2017)
This compelling Documentary moves beyond the spotlight and past the attention-grabbing headlines to give pop superstar Chris Brown a chance to tell his own story. New interviews with the international phenomenon reveal long-awaited answers about his passion for making music, his tumultuous and much publicized relationships, and the pitfalls of coming of age in the public eye. Also included is new concert footage, behind-the-scenes access, and special interviews from Usher, Jennifer Lopez, DJ Khaled, Mike Tyson, Jamie Foxx and others.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 thisIn 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
Worth the HypeMovies like this56 Up (2012)
When a cross-section of seven-year-olds were interviewed for 7 Up in 1964 it was immediately evident that their social backgrounds influenced their attitudes towards life. While the upper class children were confident and self-assured, those from middle and working class backgrounds were resigned to a challenging life of hard work. This premise was put to the test every seven years when the same group were interviewed about the progression of their lives. 49 years in the making, the changes that occurred to the original 14 make for fascinating television and are in many ways the stories of all our lives. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life has been captured on film. Now, at the age of 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrip Down, Rise Up (2021)
The feature documentary follows women of all walks of life, all ages and ethnic backgrounds, as they shed trauma, body image shame, sexual abuse and other issues locked in their bodies, and embark on a journey to reclaim themselves. The film also gives a rare window into the world of Pole artistry and expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Like The Church of the Open Sky and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Church of the Open Sky?
The closest matches to The Church of the Open Sky are Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018), Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) and Deliver Us from Evil (2006). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Church of the Open Sky?
Start with Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018), the closest match to The Church of the Open Sky.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Church of the Open Sky?
Deliver Us from Evil (2006), rated 7.2/10 by 216 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Church of the Open Sky?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Church of the Open Sky?
Yes: Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018), Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) and Deliver Us from Evil (2006).
How are movies similar to The Church of the Open Sky chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Church of the Open Sky, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.