Skip to content

Movies like ¡Ay, Carmen! (2018)

The best movies like ¡Ay, Carmen! (2018) are Corman's World (2011), De Palma (2016) and Cameraperson (2016). If ¡Ay, Carmen! hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Corman's World (2011)

    A chronicle of the long career of American filmmaker Roger Corman, the most tenacious and ingenious low-budget producer and director in the US film industry, a pioneer of independent filmmaking and discoverer of new talent.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. De Palma (2016)

    An intimate conversation between filmmakers, chronicling De Palma’s 55-year career, his life, and his filmmaking process, with revealing anecdotes and, of course, a wealth of film clips.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. Cameraperson (2016)

    As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. 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

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. Maria by Callas (2017)

    Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)

    An intense portrait of the iconic filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician Woody Allen: his life, family and friends; his writing and directing habits, and his relationship with performers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)

    As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other Side of the Wind.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. Being James Bond (2021)

    Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Selena y Los Dinos: A Family's Legacy (2025)

    Never-before-seen footage and intimate interviews celebrate the life and legacy of iconic Mexican American singer Selena Quintanilla and her family band.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  10. I 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 this
  11. The Eyes of Orson Welles (2018)

    A poetic journey into the visual world of the legendary filmmaker and actor Orson Welles (1915-85) that reveals a new portrait of a unique genius, both of his life and of his monumental work: through his own eyes, drawn by his own hand, painted with his own brush.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. Love, Antosha (2019)

    From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. Frida (2024)

    An intimately raw and magical journey through the life, mind, and heart of iconic artist Frida Kahlo. Told through her own words for the very first time — drawn from her diary, revealing letters, essays, and print interviews — and brought vividly to life by lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)

    From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Spielberg (2017)

    A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. Nothing Like a Dame (2018)

    BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. My 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 this
  18. Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018)

    Girl next door, activist, so-called traitor, fitness tycoon, Oscar winner: Jane Fonda has lived a life of controversy, tragedy and transformation – and she's done it all in the public eye. An intimate look at one woman's singular journey.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)

    In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)

    The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. Rok bez Magora (2013)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  22. Hubert Krejčí – Smrt divadlu! (2023)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  23. Migliaccio: O Brasileiro em Cena (2021)

    The documentary Migliaccio - O Brasileiro em Cena follows the path of those who take risks for the art, either as directors, as writers, as scenographers and even as costume designers. The Oscarito trophy received by Flávio Migliaccio in 2014 Gramado Film Festival crowns a career enmeshed by many threads. Since Migliaccio has performed in different fields of art - from cinema and theater to literature and drawing -, the documentary creates varied visual interventions to enchain the narrative, in addition to the interviews and archive pictures, such as a shadow play to represent his humble childhood, and to the cartoons the artist drew to portray his existential questions in his ranch in Rio Bonito (State of Rio de Janeiro). Images and stories that aim to show a professional and personal life pervaded by possibilities and attitudes, both artistic and political.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  24. Eterna (2022)

    Eterna is a 2022 Spanish documentary film directed by Juanma Sayalonga and David Sainz about the life of feminist rapper-poet Gata Cattana.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  25. The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? (2015)

    The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? feature film documents the process of development of the ill fated "Superman Lives" movie, that was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the man of steel himself, Superman. The project went through years of development before the plug was pulled, and this documentary interviews the major filmmakers: Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Jon Peters, Dan Gilroy, Colleen Atwood, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and many many more.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  26. The Tragic Mask: The Laird Cregar Story (2007)

    A biography of the short-lived character actor Laird Cregar.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  27. O, Fortuna! A portrait of the composer of Carmina Burana, Carl Orff (2011)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  28. Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn (2007)

    The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making movies or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 & the myths live on. But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known - his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's Cuba

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  29. Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)

    With this inventive portrait, director Kirsten Johnson seeks a way to keep her 86-year-old father alive forever. Utilizing moviemaking magic and her family’s dark humor, she celebrates Dr. Dick Johnson’s last years by staging fantasies of death and beyond. Together, dad and daughter confront the great inevitability awaiting us all.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  30. Be Water (2020)

    In 1971, after being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to his parents’ homeland of Hong Kong to complete four iconic films. Charting his struggles between two worlds, this portrait explores questions of identity and representation through the use of rare archival footage, interviews with loved ones and Bruce’s own writings.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this

Like ¡Ay, Carmen! and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like ¡Ay, Carmen!?

The closest matches to ¡Ay, Carmen! are Corman's World (2011), De Palma (2016) and Cameraperson (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after ¡Ay, Carmen!?

Start with Corman's World (2011), the closest match to ¡Ay, Carmen!.

What is the highest-rated movie like ¡Ay, Carmen!?

Jodorowsky's Dune (2013), rated 7.8/10 by 789 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like ¡Ay, Carmen!?

My Mom Jayne (2025) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there Spanish movies like ¡Ay, Carmen!?

Yes: Eterna (2022).

How are movies similar to ¡Ay, Carmen! chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside ¡Ay, Carmen!, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

↑ ↓ to move · Enter to open · Full search page