Movies like Serendipity (2019)
The best movies like Serendipity (2019) are Alive Inside (2014), Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012) and The Creative Brain (2019). If Serendipity hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- NewestTime and Water (2026)Released 2026
Alive Inside (2014)
Five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease and dementia—many of them alone in nursing homes. A man with a simple idea discovers that songs embedded deep in memory can ease pain and awaken these fading minds. Joy and life are resuscitated, and our cultural fears over aging are confronted.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012)
Performance artist Marina Abramovic prepares for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Creative Brain (2019)
Neuroscientist David Eagleman taps into the creative process of various inventors, while exploring brain-bending, risk-taking ways to spark creativity
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (2016)
56-year-old artist Mindy Alper has suffered severe depression and anxiety for most of her life. For a time she even lost the power of speech, and it was during this period that her drawings became extraordinarily articulate.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
My Beautiful Broken Brain (2014)
A profoundly personal voyage into the complexity, fragility and wonder of the human brain, after Lotje Sodderland miraculously survives a hemorrhagic stroke and finds herself starting again in an alien world, bereft of language and logic. This feature documentary takes us on a genre-twisting tale that is by turns excruciating and exquisite - from the devastating consequences of a first-time neurological experiment, through to the extraordinary revelations of her altered sensory perception.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnrest (2017)
When Harvard PhD student Jennifer Brea is struck down at 28 by a fever that leaves her bedridden, doctors tell her it’s "all in her head." Determined to live, she sets out on a virtual journey to document her story—and four other families' stories—fighting a disease medicine forgot.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOur Body (2023)
In a Parisian public hospital, Claire Simon questions what it means to live in women’s bodies, filming their diversity, singularity and their beauty in all stages throughout life. Unique stories of desires, fears and struggles unfold, including the one of the filmmaker herself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Between the Folds (2008)
Depicts a cast of fine artists and eccentric scientists (from MIT and NASA) who have devoted their lives to the unlikely medium of modern origami. Through their determination to reinterpret the world in paper, they arouse a fascinating mix of sensibilities towards art, form, expressiveness, creativity and meaning
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Blink (2024)
The Pelletier family sets out on an epic journey to see the beauty of the world when three of their four children are diagnosed with an incurable eye condition.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Rams (2018)
For over fifty years, legendary designer Dieter Rams has left an indelible mark on the field of product design with his iconic work at Braun and Vitsoe, and his influence on Apple. So at 86 years old, why does he now regret being a designer? This is a design documentary, but it’s also a rumination on consumerism, materialism, and sustainability. Dieter's philosophy is about more than just design, it’s about a way to live.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
How to Die in Oregon (2011)
In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. At the time, only Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands had legalized the practice. 'How to Die in Oregon' tell the stories of those most intimately involved with the practice today -- terminally ill Oregonians, their families, doctors, and friends -- as well as the passage of an assisted suicide law in Washington State.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Painter and the Thief (2020)
When two of artist Barbora Kysilkova’s most valuable paintings are stolen from a gallery at Frogner in Oslo, the police are able to find the thief after a few days, but the paintings are nowhere to be found. Barbora goes to the trial in hopes of finding clues, but instead she ends up asking the thief if she can paint a portrait of him. This will be the start of a very unusual friendship. Over three years, the cinematic documentary follows the incredible story of the artist looking for her stolen paintings, while at the same time turning the thief into art.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Booksellers (2020)
What once seemed like an esoteric world now seems essential to our culture: the community of rare book dealers and collectors who, in their love of the delicacy and tactility of books, are helping to keep the printed word alive. D.W. Young’s elegant and entertaining documentary, executive produced by Parker Posey, is a lively tour of New York’s book world, past and present, from the Park Avenue Armory’s annual Antiquarian Book Fair, where original editions can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars; to the Strand and Argosy book stores, still standing against all odds; to the beautifully crammed apartments of collectors and buyers. The film features a litany of special guests, including Fran Lebowitz, Susan Orlean, Gay Talese, and a community of dedicated book dealers who strongly believe in the wonder of the object and the everlasting importance of what’s inside.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Wisdom of Trauma (2021)
One in five Americans are diagnosed with mental illness every year. Suicide is the second most common cause of death in the US for youth aged 15-24, and kills over 800,000 people globally per year. Drug overdose kills 81,000 in the US annually. The autoimmune disorder epidemic affects 24 million people in the US alone. What is going on? The interconnected epidemics of anxiety, chronic illness and substance abuse are, according to Dr. Gabor Maté, normal - but not in the way you might think.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
We Feed People (2022)
We Feed People spotlights renowned chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen’s incredible mission and evolution over 12 years from being a scrappy group of grassroots volunteers to becoming one of the most highly regarded humanitarian aid organizations in the disaster relief sector.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
De Humani Corporis Fabrica (2023)
An extraordinary adventure through the interior of the human body; or the discovery of an alien landscape of unprecedented beauty.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Evelyn (2019)
Haunted by the suicide of a brother, a director and his kin walk across the UK in an emotionally trying, visually sublime journey toward healing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Every Brilliant Thing (2016)
A filmed version of Jonny Donahoe’s acclaimed one-man show about depression, suicide and the lengths to which people go for those they love. Poignant and humorous, it follows a young boy who attempts to ease his mother’s depression by starting an enormous running list of everything worth living for.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Time and Water (2026)
Facing the death of his country’s glaciers and the loss of his beloved grandparents, Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason turns his archives into a time capsule to hold what is slipping away — family, memory, time, and water.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Mayo Clinic (2018)
The Mayo Clinic tells the story of a unique medical institution that has been called a "Medical Mecca," the "Supreme Court of Medicine," and the "place for hope where there is no hope." The Mayo Clinic began in 1883 as an unlikely partnership between the Sisters of Saint Francis and a country doctor named William Worrall Mayo after a devastating tornado in rural Minnesota. Since then, it has grown into an organization that treats more than a million patients a year from all 50 states and 150 countries. Dr. Mayo had a simple philosophy he imparted to his sons Will and Charlie: "the needs of the patient come first." They wouldn't treat diseases...they would treat people. In a world where healthcare delivery is typically fragmented among individual specialties, the Mayo Clinic practices a multi-specialty, team-based approach that has, from its beginnings, created a culture that thrives on collaboration.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Loving Vincent: The Impossible Dream (2019)
A documentary detailing the journey it took two passionate filmmakers to achieve their impossible dream, creating the world's first fully painted feature film.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Obit (2017)
How do you put a life into 500 words? Ask the staff obituary writers at the New York Times. OBIT is a first-ever glimpse into the daily rituals, joys and existential angst of the Times obit writers, as they chronicle life after death on the front lines of history.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Julia (2021)
Using never-before-seen archival footage, personal photos, first-person narratives, and cutting-edge, mouth-watering food cinematography, the film traces Julia Child's surprising path, from her struggles to create and publish the revolutionary Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961) which has sold more than 2.5 million copies to date, to her empowering story of a woman who found fame in her 50s, and her calling as an unlikely television sensation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Notes on Blindness (2016)
After losing sight in 1983, John Hull began keeping an audio diary, a unique testimony of loss, rebirth and renewal, excavating the interior world of blindness. Following on from the Emmy Award-winning short film of the same name, Notes on Blindness is an ambitious and groundbreaking work, both affecting and innovative.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 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 this28 Up (1985)
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMcQueen (2018)
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Serendipity?
The closest matches to Serendipity are Alive Inside (2014), Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012) and The Creative Brain (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Serendipity?
People who watched Serendipity most often go on to Alive Inside (2014), Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012) and The Creative Brain (2019).
What is the newest movie like Serendipity?
Time and Water (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Serendipity?
Yes: Alive Inside (2014), Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012) and The Creative Brain (2019).
How are movies similar to Serendipity chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Serendipity, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.