Top 21 Best Documentaries of Each Year (2000 - 2020)
2000: “Sound and Fury”
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Released in 2000, “Sound and Fury” explores a conflict that has long been present in the Deaf community. The film focuses on two families, both of whom have children with hearing loss, who are deciding whether to provide their children with cochlear implants. The filmmakers delve into issues of Deaf identity, and the conflicts that arise in families around such a complex and multifaceted dilemma. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and while it didn’t win, in many ways, this film was ahead of its time, exploring issues that have become part of the dialogue in mainstream culture today.
2001: “Rivers and Tides”
While many of the documentaries on this list tackle major global issues or deal with eye-opening subject matter, this one stands out from the crowd. “Rivers and Tides” is the exploration of an artist, namely Andy Goldsworthy, who creates temporary artistic installations using natural materials like rocks, branches, leaves, mud, and ice. Goldsworthy is from Scotland, but has brought his art to various locations around the world. The film is written and directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer and won the Best Documentary award from the San Diego Film Critics Society.
2002: “Bowling for Columbine”
While Michael Moore has become an increasingly divisive figure in recent years, his 2002 film “Bowling for Columbine,” released 13 years after his wave-making debut “Roger and Me,” essentially made him a household name, paving the way for a career that would include a number of other well-respected films. This one took a disturbing look at America’s gun culture, skewering the nation’s gun control attitudes and legislation in the wake of the Columbine school shooting in 1999. Moore’s signature style combines dark humor with informative storytelling to great effect, making this film one of the most memorable of the decade.
2003: “Capturing the Friedmans”
The Best Documentary Feature Oscar for films released in 2003 may have gone to “The Fog of War”, but our pick for best doc of the year has to go to “Capturing the Friedmans”. The film does a deep dive into the devastating charges against father and son Arnold and Jesse Friedman. It frames the narrative with the family’s own home movies, which put the entire case into disturbing context, while making viewers question the truth of what really happened. The documentary may not be able to provide audiences with definitive answers, but it still shines a bright light.
2004: “Super Size Me”
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We didn't exactly need a documentary to teach us that eating exclusively fast food every day for a month was a bad idea. But “Super Size Me” showed us that it was worse than we could have imagined. Morgan Spurlock wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the film, in which he eats about 5,000 calories worth of fast food from McDonald’s every day for 30 days and tracks his physical and mental results. Unsurprisingly, he basically felt terrible and gained a bunch of weight. Is it … bad that we still kind of want a Big Mac? Rhetorical question...
2005: “March of the Penguins”
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New nature documentaries are released every year, but very few of them have the impact that this one had. Luc Jacquet’s “March of the Penguins” was co-produced by the National Geographic Society and shows in amazing and affecting detail the annual trek that emperor penguins take in Antarctica. While it is, of course, a movie about, well, penguins, it manages to also be an emotional journey that shows the universal experience of struggle that anyone can relate to. “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and “Grizzly Man” were also released in 2005, and should both go on your “must watch” list.
2006: “An Inconvenient Truth”
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Famously created by former United States Vice President Al Gore, “An Inconvenient Truth” is undoubtedly one of the most well-known documentaries of the century so far. It’s one of the most financially successful documentaries to ever be released in America, bringing in $24 million at the US box office. In fact, it can be said that public awareness about global warming and climate change was significantly impacted by this film’s release. Since it came out, it has been incorporated into school curriculums and even spawned a sequel, released in 2017: “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power”.
2007: “The King of Kong”
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Many documentaries tackle serious and somber subject matter, so it’s pretty rare to find one about something as seemingly innocuous as retro video games. But “The King of Kong” takes itself incredibly seriously, highlighting a major rivalry in the world of competitive gaming, specifically between two men vying for the title of highest score in the 1981 arcade game, Donkey Kong. It has heroes, villains, and a bunch of unforgettable side characters, and is a documentary that gamers and non-gamers alike will be sure to love. Don’t miss “Taxi to the Dark Side,” also released in 2007.
2008: “Man on Wire”
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In 1974, French tightrope artist Philippe Petit successfully spanned the distance between New York’s Twin Towers (which were still under construction at the time) on a high-wire. This documentary is based on Petit’s own memoir of the events, and considering the fact that the stunt was illegal, the movie ends up feeling like a heist film, as we see Petit meticulously plan every aspect of the walk beforehand. The movie uses present-day interviews as well as reenactments of the major events of the story, with Paul McGill portraying Petit.
2009: “The Cove”
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It will likely be difficult for any animal lover to watch this documentary, which was released in 2009 and exposes shockingly cruel fishing and dolphin hunting practices taking place in Japan. The director behind the film is Louie Psihoyos, who worked as a photographer for National Geographic before deciding to create “The Cove”. The film uses hidden camera footage to show the violence taking place in the fishing and whaling industry, an approach which was considered to be controversial. Regardless, “The Cove” received many accolades, including winning the Oscar in the documentary category.
2010: “Inside Job”
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If you still feel like you don’t quite understand what went down during the 2008 financial crisis, it might be time to watch “Inside Job”. Producer and director Charles Ferguson describes the film as being about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption". If even that is too confusing, don’t worry, the movie acts as a primer to understand some of the complex issues at play here, providing context for how the crisis took place. Like many of the other films on our list today, this one won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
2011: “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”
David Gelb is partly behind the popular Netflix cooking show “Chef’s Table”, but before that, he created the renowned 2011 documentary, “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”. The film takes viewers into the life of Jiro Ono, the owner and chef of what is considered to be one of the world’s best sushi restaurants. Sukiyabashi Jiro has just ten seats and is located inside a Tokyo subway station, but it has plenty of clout, with the 20-course tasting menu coming in at ¥30,000 yen or about $270. Ono’s precise techniques are mesmerizing, and you’ll inevitably be calling in an order to your favorite sushi spot after this film ends.
2012: “The Act of Killing”
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It’s tough to pick the best documentary of 2012, a year that saw the release of “Stories We Tell” and “Searching for Sugar Man”. But there was one film released that year that was like nothing we had ever seen before. “The Act of Killing” was helmed by Joshua Oppenheimer, and focuses on the horrific events in Indonesia in the mid-1960s. In this film, some of the men involved in these crimes recreate their actions for the camera, using genres of American film to represent the real life events. It’s an unsettling experiment with very troubling results, but this film will likely go down in history as one of the most memorable documentaries of all time.
2013: “Blackfish”
“20 Feet from Stardom”, released in 2013, takes an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the careers of background singers for famous musical acts. But there was one documentary that everyone was talking about in 2013: “Blackfish”. Sure, we all knew that there was some sketchy stuff going on at SeaWorld before this movie came out, but the doc just proved that it was, again, all so much worse than we could have imagined. Focusing on a specific orca, Tilikum, who was involved in three employee deaths, the film takes a micro issue and shines a light on the inhumane practices that led to these events.
2014: “Citizenfour”
Ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden became famous as a whistleblower for leaking secret documents about global surveillance by the National Security Agency in 2013. The documentary “Citizenfour” features Snowdon himself, along with journalist Glenn Greenwald. The film gets its name from the moniker that Snowden used for himself when he initially emailed information about illegal wiretapping practices to documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras. The documentary covers the events that followed his initial disclosure, including the international and personal fallout.
2015: “Amy”
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Amy Winehouse’s life and career have fascinated the public for years. After her sudden tragic death in 2011, there were still many questions left about who the star truly was behind the scenes. Director Asif Kapadia compiled footage from Winehouse’s life, focusing on her battle with substance abuse. It was produced in part by Universal Music, with the CEO of the UK branch of the company, David Joseph, saying quote, “It tackles lots of things about family and media, fame, addiction, but most importantly, it captures the very heart of what she was about”. It won a bunch of awards, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
2016: “O.J.: Made in America”
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Ava DuVernay’s 2016 masterpiece, “13th”, took an eye-opening look at the history of the United States’ 13th amendment and its consequences. Another film that was released in 2016 and tackled the treatment of African Americans was the ESPN “30 for 30” documentary, “O.J.: Made in America”. Covering O.J. Simpson’s rise to fame and his unforgettable downfall, this film provides context for why the infamous murder case went the way it did. The five-part film clocks in at nearly eight hours, but was compelling enough to keep viewers hooked all the way through.
2017: “Icarus”
2017 marked the 20-year anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, and the occasion was marked with the release of the heartrending documentary, “Diana: In Her Own Words”. The most widely recognized documentary of 2017, however, was “Icarus”, which took home — you guessed it — the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. “Icarus” eventually takes a deep dive into the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal that upended the sports world at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 . The creator of the film, Bryan Fogel, actually began the movie’s journey by taking performance-enhancing drugs in an effort to show the effects of hidden doping in cycling.
2018: “Won't You Be My Neighbor?”
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While “Free Solo” and “Three Identical Strangers”, both released in 2018, were extremely compelling, they couldn’t compete with the feel-good content of “Won't You Be My Neighbor?”. This documentary examines the life of Fred Rogers (AKA Mister Rogers), host of the iconic “Mister Rogers' Neighborhood”. Produced and directed by Morgan Neville, it quickly became the highest grossing biographical documentary ever made. Writing for New York Magazine, David Edelstein summed up most viewers’ thoughts, calling the film, quote "A wonderful breather from reality, from which you come back more conscious of—and dismayed by—the hate that more than ever runs the world."
2019: “Fyre”
2019 was a major year for documentaries, with the release of hard-hitters like “Apollo 11” and “American Factory”. But there was a slightly more lighthearted documentary that captured the public’s attention—and fascination—like no other. “Fyre”, released by Netflix, covers the events leading up to the absolute failure of Billy McFarland’s Fyre Festival. “Fyre” is kind of like a wreck, not only in that it’s an utter disaster, but also in that you simply cannot look away. The movie hit the streaming network just days after Hulu’s own original doc, “Fyre Fraud”, was released, with many binging both films as a double feature.
2020: “Crip Camp”
If you’re looking for a truly inspiring documentary, look no further than 2020’s “Crip Camp”. Written, produced, and directed by Nicole Newnham and James Lebrecht, the film also features Barack and Michelle Obama as executive producers. “Crip Camp” looks back on Lebrecht’s own experiences at Camp Jened, a camp in New York State for teenagers with disabilities that existed from the 1950s to the 1970s. Many of the campers went on to become disability advocates, which is the story that the film focuses on. This is a very powerful movie about kids, shared humanity and the work for social progress.
