Documentaries

This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.

Johan Grimonprez’s involving film essay, anchored by the rhythm of American jazz, reveals disturbing truths about the decolonial struggle between global political powers.

A striking portrait of an artist deserving of greater recognition, directed by Mark Cousins (A Story of Film).

Steve McQueen’s cinematic commemoration of the Holocaust offers a multidimensional experience full of gravity and sublimity.

Vivid and harrowing account of life under siege, Ukrainian journalists try to fulfil their mission to capture what later become defining images of the atrocities of the 2022 Russian invasion.

Sleepwalking into submerged depths of memory, a mother’s dream and a daughter’s beckoning, this fascinating film tenderly untangles the knots of the past.

A remarkable and award-winning documentary exploring female solidarity through a soothing ancient tradition.

Buried for 50 years, this is the untold story of the 1971 Women’s World Cup – a tremendous, televised rollercoaster ride and a historic moment in football.

Following his terminal diagnosis, young filmmaker Kit Vincent sets out to document an intimate and darkly humorous journey in this BIFA nominated documentary.

Ambitious documentary chronicling humankind’s relationship with the camera and its social consequences.

A bold first feature about Black trans sex workers that buzzes with passion, energy and intelligence.

An essential portrait of a major photographer whose work provides a key record of lives lived on the margins of 1980s Britain.

Highlighting the importance of being seen, Ella Glendining invites us on a personal journey as she sets out to find others with the same rare disability as herself.

Raoul Peck’s penetrating and acclaimed documentary reconstructs an unfinished manuscript by James Baldwin, chronicler of America’s Civil Rights Movement.

Martin Scorsese presents a highly personal tribute to the work and influence of Powell and Pressburger.

A unique and poetic documentary that invites us into the world of Gunda, a stoic sow trying to tend to a new litter of scrambling piglets.

The mid-1960s in America saw a dramatic surge in uprisings and unrest. The government’s response was paranoid and cynical. Welcome to Riotsville.

Lori, a female Chinese filmmaker, visits the historic English village of Thaxted where she finds the dead and the living curiously entwined, in Marc Isaacs playful mix of documentary and fiction.

The remarkable untold story of electronic music’s female pioneers, who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to transform how we produce and listen to music today.

When journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears in Istanbul, his fiancée and dissidents around the world piece together the clues to a murder and expose a global cover up.

French master documentarist Nicolas Philibert takes an empathetic, celebratory in-depth look at a floating mental care centre and its regulars.

Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not on Mulholland Drive anymore…

This moving documentary shines a spotlight on the backing singers behind some of the great musical hits of the 21st century.

Rising from the nihilistic ashes of the punk movement in the late 1970s, a fresh crowd of flamboyant fashionistas, who would later be christened the New Romantics, began to materialise on the streets of London, England.

James Spinney and Peter Middleton's highly original documentary uses cinematic interpretations and textured sound design to express a ‘world beyond sight.’

Artist Lisa Selby’s audacious and powerful documentary portrait of a life touched by addiction is a deeply personal odyssey through love, artistry and selfhood.

Winner of the Creative Storytelling Prize at Sundance, Benjamin Ree’s (Magnus, LFF 2016) expertly plotted, genre-blending documentary explores the personal repercussions of an extraordinary art heist.

The supreme football superstar is the latest subject for acclaimed filmmaker Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna), as he deftly explores the complicated dynamic between Diego the man and Maradona the icon.

Björn Andrésen reflects on his role in Luchino Visconti's classic Death in Venice, in this fascinating exploration of how childhood fame shapes a life.

Acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei artfully captures the bewildering breadth of the global migration crisis in this haunting and shocking documentary.

When a nomadic family move in and break Honeyland’s basic rule, the last female wild beekeeper in Europe must save the bees and restore natural balance.

A thought-provoking dive into the ethics and potential exploitations behind documentary filmmaking.

An unexpectedly funny, charming and thought-provoking documentary about a group who celebrate difference, and challenge the link between religion and state in the US.

Arrival of the British Army in France

A striking and significant film from the early days of the British documentary movement, chronicling the work of British miners.

The latest psycho-geographical excursion from Andrew Kötting and Iain Sinclair

Mark Cousins' personal and poetic exploration of the cinema of childhood, as told through 53 great films from 25 countries.

The untold origin story behind Ridley Scott’s Alien, one of Hollywood’s most beloved and iconic shockers.

Rob Lemkin’s harrowing yet urgent documentary shines a lens on the trauma and legacy of colonialism in one of Africa’s poorest nations, Niger.

Imagine Big Brother at sea, but with no evictions. Director Marcus Lindeen innovatively uncovers the human stories behind a 1970s social experiment, salaciously dubbed ‘The Sex Raft’.

Award-winning director Jerry Rothwell's compelling documentary is a rare cinematic and sensorial insight into the world of non-speaking autistic people.

An exquisitely textured and reflective documentary about Lynch as a visual artist.

Aretha Franklin, at the height of her powers, returns to the music which nurtured her prodigious talent.

Matt and Luke Goss take on the big screen – and each other – in this candid documentary charting the reunion of 80s pop sensations Bros; an affectionate portrait that generates more than a touch of Spinal Tap-esque hilarity.

The myths and minutiae of musician Nick Cave are explored in the course of this fictional portrait, following 24 hours in the life of a cultural icon.

Werner Herzog follows Timothy Treadwell, a fervent grizzly bear advocate who lives a perilous life amongst these magnificent creatures.

Ken Loach's stirring polemical history explores the immense forces that built Britain's Welfare State from the rubble of the Second World War.

Revelatory documentary on an unexpected hero - former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Charting the rise of one of Britain's most distinctive film companies, HandMade Films, producer of classics such as Life of Brian, The Long Good Friday and Withnail and I.

An immersive journey into the New York Public Library with great documentarian Frederick Wiseman.

When burn patients begin dying from non-life-threatening injuries a group of investigative journalists uncover a vast healthcare scandal, in this gripping Romanian documentary.

The BAFTA and Oscar-winning documentary sensation uncovers the mystery behind Sixto Rodriguez, a forgotten musical hero of apartheid-era South Africa.

A folk horror wrapped up in an archive film, set to a soundtrack by Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Will Gregory (Goldfrapp).

Grace Jones is laid bare in this intimate and electrifying insight into the fascinating world of a pop-cultural phenomenon.

An astonishing behind-the-scenes documentary following the famed fashion house’s new artistic director as he prepares his first collection.

From the director of Heimat, a mini-epic about the history of German cinema.

Explore China in the early 1900s with this programme of rare and beautiful travelogues, newsreels and home movies.

Stunning revelations and captivating reminiscences paint a picture of the extraordinary life of singer Whitney Houston, in this in-depth portrait by acclaimed filmmaker Kevin MacDonald (Touching the Void, Marley).

Nancy Buirski's vital documentary revisits an unjustly forgotten chapter of American history; the story of an immensely brave woman who refused to be silenced.

The exhilarating, no holds-barred story of Mo'Wax records founder James Lavelle, one of the most enigmatic yet influential figures in British music culture.

Creative dual-portrait documentary of Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, two of the greatest figures in 20th Century American Literature.

Kent Jones’ excellent documentary about a historic encounter between two cinema greats.

Internationally renowned director Margarethe von Trotta examines the filmmaker's life and work with his closest collaborators as well as a new generation of filmmakers.

Impassioned and urgent documentary tracing the dramatic story of Irish women and their fight to overturn one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the world.

Fascinating documentary about the glamorous Hollywood star who was also a genius inventor of military technology.

Carol Morley's exploration of Manchester in the early 1980s, and the five years of her life she lost in an alcohol-fuelled blur.

John Akomfrah mixes archive material, literary and musical quotations and newly shot silent footage in a wry, rapt meditation on memory and migration.

Part film-noir, part tragedy, this mesmerising documentary uncovers the true life of the legendary Billie Holiday.

A graceful, intimate study of the legendary Japanese musician, composer, actor, writer and activist.

This superb, in-depth documentary devotes 90 minutes to analysing one of cinema’s most famous sequences – the shower scene in Psycho.

This eye-popping portrait of great American choreographer Merce Cunningham celebrates the centenary of his birth.

Carol Salter's award-winning portrait of a young Chinese woman training to become a mortician is a tender and reflective elegy on death and the fragility of life.

The inner workings of London’s National Gallery are laid bare in this absorbing, forensic examination by revered filmmaker Frederick Wiseman.

The matriarch of the Marcos dynasty hopes to see her maternal delusions validated and political power restored, while Philippine activists fight for transparency and democracy, in this captivating study by Lauren Greenfield.

An illuminating portrait of the pioneering actress, crafted from her unique personal archive of home-movie footage, letters and diary extracts.

A raw and intimate documentary that captures the struggles and human resilience in the battle to survive the pandemic in Wuhan, China.

Exhilarating documentary exploring the birth and rise of techno music through the eyes of one of its pioneers.

Louis Theroux investigates the secretive world of the Church of Scientology, armed with his characteristic deadpan wit.

Michael Caine takes us back to swinging London in this engaging documentary on the 1960s cultural revolution, featuring over 50 interviews with the key players.

An adventurer and one of the world's most renowned wildlife photographers attempt to track the most elusive of big cats, in this stunning documentary scored by Warren Ellis and Nick Cave.

Kim Longinotto’s inspirational documentary about Brenda, a Chicagoan charity worker who helps vulnerable prostitutes leave the industry.

The power of kinship is explored in Carol Morley’s drama-documentary, drawn from real life and resonant with the way we live now.

Mad Max director George Miller explores the tradition of film production in Australia.

A 19-year-old trans man navigates family, friendships, and the challenges of young adulthood.

Discover one of cinema’s strangest stories: a film director and his star are kidnapped by Kim Jong-il to make movies in the world’s weirdest state.

An illuminating documentary about American cinema’s maverick genius Robert Altman, featuring unseen home movies and extensive interviews.

Artist Gillian Wearing’s ‘documentary’ observes seven people creating (fantasy?) identities in collaboration with a drama teacher. Raw and revealing.

A definitive portrait of Ennio Morricone, the legendary composer responsible for some of the most memorable film scores of all time.

Filmmaker Andrew Kötting and writer Iain Sinclair embark on a quest from Hastings to East London by pedalo.

Michael Moore paints a fiery portrait of life in Trump’s America. Populist, provocative and piercingly captivating, this is Moore’s clarion call to action.

A history of Polish movies perceived by cinemagoers of all ages.

After losing his sight in an accident at work, George Newman is reduced to despair. Little does he know that solace lies in the town of Torquay....

Director Bertrand Tavernier guides us on a fascinating voyage through French film history, from the 1930s through to the '70s.

Archive footage tells the emotionally-resonant story of life across India pre-1947.

Billed as 'a kind of post-modern queer soap opera for Britain', Andrea Weiss' documentary tells a sharp story.

Mastery, showmanship and the art of filming tennis are laid bare in an entertaining, innovative archive documentary that’s like no sports film you’ve seen. 

Battle film made as a memorial to the dead of WWI, documenting events at Ypres using reconstructed and genuine footage.

The short documentary gives us a wonderful insight into the enchanting animated film world of Lotte Reiniger.

From the visionary British director David Gladwell, this 1958 short contrasting rural and urban life is based on the poem by Martin Armstrong.

A British Cyclists' Touring Club party explores 1950s Salzburg and the Austrian Tyrol in this lesser known British Transport Film.

British-Chinese filmmaker Xiaolu Guo follows her ageing parents' journey to the West as they visit Europe. A rare chance to see one of Guo’s most personal films.