The Best Documentaries 2020 list ranks the highest-rated documentaries of the year reviewed by our staff of critics, educators, and librarians.
Out of the countless documentaries we review each year and hundreds of submissions we receive, each was chosen for its high educational value and artistic merit. The captivating documentaries on this list cover a wide range of academic subjects and genres, from social and political issues to biographies of bold creatives and iconic figures.
Over one thousand documentaries were released in 2020, and these selections represent the most important and intriguing of the year. We highly recommend these inspiring stories to our readers.
Video Librarian understands how challenging 2020 has been for educators and librarians alike. These uplifting films are must-haves for your collection, guaranteed to spark thought-provoking conversations and event ideas for a non-socially distant future.
Acquire these titles today so that you can share them with your students and patrons in your classrooms and library communities tomorrow.
Mother
(2019) 82 min. In Thai, Swiss, German & English w/English subtitles. Limerick Films. (motherdocumentary.com)
"But the unflinching depiction of the disparity in material wealth between the Westerners and East Asians is never allowed to overshadow the film’s most poignant aspect—the finely-drawn portrait of Pomm, whose absolute devotion to both her children and her patients is remarkable, touching, and never mawkish. The potentially downbeat subject matter of Mother might make some potential viewers nervous, but it proves a deeply humane, life-affirming experience."
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John Lewis: Get in the Way
(2017) 52 min. DVD: $295.00. Bullfrog Films.
"Although Dowdey’s film is chronologically incomplete, it certainly offers a full portrayal of Lewis’ unwavering dedication to the ideals he espoused from the very beginning of his public life and his collaboration with Dr. King, which led him in later years to embrace the other causes such as gun control, the rights of immigrants, and equality for the LGBTQ community. This inspiring documentary on one of the country’s most significant civil rights pioneers is highly recommended."
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I Am a Dancer
(1972) 92 min. DVD: $19.99. Film Movement.
"I Am a Dancer is probably the best known, and most recommended for the variety on display. It is practically an anthology of short, abridged dance numbers, with very brief interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Margot Fonteyn speaks at much greater length than the sphinx-like Nureyev, who, it is declared, lives out of a suitcase and has an ascetic existence mainly broken down between dance workouts at the barre, rehearsal practice, and, finally, performance."
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The Dog Doc
(2019) 102 min. DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $24.99. Film Movement.
"Goldstein isn’t offering miracles, but his brand of blended approaches to treatment often yield startling results and, what’s more, make a lot of sense when he explains them. Hovering over everything is the resistance Goldstein faces from other vets who accuse him of quackery. Rather than take a defensive posture, he just does his job and takes whatever opportunity he can to tell other doctors and the public that integrative medicine succeeds."
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Denise Ho: Becoming the Song
(2020) 83 min. DVD: $19.99. Kino Lorber.
"While being an engrossing, inspirational personal story, Denise Ho: Becoming the Song is also a documentary that may well have something to teach the West about what a true “cancel” culture really looks like when its oppressive years grind into motion. As soon as Ho’s involvement with the Umbrella revolution became global news, not only was she shut out of the incredibly lucrative Chinese market—banned from playing any venue in China and her music pulled from Chinese cyberspace—but her corporate sponsors, like the French Lancome perfume company, for instance, followed suit, siding with Chinese totalitarianism in cutting ties with Ho for nothing more than advocating for Hong Kong and Tibetan independence."
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The Eastland: Chicago's Deadliest Day
(2019) 83 min. DVD: $19.99. Moshman Productions (eastlanddvd.com)
"Instead, more than 800 people drowned or were crushed, a freak tragedy that overwhelmed Chicago's safety and mortuary forces and brought out both heroism (a local youth dubbed the "human frog" for impulsively diving repeatedly into the water to bring out more victims) and a dastardly corporate cover up of the capitalist greed and incompetence that caused the horror (narrator here uses the loaded phrase "no collusion" when a rigged courtroom trial ultimately finds the bosses not guilty). While local newspaper media covered the scandal in detail at the time, the Eastland disaster ultimately slipped into obscurity; the point is made that, unlike the glamorous Titanic luxury-liner sinking of the same era, victims here were working-class and largely immigrant, already largely faceless and discounted in American society (and partially accused here for causing their own deaths)."
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Jimmy Carter: Rock 'n' Roll President
(2020) 96 min. DVD: $13.99. Kino Lorber.
"Although Carter was ahead of his time in many ways, especially on civil and human rights, he was also a victim of his time. Despite his groundbreaking efforts at striving for world peace, it would be oil shortages, hyperinflation, and an unwinnable hostage crisis in Iran that would eventually spell the end of Carter’s principled, non-violent, musically tasteful presidency. Wharton’s uplifting, heartfelt documentary is nothing short of an inspirational balm for the soul, especially for these dark political times in which the Leader of the Free World’s ideas of cultural sophistication involve poker-playing dog paintings."
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selfless
(2019) 90 min. DVD: 24.99 ($299 w/PPR). Passion River.
"Kiera contracted Hodgkin’s disease and dropped out of high school. She lost her hair, her nails turned dark, and she no longer had society’s definition of beauty but learned that resilience and strength are beautiful. Kiera acknowledges now that life is precious and she turned to horse grooming, riding, and painting for enjoyment. By discussing the harmful effects of using social media including selfies, extended periods of screen time, and disengagement from the conversation and physical activity, this film contributes a much-needed message for teens."
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The Venerable W.
(2019) 100 min. In French, Spanish & Burmese w/English subtitles. DVD: $26.99. Icarus Films.
"Wirathu is simply the latest in a lineage of hateful psychopath demagogues who use a corrosive mix of religion and nationalism to divide and conquer nations. Schroeder has a certain genius for “disappearing” in his documentaries, letting his subject matter speak for itself. And Venerable W is no different. No editorializing is needed when you can simply sit back as a filmmaker and let the interviewees do the work of judge and jury on Wirathu, who more or less indicts himself on camera through his despicable words and deeds."
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Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos
(2020)120 min. DVD: $24.99. PBS.
"The dark side of Amazon is revealed as non-unionized workers at Amazon fulfillment centers (the name for the huge warehouses holding merchandise) complain about unsafe and difficult working conditions and book publishers and authors talk about the virtual blockade of selected publishing houses that eventually was resolved, but not before causing economic hardship, especially for first-time authors. That Bezos revolutionized one industry after another and has a huge influence on the economy are among both the concerns and accomplishments of this powerful leader. Whether you love or hate Amazon, you will become caught up in the story of this multi-billion dollar company and its founder whose personal life receives brief mention to finish out this eye-opening program."
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The Pollinators
(2019) 92 min. DVD: $50.99 (w/PPR: $125). Collective Eye Films.
"In the big picture, we're told, CCD is only a small part of the menace, and when the bees fail, much more of the environment will go with it. Solutions offered include more sustainable, "regenerative farming" techniques and more diversity in bee culture, though the proposition of rescuing the hives via involving more young women in beekeeping seems a little quixotic, faced with a dysfunctional factory-farm system that seems to push everything towards extinction. Author-activist Bill McKibben is among the academics, apiary owners, and involved observers on camera."
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The Raft
(2019) 102 min. In English & various languages w/English subtitles. DVD: $19.99. Kino Lorber.
"Along with 10 subjects—six women, four other men, all drawn from a multitude of nationalities—Genovés set sail onboard a motor-less raft christened the Acali for a three-month journey across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Mexico. All of the voyagers were attractive, women were assigned the more powerful positions (including the captain, Maria Björnstam), and a seemingly oddball rule prohibited books. The reason for these choices was simple: Genovés was trying to create conditions that would generate boredom, spark sexual jealousy, and possibly lead to violent conflict—teaching moments that would supposedly light a path to world peace. With his pen poised over his notebook, Genovés sat back and eagerly waited for the interpersonal fireworks to begin."
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Blood Sugar Rising
(2020) 120 min. DVD: $24.99. PBS.
"In addition to the profiled individuals, we hear from scientists, physicians, journalists, and other experts explaining various facets of the disease, such as potential causes (“genes load the gun and the environment pulls the trigger”), concerns, symptoms, and treatments. A history of insulin is also presented through vintage footage and photographs. The debate over the high cost of insulin is tackled through the experiences of one family whose 26-year-old son died after hiding the fact from his parents that he was unable to afford insulin priced at $1,300 per prescription. The personal stories and expert commentary add immediacy and interest to a complicated and sometimes misunderstood disease that is predicted to affect one half of the U.S. population by 2025."
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Shooting the Mafia
(2019) 94 min. In Italian w/English subtitles. DVD: $25.99, Blu-ray: $30.99. EOne Films.
"Charting Battaglia's life as well as the crime syndicates, Longinotto makes good use of archival clips and torrid Italian melodrama films full of bellissima actresses (Letizia had multiple affairs, including her co-workers). Meanwhile, the narrative finds a parallel in brutal campaigns of the Corleone Mafia (killing high-profile judges in the wake of a historic crackdown on mobsters in the 1980s) with the oppression and devaluation of women in the island's tradition-bound society. Letizia, now experimenting with fine-art imagery, has mounted exhibitions of her crime pictures, even as she claims a conflicted relationship with her output, lamenting the violence, grief, horror, and social failure she captured and fantasizing she could burn all her negatives and be rid of it."
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Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project
(2019) 87 min. DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $34.99. Zeitgeist Films.
"The paranoid, controlling Marion was evidently not much on explaining herself, but in filmmaker Matt Wolf's interpretation, she questioned or distrusted mainstream US media coverage of the Iranian revolution (and, by extension, American racism, and race relations; Marion herself had two mixed marriages). With the advent of ABC's Nightline, Ted Turner's CNN, and Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, she was compelled to capture everything topical on air. Thousands of VHS and Betamax cassettes overflowed her residences, a multi-faceted news-and-punditry cycle of 35 years of history, and thanks to Marion, we see September 11, 2001, unfolding in real-time on four different channels."
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A German Youth
(2019) 93 min. In German w/English & French subtitles. DVD: $29.99. Big World Pictures.
"Named after its two most famous members, agitator Andreas Baader and (more famously) newspaper columnist Ulrike Meinhof, the small organization felt dismissed by the public and political establishment, the latter made up of older people with previous Nazi ties. At its worst, in 1972, Baader Meinhof set off a wave of bombs, killing five and wounding 65. German security forces eventually captured or killed all members of the gang, with the treatment of several in prison causing controversy. "A German Youth" tells a complex narrative about how the group came together, and how the role of the film (some of it of their own making, some from contemporaneous television documentaries, and more) contributed to Baader Meinhof's sense of bloody mission."
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