The Best Documentaries 2021 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 hot-button social and political issues to biographies of bold creatives and iconic figures. Our selections are made from boutique distributors specializing in independent films.
Over one thousand documentaries were released in 2021, and these selections represent the most important and intriguing of the year. We highly recommend these inspiring stories to our readers. Take a look at our best-rated documentary reviews to discover new, top-tier films for your documentary film collection.
Video Librarian understands how challenging 2021 has been for educators and librarians alike. Collection development has not been easy during these difficult times. These uplifting films are must-haves for your documentary film collection, guaranteed to spark thought-provoking conversations and event ideas—both in-person and virtual.
Acquire these titles today so that you can share them with your students and patrons in your classrooms and library communities tomorrow.
The Story of Plastic
Outcast Films
"The film is a sobering look and may make viewers even question their own use of plastic products. It’s a truly eye-opening spectacle."
Read our review of The Story of Plastic
Los Hermanos
Good Docs
"As the Trump era incrementally closes all the doors Obama opened to Cuba, the new restrictions on travel and cultural exchange become nothing short of heartbreaking for these two artists, as it surely is for thousands of other Cubans and Cuban-Americans with cross-border family ties. The film underscores these losses with profound emotion in an unforgettable scene in which Ilmar joins Aldo in a studio recording of one of the latter’s new compositions."
Read our review of Los Hermanos
To Which We Belong
Passion River Films
"This delightful documentary serves as an educational tool for experienced environmentalists and those new to the field alike, touching on climate science basics as well as new methods and information. The fisherman turned kelp farmer from Connecticut says: 'There’s no jobs, no food on a dead planet.' By listening to the advice of these various experts and the results of their efforts, we can easily bypass that eventuality by healing the planet at a micro and macro-biome level. This title is highly recommended.
Read our review of To Which We Belong
Orchestrating Change
Bullfrog Films
Just as music has been a force for social justice, co-directors Margie Friedman and Barbara Multer-Wellin show that music can be a force for social change; this film highlights the first orchestra that seeks to alter people’s attitude towards mental illness and to help audiences realize that mental illness is the disease—not the individual. With moving personal stories, wonderful music, and animation, this film is highly recommended.
Read our review of Orchestrating Change
Fast Fashion: The Real Cost of Low-Cost Fashion
Collective Eye Films
"Fast Fashion: The Real Price of Low-Cost Fashion is a haunting investigation of the alarmingly dangerous realities of the fast fashion industry. As the title suggests, directors Gilles Bovon and Èdouard Perrin seek to provide the viewer with both the origin story of the fast fashion industry and the quickly compounding factors as we continue to purchase it . . . Fast Fashion: The Real Price of Low-Cost Fashion condenses the history, dangers, and implications of fast fashion into a fast-paced 52-minute tell-all. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice."
Read our review of Fast Fashion: The Real Cost of Low-Cost Fashion.
Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America
Good Docs
"Brimming with emotion, the stories here lend an empathetic eye to their subjects, while highlighting the facts of what immigrants have to endure upon their arrival in the U.S. You’ll get a harrowing, but a hopeful picture of immigration in this pointed and emotional plea to consider the unique plight of the LGBTQ refugee and asylum seeker. A necessary addition for documentary and LGBTQ shelves. Highly recommended. Editor’s Choice."
Read our review of Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America
How They Got Over: Gospel Quartets
First Run Features
"Archival performance footage and illuminating interviews stand out in this aurally pleasing history of twentieth-century African American gospel quartets that “developed a spirit and a style that shaped much of the popular music that came after."
Read our review of How They Got Over: Gospel Quartets
Sisters Rising
Women Make Movies
"Sisters Rising respectfully frames Native women's stories and handles its sensitive subject matter with care. It's both affecting and educational, bringing attention to an epidemic that is ravaging Native communities. The tales these women tell can be brutal and sometimes difficult to hear, but they are necessary. Directors Willow O'Feral and Brad Heck never lose sight of the fact that these women are not just statistics but people who deserve dignity and respect. They weave their six subjects' experience and expertise into an effective narrative with a beautiful eye for style."
Read our review of Sisters Rising
Rebuilding Paradise
Abramorama
"Perhaps it is his Happy Days and Mayberry past that drew Howard to this story of heroism in small-town America but this material is the perfect canvas for his storytelling genius. Combining elegant and often breathtaking cinematography with a patchwork script of the survivors' own voices, Howard crafts a masterful portrayal of human resilience with deep universal resonance."
Read our review of Rebuilding Paradise
Get your copy of the Rebuilding Paradise DVD by clicking here.
Billie
Kino Lorber
"Directed by James Erskine, this portrait of legendary singer Billie Holiday is based on more than 200 audio interviews conducted by journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl in the 1970s. A compelling look at the jazz legend who should never be forgotten."
Read our review of Billie
Somewhere With No Bridges
First Run Features
"Frank uses the specificity of this taciturn New England fishing community to craft a universal reflection on grief, memory, and time. His stunning film finds as much beauty in silence as the patient and moving voice-over narration. Hypnotic and truly inimitable, Somewhere With No Bridges is a meditative paen for a soul that once touched the earth but lives on in the salty sea air."
Read our review of Somewhere With No Bridges
On the Fenceline: A Fight for Clean Air
Video Project
"On the Fenceline is a strong, succinct piece of storytelling that forces us to grapple with the exploitation of underprivileged communities through the lens of one group's fight for survival. Their story is a compelling reminder of the power community holds and the importance of making your voice heard, even if no one wants to hear it. Highly Recommended."
Read our review of On the Fenceline: A Fight for Clean Air
The Silence of Others
Good Docs
"In all, this documentary is incredibly informative, visually stimulating, and so very human. This is a documentary that should be seen not just for its under-studied subject matter but for the artful form with which historic, informative, and documentary footage are interwoven with the main narrative. For these and many other reasons, The Silence of Others is highly recommended."
Read our review of The Silence of Others
Far East Deep South
New Day Films
"Far East Deep South provides a microhistory of the often seldom taught Chinese immigration to the Mississippi Delta region around the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act which was signed into law in 1882 prohibiting the entry of Chinese laborers into the United States. Directed by Larissa Lam, the film is able to capture the real emotion of Charles, Baldwin, and Edwin’s father as he learns about his past that he tried to avoid. The mix of filming the family’s trips to Mississippi, interviews, and historical images and films makes for engaging content that will draw the audience into the story of the Chinese immigrant experience in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the South."
Read our review of Far East Deep South
Weed the People
Kino Lorber
"In the long run, this film seeks an end to prohibition and firmly states that no one, no child especially, should go without medicine which could ease their suffering and potentially cure their illness because of poor policy decisions made almost a century ago. As an excellent resource for many types of information about medical marijuana, Weed The People is highly recommended."
Read our review of Weed the People
Malni- Towards the Ocean, Towards the Shore
Grasshopper Film
"Hopinka’s reliance on language and stories is essential to Malni. Sahme and Mercier never meet during the film’s eighty minutes, but their stories of life, death, and rebirth connect them. The motif of water (the film’s subtitle isn’t just for show) is a constant theme and provides for a strong visual sense and an immense poetic force. There is barely any driving action in the film at all. You are left instead with these two ruminating on their connection with both the natural and spiritual world. However, it makes for a stunning, refreshing experience."
Read our review of Malni - Towards the Ocean, Towards the Shore
In the Shadow of the Hill
Future Paradigm Pictures
"Jackson’s first film is a beautiful, nuanced take on the citizens of Rocinha and the issues they face. They are simple people who, having finally had enough, take up a cause to free one of their own. It combines social justice awareness with a sleek documentary style for a powerful, moving story."
Read our review of In the Shadow of the Hill
The Sparks Brothers
Universal
"Even with a two-hour-plus running time, the Sparks saga is never boring, more remarkably so because of a lack of, shall we say, fireworks? Never mind the R-rating (just for some dirty words), we hear of no discord, no drugs, no scandal, just a few spans where industry attention waned or cherished projects were canceled. Through it all, however, the Mael brothers persisted and continue to do so. Fannish in tone though it is, Wright's film solidifies the group's place in popular music's pantheon and is highly entertaining along the way. And you can dance to it."
Read our review of The Sparks Brothers
Get your copy of The Sparks Brothers Blu-ray DVD by clicking here.
The War Tapes
Kino Lorber
"Although the Iraq conflict is long over, there’s still a lot to be gleaned from The War Tapes about the physical and psychological traumas of modern technological warfare and why we will probably never be able to stop blundering our way through futile, nihilistic wars. Recommended."
Read our review of The War Tapes
White Riot
Film Movement
"This short but relentless documentary deftly chronicles this historic concert and some of the powerful performances of Britain’s leading left-leaning punk bands—the Clash, Sham 69, 999, and Tom Robinson Band, among others—high-energy, hungry young groups at the height of their powers. And as we see, the activist energy of the organizers and the fans in attendance certainly matched the obvious enthusiasm of the bands performing that day."
Read our review of White Riot
USA: Being Poor in the World's Richest Country
Green Planet Films
"This French-produced and directed investigative documentary wastes no time in getting to its point: despite President Trump’s self-congratulatory remarks that there’s no better time to pursue the American Dream, director Sebastien Gilles’s probing eye is more concerned with the 40 million people in the world’s richest country who are living the American nightmare."
Read our review of USA: Being Poor in the World's Richest Country
Can You Hear Us Now?
Bullfrog Films
"Can You Hear Us Now? is a well-shot examination that will benefit viewers from Wisconsin and beyond, especially those interested in political issues. Highly recommended."
Read our review of Can You Hear Us Now?
The Water is My Sky
Passion River Films
"Sports documentaries usually follow either an individual athlete or a whole team over a full season. The Water is My Sky tinkers with this formula a bit. It instead follows three different athletes in different parts of their respective careers. The film succeeds via this formula, giving viewers different perspectives to great effect."
Read our review of The Water is My Sky