This Week In Documentary
Theatrical & Streaming Releases - New & Recommended - October 18-October 24, 2024
Before getting into this week’s highlights, recommendations, listings, and coming attractions, I want to recommend one of my favorite Substack newsletters: Stat Significant. It’s not usually related to documentaries, as it analyzes statistics on all areas of entertainment, but this week’s topic is “How Streaming Elevated (and Ruined) Documentaries” and ties the news of Ezra Edelman’s finished but shelved Prince docuseries to the current state of nonfiction film and television and how it compares to when Edelman’s O.J.: Made in America was released.
Speaking of documentaries we can’t see, I also wanted to highlight some anniversaries this week for films that aren’t easily available but should be. Howard Alk’s classic music doc Janis, which is turning 50, Freida Lee Mock’s Oscar-winning feature Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, which is turning 30, and Kevin Macdonald’s Oscar-winning feature One Day in September, which is turning 25, are all missing from streaming. The latter two can be purchased on DVD at least. But there’s no good reason for these and so many other pieces of documentary history should be so hard to access.
Now, without further ado, here are this week’s highlights, listings, and coming attractions, including our Pick of the Week. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: Primary (1960)
While there are plenty of new documentaries I recommend this week (see the highlights below), I couldn’t decide which one to feature above the rest. So, my Pick of the Week is Robert Drew’s Primary, which is one of the classic documentaries consistently available on streaming platforms (usually on Max and The Criterion Channel) but is also now showing on TCM in the coming days and through the following month, just in time for this year’s presidential election.
The hour-long film, which also employed rising documentary icons Richard Leacock, Albert Maysles, and D.A. Pennebaker, is widely considered the best political doc ever made. In the Direct Cinema observational style, it follows John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign leading up to the Wisconsin primary, in a way that hadn’t been seen before. Not only is it a historical work of art and an artistic work of history, but more than educational, it’s actually pretty riveting and leaves you unsurprised that Kennedy won the election. It’s essential viewing this time of year.
Primary airs on TCM on Saturday, October 19, and will likely be available on the TCM app, website, and On Demand afterward.
Other Documentary Highlights
9th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominees
Last Monday, the Critics Choice Association announced the nominees for the 9th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Sugarcane, which just brought on Lily Gladstone as an executive producer, led with eight nominations, including Best Director and Best New Documentary Filmmaker for helmers Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat. Other big contenders include Daughters (along with its directors, Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, and Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.
Here’s a breakdown of the nominees based on where you can watch them now:
Netflix: Daughters, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (starting on 10/25/24), The Turnaround, The Greatest Night in Pop, Will & Harper, Apollo 13: Survival, Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, Mr. McMahon, American Nightmare, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Simone Biles Rising, The Only Girl in the Orchestra (starting on 12/4/24), and Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World (starting 12/11/24).
Hulu: Black Twitter: A People’s History, Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, Queens, , Secrets of the Octopus, The Space Race, and Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (starting on 10/24/24).
Disney+: Jim Henson Idea Man, Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, Music by John Williams (starting on 11/1/24), Queens, Secrets of the Octopus, and The Space Race.
Prime Video: Frida, I Am: Celine Dion, and The Blue Angels.
Max: Albert Brooks: Defending My Life, Stopping the Steal, The Truth vs. Alex Jones, Ren Faire, and The Jinx - Part Two.
Apple TV+: The Last of the Sea Women, Girls State, Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces, and The Dynasty: New England Patriots.
ESPN: 30 for 30.
YouTube: Incident.
PBS: POV and Independent Lens.
Tubi: America’s Most Wanted.
History: The Food That Built America.
VOD: Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, Bad River, and Copa 71.
In Theaters: Sugarcane, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, Piece by Piece, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, Blink, Dahomey (starting on 10/25/24), Black Box Diaries (starting on 10/25/24), Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (starting on 11/1/24), Porcelain War (starting in 11/24).
TBD: I Am Ready, Warden and Once Upon a Time in Ukraine.
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (2024)
Part music doc, part true-crime doc, Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara is the latest feature from the prolific documentarian Erin Lee Carr (Britney vs Spears; Mommy Dead and Dearest). Even more recent than her last documentary work, released just last week, I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders. This one follows the little-known story of how one of the two sisters in the rock duo Tegan and Sara was being impersonated online for decades, with this fake Tegan (aka “Fegan”) befriending and even having intimate virtual relationships with fans and acquaintances.
For the most part, the documentary is compelling and addresses some interesting aspects of fame and fandom in the digital age. It’s not entirely conclusive, however, and that makes it a bit anticlimactic. Without spoiling anything, there just seems to be more to the story that hasn’t been uncovered yet. Perhaps there will be a sequel? What’s maybe most fascinating is that even what is included gives the impression that there wasn’t enough investigated, booked, or planned out ahead of the beginning of shooting, giving the film a feeling of everyone involved winging it. Given how busy Carr is lately (she also produced two other docs released this year), this makes sense.
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara begins streaming on Hulu on Friday, October 18.
Nocturnes (2024)
One of my favorite surprises of the year, Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s Nocturnes is a serene, almost calming documentary following the study of moths. The film, which won a special jury award for its craft at Sundance, depicts lonely scientists in the Himalayas observing a specific species of moths among several other types to determine how climate change is impacting the natural world. It’s such an intimate and beautiful documentary (who knew staring at and listening to moths of varying sizes on a lit-up screen would be so enchanting) but also has broader ideas that are anything but comforting. It reminds me of the recently released film The Last of the Sea Women in that way. Expect to have gone through a metamorphosis by the end.
Nocturnes opens in theaters on Friday, October 18.
The Remarkable Life Of Ibelin (2024)
I was reminded — while really trying to love this Critics Choice Documentary Awards-nominated film — that I don’t like online video game graphics in documentaries. It doesn’t matter if it’s fitting, as it is in The Remarkable Life of Ibelen or 2022’s We Met in Virtual Reality, I simply can’t relate to that space or to persons represented as avatars (though I admit, it’s amusing in A Glitch in the Matrix). That said, and otherwise, the film’s story of Mats Steen, a gamer with a degenerative disease who spent most of his time immersed in World of Warcraft, is really extraordinary and absolutely heartbreaking.
After Steen died, his parents discovered that he had a lot of friends online in his second life as a gamer. Not only that, but he apparently touched many of them on a deep level and provided a lot of wisdom, all the while never telling them about his physical disability and disease. While I wasn’t as moved by Steen’s story as dramatized in World of Warcraft, the thing I found sad instead was the lack of connection between him and his parents that he couldn’t tell them about is virtual friendships and romantic relationships and that they didn’t know any of it while he was living. Why? The documentary unfortunately doesn’t wonder or explore that part.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin opens in theaters on Friday, October 18, before hitting Netflix on October 25.
The Turnaround (2024)
The master of short documentaries is back with another masterpiece. The Turnaround is directed by Ben Proudfoot (The Queen of Basketball; The Last Repair Shop) and Kyle Thrash (The Sentence of Michael Thompson), and it’s now the former’s third Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominee (his past two are mentioned in parentheses above). This one is up for Best Short Documentary and Best Sports Documentary. It follows the 2023 slump of Phillies shortstop Trea Turner through the perspective of a fan who helped bring him back around. Even if you hate Philadelphia sports and their fans, you have to watch it.
As a fan of other baseball teams, I’m glad the Phillies fell out of the postseason so quickly this year, but as a fan of this film, I almost felt a need to root for them and Turner to do better. Not only was I hooked by this two-tiered comeback tale, but it genuinely left me in tears at times. I should have known after The Last Repair Shop got had such an emotional effect on me last year, but I was still surprised and impressed.
The Turnaround begins streaming on Netflix on Friday, October 18.
Union (2024)
There haven’t been a lot of documentaries this year that carry on the tradition of Robert Drew and the rest of the filmmakers involved in the observational Direct Cinema style, but Stephen Maing and Brett Story keep it going with Union. The film follows employees and former employees of a Staten Island Amazon warehouse as they campaign to unionize. It’s as political as you expect, pragmatically, and while there’s never any events as dramatic as in a classic Barbara Kopple union-focused film, it benefits in having a strong character in Chris Smalls, the main organizer.
Union opens in theaters on Friday, October 18.
Documentary Release Calendar 10/18/24 - 10/24/24
Friday, October 18, 2024
The Devil’s Climb - A documentary starring Alex Honnold as he attempts a world record climb of Alaska’s Devil’s Thumb. (Hulu and Disney+)
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (2024) - A feature documentary by Erin Lee Carr (Mommy Dead and Dearest) about the titular indie rock duo and how they were at the center of a fan-catfishing scam. Watch the new trailer below. (Hulu)
Gonzo for Democracy (2024) - A feature documentary following gonzo journalist Lauren Windsor as she talks to 2020 election deniers and explores the January 6, 2021, insurrection. (In Theaters)
Join or Die (2023) - A feature documentary on Robert Putnam and his research on the decline of American communities. (Netflix)
Land of Tradition (1950) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores England. (TCM)
No One Asked You - A comedic documentary about abortion starring The Daily Show co-founder Lizz Winstead. (In Theaters)
Nocturnes (2024) - A feature documentary about scientists studying moths in the Himalayas. (In Theaters)
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (2024) - A feature documentary about a Norwegian gamer who died of a degenerative disease and the online community that loved him. (In Theaters)
Scariest Monsters in the World (2023) - A documentary about the scariest monsters in the world. (Tubi)
Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot (2022) - A three-part docuseries following artist William Kentridge in his creative process during the COVID-19 pandemic. (MUBI)
Social Studies Episode 5: “Deletions and Culminations” - The final episode of this docuseries directed by Lauren Greenfield (The Queen of Versailles) continues a look at how social media has impacted teenage life as its high school student participants graduate and head to college. (FX)
Stolen Time (2023) - A feature documentary about an attorney going after abusive for-profit senior care facilities in Canada. (In Theaters)
Thank You, Dr. Fauci (2024) - A feature documentary by Jenner Furst (Fyre Fraud) about Dr. Fauci and COVID-19. (In Theaters)
Union (2024) - A feature documentary directed by Stephen Maing (Crime + Punishment) and Brett Story (The Hottest August) about an effort by Amazon workers to unionize. (In Theaters)
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins Season 3, Episode 10: “Moonshine and Murder” - The latest episode of this crime docuseries focuses on a retired State Trooper shot five times in the back of the head. (Oxygen True Crime)
Primary (1960) - A classic documentary by Robert Drew following the John F. Kennedy presidential campaign. (TCM)
The Real Murders of Atlanta Season 3, Episode 10: “Killer in the Community” - The latest episode of this Atlanta-focused true-crime docuseries involves civil rights icon shot in his own front yard. (Oxygen True Crime)
To Catch a Smuggler: Tropical Takedown Episode 3: “Murders and Drug Dealers” - The latest episode of this spinoff of the docuseries To Catch a Smuggler focused on the cocaine trade in the Caribbean. (National Geographic)
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Interview with a Killer Episode 1: “A Double Life” - The first episode of this new docuseries featuring interviews with five convicted murderers focuses on a serial killer in Alaska. (Court TV)
Serial Killer Capital: Los Angeles (2024) - A documentary about the Southside Slayer. (Oxygen)
Wildlife Rescue Australia (2024) - A docuseries following veterinarians in the Australian wilderness. (National Geographic)
Monday, October 21, 2024
Close-Up (1990) - A docudrama by Abbas Kiarostami reenacting a crime in which a guy impersonated a filmmaker and fooled a family who thought they’d star in his movie. Find it on our list of the best crime documentaries of all time. (TCM)
Contraband: Seized at the Airport (2024) - A new docuseries in the Contraband franchise focused on attempted smugglers. (Discovery)
The History of White People in America (2024) - A six-part animated musical docuseries about race relations in the U.S. (PBS App and PBS Passport)
Mysterious Object at Noon (2000) - An experimental documentary by Apichatpong Weerasethakul in which people across Thailand add to and reenact a story. (TCM)
New Worlds: The Cradle of Civilization (2021) - A concert film starring Bill Murray. (TCM)
Public Enemies, Private Friends (2024) - A documentary about private conversations from opposing sides of the abortion debate. (PBS WORLD)
Tokyo Uber Blues (2021) - A documentary about an Uber bike courier in Japan. Presented as an episode of POV. (PBS)
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
America’s Burning (2024) - A political documentary about the economic divide in America. (VOD)
Baby Boomer Yearbook (2024) - A medium-length documentary revisiting classmates from 1964 every decade for 60 years. (DVD)
Citizen Nation Episode 3: “The Hustle” - The final installment of this three-part docuseries following high school students as they conduct mock congressional hearings sees teams face off for a chance to move on to Washington, D.C.. (PBS)
Colette and Justin (2022) - A personal documentary examining the filmmaker’s grandparents and ancestry. (DVD and VOD)
Conscious States of Dying with Stanislav Grof (2009) - A documentary about the titular psychiatrist. (Prime Video via Gaia)
Da Vinci's Dream: The Secrets of Flight - A documentary about Leonardo da Vinci’s interest in flight. (DVD)
Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti (1993) - A posthumously finished and released documentary by Maya Deren about Haitian vodou. (Ovid)
The Egyptian Origins Of Christianity - A documentary tracing the roots of Christianity to Egypt. (DVD)
Family Secrets: The Disappearance of Alissa Turney (2024) - An extended version of this documentary following Justice Media founder Sarah Turney in her investigation of her childhood and whether her dad killed her sister. (Peacock)
Food and Country (2023) - A feature documentary starring Ruth Reichl about America’s broken food system. (VOD)
Infinity: The Ultimate Trip - Journey Beyond Death (2009) - A documentary about the afterlife. (Prime Video via Gaia)
Kundalini (2010) - A documentary about Kundalini yoga. (Prime Video via Gaia)
Life Below Zero Season 23, Episode 4: “Creatures of Darkness” - The latest episode of the latest season of this docuseries about life in Alaska involves nighttime predators. (National Geographic)
New Worlds: The Cradle of Civilization (2021) - A concert film starring Bill Murray. (TCM)
Northwoods Survival Episode 2: “Winter is Coming” - The latest episode of this docuseries following young Canadians in the wilderness for a year. (National Geographic)
Public Enemies, Private Friends (2024) - A documentary about private conversations from opposing sides of the abortion debate. (PBS WORLD)
Those People (2021) - A documentary about a talent show held for a grieving community. (DVD)
Tigre Gente (2021) - A documentary about the jaguar trade in Bolivia. (DVD)
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Breath of Fire (2024) - A four-part docuseries about Kundalini yoga. (Max)
The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox (2024) - A three-part docuseries about the long road to the Red Sox World Series win 20 years ago. (Netflix)
Fear Thy Neighbor Season 11 - The latest season of this true-crime docuseries involving neighbors. (Investigation Discovery)
Placebo: This Search for Meaning (2024) - A feature documentary about the titular band. (In Theaters)
The Pleasures of Being Out of Step (2013) - A documentary about jazz critic Nat Hentoff. (Ovid)
Tears For Fears Live (A Tipping Point Film) (2023) - A concert film starring the titular band. (In Theaters)
This Is the Zodiac Speaking (2024) - A three-part docuseries that identifies a man believed to be the Zodiac killer. (Netflix)
Until the Sun Dies (2019) - A feature documentary showing the daily life and resistance of Indigenous people in Costa Rica. (In Theaters)
Whitney Houston - The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban) (2024) - A concert film sharing an event starring Whitney Houston from 1994. (In Theaters)
Thursday, October 24 2024
Ancient Bodies: Secrets Revealed Episode 1: “Otzi: World's Oldest Cold Case” - The first episode of this new archaeological docuseries focuses on an ancient ice mummy who may have been murdered thousands of years ago. (National Geographic)
Dateline: The Smoking Gun Season 1, Episode 4: “Deadly House of Cards” - The latest episode of this true crime docuseries in the Dateline franchise focused on evidence that will crack a case involves a young filmmaker. (Oxygen True Crime)
Sneak Peak At What’s Coming Soon
10/25 - Zurawski v Texas - A feature documentary following women in their lawsuit against the titular state regarding its strict anti-abortion laws. (In Theaters)
11/1 - Luther: Never Too Much - A feature documentary by Dawn Porter (John Lewis: Good Trouble) about singer Luther Vandross. (In Theaters)
11/15 - The World According to Allee Willis - A feature documentary about the titular artist/songwriter. (In Theaters and VOD)
11/19 - Night is Not Eternal - A feature documentary by Nanfu Wang (One Child Nation) following activist Rosa Maria Paya. (HBO and Max)
11/ 22 - Ernest Cole: Lost and Found - A feature documentary by Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) about
12/6 - Obsessed with Light - A feature documentary about dancer, designer, and lighting technician Loie Fuller. (In Theaters)