Apollo 11 – 2019

Originality: Documentaries exist in a different category of originality since they highlight something that has already been done or something that is ongoing. The idea or compiling all of the footage from the Apollo 11 expedition doesn’t feel original, but this film plays like a thriller as it draws its audience in so completely that […]

Faces Places – 2017

Agnes Varda is a pioneer of the French New Wave and her films have inspired a generation of filmmakers. This unique documentary finds her in her late 80s and decides to confront her own mortality and failing vision by teaming up with photographer JR to travel the French countryside photographing villagers and workers and pasting […]

Icarus – 2017

This film is one of those that seemed to happen purely by accident. The film follows filmmaker and cyclist Bryan Fogel in his attempts to defraud the anti-doping agency to prove that it could be done. He is put in contact with Russian scientist Grigory Rodchenkov who heads the Russian Anti-Doping Agency and agrees to […]

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail – 2016

The story of Abacus might seem like a David and Goliath tale, but it goes much deeper than that. Abacus follows a small bank who suffered adverse consequences after several employees defrauded clients. The crux of the case comes down to the bank’s management staff who are accused of being a part of the fraud. […]

Strong Island – 2017

True crime is all the rage right now and no one seems to do it better than Netflix. Yance Ford asks a very simple question and executes it gracefully: what happened to my brother? For over twenty years she has lived with the fact that her brother was murdered and the man responsible never went […]

Cameraperson – 2016

Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson may play like a patchwork quilt of segments, but upon viewing it, I can say it feels more like a tapestry of life. Her life, to be specific. Johnson is a cinematographer who has helped craft some of the most significant documentaries of the past twenty years, including Fahrenheit 9/11 and Citizenfour. […]