Another month ends, as we enter the fourth quarter of the second third of the year (fractions are our friends). Kids down here in the south are heading back to school (we have a list of films to get them ready for that), which means I’ll be driving them around to camps and activities less and can hopefully write about documentaries more. This week’s selection of new releases (well, the pair I’ve watched) is interesting because they’re both about animals kept in captivity at some point in their lives. These documentaries aren’t similar in any other way, but seeing them back-to-back got me thinking a lot about zoos, unfavorably, and especially about animal lovers.

Without further ado, below are this week’s documentary highlights, followed by daily listings for all known releases and broadcasts, along with a brief look at what’s coming soon for doc fans. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future, plus full access to special posts like our best-of lists, and to give me more time to watch more (if not everything) available. If you have a doc needing coverage or a mention, you can now reach us at nonficseditor (at) gmail.

Nonfics Picks Of The Week: Wild Inside (2026)

One of my favorite animal-focused documentaries of all time is The Whale, a 2011 feature narrated by Ryan Reynolds and executive-produced by Reynolds and his then-wife, Scarlett Johansson. It’s about an orca who separates from his pod and sticks around Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island because he can’t get enough of the human attention he's received there. In a piece I wrote 15 years ago for the IndieWire blog Spout, I called it the type of film involving “complicated contemplations of man’s treatment of other species.” I also stated, “It tells us the hard truth that even animals who seem to want and enjoy human interaction should not receive our affection and attention.”

I could have written the same comment in a review of Penny Lane’s Wild Inside, another great animal-focused documentary that deals with one creature who received way more attention than he should have. Flaco the owl escaped from the Central Park Zoo in New York City in 2023 and became a local sensation first for eluding the authorities who tried to return her to an enclosure and then for adapting to her new freedom in the Big Apple. Flaco’s story challenged notions of how animals born in captivity would fare in the wild. But her story also complicates that challenge by her becoming more observed than she ever was while in a cage at the zoo.

The film plays as seemingly simple, telling the whole story of Flaco’s escape, rise in fame, and eventual fate in a straightforward chronological manner. Lane interviews people who followed or came into contact with the bird and presents them in ways that fit seamlessly into the story as it unfolds, as if she filmed them at the time. There are also interviews with supposed experts on wildlife and what’s best for them in or out of captivity. But Wild Inside raises many questions about the nature of animals and our fascination and interactions with them without any explicit point or debate. Anyone with any opinion about Flaco’s tale can watch the documentary and still feel right while also being confronted by other ideas.

In addition to the film’s soft yet broadly inquisitive discourse on captive versus wild, it also deals with the monoculture concept in its portrayal of the global interest in the Flaco story. Most of the characters we meet in the film are more overtly and directly attached to or invested in the owl than the wider population, but they’re also so preoccupied by this particular creature because of his notoriety and for the notoriety they receive by feeding his fame with their photographs and videos posted online. They’re not mere birders. They reminded me of the amateur sleuths that keep showing up in true-crime documentaries, but instead they’re amateur zoologists. I wish that Flaco could have told them all to get a life and let him be.

Wild Inside will be released in theaters on Friday, July 31, 2026, via Sandbox Films.

Other Documentary Highlights

American Dream (1990)

Our long American (Dream) nightmare is over! For years, I’ve been recommending Barbara Kopple’s second Oscar-winning documentary feature involving a labor strike only to realize it’s still unavailable. It hasn’t even been easily accessible via physical commercial formats. This week, American Dream finally gets a streaming home via Criterion (exclusively? I’m not sure). The same company is also putting the documentary out on DVD and Blu-ray later this month. I made the film my Pick of the Week back in May when it was re-released in theaters in 4K, so I will only repeat the following bit where I compare it to Kopple’s Harlan County, USA, which pairs well with this later masterpiece: “[it’s] just as powerful in its aim to create empathy among its viewers, especially when it puts us in the passenger seat alongside strikebreakers.”

American Dream will begin streaming exclusively on The Criterion Channel on Saturday, August 1, 2026. The film will be released on DVD and Blu-ray as part of The Criterion Collection on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.

Apple TV Documentaries

Stat Significant, one of my favorite Substacks, took a deep dive last week into the success of Apple TV as a producer of acclaimed and award-worthy series that aren’t being watched nearly as much as other streamers’ content. They focus on shows, given that Apple TV just received a bunch of Emmy nominations for Widow’s Bay and Pluribus, but the same can be said for its movies since the company won an Oscar for Best Picture (with CODA) before Netflix. Thanks to its Emmy nods and the return of Ted Lasso this week, more people should be subscribing to Apple TV, so I wanted to highlight the streamer’s best documentaries while you’re there.

Apple TV does have a lot of celebrity-driven biographical profile documentaries, but they consistently make above-average films and series within that genre by working with prestigious auteur directors. My favorites include Davis Guggenheim’s Still: A Michael J. Fox Story, Ryan White’s Come See Me in the Good Light, Rebecca Miller’s Mr. Scorsese, Reginald Hudlin’s Sidney, and Morgan Neville’s Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces (especially the first half). This category extends to many of their great music docs, such as R.J. Cutler’s Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, Andrew Dominik’s Bono: Stories of Surrender, Spike Jonze’s Beastie Boys Story, and Todd Haynes’s The Velvet Underground. I’d also include Hudlin and Shola Lynch’s Number One on the Call Sheet and Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills’s The Super Models in the bunch.

For more serious fare, Apple TV has some terrific political and historical documentaries, including Guggenheim and Nyle DiMarco’s Deaf President Now! and Jesse Moss and Amanda McBain’s Boys State and its even better follow-up, Girls State. For science documentaries, there’s Sue Kim’s The Last of the Sea Women, Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds, and a slew of nature programming like The Secret Lives of Animals, The Elephant Queen, The Year Earth Changed, and the Prehistoric Planet franchise. While I can’t endorse many of the streamer’s sports documentary titles, one series that I love that surprised me the most of anything they’ve put out is Matthew Hamachek’s The Dynasty: New England Patriots. (I can’t wait for his follow-up, The Dynasty: UConn Huskies, which debuts August 21.)

Ken Burns Documentaries

I’ve celebrated the filmography of Ken Burns in the past, but PBS is releasing a whole bunch of titles on DVD and/or Blu-ray this week, most of them directed, co-directed, or produced by the master of the archival history documentary. His most famous series, such as Civil War and Baseball are not among the new releases, some of which are newly restored, but the completist will want to see what all is coming out (in the Tuesday section of the listings, as is always the case with new physical media releases), especially the Oscar-nominated early features Brooklyn Bridge and The Statue of Liberty as well as The Central Park Five and new series such as The U.S. and the Holocaust and The American Revolution. Also, I highly recommend The Dust Bowl, especially if you’re a fan of Christopher Nolan’s Intersteller.

Monsters Of God (2026)

There will never be a docuseries hit like Tiger King, which had the good fortune of being released just as the world was experiencing the misfortune of shutting down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That hasn’t stopped co-director and conservationist Eric Goode from making other series that seem hopeful of catching that same lightning on subject matter alone. His first follow-up was Chimp Crazy, about an animal broker specializing in primates, and now he’s made Monsters of God, a five-part docuseries about the history of illegal reptile smuggling and the outlaws who turned the trade into a billion-dollar business — alongside deals in drugs and guns.

I’ve only had the chance to watch the first two episodes, and it’s certainly a wild history with outrageous interviewees, many of whom hate each other. But so far it’s just primarily anecdotal talking heads, not enough scenes involving character- or action-driven material. It reminds me of the Cocaine Cowboys documentaries in that way, with a lot more about animal trade and some questionable elements of the zoo industry. That’s not a bad thing. It’s certainly engrossing. And I’m anxious to continue watching, so it’s hooked me. It just hasn’t given me much to think about beyond the basic criminal plot other than curiosity about the shady things that won’t be discussed.

Monsters of God premieres its first episode on Thursday, August 6, 2026, on HBO and HBO Max, with subsequent installments released weekly.

Time And Water (2026)

Sara Dosa’s follow-up to her Oscar-nominated feature Fire of Love is not on the same level, but plenty of fans of that 2022 film will like Time and Water as well. Instead of the fiery element of volcanoes, this documentary deals with the icy element of glaciers in Iceland through the personal experience of writer Andri Snær Magnason. Here’s part of my review of the film, which I recommend for the score alone:

“Magnason heavily narrates the documentary, which is inspired by his book On Time and Water and serves as an elegy for his grandparents and the Icelandic glaciers. There is a connection. His grandparents were co-founders of the Icelandic Glacial Research Society. He was commissioned to write an obituary for the OK Glacier after it was declared dead. I say the film serves as an elegy rather than a eulogy because it does feel more somber than celebratory of either his grandparents or the ice. He honors and memorializes them plenty, but the documentary is also slow and bleak.”

Time and Water will make its broadcast premiere on National Geographic on Friday, July 31, 2026, and will begin streaming exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu on Saturday, August 1, 2026.

Viktor (2024)

One of the best documentaries released in 2025 that deserves more eyeballs is Olivier Sarbil’s phenomenal feature Viktor. As far as I know, it hasn’t been available anywhere else since hitting theaters in limited release last October. Now it’s found a streaming home, albeit one with surely fewer subscribers than even Apple TV. I recommend giving it a look, and I do mean look. Shot in black and white, Viktor follows a Deaf Ukrainian man during the Russian invasion as he attempts to join the military. Here’s some more about it, from the best of 2025 list, that hopefully intrigues you:

“Shot in black and white and employing a sound team consisting of Oscar-winning talents, this is a technical achievement the likes of which we too rarely see with nonfiction cinema because of how much staging and post-production clash with what’s appreciated by the documentary purists. Even if Viktor looks more like the documentary features made a century ago than anything else on this list.”

Viktor will begin streaming exclusively on Mubi on Saturday, August 1, 2026.

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Documentary Release Calendar 7/31/26 - 8/6/26

Friday, July 31, 2026

Glimpses of Florida (1950) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores popular destinations in Florida. (TCM)

Hollywood Without Make-Up (1963) - A short documentary sharing home movie clips of Hollywood stars. (TCM)

Marine Circus (1939) - A short documentary in the Pete Smith Specialty series that looks at the marine life of Marineland of Florida. (TCM)

My Strange Shark Addiction (2026) - A documentary special about people who are obsessed with sharks. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

A Paradise Lost (2025) - A partly animated documentary feature about a bird that sued the state of Hawaii to prevent its own extinction. (In Theaters)

Save Our Souls (2025) - A documentary feature about a humanitarian organization that rescues migrants from overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean. (OVID)

Secrets of the Great White Kill (2026) - A documentary special about the intelligent hunting techniques of great white sharks. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Sharkzilla Takes New York (2026) - A documentary special about massive radioactive mako sharks. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Time and Water - A documentary feature directed by Sara Dosa (Fire of Love) about Icelandic author Andri Snær Magnason and his mission to preserve the memory of his nation’s glaciers. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. (National Geographic)

Wild Inside (2026) - A documentary feature by Penny Lane (Nuts!) about Central Park’s Flaco the Owl. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)

Saturday, August 1, 2026

American Dream (1990) - Barbara Kopple’s Oscar-winning documentary feature about a Hormel Foods labor strike in Minnesota. See our highlights section for more info. *NONFICS PICK* (The Criterion Channel)

The American Ruling Class (2005) - A hybrid feature film described as the first “dramatic-documentary-musical” that offers a tour of the corridors of power. (The Criterion Channel)

Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements (2011) - A documentary feature about the rock band The Replacements. (TCM)

Easter Snap (2019) - A short documentary by RaMell Ross about the homestead ritual of hog processing. (Mubi)

Great White Highway (2026) - A documentary special about the tracking of great white sharks as they begin migrating further north. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018) - An Oscar-nominated feature documentary by RaMell Ross about the Black community of Hale County, Alabama. *NONFICS PICK* (Mubi)

I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1982) - A documentary starring James Baldwin as he looks back at the Civil Rights Movement. *NONFICS PICK* (The Criterion Channel)

James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket (1989) - A documentary feature about author/civil rights activist James Baldwin. *NONFICS PICK* (The Criterion Channel)

MGM Parade Show #8 (1955) - This installment of the behind-the-scenes docuseries showcases Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story. (TCM)

The Real Murders of Atlanta Season 4, Episode 4: “Murder on Welcome All Road” - The latest installment of an Atlanta-focused true-crime docuseries. This episode involves the killing of a veteran. (Oxygen)

The Rock (1967) - A short documentary about the making of the film Point Blank. (TCM)

Thresher Shark: Stun to Kill (2026) - A documentary special about the physics behind thresher sharks’ tail strike. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Through the Night (2020) - A documentary feature about two working mothers and a child care provider whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center. (The Criterion Channel)

Time and Water - A documentary feature directed by Sara Dosa (Fire of Love) about Icelandic author Andri Snær Magnason and his mission to preserve the memory of his nation’s glaciers. See our highlights section for more info. (Disney+ and Hulu)

Viktor (2024) - A documentary feature about the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the perspective of a Deaf person wishing to fight. See our highlights section for more info. *NONFICS PICK* (Mubi)

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Decades in Sports Episodes 1 & 2: “1960s” & “1970s” - The first two installments of a six-part docuseries executive produced by Tom Hanks about milestones in sports in America. (CNN)

Hazardous History with Henry Winkler Season 2, Episode 15: “Harrowing Highways” - The latest installment of a docuseries about dangerous toys and household items that used to be common. This episode involves past dangers of automotive travel. (History)

The Mega-Brands That Built America Season 4, Episode 1: “Road Warriors” - The return of a docuseries about iconic commercial brands. This installment covers the World War II-era origin of the SUV. (History)

Unknown Serial Killers of America Season 2, Episode 1 - The latest episode of a true-crime series about less-famous murderers. (Oxygen)

Monday, August 3, 2026

How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 1: ‘The Putter’ (1931) - A short documentary, the first in a series of 12, in which Bobby Jones shows off his golf skills. (TCM)

A Killer Among Friends Season 2, Episode 3: “The Murder Pact” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about murders that tear friend groups apart. This episode involves the disappearance of a computer whiz. (Investigation Discovery)

The Gas Station Attendant (2025) - A documentary feature by Karla Murthy about her father’s life, from fleeing his Indian village as a child to later emigrating to the United States in pursuit of the American Dream. Presented as an episode of POV. Read our review. (PBS)

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

50 Cent: Refuse 2 Die (2005) - A documentary about the titular rapper. (DVD)

The Address (2014) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns about the Gettysburg Address. (DVD)

Africa’s Great Civilizations (2017) - A docuseries hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. about the history of Africa. (DVD)

The American Buffalo (2023) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns about the titular animal. (DVD and Blu-ray)

American Horses (2022) - A documentary episode of Nature about the history of American horse breeds. (DVD)

The American Revolution - A docuseries directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt about the Revolutionary War. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD and Blu-ray)

Attenborough’s Life Journey - A documentary episode of Nature about Sir David Attenborough. (DVD)

Atomic People (2024) - A documentary about the last survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. (DVD)

Becoming Frederick Douglas (2022) - A medium-length documentary by Stanley Nelson and Nicole London about the titular abolitionist. (DVD)

Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect (2025) - A documentary about Thurgood Marshall. (DVD)

Benjamin Franklin (2022) - A documentary by Ken Burns about the titular inventor, publisher, and American Founding Father. (DVD and Blu-ray)

Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise (2016) - A documentary about the history of Black people in the U.S. after the 1960s. (DVD)

Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History (2026) - A docuseries hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. about the complex relationship between Black Americans and Jewish Americans. (DVD)

Brooklyn Bridge (1981) - An Oscar-nominated medium-length documentary by Ken Burns about the titular New York City landmark. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD)

Caregiving (2025) - A documentary about systemic issues with the American care system. (DVD)

The Central Park Five (2012) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon about the titular group of wrongfully convicted men. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD)

College Behind Bars (2019) - A documentary executive-produced by Ken Burns about men and women trying to earn college degrees while serving time in prison. (DVD)

The Congress (1989) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns about the U.S. Congress. (DVD)

Dante: Inferno to Paradise (2024) - A docuseries by Ric Burns about the titular poet. (DVD)

Dark Side of the Ring Season 7, Episode 6: “The Ultimate Fantasy: The Fall of Renegade” - The latest installment of a docuseries that shares the darkest stories of professional wrestling. (Vice)

Deep Sea (2006) - A short IMAX documentary about the creatures of the deep ocean. (DVD and Blu-ray)

Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America (2020) - A documentary by Ric Burns and Gretchen Sorin about the pros and cons of the automobile’s invention for Black Americans. (DVD)

The Dust Bowl (2012) - A docuseries directed by Ken Burns about a longtime environmental disaster that occurred during the Great Depression. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD and Blu-ray)

East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story (2020) - A documentary feature executive produced by Ken Burns about a public housing project in Atlanta. (DVD)

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns about the invention and success of radio. (DVD)

Epic Train Journeys from Above (2024) - A six-part docuseries that follows American railways. (DVD)

Eyes on the Prize (1987) - A docuseries about the history of the U.S. Civil Rights movement from 1954 to 1965. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD)

Frank Lloyd Wright (1998) - A documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick about the titular architect. (DVD)

The Gene: An Intimate History (2020) - A docuseries about genes. (DVD)

Gospel (2024) - A docuseries hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. about Black spirituality. (DVD)

Great Migrations: A People on the Move - A docuseries produced and hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. about the movement of African Americans through the 20th and 21st centuries. (DVD)

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks Episode 1 - The latest installment of the Hard Knocks franchise (technically Hard Knocks Season 22) goes behind the scenes with the titular NFL football team. (HBO and HBO Max)

Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom (2022) - A medium-length documentary by Stanley Nelson and Nicole London about the titular abolitionist. (DVD)

Hemingway (2021) - A docuseries by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick about the writer Ernest Hemingway. (DVD and Blu-ray)

Henry David Thoreau - A three-part docuseries executive-produced by Ken Burns, narrated by George Clooney, and featuring the voices of Jeff Goldblum, Meryl Streep, Ted Danson, and Tate Donovan about the titular naturalist and writer. (DVD)

Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness (2022) - A docuseries executive-produced by Ken Burns about people living with mental conditions. (DVD)

Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip (2003) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns about the first person to drive across the U.S. in an automobile. (DVD)

Hubble 3D (2010) - A medium-length 3D IMAX documentary directed by Toni Myers and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio that follows the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis as they repair the Hubble Space Telescope. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD and Blu-ray)

Huey Long (1985) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns about the titular Louisiana governor and U.S. senator. (DVD)

Jackie Robinson (2016) - A docuseries by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon about the titular baseball legend. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD)

Leonardo da Vinci - A two-part documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon about the titular Renaissance painter. (DVD and Blu-ray)

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997) - A documentary by Ken Burns about the titular explorers. (DVD)

Main Street Today (1944) - An Oscar-nominated short documentary follow-up to the Oscar-winning short Main Street on the March! that shows how citizens of small towns in the U.S. are helping in the war effort. (TCM)

Making Black America: Through the Grapevine (2022) - A docuseries hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. about social networks and organizations created by and for Black people. (DVD)

Mark Twain (2001) - A documentary by Ken Burns about the titular author. (DVD)

Matter of Mind: My ALS (2023) - A documentary about people with ALS. (DVD)

Matter of Mind: My Alzheimer’s (2025) - A documentary following three families in which a member has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. (DVD)

Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s (2024) - A documentary about people with Parkinson’s disease. (DVD)

The Mayo Clinic, Faith, Hope and Science (2018) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns, Christopher Loren Ewers, and Erik Ewers about the titular medical institution. (DVD)

Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like (2018) - A medium-length documentary about the children’s show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. (DVD)

Muhammad Ali (2021) - A docuseries by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon about the titular boxing legend. (DVD and Blu-ray)

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (2009) - A docuseries by Ken Burns about America’s National Parks. (DVD and Blu-ray)

Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony (1999) - A docuseries by Ken Burns about the titular women’s rights activists. (DVD)

Of the People: Women of the Civil Rights Movement (2026) - A docuseries about Fannie Lou Hamer, Angela Davis, Dolores Huerta, and Yuri Kochiyama. (DVD)

Once Upon a Time in Space Episode 4: “Friends Forever” - The final installment of a four-part docuseries about the space race. This episode involves the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. (PBS)

Prohibition (2011) - A docuseries by Ken Burns about the titular era of American history when alcohol was banned. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD and Blu-ray)

The Proof is Out There: Unexplained Edition Season 2, Episode 10: “Unidentified Lights” - The latest installment of a docuseries about strange phenomena captured on camera. (History)

The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch Season 7, Episode 12: “Hot Pursuit” - The latest installment of a docuseries about UFO phenomena at the Skinwalker Ranch. (History)

Seeing, Searching, Being: William Segal (2010) - A documentary by Ken Burns about the titular philosopher, publisher, writer and painter. (DVD)

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God (1984) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns and Amy Stechler about the titular religious sect. (DVD)

Special Ops: True (2026) - A docuseries that revisits some of the most high-profile military missions of the last several decades with unseen footage. (Paramount+)

Starring Dick Van Dyke (2025) - A biographical documentary about the titular actor. (DVD)

The Statue of Liberty (1985) - An Oscar-nominated medium-length documentary by Ken Burns about the titular landmark. (DVD)

Thomas Hart Benton (1989) - A documentary feature by Ken Burns about the titular painter. (DVD)

Thomas Jefferson (1997) - A docuseries by Ken Burns about the titular U.S. president. (DVD)

Transparent Colors (2024) - A documentary about the Black art scene in Nashville. (DVD)

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004) - A documentary by Ken Burns about the titular boxer, who became the first African-American Heavyweight champion. (DVD)

The U.S. and the Holocaust (2022) - A docuseries by Ken Burns, Sara Botstein, and Lynn Novick about Americans during the Holocaust. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD and Blu-ray)

Women of World War II: The Untold Stories (2025) - A medium-length documentary about the women who built planes and flew them during World War II. (DVD)

Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation (2019) - A documentary feature by Barak Goodman and Jamila Ephron about the titular 1969 music festival. (DVD)

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

911: Did the Killer Call? Season 2, Episode 4: “For Love or Lies” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about cases where the murderer is on the 911 call. (Investigation Discovery)

Eons: Life and Death on Pangea Episode 3: “The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Reef” - The latest installment of a six-part docuseries on the mass-extinction event known as the “Great Dying.” (PBS)

ER: Caught on Camera Season 1, Episode 5 - The latest installment of a docuseries in which medical patients recall experiences in hospital emergency rooms. (TLC)

Hell’s Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films (2003) - A 2K restoration re-release of a documentary feature about traffic safety educational films. (Theatrical Event)

Holiday from Rules? (1958) - A short educational film that shows children why rules are important. (TCM)

Homestead Rescue: Intervention Season 1, Episode 3: “Wylde Mountain Reckoning” - The latest episode of a docuseries that follows wilderness experts as they save lives. (Discovery)

Invisible Frontliners (2022) - A medium-length documentary about caretakers, house cleaners, and other under-appreciated workers. (OVID)

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (2026) - A concert film directed by James Cameron and Billie Eilish and starring Billie Eilish. Read our review. (Paramount+)

Monsters of God Episode 1: “The Fever” - The premiere installment of a five-part docuseries by Tiger King co-director Eric Goode about exotic reptile smugglers. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. (HBO and HBO Max)

Pol Pot Dancing (2024) - A documentary feature about Pol Pot’s connection to classical dance. (OVID)

Ritual Season 2 - The return of a docuseries about customs in the American South, including second lines. (PBS)

The Soul of the Bossales (2024) - A documentary feature about rebellious Haitians. (OVID)

The Wedding in Monaco (1956) - A short documentary of Grace Kelly’s marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. (TCM)

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Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon

8/7 - The Big Cheese - A documentary feature that follows an American team competing in France's Mondial du Fromage. (In Theaters)

8/21 - Learning to Fly - A documentary feature executive-produced by Chris Hemsworth about runner-turned-photographer Aisha McAdams. (In Theaters)

8/28 - Boorman and the Devil - A documentary feature about John Boorman and the making of The Exorcist II. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)

9/4 - Brailled It - A documentary feature about a competition for blind and low-vision children to film their experiences. (In Theaters)

9/9 - Who Moves America - A documentary feature following UPS-employed members of the Teamsters union as they prepare to strike nationwide. (In Theaters)

10/2 - The Last First: Winter K2 - A documentary feature by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) about the first successful winter summit climb of K2 (at least for the two-thirds of the people who attempted), five years ago. (Apple TV)

At first, I thought people weren't as excited as I was to hear Barbara Kopple talk about her Oscar-winning documentary American Dream: I got to IFC Center only a half-hour early for the event, which included a screening and a Q&A, and was surprised to find that I was the first to arrive. It was a big difference from the night before, when I showed up to

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I wasn’t provided many new releases this week, and one of the “new” theatrical titles I screened is actually nearly 50 years old. So our latest highlights are a mix of favorite films hitting new formats and platforms, celebrations of iconic documentarians and ongoing docuseries events, and a couple of titles I watched that I was subjectively interested in and that come out in the next seven days. I also admit I took a brief midyear break from documentaries to catch up on some genre fare nominated for the Critics Choice Super Awards, and now I’m dying for more quality nonfiction again.

Speaking of CCA events, we just announced the Critics Choice Creator Awards, which will honor content, including documentary and informational series, made for digital platforms such as YouTube. Categories in this area will recognize the best programs focused on educational topics, business, crime/justice, nature/animals, and health/wellness. I should also begin including more of this content in our weekly listings when they’re scheduled. Please send me tips on worthy nonfiction creators and content that I should feature and possibly even highlight on Nonfics.

Without further ado, below are this week’s documentary highlights, followed by daily listings for all known releases and broadcasts, along with a brief look at what’s coming soon for doc fans (including the latest from Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin). Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future, plus full access to special posts like our best-of lists, and to give me more time to watch more (if not everything) available. If you have a doc needing coverage or a mention, you can now reach us at nonficseditor (at) gmail.

Nonfics Picks Of The Week: Dread Beat An’ Blood (1979)

If you’re not familiar with Linton Kwesi Johnson, or his group Poet and the Roots, you weren’t hanging out at ska and reggae shows in New York City in the 1990s, like I was. I am certain I heard “Five Nights of Bleeding” on the sound system before and/or between sets at every event at every venue I attended. This song and others featured Johnson’s poetry over dub tracks and usually were political. Franco Rosso’s medium-length documentary Dread Beat an’ Blood profiles Johnson in the late 1970s as he rose in notoriety as a voice of African-Caribbeans in Britain.

The film shows Johnson performing his poems in solo engagements, on stage with his group, and in recordings for the album of the same name. Protests in the streets of Brixton are mixed in, as is daily life in the city for Black immigrants. It’s not going to be of interest to everyone, and it obviously can’t get into the influence and legacy he’s had, nor how tensions would lead to the uprising in Brixton that occurred a couple of years later. But if you’re into that music and those political issues of that time, it’s worth watching, especially on the big screen with the new 4K restoration.

Dread Beat an’ Blood will be re-released in theaters in 4K on Friday, July 24, 2026, accompanied by the 1985 film Linton Kwesi Johnson in Concert.

Other Documentary Highlights

Barbara Kopple Documentaries

It’s only been two and a half months since we named American Dream and Harlan County, USA as our Picks of the Week in early May. We will be highlighting the former again next week when it finally becomes available to stream via The Criterion Channel. Leading up to that important release, we recommend watching other Barbara Kopple documentaries. The two-time Oscar-winning director (for those two already mentioned films) celebrates a milestone birthday this week, and we should all be observing the occasion like it’s a holiday.

You can still watch the aforementioned Harlan County, USA on The Criterion Channel. Other favorites of ours include the music documentaries Miss Sharon Jones! and Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing, both of which are available on Kanopy and Tubi. She also helmed the ReMastered installment Tricky Dick & The Man in Black, which is on Netflix. She also has the more recent efforts Desert One (available on Kanopy and The Roku Channel), Hot Type: 150 Years of the Nation (Kanopy), and Gumbo Coalition (HBO Max). If you want to see (or hear) some of her early work, she did sound for the classic Vietnam War films Hearts and Minds (The Criterion Channel and HBO Max) and Winter Soldier (Kanopy and OVID).

The Best Pizza Is In LA (2026)

As a former New Yorker originally born and raised in Connecticut who is often in Los Angeles, I was very curious about the contents of this documentary feature with a clickbait title. I also tend to watch any basic foodie program telling me where to find good eats, whether it’s a Food Network staple, a travel series focused on foreign cuisine, or a simple feature about hot dogs airing on PBS.

I didn’t care much for the director/host of The Best Pizza is in LA (Peter Ferriero, who seems to like to show off his famous friends more than anything else), and there’s not much to the discourse here, which comes courtesy of appearances from Hollywood celebrities, some of them originally from the New York area, and local culinary icons. Still, I can’t say I didn’t make a list of spots to check out next time I’m on the West Coast. Now I just need one of these films for Atlanta pizza.

The Best Pizza is in LA will be released on TVOD on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.

Flipside (2023)

The best documentary of 2024 (according to me) finds an additional streaming home this week. You can already watch Christopher Wilcha’s Flipside on Prime Video, Kanopy, and My Film Friend (a service I’m just hearing about for the first time), but now OVID subscribers can also check it out. Here’s my entry from our list of the best documentaries of 2024:

“Christopher Wilcha has made the best documentary of the year by assembling parts of unfinished films he shot over the last couple of decades. Part personal essay, part spotlight on a struggling record store in New Jersey, Flipside is an exploration of art, the often necessary act of selling out, and the incomplete pieces that complete us as human beings. It’s tremendously engaging and surprisingly very relatable.”

Flipside begins streaming on OVID on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

The Most Popular Documentaries Of 2026 (So Far)

You’ve (hopefully) read about the best documentaries of 2026 (so far). Now it’s time to read about “the most popular documentaries of 2026 (so far).” But it’s not necessarily a recommendation of these films. Anthony Kaufman wrote about the sad state of documentary viewership in a new Substack post spotlighting the most-watched Netflix titles, most of which are true-crime features. I also want to note that one of the worst Untold episodes is on the list, too. I disagree with him that The Zodiac Killer Project is a worthy true-crime alternative. I’d rather watch some of Netflix’s true-crime releases, including not just The Perfect Neighbor but also The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson. I did like seeing that Penny Lane’s Hail Satan? did very well on HBO Max recently, especially ahead of the release of her latest, Wild Inside, this month.

Nature’s Half Acre (1951)

I’ll be covering all of Walt Disney’s Oscar-winning documentaries as part of my Academy Awards series of columns, but this one gets an early shout-out this week. Nature’s Half Acre turns 75 years old on Tuesday, having been released on July 28, 1951, attached to the animated feature Alice in Wonderland. The half-hour short, directed by James Algar, is part of the True-Life Adventures franchise of nature films. It looks at a microclimate involving insects, birds, arachnids, and plants, focused mainly on what’s under the ground, rocks, and logs. You get a lot of what you expect from microcosmic nature documentaries, including close-ups on tiny creatures and time-lapse photography. But there’s also a religious undertone you don’t get as much these days.

Nature’s Half Acre is available to stream on Disney+.

Our Land (2025)

One of the films on our list of the best documentaries of 2026 (so far) lands on physical media this week, and I’m surprised the Blu-ray format isn’t part of the release. Lucretia Martel’s documentary debut, Our Land, isn’t exactly a notable work for its cinematography, but it features some nice landscape shots that would look better in HD. Here’s part of my review of the film:

“I’d at least say it’s a unique nonfiction film. Particularly with some of its editing choices near its conclusion. Martel uses a case of an Indigenous leader’s killing and his alleged murderers’ trial as a centerpiece for a documentary that goes further in its considerations of Indigenous identity and community. It’s up there with Dahomey as one of the most contemplative documentaries on colonialism this decade.”

Our Land will be released on DVD on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, via Strand Releasing.

Shark Week Season 38

Discovery’s iconic Shark Week programming begins its 38th annual event this week, and it’s something we all need if the trailer for the schlock horror film Water Park Shark is making its rounds on the internet as prominently as I think. This year’s documentary specials involve everything from K-Pop to the usual stew of prehistoric, alien, and mutant sharks. Not to mention the expectant plethora of shows about great whites, makos, bulls, and threshers. Most importantly, this season answers the important questions of whether you can train sharks and if orcas are taking over as the greater apex predator of the sea.

Shark Week Season 38 kicks off with the intriguingly titled K-Pop Shark Heroes on Discovery on Sunday, July 25, 2026.

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Documentary Release Calendar 7/24/26 - 7/30/26

Friday, July 24, 2026

Deadliest Catch Season 22, Episode 11: “O Captain, My Captain” - The latest installment of a series that follows Alaskan crab fishermen. (Discovery Channel)

Dread Beat and Blood (1979) - A re-release of a newly restored documentary about dub poet master Linton Kwesi Johnson. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)

A Life Illuminated (2025) - A documentary feature about marine biologist Edith Widder and her study of bioluminescence. (In Theaters)

Life in the W (2026) - A six-part docuseries about WNBA superstars. (ESPN2)

Linton Kwesi Johnson in Concert (1985) - A concert film starring the titular dub poet master. (In Theaters)

Who’s Superstitious? (1943) - A short documentary examining various superstitions. (TCM)

Yellowstone Park: ‘Nature’s Playground’ (1936) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores Yellowstone National Park. (TCM)

Saturday, July 25, 2026

The Real Murders of Atlanta Season 4, Episode 3: “The Star Recruit” - The latest installment of an Atlanta-focused true-crime docuseries. This episode involves the killing of a homecoming queen. (Oxygen)

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Air Jaws: Red, White and Breach (2026) - A documentary special about breaching great white sharks. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

The Food That Built America Season 7, Episode 14: “Say Yes to the Dressing” - The latest installment of a docuseries about popular American foods. This episode involves salad dressing. (History)

Hazardous History with Henry Winkler Season 2, Episode 14: “Dangerous Dining” - The latest installment of a docuseries about dangerous toys and household items that used to be common. This episode involves questionable food items and trends. (History)

Invasion of the Mega Sharks (2026) - A documentary special about a great white shark thought to be one of the largest predators in North America. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

The Killer Among Us Episode 10: “Mystery at the MET” - The latest installment of a docuseries hosted by Alan Cumming about murders in close-knit communities. (Oxygen)

K-Pop Shark Heroes (2026) - A documentary special about the perception of sharks across East Asia. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Monday, July 27, 2026

Biggest Mako on Earth (2026) - A documentary special about giant mako sharks off the coast of Southern California. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Bull Shark Dinner Bell (2026) - A documentary special that investigates why bull sharks confront humans. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

For Venida, For Kalief (2025) - A documentary feature about wrongfully incarcerated teenager Kalief Browder. Presented as an episode of POV. (PBS)

House of Sharks (2026) - A documentary special about competing “houses” of great white sharks off the coast of New Zealand. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

A Killer Among Friends Season 2, Episode 3: “Strike to Kill” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about murders that tear friend groups apart. This episode involves the disappearance of an Auburn University student. (Investigation Discovery)

Lions on the Loose (1941) - A short documentary that follows two escaped lion cubs. (TCM)

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

The Best Pizza is in LA (2026) - A documentary claiming the best pizza is in Los Angeles. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. (VOD)

Chum Island: Catching a Killer (2026) - A documentary special about shark attacks off Australia’s southern coast. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Dark Side of the Ring Season 7, Episode 5 - The latest installment of a docuseries that shares the darkest stories of professional wrestling. (Vice)

The Darkside of Society (2023) - A documentary feature about the cult film Society and the man who wrote it. (Blu-ray)

The Gits (2005) - A documentary feature about the titular punk band. (Blu-ray)

I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol (2025) - A documentary feature about the rise of the Sex Pistols from the perspective of founding member Glen Matlock. (Blu-ray)

Jaws vs. Orca (2026) - A documentary special about orcas being a bigger threat than great white sharks. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Jurassic Sharks (2026) - A CGI-driven documentary special about Jurassic sharks. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

My People (2023) - A documentary about Greek Jews during the Holocaust. (DVD)

Newsreels of World War II - A collection of “News Trills” newsreels from the 1940s. (DVD)

Once Upon a Time in Space Episode 3: “Politics Always Wins” - The third installment of a docuseries about the space race. This episode involves the International Space Station. (PBS)

Our Land (2025) - A documentary feature directed by Lucretia Martel about the case of the 2009 killing of an Indigenous leader in Argentina. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD)

The Proof is Out There: Unexplained Edition Season 2, Episode 9: “Biblical Wrath” - The latest installment of a docuseries about strange phenomena captured on camera. (History)

The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch Season 7, Episode 11: “On the Radar” - The latest installment of a docuseries about UFO phenomena at the Skinwalker Ranch. (History)

Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes (1999) - A documentary feature about the titular adult film star who inspired the plot of Boogie Nights. (Blu-ray)

Wham! 10 Days in China (20260 - A documentary feature about a Wham! concert tour. (In Theaters)

A Year in a Field (2023) - A documentary that shows every day of a field in Cornwall, England, through one year. (Blu-ray)

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

911: Did the Killer Call? Season 2, Episode 3: “The First Suspect” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about cases where the murderer is on the 911 call. (Investigation Discovery)

Alien Sharks: Untamed America (2026) - A documentary special that follows wildlife biologist Forrest Galante in his search for the most bizarre and dangerous alien sharks. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Eons: Life and Death on Pangea Episodes 1 & 2: “How the Formation of Pangea Changed the World” & “How Eating Plants Shaped Life on Land” - The first two installments of a six-part docuseries on the mass-extinction event known as the “Great Dying.” (PBS)

ER: Caught on Camera Season 1, Episode 4 - The latest installment of a docuseries in which medical patients recall experiences in hospital emergency rooms. (TLC)

Expedition Unknown: Shark Secrets (2026) - An episode of Expedition Unknown that looks at the history of shark encounters. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Expedition X: Atomic Sharks (2026) - An episode of Expedition X that investigates mutant sharks in the Marshall Islands. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

Flipside (2023) - A personal documentary in which the filmmaker attempts to save a record store while patching footage from unfinished works together. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. *NONFICS PICK* (OVID)

Homestead Rescue: Intervention Season 1, Episode 6: “Bearanoia” - The latest episode of a docuseries that follows wilderness experts as they save lives. (Discovery)

The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare (2026) - A true-crime documentary feature about the killing of four University of Idaho students in 2022. (Netflix)

Keep Off the Grass (1970) - A short educational film on the dangers of smoking marijuana. (TCM)

Thursday, July 30, 2026

How to Train a Great White (2026) - A documentary special that explores the possibility of whether sharks can be trained. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

The Man Will Burn Episode 4: “Mud Burn” - The final installment of a four-part docuseries by Jehane Noujaim (The Square) and Vikram Gandhi (Kumare) about the annual event known as Burning Man. Read our review of The Man Will Burn. *NONFICS PICK* (HBO and HBO Max)

MGM Parade Show #8 (1955) - This installment of the behind-the-scenes docuseries showcases Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story. (TCM)

Surviving Earth Episode 8: “When America Flooded” - The final installment of an eight-part docuseries about extinct creatures. This episode involves giant mammals. (NBC)

Ultimate Shark Dive (2026) - A documentary special that follows high diver Molly Carlson in an attempt to complete a record-breaking free-fall dive. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

What Shark Attacked? (2026) - A documentary special that uses forensic analysis to investigate shark attacks. Presented as part of Shark Week. (Discovery)

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Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon

8/4 - Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks - The latest installment of the Hard Knocks franchise goes behind the scenes with the titular NFL football team. (HBO and HBO Max)

8/7 - Cookie Queens - A documentary feature about Girl Scouts selling cookies. Read our review of Cookie Queens. Watch a new clip from the film below. (In Theaters)

8/8 - Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies (2026) - A concert film presenting a Grateful Dead show at Giants Stadium on June 17, 1991. (Two-Night Theatrical Event)

8/12 - An Eye for an Eye - A documentary feature about a woman convicted of killing her husband and now facing execution under Sharia law. (In Theaters)

8/14 - American Doctor - A documentary feature about three doctors of different religious backgrounds working in wartorn Gaza. (In Theaters)

8/19 - Lion - A nature docuseries produced by Jon Favreau and scored by Hans Zimmer about a real lion cub on his journey to become king. (National Geographic)

8/21 - 9/11: Reunited - A documentary about 9/11 survivors who reunited 25 years later. (National Geographic)

9/2 - Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour - Live from Paris - A concert film starring the titular singer. Watch the new trailer for the documentary below. (In Theaters)

9/4 - Barbara Forever - A documentary feature executive-produced by Kristen Stewart about the pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer. (In Theaters)

9/4 - Teenage Wasteland - A documentary feature by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine (Girls State) about high school students uncovering a conspiracy in their town. Read our review of Teenage Wasteland. *NONFICS PICK* (Netflix)

9/18 - You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (in a Canadian Kind of Way) - A documentary feature about a 1972 production of Godspell that included many future famous comedy icons among its cast. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)

9/25 - Unzipped - A 4K restoration re-release of a 1995 documentary feature that follows fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi as he launches a new line. (In Theaters)

10/16 - Marília Mendonça: Sentimento Louco - A documentary feature about the titular Brazilian singer, who died in a plane crash in 2021. (Prime Video)

10/30 - Everest: The Other Side - A documentary feature by Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) that follows mountaineering couple Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson as they climb and ski the North Face of Mount Everest. (In IMAX Theaters)

Just when you think we don’t need another documentary about Charles Manson, here comes one that nobody else could have possibly made before. Actress and filmmaker Sophia Maddox found out a few years ago (thanks to Ancestry.com) that she’s the granddaughter of Manson. She teamed up with producer Alexandra Orton (both women are making their feature directorial debut with this film) to explore her discovery, with My Grandfather Charles Manson being the documented result. She learns more about the notorious cult leader and worries about what she might have inherited from him, but she also comes to understand Manson beyond the sensational.

My Grandfather Charles Manson presents a very complex personal journey that deals with the old debate on nature versus nurture. Maddox interviews experts on Manson as well as his friends and enemies. She certainly finds a lot of unsavory information, yet also becomes particularly interested in his unfortunate childhood, which surely had some effect on how he turned out. At times, she seems like she might start being a Manson apologist, but she really just wants to confirm he wasn’t a monster through genetics so she can feel better about herself. She also uses this film to examine her relationship with her father, who was born from a brief affair Manson had in the ‘50s.

There’s plenty here for the Manson curious or broader true-crime enthusiast, but it’s primarily about Maddox investigating herself and concepts like passed-down trauma, healing from wounded spaces, and parentification. She meets with her psychiatrist. She argues with Orton on screen about what the film is doing to her. It’s a heavy psychological quest, the sort that’s hard to enjoy as you wonder if it’s actually a healthy project to be encouraging as an engaged witness. But I still found it engrossing as a real, raw trauma drama. I also hope Maddox is going to be okay.

I love a unique and creatively done narration. Edward James Olmos lends his voice to this documentary in character as “El Pachuco,” reprising his breakout stage role from Luis Valdez’s 1979 play Zoot Suit. The idea is perfectly executed, fitting the film’s tone and elevating it above the usual biographical fare. For those wanting the conventional elements, too, it’s otherwise a mix of archival footage and talking heads (including Olmos as himself) celebrating its subject.

American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez profiles the titular playwright and filmmaker, best known to mainstream audiences for writing and directing La Bamba. In a centerpiece interview, Valdez tells most of his own story and explains the meaning of much of his work. Olmos’s “Pachuco” provides more historical and cultural context, such as the origin of the term “Chicano” and the background of the Zoot Suit Riots. And he does so in a way that gives the documentary a distinct attitude.

As a kid, I went to see La Bamba a few times, helping make it a hit without any awareness of how difficult it was to get made or the importance of its success. I came away with a greater appreciation for the movie beyond being your average music biopic, both for how personal it was for Valdez and for its depiction of the divide between cultural identity and assimilation. The documentary also delivers some much-needed education on the Chicano Civil Rights Movement and Chicano theater.

Now that we’re into the second half of 2026, this year’s awards season for nonfiction releases has officially begun. Emmy nominations have already been announced, and the Critics Choice Association has just begun accepting submissions for the 11th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards (which I co-founded and executive produce). Also, many critics, in…

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The Oscars finally created a documentary category with their 14th ceremony. This was specifically for short documentaries. Churchill’s Island beat out 10 other titles to be named the first winner. The same year, two “features” were honored with Special Academy Awards. But that wasn’t all. Short documentaries also won in two other categories, making the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category seem less distinct. Of Pups and Puzzles won the Academy Award for Best Short (One-Reel), and Main Street on the March! won the Academy Award for Best Short (Two-Reel). Both were produced and narrated by John Nesbitt, who also won two years earlier in the Best Short Subject (One-Reel) category with the nonfiction film That Mothers Might Live.

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Last week, I was working a side job as a background actor (I can’t say on what), so it was fitting that two of the documentaries I watched and reviewed for this newsletter were about making movies. Not only that, but they are both first-person style films. One of them is a fairly simple making-of documentary, while the other is about much more than the …

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When I interviewed Ross McElwee in 2012, in support of Photographic Memory, he said his next signature first-person-style documentary was to be about the production of a Hollywood remake of Sherman’s March, his breakthrough feature from 1985. Fourteen years later, he is finally releasing that next documentary, but it’s much different from what was anticipated. First of all, Sherman’s March was never remade. Second of all, McElwee’s son, Adrian, died of an accidental drug overdose in 2016, and that tragedy became the foundation for the film, nevertheless titled Remake.

While I acknowledged in my 2012 interview that I was extremely nervous to talk to McElwee, one of my favorite directors and a total stranger at the time, I have to say I was even more anxious to talk to him again in 2026. Never mind that I’d become more acquainted with him in recent years as I helped arrange for his lifetime achievement honor at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards in 2023. This time, the content of his latest work would be more difficult to discuss, and focusing the conversation only on the making of the film would still involve talking about Adrian.

Fortunately, I maintained my tact. I also seem to have partly remade my 2012 interview, which is fitting since Remake not only concerns the unmade fictional adaptation of Sherman’s March but also repeats ideas and footage from other McElwee films and sometimes even comes across as an attempt or wish for a redo of Photographic Memory. It was clearly a tough documentary to make, and I’m sure it’s been the toughest one for him to keep talking about, too. I start by casually telling him, but I truly am grateful he made the time to share the following words with us all.

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Have you seen the documentary Black Woodstock? How about Exposing the Myth of Southern Charm? Chances are, if you follow our recommendations, you have. But not under those titles. Their real names are Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) and Natchez, respectively. The former is an Oscar winner, yet that may not have been en…

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Six months into the year, do we know what will rank as the best documentary of 2026? By the halfway point of 2025, I’d seen most of my end-of-year top 10, though some weren’t released until later. This year, at the midway point, a few of my favorites (including Nuisance Bear, Soul Patrol, and One in a Million) are still to come, but I think my number one is a lock. The funny thing is that the two additions to the current top five were released right after I published the initial list back in May. And now, what’s possibly my favorite docuseries of the year won’t debut until after this list goes live.

For the midyear version, I’ve increased the ranking from 10 to 15. Five newer titles were added. None of the previous bunch fell off. Here’s the updated breakdown of how they arrived on the calendar: four of the titles to make the list were released in February; two in March; two in April; five in May; and two in June. To see where other films rank, visit us on Letterboxd and follow us for updates to our list throughout the year. Spoiler: you’ll be tipped off about what might be added or dropped. Halfway in, who knows how many of the titles below will still be in our top 26 at the end of 2026?

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I have no interest in or understanding of tennis (despite taking lessons as a little kid and playing it in P.E. in middle school), so most documentaries about the sport and its players don’t appeal to me. They need a great story where the tennis clips are merely obligatory set dressing, like this year’s Billie Jean King biography, Give Me the Ball!, or …

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Thank you all for your patience this week, as I’ve been working on some side hustles to keep this newsletter going with limited paid subscribers and, for the moment, very rarely any sponsored posts or email blasts. Also, the keyboard and trackpad on my computer stopped working, so I had to spend time trying to have it repaired, and then eventually just …

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For the second week in a row, our Pick is a documentary about a fairly successful pop artist who became a legendary record producer. Unlike Eno, however, Peter Asher: Everywhere Man is not very notable for its construction. It’s a relatively conventional music documentary. Still, the feature similarly centers on its very present subject, who guides the …

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Father’s Day is this week, and I’ve somehow never recognized the holiday in this newsletter in the past. It is a special occasion for me. I became a father the morning after Father’s Day 2012 (my wife went into labor nearly 24 hours earlier, ruining our BBQ brunch plans), so I am usually thinking more about my oldest child rather than myself. Nonfics ca…

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Earlier this month, a handful of Gary Hustwit documentaries hit The Criterion Channel, including his Design Trilogy and the feature Rams, which is about an industrial designer. Until finally seeing Hustwit’s latest, Eno, I didn’t know how the documentary fit into the filmmaker’s area of focus. Now I can appreciate that the subject, Brian Eno, is somethi…

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By the 14th Academy Awards, there was still no Oscar designated for documentary features. One such film had won an Academy Award, but that was in the Best Cinematography category. Meanwhile, short documentaries were honored throughout the 1930s. There was even a category meant specifically for nonfiction shorts, Best Live Action Short Subject (Novelty), from the 5th to the 8th Academy Awards. At the 14th ceremony, held in February 1942, the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category was introduced. One year later, shorts and features (none of them more than an hour in length) were lumped together for a Best Documentary category. The Academy wouldn’t give out its first Oscar for Best Documentary (Feature) until its 16th show.

At the 14th Academy Awards, however, two medium-length documentaries — both too long to be considered shorts by the organization and therefore treated instead as features — were recognized separately and specially. Target for Tonight received a Special Award “for its vivid and dramatic presentation of the heroism of the RAF.” Well, technically, the honor went to the British Ministry of Information. And for the film Kukan (a.k.a. Kukan: The Battle Cry of China or Kukan: The Secret of Unconquerable China), Rey Scott received a Special Award “for his extraordinary achievement in producing…the film record of China's struggle, including its photography with a 16mm camera under the most difficult and dangerous conditions.”

These honorary Oscars were a tease of things to come. Short documentaries were much more common, but longer-form nonfiction works also deserved accolades, especially if they aided the recently declared war effort. As with the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category, nominees and winners in the Best Documentary (Feature) category would primarily consist of films related to World War II, its causes, and its aftermath for the award’s first five years. Both of the documentary Special Awards honorees were released in the U.S. months before the country entered the war, and it’s difficult to imagine that they’d have been celebrated without the official declaration. It’s also difficult to imagine them not being celebrated after that decision.

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When we think of the term “cult film,” we’re usually thinking of underground movies with devoted fanbases. Or, maybe we’re thinking of movies (including documentaries) about cults. Welcome to Space Brothers reminds us that we could also think of cult films as movies produced by cults. The documentary chronicles the history of the Unarius Academy of Scie…

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I want to start this week’s newsletter with a shoutout to filmmaker Penny Lane, whose own latest Substack newsletter alerted me to something I wasn’t aware of. In a piece entitled “Are Documentaries Movies?” she notes, “This newsletter was partly inspired by noticing the [no ratings for documentaries] trend on Letterboxd.” I don’t agree with the idea of…

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While much of the world is getting lost in the liminal spaces of Backrooms (a horror film I found disappointingly dull), I am thrilled to share a documentary interested in the seemingly limitless spaces underneath the ground’s surface and the definitely unlimited spaces of time, both backward and forward. Underland presents an intertwined triptych showc…

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