This Week In Documentary
Theatrical & Streaming Releases - New & Recommended - May 15-21, 2026
In most editions of this newsletter, the Nonfics Pick of the Week goes to the best film coming out over the next seven days. This week, it goes to the most important or most timely documentary release. This may happen more frequently as the need for such content increases (next week’s choice is the best and also the most important in a timely sense). This isn’t to say the Pick of the Week will ever be a low-quality film or series. Just that, for example, this week’s selection won’t necessarily place higher than other highlighted picks in our ranking of the best documentaries of the year. So, if you’re looking at this newsletter and our Letterboxd list and are confused, that’s why.
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 a new historical series from Brian Knappenberger). 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 in need of coverage or a mention, you can reach me at christopherbartoncampbell (at) gmail.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With A Cause (2026)
This is the sort of documentary that we typically only see recommended during Black History Month, so it’s great to see PBS releasing it in May. Presented as an episode of American Masters, the feature-length W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause chronicles the life of its eponymous writer, sociologist, and civil rights activist, and nearly every section of the film seems relevant to current events. That’s unfortunate, given how esteemed and influential W.E.B. Du Bois was in his lifetime, which began just after the Civil War and ended more than 60 years ago. When politicians are killing critical race theory, DEI, and now the voting rights of Black Americans, we need a reminder of the history Du Bois lived through and the systemic injustices he challenged.
Written, directed, and produced by Rita Coburn, W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause is formally what you expect from PBS, particularly in the American Masters series, but it stands out in many of its choices. The most notable is the casting of multiple actors to voice the words of its subject. They’re not the usual faceless voice-overs, either. Instead, Jeffrey Wright, Common, and Courtney B. Vance appear on screen as they dramatically recite Du Bois quotes. They join Viola Davis, who narrates omnisciently in voice only, and expert sociology and history commentators Karida Brown, Eddie Glaude, Henry Louis Gates Jr., David Levering Lewis, and Imani Perry, among others. Even if hearing from all of these people, past and present, wasn’t essential at this time, it’s a great celebration of Du Bois’s work and his legacy of ongoing significance.
W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause premieres on PBS on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. The film will also be made available to stream on the PBS website and app.
Other Documentary Highlights
Agatha’s Almanac (2025)
If you’re into gardening and want something antithetical to Zach Galifianakis’s goofy new Netflix series, I highly recommend you check out Agatha’s Almanac, especially if you can see it on the big screen. The documentary was shot on 16mm film, which isn’t common enough these days. It doesn’t even look like it was made in the last 40 years. It kinda looks like a Les Blank documentary, but it doesn’t sound like one. It’s much quieter at times, capturing the life of a woman in her nineties on her 54-acre farm in Manitoba. Only the occasionally present electronic score keeps the film from feeling completely old-fashioned. Perhaps we could call this artisanal cinema?
There’s not a lot to the documentary narratively or even subject-wise, though it’s primarily a character piece, showcasing the titular nonagenarian and her traditional, ancestral ways. She explains her gardening methods, discusses her family and why she never married or had children, and signals that she’s ready to pass on when the time comes. It’s a relaxed and relaxing film yet never lulling. There are too many bold visuals to awaken the senses (or single sense) — insert shots of flowers, watermelons, shoes, vegetables, stacks of rolls of tape. It has the sort of aesthetic I forgot was possible these days without artificial means. And director Amalie Atkins has left in plenty of light leaks to remind us that this is real film stock, in case we ever forget.
Agatha’s Almanac will be released in theaters on Friday, May 15, 2026.
Been Here Stay Here (2024)
Another beautiful and serene documentary out this week, and the best of the new releases, Been Here Stay Here marks the solo directorial debut of David Usui. You may recall he co-directed the final documentary from Albert Maysles, In Transit. Like that film, this one introduces us to many individuals without judgment, in a space that reflects the complexity of America and its people. Instead of being on the move, though, these mostly very religious characters are staying where they are, in the confinement of their small island in the Chesapeake Bay. The rising sea level is a big focus of the documentary, yet it’s not a political or science-centered film. As I wrote in my review of Been Here Stay Here, it’s simply a “pleasantly provocative stopover in a virtual journey of land and time.”
Been Here Stay Here will be released in theaters on Friday, May 15, 2026.
The Crash (2026)
This is one of those true-crime documentaries where you’ll be shocked that certain people thought it was a good idea to participate. The Crash is about an 18-year-old girl who drove her car into a brick wall of a building while going 100 miles per hour, allegedly to kill her boyfriend. She also killed their friend and nearly killed herself. The girl’s parents are two of the people I feel made the mistake of appearing in the film, since they’re about to become even more hated than she is. Of course, they’re just as oblivious to the ramifications of participating in a true-crime documentary focused on their maybe murderer daughter as they apparently were about how to raise her or about the possibility that she wasn’t perfect.
I don’t know if it’s a trend or if I’m just more sensitive to this, but true crime documentaries and adjacent kinds of series and films are showing a lot of awful parents. From the physically abusive Ruby Franke types to the unconsciously irrational, the latter exemplified by the mother in Unknown Number: The High School Catfish. What The Crash proves is that even loving and tolerant parents can be a problem. I only wish this film had given more time to honoring the victims than spotlighting the killer (guilty or not, and portrayed unfavorably or not), a la fellow new Netflix documentary The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson.
The Crash premieres on Netflix on Friday, May 15, 2026.
Eleanor Coppola Documentaries
This week’s filmmaker spotlight is on the late Eleanor Coppola. She most famously co-directed the feature Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, a stunning making-of documentary about her husband, Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Vietnam War drama Apocalypse Now (it’s among the best documentaries about filmmaking ever made). That and other films of hers are being released this week in a beautiful box set titled “Heart of Darkness: The Art of Eleanor Coppola,” from Lionsgate Limited.
Her other nonfiction works include the 1976 shorts Victorian House and Joyce Goldstein, the 1996 short documentary A Visit to China’s Miao Country, and the making-of films Coda: Thirty Years Later (on Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth), Francis Ford Coppola Directs ‘John Grisham’s The Rainmaker’ (on Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rainmaker), The Making of Marie Antoinette (on daughter Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette), and The Making of The Virgin Suicides (on Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides). She also narrates the included short On the Set of CQ, a film about the making of her son Roman Coppola’s sci-fi movie CQ.
The collector’s box set “Heart of Darkness: The Art of Eleanor Coppola,” including 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and digital formats, will be released on Tuesday, May 19. 2026.
O.J.: Made in America (2016)
This week’s anniversary title is only 10 years old, having been released in theaters on May 20, 2016, following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival that January. After that presentation on the big screen as a very lengthy feature (with two intermissions!), Ezra Edelman’s O.J.: Made in America aired on ABC and ESPN as an episodic series. Later, it seemingly paradoxically won awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Limited Documentary Series at the first Critics Choice Documentary Awards (it also won in the Best Sports Documentary and Best Direction for a Documentary Feature categories), and went on to become the longest film ever to win an Oscar, taking home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. That win changed the rules, making multi-part docs ineligible for Oscars moving forward.
Oh, this epic, nearly eight-hour documentary about the life of football star, actor, and alleged murderer O.J. Simpson was also voted best documentary of 2016 in our poll.
O.J.: Made in America is available to stream on Disney+.
Putin’s Witnesses (2018)
For this week’s Doc Option™, I recommend Putin’s Witnesses as an alternative or supplement to the satirical film The Wizard of the Kremlin. Both portray Vladimir Putin in his early years as a Russian leader in the late 1990s. The new movie stars Jude Law as Putin. The documentary, helmed by Vitaly Mansky, shows the real deal. In our review of Putin’s Witnesses, we highlight just how real: “It’s hard to imagine Putin in a humanized light, but some of the film’s most fascinating scenes accomplish this.” We also called it a “fascinating snapshot of a period that birthed one of the most controversial presidencies in global politics,” and “for that reason alone, the doc is well worth your time.”
Putin’s Witnesses is available to stream on OVID and Mubi.
Stolen Kingdom (2025)
Sometimes a documentary isn’t necessarily a high-quality or important work, but it is still worth recommending for its subject matter. Stolen Kingdom reminded me of Class Action Park for being one of those films that presents some crazy shit in a very simple and unexciting yet clear enough and somewhat entertaining manner. It’s also about amusement parks. Specifically, Stolen Kingdom is about people who have committed crimes of trespassing and theft at Disney parks. Everything from exploring behind-the-scenes rooms and camping on Discovery Island to committing major heists of props, costumes, animatronics, and more.
Similar to Class Action Park, you can get the gist of the content from the trailer (or long-existing YouTube videos). The film just has a bit more to show without having much more to say. No one interviewed for Stolen Kingdom seems too bright or remorseful, and not just because they’re appearing in a documentary talking about their crimes. Also, one guy’s police interrogation video is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, like maximum cringe. But if that one section of Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop whetted your whistle for such shenanigans, you’ll enjoy this too.
Stolen Kingdom begins a national theatrical roadshow tour in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Documentary Release Calendar 5/15/26 - 5/21/26
Friday, May 15, 2026
Agatha’s Almanac - A documentary feature about a 90-year-old woman and her devotion to her farm. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
Been Here Stay Here (2024) - A documentary about a Christian community on Tangier Island, which is threatened by rising sea levels. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
Couples Therapy Season 5 - The return of a relationship series led by psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr. Orna Guralnik. All nine new episodes will be available to stream. (Paramount+ Premium)
The Crash (2026) - A true-crime documentary feature about a teen girl who may have intentionally crashed her car into a wall, killing her boyfriend and their friend. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. (Netflix)
Deadliest Catch Season 22, Episode 2: “Headlong Into Halong” - The latest installment of a series that follows Alaskan crab fishermen. (Discovery Channel)
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 (2024) - A documentary by Göran Hugo Olsson (The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975) about Swedish reportage on the Israel and Palestine conflict. (OVID)
Saturday, May 16, 2026
Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever Episode 5: “Fun! Fun! Fun! Death” - The fifth installment of a six-part docuseries starring journalist Kara Swisher about the latest in longevity science. (CNN)
Nathan-ism (2023) - A documentary feature about a 90-year-old man who served as a guard for Nazi prisoners during the Nuremberg trials. (ChaiFlicks)
Philly Homicide Season 2, Episode 6: “The Hit List” - The latest installment of a docuseries following Philadelphia detectives. This episode involves the death of a bridal shop supervisor. (Oxygen True Crime)
The Voices Project: A City Church (2026) - A documentary about the three-century history of the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York. (Theatrical Event)
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Couples Therapy Season 5, Episodes 1-3: “A Fresh Start,” “Death Trap,” & “Under the Microscope” - The return of a relationship series led by psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr. Orna Guralnik. (Paramount+ with Showtime)
The Food That Built America Season 7, Episode 5: “Chocolate in a Glass” - The latest installment of a docuseries about popular American foods. This episode looks at chocolate syrup drinks. (History)
Hazardous History with Henry Winkler Season 2, Episode 5: “Domestic Dangers” - The latest installment of a docuseries about dangerous toys and household items that used to be common. This episode involves dangerous parts of homes. (History)
In the Eye of the Storm: Chasers Episode 1: “Twister Shapeshifter”- The first installment of a six-part spinoff of the docuseries In the Eye of the Storm that follows weather spotters and storm chasers as they record tornadoes. (Discovery Channel)
Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever Episode 5: “Fun! Fun! Fun! Death” - The fifth installment of a six-part docuseries starring journalist Kara Swisher about the latest in longevity science. (CNN All Access)
The Killer Among Us Episode 1: “Murder on Main Street” - The first installment of a docuseries hosted by Alan Cumming about murders in close-knit communities. This episode involves the killing of a county treasurer in Nebraska. (Oxygen True Crime)
Monday, May 18, 2026
Hollywood Demons Season 2, Episode 5: “Surviving 16 and Pregnant” - The latest installment of a docuseries about the dark realities of various celebrities and TV shows. This episode involves the series 16 and Pregnant. (Investigation Discovery)
Light of the Setting Sun (2024) - A feature documentary about one family’s history since the 1949 Chinese Communist Revolution. Presented as an episode of Independent Lens. (PBS)
Tucci in Italy Season 2, Episodes 3 & 4: “Le Marche” & “Sardinia” - The latest episodes of a docuseries starring actor Stanley Tucci as he explores Italy through its cuisine. (National Geographic)
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026) - A documentary feature directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Daniel Roher (Navalny) and Charlie Tyrell (My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes) about Roher’s contemplation of the future that his soon-to-be-born child will be growing up in. Read our review of The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist. *NONFICS PICK* (Blu-ray)
Betrayal: Secrets & Lies Episode 8: “Dead Man Married” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries involving stories of infidelity. (ABC, Disney+, and Hulu)
Coda: Thirty Years Later (2007) - A documentary by Eleanor Coppola about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth. See our highlight section for more info about its release in our spotlight on Eleanor Coppola. (Blu-ray)
Devi (2024) - A documentary about a survivor of sexual abuse during Nepal’s civil war. (OVID)
Francis Ford Coppola Directs ‘John Grisham’s The Rainmaker’ (2007) - A documentary by Eleanor Coppola about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of The Rainmaker. See our highlight section for more info about its release in our spotlight on Eleanor Coppola. (Blu-ray)
Frida Kahlo (2020) - A re-release of a documentary about the titular artist. (In Theaters)
Frontline Season 44, Episode 14: “The President vs. the Fed” - The latest installment of a long-running investigative documentary series. This episode looks into President Trump’s battle with the Federal Reserve. (PBS)
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991) - A documentary co-directed by Eleanor Coppola about the making of her husband, Francis Ford Coppola’s movie Apocalypse Now, in collaboration with directors Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper. See our highlight section for more info about its release in our spotlight on Eleanor Coppola. *NONFICS PICK* (4K UHD and Blu-ray)
Joyce Goldstein (1976) - A short film by Eleanor Coppola about the titular chef. See our highlight section for more info about its release in our spotlight on Eleanor Coppola. (Blu-ray)
The Making of Hearts of Darkness (2026) - A short documentary about the making of Eleanor Coppola’s Hearts of Darkness. (4K UHD and Blu-ray)
The Making of Marie Antoinette (2007) - A documentary by Eleanor Coppola about the making of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. See our highlight section for more info about its release in our spotlight on Eleanor Coppola. (Blu-ray)
The Making of The Virgin Suicides (2000) - A documentary by Eleanor Coppola about the making of Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides. See our highlight section for more info about its release in our spotlight on Eleanor Coppola. (Blu-ray)
The New Peasants (2025) - A documentary about a family who moved away from modern industrial life to one of sustainability. (DVD)
On the Set of CQ (2002) - A short documentary narrated by Eleanor Coppola about the making of Roman Coppola’s CQ. See our highlight section for more info about its release in our spotlight on Eleanor Coppola. (Blu-ray)
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch Season 7, Episode 1: “All Fired Up” - The return of a docuseries about UFO phenomena at the Skinwalker Ranch. (History)
Stagebound: Luke Evans’ Journey to Opening Night of “The Rocky Horror Show” (2026) - The latest installment of a Great Performances series that looks behind the scenes at Broadway productions. (PBS)
Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience (2026) - A concert film starring the titular K-pop group. (DVD and Blu-ray)
That They May Be One (2025) - A docudrama about the teachings of Jesus. (In Theaters)
Victorian House (1976) - A short film by Eleanor Coppola showing a house being moved. See our highlight section for more info about its release in our spotlight on Eleanor Coppola. (Blu-ray)
A Visit to China’s Miao Country (1996) - A short documentary by Eleanor Coppola about her trip to China. See our highlight section for more info about its release in our spotlight on Eleanor Coppola. (Blu-ray)
W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause (2026) - A documentary installment of American Masters narrated by Viola Davis about the titular writer and civil rights activist. See our Pick of the Week section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (PBS)
Writing Hawa (2024) - A documentary feature about three generations of Hazara women in Afghanistan confronting patriarchal traditions. (OVID)
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Conspiracies & Coverups Episode 8 - The latest installment of a docuseries starring ex-CIA officer Andrew Bustamente about the biggest conspiracies in pop culture today. (Discovery Channel)
The Face Doctors Season 2, Episode 2: “The First Thing You Look At” - The return of a nonfiction series about facial reconstruction specialists and their patients. (TLC)
On the Case with Paula Zahn Season 29, Episode 6: “Who Killed Katelyn” - The latest installment of a true-crime documentary series starring journalist Paula Zahn. (Investigation Discovery)
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Meditation on Violence (1949) - A short documentary by Maya Deren about a part of the Cloisters museum. (OVID)
On the Roam Season 2, Episode 2 - The latest installment of a nonfiction series that follows actor Jason Momoa as he meets extraordinary people around the country. (HBO Max)
Stolen Kingdom (2025) - A documentary feature about theft and other misdeeds committed at Walt Disney World over 30 years. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. (Theatrical Roadshow)
A Study in Choreography for Camera (1945) - An experimental short film by Maya Deren depicting a man dancing. (OVID)
Welcome to Wrexham Season 5, Episodes 3: “Coming Together” - The latest installment of a docuseries about a Welsh soccer team co-owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. (FXX)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
5/22 - The Yogurt Shop Murders Episode 5: “The End of Wondering” - A new feature-length bonus installment of a true-crime docuseries by Margaret Brown about the killing of four girls at a frozen yogurt shop in 1991. (HBO Max)
5/27 - Room to Move - A documentary executive-produced by Amy Schumer about choreographer Jenn Freeman and her recent autism diagnosis. (Netflix)
5/29 - 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. (In Theaters)
6/5 - Everything on the Menu with Braun Strowman Season 2 - The return of a travel food series following the titular pro wrestler as he attempts to eat every item on restaurant menus. Watch the trailer for the season below. (USA Network)
6/5 - Groundswell - A documentary sequel narrated by Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson about humanity’s relationship to land. The film is the third part of a trilogy that also includes Kiss the Ground and Common Ground. (Prime Video)
6/10 - In the Company of Wolves: An American Journey - A documentary narrated by Jeff Bridges about wolves and other animals throughout American history. (In Theaters)
6/12 - The Gas Station Attendant - 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. (In Theaters)
6/24 - The American Experiment - A five-part docuseries by Brian Knappenberger (Turning Point: The Bomb And The Cold War) about the founding of America. (Netflix)
7/3 - Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World - A documentary feature about the titular poet and queer icon. Watch the trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
8/7 - Cookie Queens - A documentary feature about Girl Scouts selling cookies. Read our review of Cookie Queens. (In Theaters)
9/4 - Barbara Forever - A Sundance-winning documentary feature executive produced by Kristen Stewart about lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer. (In Theaters)
9/4 - Teenage Wasteland - A documentary feature by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine about high school students uncovering a conspiracy in their town. See where the film ranks on our list of the best documentaries of 2025. *NONFICS PICK* (Netflix)
10/12 - Free Leonard Peltier - A documentary directed by Oscar nominee David France (How to Survive a Plague) and Jesse Short Bull (Lakota Nation vs. the United States) about the titular member of the American Indian Movement as he hopes to be released from prison after 50 years and experience freedom again before he dies. (Netflix)
12/4 - The Bend in the River - A documentary executive-produced by Joel Coen and Frances McDormand that follows a group of friends over 50 years. (Netflix)