This Week In Documentary
Theatrical & Streaming Releases - New & Recommended - July 10-16, 2026
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 production process. The other trend apparent in this week’s highlights is documentaries related to the current conflict(s) in the Middle East. Nothing about my life last week connects to those. That I know of. I didn’t have time to screen them.
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 films by Maite Alberdi and Mark Pellington). 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: Remake (2025)
If you’ve never seen any of Ross McElwee’s documentaries, you'd better start binging (the essentials are on Kanopy, and some of those are also on OVID). His latest, Remake, is like the Avengers: Infinity War of first-person documentaries in that you need to do a lot of homework, specifically viewing a lot of other films, beforehand. Also, according to my new interview with McElwee, his next, possibly final feature would be his Avengers: Endgame, more reflective and summative than anything else. I think Remake is partly there, as it looks back and features clips from almost all of the installments in his first-person film oeuvre, including the one that still hasn’t been released.
Remake, which focuses on McElwee’s son, Adrian, who died of an accidental drug overdose a decade ago, is mostly in conversation with the director’s previous feature, Photographic Memory. It also heavily references his breakthrough 1985 film, Sherman’s March, which was optioned for a fictional adaptation. McElwee was planning on documenting the production of that remake, and Adrian was hoping to work on the Hollywood project in some capacity. Remake is the resulting document of neither of those things panning out, one of them expiring, and Adrian tragically passing away. It’s a film full of mournful reflection and regret, yet it doesn’t play too sorrowfully.
McElwee is still the sharpest documentarian in the first-person film space, and Remake is as consciously engaging as any of his works. But it also feels his most personal and dependent. It’s appreciated best, if not only, if you’ve seen his previous documentaries and gotten to know him and his family along the way. It’s especially heartbreaking for fans who watched Adrian be born and then grow up on screen. Like all of McElwee’s films, though, this one is more analytical than emotional, packed with intelligent commentary and visual motifs. It also has some glaring redundancies, reusing clips and statements from the past and even within the film itself.
Remake will be released in theaters on Friday, July 10, 2026, via Music Box Films.
Other Documentary Highlights
Churchill’s Island (1941)
This week marks the 85th anniversary of Churchill’s Island, which was first released in Canada on July 13, 1941, as part of the National Film Board’s Carry On Canada series. The 21-minute film later became the inaugural Oscar winner in the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category. Earlier this year, I wrote about how and why Churchill’s Island made Academy Awards history, defeating 10 other documentaries in contention. Many of them were similarly focused on World War II, but this one took a more positive approach and likely appealed to voters for that reason post-Pearl Harbor. I wrote, “The optimistic propaganda of Churchill’s Island signals victory on the horizon, indicating that they have shown the Nazis they won’t be defeated. The British will keep coming, defensively, offensively, through building, rebuilding, and restoring. The Germans, on the other hand, are seen in apparent desperation training for suicide missions.”
Churchill’s Island is available to stream on OVID, Filmzie, and Tubi.
Coroner To The Stars (2025)
The titular coroner, Dr. Thomas Noguchi, is currently 99 years old. I don’t know how old he was when he was interviewed for Coroner to the Stars, but he was old enough to be thankful he was still alive and able to tell his own story. I prefer having biographical documentary subjects tell their own stories, or at least as much as firsthand familiarity benefits (they can’t be the only ones telling their own stories). It’s the difference between a listing of timeline points and achievements and a sharing of the experience of going through those points and realizing those achievements.
As L.A. County’s Chief Medical Examiner, Noguchi was involved in the autopsies and death investigations of such celebrities as Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, John Belushi, William Holden, Robert F. Kennedy, and Sharon Tate. He’s been a significant part of true-crime history, even proposing the idea of Tate and friends’ murders being cult-related before the Manson Family discovery and arrests were made. His accounts of just these cases (the documentary is fairly brief and brisk, leaving us wanting more stories) are done with terrific recollection and conviction.
His life story is also filled with obstacles involving his race, as a Japanese-American, political scrutiny for sticking to his often-controversial conclusions, and media attention, the last of which was partly of his own doing. For those old enough to remember the TV series Quincy, you’ll be fascinated to see how much he inspired Jack Klugman’s white-washed character. Coroner to the Stars is a swift survey of a long life that revolved around death. And despite all he has seen, he still gets emotional about losing a loved one, notably his ex-wife, with whom he reconciled before she passed.
Coroner to the Stars will be released digitally on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
Do You Love Me (2025) & Jocelyne Saab Documentaries
This week’s filmmaker in focus is paired with a documentary that is relevant in content and distribution. The late Lebanese director Jocelyne Saab is the subject of a retrospective at New York City’s Metrograph theater titled “Jocelyne Saab: Letters from Lebanon.” The program, running throughout this weekend, includes The Beirut Trilogy, which consists of the 1976 short Beirut, Never Again, the 1978 medium-length documentary Letter from Beirut, and the 1983 short Beirut, My City.
They’re also showing her 1995 docufiction hybrid Once Upon a Time, Beirut, her 1975 documentary feature Lebanon in Turmoil, paired with the 1976 short South Lebanon: History of a Besieged Village, and the 1982 short Lebanese, Hostages of Their City, which is showing with one of her dramas, The Razor’s Edge. As far as I can tell, none of these films are otherwise available in the U.S., so this is a special opportunity to see the war-torn nation as she portrayed it in the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s.
While that program is going on in one auditorium, another at the Metrograph will be showing Do You Love Me, a newer documentary feature by Lana Daher that looks at Beirut, Lebanon, through film and TV footage and photographs shot over the last 70 years. Saab can apparently be seen in some of that footage, too. This film seems relevant and important given the ongoing war in Lebanon, though that’s probably narrow-minded, given there have been on-and-off conflicts spanning the last 85 years.
Do You Love Me will be released, and “Jocelyne Saab: Letters from Lebanon” will begin, on Friday, July 10, 2026, at the Metrograph in New York City.
Kevin Keating Documentaries
Another filmmaker worth highlighting this week is Kevin Keating, whom I learned from the DOC NYC Monday Memo died back on May 3. He was best known as a cinematographer, and in that role, he shot parts of such Oscar-winning classics as Barbara Kopple’s Harlan County U.S.A. (available to stream on The Criterion Channel and HBO Max) and American Dream (coming soon to the Criterion Collection) and Leon Gast’s When We Were Kings (The Criterion Channel). Earlier, he worked on the Maysles brothers’ Gimme Shelter (The Criterion Channel and HBO Max) and Cinda Firestone’s Attica (currently unavailable). Keating also directed two documentaries, Hells Angels Forever, which is currently unavailable, and Giuliani Time, which is available to stream on Fawesome and Cineverse.
The March To War: Iran, Israel, And The USA (2026)
Whether you’re able to see the Lebanese films at the Metrograph this weekend or not, another documentary to watch this week offers additional insight into the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The three-part series The March to War: Iran, Israel, and the USA even links back to the era of Jocelyn Saab’s coverage, suggesting that the current war began in 1982. That’s in Part 2. The first installment provides background on Israel’s relationship with the U.S. and on Iranian history pre-Revolution. The third part looks at the effort to stop Iran’s nuclear program. I haven’t seen the series yet, but I have high expectations, given Icarus Films is the distributor.
The March to War: Iran, Israel, and the USA begins exclusively streaming on OVID on Friday, July 10, 2026.
Moana (1926)
We highlighted this film at the beginning of the year as it turned 100. Now the 1926 Moana is this week’s Doc Option, as an alternative to Disney’s new live-action remake of their 2016 animated feature of the same name. The nonfiction feature is the one directed by Robert Flaherty and best known for being erroneously attributed as the first to be called a “documentary” film. Here’s an excerpt from our review of Moana (specifically the 1975 re-release with sound):
“It’s gorgeous. The film is ostensibly the story of a young man named Moana, who is on the verge of recognized adulthood according to Samoan custom. Yet while his milestones are marked with great care, he is mostly used as a narrative device in order to feature the way of life of the people of Savai’i. The sounds of the ocean do wonders to enervate the pristine fishing scenes, including a particularly memorable capture of a giant sea turtle. Sandalwood, smoke, spray, and unsettlingly large crabs become vivid and immersive in this classic of ethnographic nonfiction.”
Moana is in the public domain and can be found on many parts of the internet. Moana (with sound) is available to stream on HBO Max and Kanopy.
Mockbuster (2025)
I wonder how many aspiring filmmakers will see Mockbuster and become the next director for The Asylum. Anthony Firth’s documentary feature follows him as he makes his feature debut with a low-budget B-movie called The Land That Time Forgot. He admits that all he had to do was email the infamous “mockbuster” studio and ask if he could take the helm of one of their schlocky projects, and they agreed without ever asking to see his previous work (most of which was directing corporate videos). The catch, to Firth’s dismay, was that he had to do it quickly and artlessly.
Firth was smart to make this documentary alongside his work on The Land That Time Forgot, not just because he got two feature directorial credits simultaneously, but because he also got to express himself with Mockbuster while being creatively limited on the Asylum job. The documentary is not especially inventive, nor does it showcase any particular vision or identity in its directing, but it’s certainly all Firth’s. As a story, even in the making-of space, it’s fairly unique, enough that it doesn’t matter that Firth has little memorable insight into the experience.
He monologues a lot in ways that sound like he’s wrapping up with conclusions, and then he keeps going, yet when it truly ends, I can’t tell how much he has learned or changed. If either film is to be a calling card for more work, the likability and flexibility he presents with both (I assume he had more frustrating moments than he shares) may help. His wide-eyed lack of sophistication and constant amusement may not. The documentary is much more appealing as a film about The Asylum, their process, and their attitude about movies and the industry as a whole than Firth’s specific journey with them. I’d love to see how others’ experiences compare to his.
Mockbuster will be released in theaters and on digital on Friday, July 10, 2026, via Giant Pictures.
Awards Highlights
Emmy Nominations
Nominations for the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced last week, with several documentaries among the honored television programs in the Creative Arts Emmy bunch. Many of them are celebrity-focused, including the personal feature My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (available to stream on HBO Max), which is up for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program. The last of those recognizes Mariska Hargitay, who is also this year’s Emmy Awards host, in her directorial debut.
Other titles in that top nonfiction feature category include John Candy: I Like Me (Prime Video), Marty, Life is Short (Netflix), Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (HBO Max), and Ocean with David Attenborough (Hulu). Documentary series nominees include Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV), Rafa (Netflix), Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Netflix), The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max), and Ken Burns’s The American Revolution (PBS). There’s also the Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking category, which only has two nominees: The Tale of Silyan (Hulu) and The Librarians (PBS and Kanopy).
Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio’s film Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! tied for the most nominations for a documentary with six. In addition to Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, it appears in the categories recognizing its direction, editing, original music score, sound editing, and sound mixing. The other documentary with six nominations was Ocean with David Attenborough, additionally recognized for its cinematography, original music score, sound editing, sound mixing, and narration. Sir David Attenborough actually, unsurprisingly, appears twice in that last category, as he’s also nominated for narrating Netflix’s A Gorilla Story: Told By David Attenborough.
Documentary Release Calendar 7/10/26 - 7/16/26
Friday, July 10, 2026
Baby Doe (2025) - A true-crime documentary about a woman accused of murdering her newborn baby. (In Theaters)
Do You Love Me (2025) - A documentary feature about Beirut, Lebanon. (In Theaters)
The March to War: Iran, Israel, and the USA (2026) - A three-part docuseries about the American and Israeli war against Iran. (OVID)
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story (1951) - A medium-length documentary presenting footage from new MGM movies of that year. (TCM)
Mockbuster - A documentary feature by Anthony Frith about his experience making a B-movie for The Asylum. (In Theaters and VOD)
Remake (2025) - A first-person documentary feature by Ross McElwee about the death of his son and an attempt to remake his classic film Sherman’s March as a narrative feature. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Dark Side of the Ring Season 7, Episode 2: “Jeff Jarrett & the Battle for TNA: Part 2” - The latest installment of a docuseries that shares the darkest stories of professional wrestling. (Vice)
The Real Murders of Atlanta Season 4, Episode 1: “Officer Down” - The return of an Atlanta-focused true-crime docuseries. This installment involves a gunned-down police officer. (Oxygen)
Sunday, July 12, 2026
The Food That Built America Season 7, Episode 12: “Let’s Get Cracker-ing” - The latest installment of a docuseries about popular American foods. This episode involves innovations in crackers. (History)
Hazardous History with Henry Winkler Season 2, Episode 12: “Insane Inventions” - The latest installment of a docuseries about dangerous toys and household items that used to be common. This episode involves disastrous gadgets and other inventions. (History)
In the Eye of the Storm Season 4, Episode 3: “Monster in Michigan” - The latest installment of a docuseries about natural disasters. This episode involves a rare EF-3 tornado. (Discovery Channel)
The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door (2026) - A documentary feature about the 2018 poisoning of Russian/British double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter. (CNN)
Monday, July 13, 2026
Flood (2025) - A documentary by Katy Scoggin in which she reconnects with her estranged, Evanglical science teacher father. Presented as an episode of Independent Lens. (PBS)
Football Headliners (1955) - A short film highlighting significant college football games played in 1955. (TCM)
History’s Greatest Machines with Dolph Lundgren Episode 7: “Rocket Science” - The latest installment of a docuseries about the machines that shaped our world. This episode involves rockets. (History)
It Looks Like Rain (1945) - A short film about the tools used to forecast the weather. (TCM)
Lethally Blonde Season 2, Episode 7: “Burlesque and Blood” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries involving people pursuing beauty and fame. This episode involves a murdered French Quarter dancer. (Investigation Discovery)
Murder 101 (2026) - A three-part true-crime docuseries about high schoolers who helped to solve a murder case. (Prime Video)
Storm (1943) - A short documentary about the tools the U.S. Weather Bureau uses to warn farmers about hazardous storms. (TCM)
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Coroner to the Stars (2025) - A documentary feature about Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the former chief medical examiner for Los Angeles County, who performed autopsies on many celebrities. (VOD)
Dark Side of the Ring Season 7, Episode 3: “Jeff Jarrett & the Battle for TNA: Part 3” - The latest installment of a docuseries that shares the darkest stories of professional wrestling. (Vice)
Expedition Unknown Season 17, Episode 4: “Sunken City of Pirates” - The latest installment of a docuseries that follows an archaeologist looking for lost artifacts. (Discovery)
Homestead Rescue: Intervention Season 1, Episode 1 - The debut episode of a docuseries that follows wilderness living experts as they save lives. (Discovery)
Once Upon a Time in Space Episode 1: “America First” - A four-part docuseries about the space race. This installment involves the Moon landing and the introduction of the Space Shuttle. (PBS)
The Proof is Out There: Unexplained Edition Season 2, Episode 7: “Signs from Space” - The latest installment of a docuseries about strange phenomena captured on camera. (History)
Quarterback Season 3 - The return of an anthology docuseries about NFL quarterbacks. (Netflix)
The Real Wolf of Wall Street (2026) - A three-part docuseries about Jordan Belfort, whose story was dramatized in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. (Paramount+)
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch Season 7, Episode 9: “Up in Smoke” - The latest installment of a docuseries about UFO phenomena at the Skinwalker Ranch. (History)
That’s Entertainment! (1974) - A feature documentary showcasing moments from classic MGM musicals. (TCM)
That’s Entertainment, Part II (1976) - A sequel documentary showcasing more moments from classic MGM musicals. (TCM)
That’s Entertainment! III (1994) - A sequel documentary showcasing more moments from classic MGM musicals. (TCM)
Bergman’s Video Parts 1-3: “Humor,” “Death,” & “Adventure” - The first three episodes of a docuseries in which today’s filmmakers discuss the legacy of Ingmar Bergman. (OVID)
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
911: Did the Killer Call? Season 2, Episode 1 - The return of a true-crime docuseries about cases where the murderer is on the 911 call. (Investigation Discovery)
Bergman’s Video Parts 4-6: “Silence,” “Fear,” & “Exclusion” - The second half of a docuseries in which today’s filmmakers discuss the legacy of Ingmar Bergman. (OVID)
Body Cam Season 11, Episode 1 - The return of a docuseries that depicts law enforcement officers on the job via their body cams. (Investigation Discovery)
Duck and Cover (1952) - A short instructional film on how to survive a nuclear attack. (TCM)
ER: Caught on Camera Season 1, Episode 2 - The latest installment of a docuseries in which medical patients recall experiences in hospital emergency rooms. (TLC)
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Scott Peterson: The New Evidence (2026) - A true-crime documentary with an update on the 2002 murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn son. (A&E)
Surviving Earth Episode 6: “When the Oceans Shrank” - The sixth installment of an eight-part docuseries about extinct creatures. This episode involves early fish. (NBC)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
7/17 - American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez - A documentary feature about the titular activist and filmmaker. (In Theaters)
7/22 - My Grandfather Charles Manson - A documentary about Charles Manson’s granddaughter, Sophia Maddox. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (Hulu)
7/29 - Eons: Life and Death on Pangea - A six-part docuseries on the mass-extinction event known as the “Great Dying.” (PBS)
8/2 - Decades in Sports - A six-part docuseries executive produced by Tom Hanks about milestones in sports in America. (CNN)
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. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
8/13 - A Child of My Own - A documentary feature by two-time Oscar-nominated director Maite Alberdi (The Mole Agent; The Eternal Memory) about a woman who faked her pregnancy. (Netflix)
8/14 - American Doctor - A documentary feature about three doctors of different religious backgrounds working in wartorn Gaza. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
8/20 - Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter - A documentary feature about tennis star Novak Djokovic. (Prime Video)
8/26 - Crows Are White - A documentary feature about a monk who prefers heavy metal and ice cream over meditation. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
9/4 - Barbara Forever - A documentary feature executive-produced by Kristen Stewart about the pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer. (In Theaters)
9/11 - This Is Buzz - A documentary feature directed by Mark Pellington (U2 3D) about the 1990s MTV series Buzz. 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)
9/26 - Ai Weiwei’s Turandot - A documentary feature about Ai Weiwei’s production of Turandot at the Rome Opera House. (In Theaters)