This Week In Documentary
Theatrical & Streaming Releases - New & Recommended - August 29-September 4, 2025
For many Americans, Labor Day is merely an excuse for a long weekend of travel or rest, as it marks the end of summer, recreationally. Pools and beaches close, the last of the nation’s kids go back to school, and generally, there’s not another break from work until Thanksgiving. To remind us of what Labor Day is truly about, though, two streaming services have programmed documentaries that showcase labor unions in their efforts to improve members’ conditions, compensation, and/or contracts.
One of these, I’ll cover in my Pick of the Week. The other is OVID, which is adding a handful of labor-focused documentaries from Kartemquin Films. On the holiday, they’ll exclusively debut the 1975 UE/Wells (directed by Gordon Quinn, Jerry Blumenthal, and Guillermo Brzostowski) and What’s Happening at Local 70? (directed by Judy Hoffman). The following day, a little late for Labor Day but still worth recognizing, OVID will begin exclusively streaming Quinn and Blumenthal’s 1980 short Taylor Chain and its 1983 sequel, Taylor Chain II: A Story in a Local Union.
While not advertised as such, PBS also has a relevant documentary airing on Labor Day: Make a Circle is a film about child care workers in California who wish for their profession to be better appreciated. I also want to recommend a double feature of Barbara Kopple’s two Oscar-winning documentary features about labor strikes, Harlan County U.S.A. (streaming on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel) and American Dream, but the latter is again inexplicably unavailable anywhere. You can also rent Michael Moore’s Roger & Me and stream Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar’s Union Maids (Kanopy), The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (HBO Max), and its sequel, American Factory (Netflix). Suggest your own recommendations in the comments.
This weekend also marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in Louisiana and the devastating aftermath in New Orleans. Last week, I highlighted Spike Lee’s Katrina documentaries, including the new series Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (now streaming on Netflix), and I previously recommended the poorly titled anniversary-focused series Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Hulu and Disney+). I also suggest taking the time to remember the disaster with the Oscar-nominated film Trouble the Water (Kanopy and Kino Film Collection) and the pet-centric feature Mine (currently only available on DVD). You can also read my 15-year-old essay on the idea of documenting disasters.
Without further ado, below are this week’s documentary highlights, including capsule reviews of new nonfiction films and series. They are followed by daily listings for all notable releases and a brief look at what’s coming soon for doc fans (including the latest from Alexandre O. Philippe). Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future, 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 in our listings, you can reach me at christopherbartoncampbell (at) Gmail.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: Union (2024)
Stephen Maing and Brett Story’s Union received some attention last year for its DIY distribution, and it remains freely accessible via PBS following its POV broadcast, but the film still seems to have gone relatively unwatched. If you’re among those who have missed the documentary so far, it’s becoming more available just in time for Labor Day. See why the Cinema Eye Honors recognized Chris Smalls (who has been in the news more recently for his pro-Gaza activism) as one of their Unforgettables of 2024. Here’s what I wrote about the film when it hit theaters last year:
“There haven’t been a lot of documentaries this year that carry on the tradition of Robert Drew and the rest of the filmmakers involved in the observational Direct Cinema style, but Stephen Maing and Brett Story keep it going with Union. The film follows employees and former employees of a Staten Island Amazon warehouse as they campaign to unionize. It’s as political as you expect, pragmatically, and while there’s never any events as dramatic as in a classic Barbara Kopple union-focused film, it benefits in having a strong character in Chris Smalls, the main organizer.”
Union begins streaming on The Criterion Channel on Monday, September 1.
Other Documentary Highlights
Alain Kassanda Documentaries
September brings another documentarian spotlight to The Criterion Channel with the addition of all three of Alain Kassanda’s films. They’re all available on OVID as well, but this gives him and his work more exposure. The trio consists of the short Trouble Sleep, which offers a virtual tour of the Nigerian city of Ibadan through the eyes of two young men, and the features Coconut Head Generation, which showcases students at the University of Ibadan, and Colette and Justin, about his grandparents’ life under Belgian colonialism in what was then known as Zaire.
Trouble Sleep, Colette and Justin, and Coconut Head Generation begin streaming on The Criterion Channel on Monday, September 1.
Bonnie Friedman Documentaries
In addition to introducing and showcasing documentaries tied to Labor Day, OVID is also spotlighting filmmaker Bonnie L. Friedman this week. Her three shorts, The Flashettes, Chris and Bernie, and The Last to Know, concern troubled youth, divorced single moms, and alcoholic women, respectively. And they’re the latest arrivals in the streaming service’s new partnership with New Day Films.
The Flashettes, Chris and Bernie, and The Last to Know all begin streaming on OVID on Thursday, September 4.
Dark Days (2000)
Another documentary deserving more recognition is Marc Singer’s Dark Days, which turns 25 years old this week. Back in 2000, the film won several awards, including three prizes at Sundance, but it’s not talked about much lately. Here’s why it should be, at least for being one of the best documentaries about New York City:
“A film about the city beneath the city, this documentary reveals the homes of the homeless in the abandoned tunnels of Manhattan. And no New Yorker who saw it could think the same about the island (or the rest of the boroughs) again. I doubt I was the only one who thought this, but it was particularly interesting to watch after wondering what Giuliani had done with the majority of the homeless while cleaning up the city in the ’90s.”
Dark Days is available to stream on OVID, Kanopy, Tubi, Pluto TV, and Cineverse. You can sample the first 10 minutes of the film below.
Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady Documentaries
As announced last week, the documentarian duo Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady will receive the Pennebaker Award at the 10th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards this November. They’re being recognized for lifetime achievement and for continuing the spirit of direct cinema as pioneered in part by D. A. Pennebaker. You should catch up with their films ahead of the event, including their latest, Folktales, if you can. It is currently in theaters.
They also directed The Boys of Baraka (via Loki Films on Vimeo), which was one of the first docs I ever reviewed, the biographiy Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (Kanopy), the moms-focused Call Your Mother (Paramount+), One of Us (Netflix), Detropia (available to rent or buy via Apple TV), the short film The Education of Mohammad Hussein (HBO Max, the abortion clinic doc 12th & Delaware (HBO Max), the journalism doc Endangered (HBO Max), the series Love Fraud (Paramount+ with Showtime), and the Oscar-nominated Jesus Camp (Prime Video, Kanopy, Tubi, Philo, and Pluto TV). They also helmed the best segment of the anthology doc Freakonomics (Kanopy and Philo). They’re all worth a watch.
High School (1968), High School II (1994) & At Berkeley (2013)
It’s back-to-school time (unless you’re here in Georgia and your kids have already been in school for a month), and Zipporah Films is celebrating with a great deal for you. Now through September 15, you can order either Frederick Wiseman’s classic documentary High School or its sequel, High School II, and get a free DVD copy of his college-set doc At Berkeley. Just add the titles to your cart and use code Back2School.
Ken Burns Documentaries
Also announced last week, Ken Burns will receive the Impact Award at this year’s Critics Choice Documentary Awards. As one of the most famous and influential documentarians, Burns “continues to inspire, educate, and enlighten” with his mostly historical works (I’m quoting myself from the press release). You can binge a lot of his series on the PBS Documentaries channel on Prime Video. The top five essentials I’d recommend are The Civil War, Baseball, New York: A Documentary Film, The War, and The Vietnam War. He has also directed a few features, if you don’t want to make such a big commitment immediately. Check out his Oscar-nominated films Brooklyn Bridge and The Statue of Liberty, plus The Central Park Five, which are all also on Kanopy.
Marcel Łoziński Documentaries
Another Oscar-nominated filmmaker I want to highlight this week is Marcel Łoziński, whose short 89mm from Europe was a contender in 1995. The 11-minute black-and-white film is about the incompatibility of train tracks in the former Soviet countries and the rest of Europe, making it difficult to cross the border by rail. You can watch it on Łoziński’s own Vimeo page, but it’s not subtitled. There are versions on YouTube with subs, though. Many of his other doc shorts and features are also non-subbed on his Vimeo page. The most accessible of his efforts is his 2013 collaboration with his filmmaker son, Pawel Łoziński, Father and Son, which is streaming via DAFilms.com. As we learned from last week’s Monday Memo via DOC NYC, Marcel Łoziński died on August 20 at the age of 85.
Vice Is Broke (2025)
Here’s the one new release I watched this week and want to highlight, but not necessarily recommend. Vice is Broke is a subjective documentary by Eddie Huang about his former employer, Vice Media. At the start of the film, he mentions that it’s a very different take on the company’s rise and fall than someone like Alex Gibney would make, and for the most part, that’s fine. He provides an insider’s perspective on how things were, and his interviews with other Vice writers and filmmakers are more reminiscing than investigative.
Unfortunately, it also often seems like a project for himself rather than an audience, as he’s hung up on biases, including his grudges about being owed a lot of money. His conversation with controversial co-founder Gavin McInnes goes nowhere interesting, and there’s not enough cultural context to appreciate where Vice fits in historically. The most illuminating scene is actually a clip from the documentary Page One: Inside the New York Times. Unless you’re among those of us who already paid some attention to Vice from its magazine days to its successful HBO series, you’re unlikely to get much out of Huang’s film.
Vice is Broke begins streaming on Mubi on Friday, August 29.
Documentary Release Calendar 8/29/25 - 9/4/25
Friday, August 29, 2025
Don’t You Believe It (1943) - A short documentary debunking historical “facts.” (TCM)
Kenia Os: La OG (2025) - A music documentary starring the titular Mexican YouTuber and singer. (In Theaters)
Sentinels in the Air (1956) - A short documentary about the U.S. Air Force Reserve. (TCM)
United States Coast Guard Band (1944) - A short music film presenting a performance by the U.S. Coast Guard Band led by singer Rudy Vallee. (TCM)
Vice is Broke (2024) - A documentary feature about the evolution of Vice from an independent magazine to a bankrupt media giant. (Mubi)
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Fisticuffs (1938) - A short film in the Pete Smith Specialty franchise starring boxer Max Baer. (TCM)
Sunday, August 31, 2025
Let the Devil In (2025) - A docuseries that investigates a tragedy in New Jersey that occurred decades ago. (MGM+)
Monday, September 1, 2025
Celluloid Underground (2023) - A documentary feature by Ehsan Khoshbakht about his relationship to cinema. (The Criterion Channel)
The Chrisleys: Back to Reality (2025) - A docuseries about the Chrisley family, known for the reality series Chrisley Knows Best, now that the parents are in jail. (Lifetime)
Coconut Head Generation (2023) - A documentary feature by Alain Kassanda presenting debates between students at Nigeria’s University of Ibadan. (The Criterion Channel)
Colette and Justin (2022) - A documentary feature by Alain Kassanda about his grandparents and his Congolese identity. (The Criterion Channel)
Europe Endless 1: The Spectre of Eurocommunism (2024) - An essay film about the attempted spread of communism in Western Europe. (The Criterion Channel)
Häxan (1922) - A hybrid film about the history of witchcraft. (The Criterion Channel)
Make a Circle (2024) - A documentary about child care providers. (PBS)
Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence (2025) - A four-part docuseries about abusive mommy vlogger Ruby Franke and her relationship with therapist Jodi Hildebrandt. (Investigation Discovery)
Survival Mode Season 1, Episode 9: “The Sinking of Costa Concordia” - The latest installment of this docuseries focuses on a cruise ship disaster. (NBC)
The Tillman Story (2010) - A documentary feature about former football pro Pat Tillman, who was killed during his military service in Afghanistan. Read our review of The Tillman Story. (Peacock)
Trouble Sleep (2020) - A short documentary by Alain Kassanda about a taxi driver and a taxman in Nigeria. (The Criterion Channel)
Turning (2012) - A music film by Charles Atlas about his 2006 collaboration with Anohni. (The Criterion Collection)
UE/Wells (1975) - A short documentary following the United Electrical Workers Union at the Wells Foundry in Chicago as they organize a fundraising drive. (OVID)
Union (2024) - A feature documentary directed by Stephen Maing (Crime + Punishment) and Brett Story (The Hottest August) about an effort by Amazon workers to unionize. Read our review of Union. (The Criterion Channel)
What’s Happening at Local 70? (1975) - A short documentary about a walkout by Local 70 union members in Chicago. (OVID)
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Blur: To the End (2024) - A documentary about the reunion of the Britpop group Blur. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Buried in the Backyard Season 6 - The complete latest season of a true-crime docuseries about the odd locations where murder victims were found. (Peacock)
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills Episode 5 - The latest installment of the Hard Knocks franchise goes behind the scenes with the titular NFL football team. (HBO and HBO Max)
A Photographic Memory (2024) - A documentary about the photographer and journalist Sheila Turner-Seed made by her daughter, who never knew her. Read our review of A Photographic Memory. (DVD)
Realm of Satan (2024) - A documentary feature about the Church of Satan. (VOD)
Revolution (2012) - A documentary feature about humans being nature’s greatest enemy. (DVD)
Survival Mode Season 1 - The complete first season of a docuseries focused on survivors of disasters. (NBC)
Taylor Chain I: A Story in a Union Local (1980) - A short documentary about a strike at an Indiana chain factory. (OVID)
Taylor Chain II: A Story in a Union Local (1983) - A short documentary sequel about workers at an Indiana chain factory. (OVID)
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
The Last Wright: Building the Final Home Design of America's Greatest Architect (2025) - A four-part docuseries about the last architectural plans designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (Magnolia)
NFL Classics: After Further Review (2025) - A docuseries that looks back at unforgettable football games. (Vice TV)
Thursday, September 4, 2025
Blood & Myth (2025) - A true-crime documentary about an Alaskan criminal who claimed to be influenced by mythical creatures. (Hulu)
Chris and Bernie (1976) - A short documentary about divorced single mothers. (OVID)
Digital Addiction Season 1 - The complete first season of a docuseries about addictions to social media, gaming, and cyber dating. (Hulu)
The Flashettes (1975) - A short documentary about a track team for girls in a troubled Brooklyn neighborhood. (OVID)
The Hidden Holocaust (2023) - A docuseries about the true scale of the Holocaust. (National Geographic)
I Survived… Season 4 - The complete fourth season of a docuseries about survivors of unbelievable circumstances. (Hulu)
The Last to Know (1981) - A short documentary about women alcoholics. (OVID)
True Crime Story: Smugshot Season 2, Episode 4: “Swagg Man” - The latest installment of a docuseries about disturbing cases where people thought they could get away with crimes. (Sundance TV)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
9/5 - Torn: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets - A documentary feature about a clash between pro-Israel activists and pro-Palestine activists involving posters around New York City. (In Theaters)
9/10 - Sacred Planet with Gulnaz Khan - A docuseries about global solutions to climate change. (PBS)
9/12 - Lost in the Jungle - A documentary feature by Juan Camilo Cruz and Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) about the rescue of four children from the Amazon after a plane crash. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (National Geographic)
9/19 - Predators - A documentary about the TV series To Catch a Predator. Read our review of Predators from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (In Theaters)
9/19 - Chain Reactions (2024) - A documentary feature by Alexandre O. Philippe (Memory: The Origins of Alien) about the impact of Texas Chain Saw Massacre on five artists, including Stephen King. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
9/26 - Omara: Cuba’s Legendary Diva - A medium-length documentary about the singer Omara Portuondo. Watch the new trailer for the film here. (PBS)
9/30 - Hard Hat Riot - A documentary about a 1970 clash between student anti-war protestors and construction workers in New York City. (PBS)
10/3 - The Alabama Solution - A documentary feature by Andrew Jarecki (The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst) and Charlotte Kaufman investigating a cover-up in an Alabama prison. (In Theaters)
10/6 - Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp & The Biotech Revolution (2024) - A biographical documentary about the titular geneticist and molecular biologist. (PBS)
10/10 - Among Neighbors - A documentary feature by Yoav Potash (Crime After Crime) about a murder in a small Polish town. (In Theaters)
10/22 - Mistress Dispeller - A documentary about a woman who hired someone to stop her husband from cheating. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
10/31 - The White House Effect - A documentary feature by Bonni Cohen, Pedro Kos, and Jon Shenk about the U.S. government’s failure with climate change. (Netflix)
11/21 - Zodiac Killer Project - A meta-textual true-crime documentary about an abandoned documentary on the Zodiac Killer. Read our review of Zodiac Killer Project. (In Theaters)