This Week In Documentary
Theatrical & Streaming Releases - New & Recommended - September 12-18, 2025
It amazes me that anyone would want to participate in a documentary about their lives, especially when those lives are filled with trauma, scandal, and/or other negative elements. Yet there are so many who do it. Are they all narcissists and fame seekers? Have they not seen the film Subject (you can do so now for free via Prime Video, Kanopy, Tubi, Fawesome, Cineverse, and Fandango at Home). Do they not know that audiences might laugh at them? And now, they might be turned into a meme?
(SPOILER ALERT) I have no sympathy for the mom in Netflix’s Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, but I also wouldn’t wish what’s happening with her image online on anyone (not even the Phillies Karen). Still, these days, more than ever, I also have to think that everyone should know better, or at least think twice about appearing in a documentary, especially one on such a sensational story and headed for the world's largest streaming service. Most participants in that film are likely to have regrets.
Changing the subject to something more positive, I want to congratulate the films and filmmakers that have won awards at the major film festivals this season so far. These are films I can’t highlight yet since they’re not out yet. Ross McElwee’s Remake won the Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary at the Venice Film Festival (still an ironically named honor given that the Golden Globes don’t otherwise do a documentary award at their own event). At the same festival, Joe Beshenkovsky and James A. Smith’s Mata Hari was named Best Documentary on Cinema.
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 a controversial TIFF selection). 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: Lost In The Jungle (2025)
The Oscar-winning duo Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (who are sadly parting ways personally and professionally) have two new documentaries out this fall. The first, Lost in the Jungle, is reminiscent of their last great nonfiction feature, The Rescue. It’s similarly about kids who were saved from a dangerously isolated environment through the joint operations of the local military and an unlikely group of heroic volunteers. In this story, the children are siblings who survived a plane crash in the Colombian rainforest that killed their mother, the pilot, and another adult.
While not as intense and thrilling in its telling as The Rescue, this film is engrossing enough with its various themes dealing with intrepid survival tactics, mythology, domestic abuse, and the cultural clash between indigenous groups and the white man (and military) in Colombia. Its aesthetic mix of actual footage, reenactments, and animation didn’t always work for me (still, the animation drawn over real backdrops did spark some nostalgia in me for the old Dot and the Kangaroo movies), and I think it’s lacking in some of its narrative clarity, but it’s worth watching for the story itself.
Lost in the Jungle premieres on National Geographic on Friday, September 12, and begins streaming on Hulu and Disney+ the following day.
Other Documentary Highlights
Cashing Out (2024)
Another story worth watching can be found in Cashing Out, a short film that arrived online last week. It’s a sad yet complicated story about the “gay-death-profiteering” industry, where AIDS patients sold their life insurance policies for immediate funds to go toward treatment and other things to make the end of their lives more comfortable. The real-life twist is that people with AIDS began surviving thanks to the new drug cocktails in the 1990s, putting a wrench in the life insurance investments. Sensitively presented with compelling characters, this documentary is yet another reminder that people’s lives and health should not be commodities or otherwise stamped with a price tag.
Cashing Out is now streaming on YouTube via The New Yorker. Watch it below.
Chantal Akerman Documentaries
The Museum of Modern Art in New York City is running a Chantal Akerman retrospective through mid-October. It’s called “Chantal Akerman: The Long View.” For those of us who can’t make it, I’m highlighting the documentaries screening over the next seven days. Not all are available to stream at home, unfortunately.
On Saturday and Tuesday, they’re showing a series of shorts, including The Beloved Child, or I Play at Being a Married Woman and Le 15/8 (both in the Criterion box set “Chantal Akerman Masterpieces, 1968–1978”), plus a double feature of the short doc La Chambre (streaming on The Criterion Channel) and medium-length doc Hotel Monterey (The Criterion Channel). On Wednesday, they’re showing the Tel-Aviv-set Down There (streaming on OVID), and on Thursday, it’s One Day Pina Asked… (OVID) with Franz Schubert’s Last Three Sonatas.
Clemente (2024)
Baseball legend Roberto Clemente gets a long-overdue feature documentary about his life, and it does him justice. Clemente is generic in form, but there’s no need for anything else but a straightforward biography with commentary from friends and family when the story is so matter-of-fact. The Puerto Rico-born Pittsburgh Pirates mainstay also died too young in a tragic plane crash while en route to provide aid to Nicaragua following a devastating earthquake, so his story is sadly short and filled only with positive remarks.
Some of the hyperbole about his talent could be more specific, and a segment chronicling the 1972 World Series goes too long. It’s neat to see the actor Michael Keaton sharing his memories, but his being in the documentary clearly just because he’s a celebrity who roots for the Pirates goes against the focus of Clemente’s disinterest in that sort of thing. Everything about his humility and relationships with his fans and other regular folk is what stands out, especially coming from a few of those people he personally touched, shared a meal with, and befriended.
Clemente will be released in theaters on Friday, September 12.
Creative Emmy Winners
Last weekend, the Television Academy gave out this year’s Creative Arts Emmys, including several honors for documentaries. The big winner was Pee-wee as Himself (streaming on HBO Max), which won three Emmys: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special; Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program (for Matt Wolf); and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program (for Damian Rodriguez). Patrice: The Movie won the Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking.
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series went to 100 Foot Wave (HBO Max), which is in its third season. Barack Obama won his third Emmy for Outstanding Narrator, this time for the series Our Oceans (Netflix). Other winners included Chef’s Table (Netflix) for its music score, Music by John Williams (Disney+) for its sound editing, and Welcome to Wrexham for its sound mixing and picture editing. Conan O’Brien Must Go won for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special, and Adolescence, The Making of Adolescence won for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series.
Ornette: Made In America (1985)
Shirley Clarke, one of documentary’s most important women pioneers, is best known for the classic LGBT film Portrait of Jason. Her next most essential feature is Ornette: Made in America, which turns 40 years old this week. It’s not as accessible, but it is entrancing in a hypnotic sort of way that fits its subject, free jazz innovator Ornette Coleman. This is more of an experimental work focused on his ties to Fort Worth and anchored by a concert performance of his with the city’s symphony orchestra. It also has some of the most fun credits and titles I’ve ever seen in a documentary.
Ornette: Made in America is currently streaming on The Criterion Channel, Kanopy, Kino Film Collection, and OVID.
Documentary Release Calendar 9/12/25 - 9/18/25
Friday, September 12, 2025
Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story (2023) - A documentary feature about a soccer club in Sweden made up of Kurdish refugees. (Prime Video)
Beauty and the Bester (2025) - A docuseries about the connection between Dr. Randipha and Thabo Bester's prison break. (Netflix)
Bodyguard of Lies (2025) - A documentary about the War in Afghanistan. (In Theaters)
Clemente (2024) - A biographical documentary about pro baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. (In Theaters)
Fiddler on the Moon: Judaism in Space (2025) - A short documentary exploring whether Judaism would survive in space. (In Theaters)
The Jewish Nazi? (2025) - A documentary feature about a child who survived the Holocaust by posing as “Hitler’s youngest soldier.” (VOD)
Land of Alaska Nellie (1939) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise about a woman living off the land in Alaska. (TCM)
Lead Belly: The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll (2021) - A biographical documentary about Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter. (OVID)
Lost in the Jungle (2025) - 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. (National Geographic)
Naked Ambition (2023) - A biographical documentary about photographer Bunny Yeager. (In Theaters)
Phantoms, Inc. (1945) - A short film about con artists pretending to be spiritualists. (TCM)
Rise Up! 14 Short Films About Alliance For Positive Change by Antonio Ferrera (2025) - A documentary about Alliance for Positive Change and their work helping people living with chronic diseases, including HIV/AIDS. (In Theaters)
To the Coast of Devon (1950) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores Bath, England. (TCM)
Women in Christ (2025) - A religious documentary about women’s worth. (In Theaters)
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Believe It or Not (Second Series) #6 (1932) - This installment of Robert L. Ripley’s Believe It or Not documentary franchise features a wooden flower garden, a merry-go-round lunch counter, and more. (TCM)
Death Row Confidential: Secrets of a Serial Killer (2025) - A docuseries about the serial killer Joseph Naso. (Oxygen True Crime)
Lost in the Jungle (2025) - 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. (Disney+)
New Roadways (1939) - A short film that looks at various research projects in laboratories across the U.S. (TCM)
On Location with Westworld (1973) - A short documentary on the making of the film Westworld. (TCM)
Sunday, September 14, 2025
Dean Martin: King of Cool (2021) - A feature-length documentary about the titular actor and crooner. (TCM)
Glimpses of Florida (1950) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores popular destinations in Florida. (TCM)
Ride with Norman Reedus Season 7 - The return of the travel docuseries starring actor Norman Reedus as he rides his motorcycle to showcase biker culture. (AMC)
Wandering Here and There (1944) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores various places in the United States. (TCM)
The Wonderful World of Tupperware (1965) - A short industrial film about Tupperware. (TCM)
Monday, September 15, 2025
Alert Today - Alive Tomorrow (1956) - A short documentary about civil defense in the event of a nuclear disaster. (TCM)
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
50 Ways to Catch a Killer (2025) - A six-part docuseries hosted by 50 Cent about real murder investigations. (Fox Nation)
The Artist and the Astronaut (2022) - A documentary feature about artist Pat Music and astronaut Jerry Carr. (DVD)
Bacall on Bogart (1988) - An episode of Great Performances about actor Humphrey Bogart as presented by his widow, actress Lauren Bacall. (TCM)
Best Christmas Movies Ever! (2024) - A documentary special about holiday season films. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Genesis 2.0 (2018) - A documentary feature about hunters seeking mammoth tusks in the Arctic. (OVID)
The History of Trick or Treating (2023) - A short documentary about the titular Halloween tradition. (DVD)
The Jewish Nazi? (2025) - A documentary feature about a child who survived the Holocaust by posing as “Hitler’s youngest soldier.” (DVD)
Last of the Big Tuskers (2018) - A medium-length documentary about the last supertusk elephants in Africa. (DVD)
Secret Mall Apartment (2024) - A documentary about eight artists in Providence who created a secret apartment inside a shopping mall in 2003. Read our review of Secret Mall Apartment. (VOD)
The Shroud: Face to Face (2023) - A documentary feature about the controversies surrounding the Shroud of Turin. (DVD)
So Unreal (2023) - A documentary feature about cyberspace cinema. (Blu-ray)
Top Guns: The Next Generation Episode 1: “Strike” - The first installment of a docuseries about naval aviators in the Advanced Flight Training Program made famous by the movie Top Gun. (National Geographic)
Tulsa Terrors (2025) - A documentary feature about direct-to-video horror movies made in Oklahoma in the 1980s. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Crossing Lines (2008) - A short documentary about an Indian-American’s efforts to stay connected to her cultural roots. (OVID)
David Gilmour: Live at the Circus Maximus, Rome (2025) - A concert film starring the Pink Floyd singer and guitarist performing solo. (In IMAX Theaters)
Human (2025) - A docuseries about human evolution. (PBS)
Life on the Ganges (2017) - A short documentary about a boatman on the Ganges River. (OVID)
Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen (2025) - A docuseries about a sports promotion company. (Netflix)
Sacred Planet with Gulnaz Khan Episode 2: “Stopping the Desert” - The premiere installment of a docuseries about global solutions to climate change. This episode focuses on the Sahara’s expansion into Africa’s Sahel region. (PBS)
A Sentence Apart (2010) - A short documentary about families with loved ones in prison. (OVID)
Sin City Rehab (2025) - A docuseries following interior designer Alison Victoria in Las Vegas. (HGTV)
Through the Colorado Rockies (1943) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores the state of Colorado. (TCM)
Top Guns: The Next Generation Episode 1: “Strike” - The first installment of a docuseries about naval aviators in the Advanced Flight Training Program made famous by the movie Top Gun. (Hulu and Disney+)
Thursday, September 18, 2025
40 Takes Willy (2025) - A medium-length documentary about director William Wyler. (TCM)
How I Live (2020) - A documentary feature about children with cancer. (OVID)
True Crime Story: Smugshot Season 2, Episode 6: “Bad Habit” - 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
9/19 - Megadoc - A documentary feature by Mike Figgis about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. (In Theaters)
10/3 - The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue - A documentary feature a retired Israeli general who saved his family from Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attaks. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
10/6 - After Action Season 3 - The return of a docuseries spotlighting U.S. military veterans. (PBS)
10/15 - From Rails to Trails - A medium-length documentary narrated by Edward Norton about the transformation of abandoned railroads into bike and walking trails in the U.S. (PBS)
10/17 - Artfully United - A documentary feature about a mural artist in Los Angeles whose work focuses on undeserved neighborhoods. (In Theaters)
10/22 - Mitski: The Land - A concert film starring the titular singer-songwriter as she performs in Atlanta. (In Theaters)
11/3 - In Waves and War - A documentary feature about U.S. Navy SEALs with PTSD. (In Theaters)