Last week, I was off for a few days. While enjoying family time in a cabin in the mountains, a tree limb (or maybe two?) crashed through the roof and woke us all up in the middle of the night. We fled the rental and altered our brief holiday, and as we dealt with that, I didn’t get to all the screeners I’d hoped to during this brief break. Additionally, one of this awards season’s most anticipated documentaries is hitting theaters this week, but it hasn’t been made available to me yet. So, for the third week in a row, my Pick of the Week is a documentary originally released in the last century.
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 Ava DuVernay, David France, Alex Gibney, Michal Marczak, Lance Oppenheim, and Nathan Fielder). 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 reach us at nonficseditor (at) gmail and let us know about its release plans.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: Unzipped (1995)
Some fashion documentary subjects are hard to crack, and some are Isaac Mizrahi. He’s not just an open book in director Douglas Keeve’s hit 1995 film Unzipped, but he’s nearly running off the page. This “frockumentary” portrait feels as alive today as it did 31 years ago, and while the clothes on screen may have gone out of style long ago, the story and characters don’t feel dated at all. It follows Mizrahi at the end of one disappointing season as he develops his next line over the next year. It’s a bit ironic that one of his biggest inspirations is one of the most famous silent documentaries since he’s so loud and chatty. I also love that Nanook of the North gets a second nod in the film, and it’s something of a twist. Unzipped is worth watching every fall.
Unzipped will be re-released in theaters with a new 4K restoration on Friday, September 25, 2026.
Other Documentary Highlights
13th (2016) & Slavery By Another Name (2012)
Ava DuVernay’s upcoming documentary 14th (see the release date listed in our Sneak Peek section) isn’t exactly a sequel to her Oscar-nominated film 13th, but it’s obviously tied to the earlier effort through its title. I could make an obligatory “what if we haven’t seen ‘1st’ through ‘12th’?” joke, but considering these are features exploring their titular Constitutional Amendments, it wouldn’t be strange for that first dozen to also exist. The one highlighted here, which turns 10 years old this week, is on the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and indentured servitude except as punishment for a crime. The criminal punishment loophole is where racist measures and racial inequality continued, according to the film. Here’s an excerpt from our review of the 13th, which premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 30, 2016:
“With such an ambitious goal, it’s frankly miraculous that 13th moves as assuredly as it does…As the film lunges forward with the hurried inevitability of history, the segments are held together with stylistic flourishes. The soundtrack is as musically diverse as it is tonally unified, fired-up tracks that range from hip hop to classical vocals. Song lyrics blaze on the screen with brash black and white graphics, forever circling back to the word ‘CRIMINAL.’”
Not only is DuVernay’s documentary an imperfect primer, but Sam Pollard sort of beat her to the punch of the film’s point four years earlier with Slavery by Another Name, which is also worth highlighting this week. Here’s a brief review of the film originally posted to the Documentary Channel Blog for its previous DVD release:
“This necessary history lesson with a very PBS aesthetic (voice-over, readings, and reenactment-heavy) is written by Sheila Curran Bernard (Eyes on the Prize) and directed by Samuel D. Pollard, the longtime editor for Spike Lee, who received an Oscar nomination for producing Lee’s doc 4 Little Girls. Based on the book of the same name by Douglas Blackmon and narrated by Laurence Fishburne, this film tells of the 80 years following the Emancipation Proclamation during which many in the South got away with basically continuing slavery through prison labor and peonage (debt bondage). It’s a shameful and quite unknown part of America’s past and ought to be shown in schools.”
13th is available to stream exclusively on Netflix. Slavery by Another Name will be reissued on DVD by PBS on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. You can also currently stream the film on Kanopy, WETA+, or the PBS website.
Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time (2026)
It may have the worst name, but the Race Against Time franchise is becoming one of my favorite annually recurring historical docuseries brands. These National Geographic projects tend to be exceptional in their mix of archival footage and testimonial interviews. Unfortunately, I didn’t get time to watch Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time before this week’s deadline, but if it’s anything like Tsunami: Race Against Time and especially Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time, I’m sure it’s going to be enrapturing in its storytelling. The three-part series follows the 2010 Copiapó mining accident and subsequent rescue of 33 men, who were trapped for 69 days. There have been documentaries made about the incident in the past, as well as a dramatic Hollywood telling starring Antonio Banderas and Juliette Binoche, but this one offers never-before-seen footage shot underground by the miners.
Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time premieres in full on National Geographic on Friday, September 25, 2026, and then begins streaming exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu on Saturday, September 26, 2026.
Holding Liat (2024)
From our January 9, 2026, newsletter, when Holding Liat was our Pick of the Week:
“Shortlisted for the Oscars in the Documentary Feature category, the Berlinale winner Holding Liat follows an Israeli-American man whose daughter was among those kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attacks in 2023. He is a character who admits his opinions are not shared by many, as he travels to Washington to lobby for U.S. assistance in releasing the hostages while criticizing Netanyahu’s handling of the response. This is a film filled with debate and doesn’t aim to lead viewers to any of the viewpoints being expressed. The eponymous survivor, after her release, also offers thoughts about her captors that might seem unexpected or even controversial. The documentary is as far from propaganda as it can be for an issue and situation that has been heavily propagandized from multiple sides.”
Holding Liat will make its streaming debut on DocPlay on Monday, September 28, 2026, ahead of its PVOD release on Friday, October 2, 2026.
The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story (1996)
Almost as old as our Pick of the Week, Susan Warms Dryfoos’s The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story turns 30 years old on Sunday. Originally released in theaters on September 27, 1996, the documentary was later nominated for an Oscar and then made its broadcast debut a few years later as an episode of American Masters with the swapped title Al Hirschfeld: The Line King. Here’s part of what we wrote about the film on a list of great documentaries about artists:
“Hirschfeld’s life itself is not incredibly remarkable, observing the times from the Times, but his work is both ruthlessly utilitarian and pedantically rebellious, a colorful document of signifiers. When he gets bored, he begins writing the name of his second wife between the lines. Fittingly, Dryfoos is, herself, sketching a fitting caricature of Hirschfeld: her ear for melancholy picks up resentment, confusion, old ladies tsking. Outside, the punk century rumbles, and the stillness of the caricaturist’s life is just as deafening. Hirschfeld wishes so much to offend somebody, anybody at all, but instead, he is constantly hired and not paid very much.”
The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story is currently available to stream on Kanopy, Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku, and Shout! TV.
NAZA (2025)
I haven’t yet seen Naza, but it’s the much-buzzed-about sophomore effort from Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for No Other Land last year. This film is also an enraging spotlight on Israel’s military operations against Palestinians, but this one was made after the October 7 terrorist attacks and apparently presents evidence of targeted attacks on civilians. I’m sure this won’t be the last time the documentary, which won five awards at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, is mentioned on Nonfics.
Naza will be released in theaters on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, ahead of a free online release in November via The Guardian.
Patricio Guzmán Documentaries
We just highlighted Patricio Guzmán’s films last month for his 85th birthday. Well, the filmmaker died of cardiorespiratory arrest on September 15, 2026, and he deserves the honor again, even if it’s a repeat. He was best known for making The Battle of Chile, a trilogy of documentaries released in the 1970s about the political crisis and coup d’état that occurred in his country earlier that decade. His most widely seen film here, though, is Nostalgia for the Light, which deals with astronomical and traumatic searches in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Other Guzmán documentaries you should watch include Salvador Allende and The Pinochet Case, both of them related to the same political change in his country as The Battle of Chile. Also, check out his more recent films The Pearl Button and The Cordillera of Dreams, which complete a trilogy that began with Nostalgia for the Light. There’s his latest, My Imaginary Country, and there’s 1997’s Chile, an Obstinate Memory, which marked his return to his homeland after Pinochet’s dictatorship ended. All of the mentioned documentaries are available to stream on OVID, with a few also being accessible via Kanopy, Hoopla, and the Kino Film Collection.
Ryuichi Sakamoto Documentaries
Unlike the previous highlight, this one recognizes not documentaries made by the name in the title but documentaries about or starring him. In honor of the U.S. premiere of the new film Ryuichi Sakamoto: Diaries, the Metrograph in New York City is presenting a series titled “Sakamoto on Screen, Portraits of an Artist,” which consists of that and three other films about the late Japanese composer. The program also includes 2017’s Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda, the 2023 concert film Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (one of the best films of 2024, which I called “a dual release of creative expression and reflection”), and a new restoration of 1985’s Tokyo Melody. If you’re not in the area, you can find the three older films on various streamers, but Ryuichi Sakamoto: Diaries, which follows the subject in his final years after his cancer diagnosis, won’t be available anywhere else in America for a while.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Diaries screens at the Metrograph on Saturday, September 26, 2026, and Tuesday, September 29, 2026. Tokyo Melody screens on Saturday, September 26, 2026, Monday, September 28, 2026, and Friday, October 2, 2026. Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda screens on Sunday, September 27, 2026, and Friday, October 2, 2026. Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus screens only on Sunday, September 27, 2026.
Documentary Release Calendar 9/25/26 - 10/1/26
Friday, September 25, 2026
Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time (2026) - A three-part docuseries about the effort to rescue 33 miners trapped for 69 days. See our highlights section for more info. (National Geographic)
Deadliest Catch Season 22, Episode 19: “Father, Brother, Sailor, Son” - The latest installment of a series that follows Alaskan crab fishermen. (Discovery Channel)
Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers (2026) - A documentary feature by Ben Masters about wildlife in Texas. (In Theaters)
No Limbs, No Limits: The NickV Story (2026) - A documentary about a man born with no arms or legs. (In Theaters)
Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness (2026) - A documentary about the medicinal benefits of psychedelic drugs. (In Theaters)
Pulp: What Do You Do for an Encore? (2026) - A documentary feature directed by Garth Jennings and narrated by Jarvis Cocker about the titular British band. (Mubi)
The Tramp and the Dictator (2002) - A documentary by Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft about the parallels between the lives of Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler. (TCM)
Unzipped (1995) - A 4K restoration of a documentary feature that follows fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi as he launches a new line. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Ai Weiwei’s Turandot (2025) - A documentary feature about Ai Weiwei’s production of Turandot at the Rome Opera House. (In Theaters)
Austin City Limits Season 52, Episode 4: “Miguel” - The latest installment of a long-running music series. (PBS)
Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time (2026) - A three-part docuseries about the effort to rescue 33 miners trapped for 69 days. See our highlights section for more info. (Disney+ and Hulu)
Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency (2025) - A documentary feature by Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens about their evacuation from their home during a wildfire. (In Theaters)
Reverence: Reclaiming the Forgotten (2026) - A documentary about a genealogist tracing African Americans’ ancestry. (In Theaters)
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Diaries (2025) - A documentary feature that follows the titular composer in his final years after his cancer diagnosis. (In Theaters)
Sisters in Destiny: Angela Davis & Gerty Archimède (2026) - A documentary feature about the two titular activists. (In Theaters)
Super Animals Season 4, Episode 6 - The latest episode of a nature docuseries for kids about animals with special traits. (National Geographic)
Three Black Men (2026) - A documentary feature about three men who trace the transatlantic slave route in reverse. (In Theaters)
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Beginning While Ending: A Life Like Most Others (2026) - A documentary about a nonbinary nonagenarian. (In Theaters)
The Boston Bulldogs (2026) - A documentary about a running club for people in addiction recovery. (In Theaters)
Kill. Bury. Print (2026) - A true-crime documentary produced by Rachel Maddow about a small-town newspaper’s battle with a corrupt sheriff’s office. (Peacock)
Monday, September 28, 2026
Holding Liat (2025) - A documentary feature about the father of an Israeli-American held hostage in Gaza after October 7. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. *NONFICS PICK* (DocPlay)
Sanatorium (2025) - A documentary feature about a health resort near Odessa that continues to run during the war with Russia. (DocPlay)
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Action Figure Adventure Seasons 1 & 2 - A docuseries that follows collector Jay Bartlett as he auctions action figures for charity. (Blu-ray)
Ancient Roads from Christ to Constantine (2015) - A docuseries about the growth of Christianity. (DVD)
Far From Gatsby (2024) - A documentary that compares bodybuilder Todd Smith to the fictional character Jay Gatsby. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Funny Money: The Dane Cook Story (2026) - A documentary about the titular stand-up comedian. (Paramount+ and VOD)
Miller Night Football (2026) - A short documentary about Dennis Miller’s time in the broadcast booth during Monday Night Football. (HBO Max)
Moana (1926) - A documentary feature directed by Robert J. Flaherty about a Samoan family. This release is the sound version. *NONFICS PICK* (Kino Film Collection)
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War (2019) - A four-part PBS docuseries about the aftermath of slaves’ emancipation in the U.S. (DVD)
The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue (2025) - A documentary feature about a retired Israeli general who saved his family from Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attacks. (Paramount+)
She They Us (2023) - A five-part docuseries that explores how women deal with discrimination across Europe. (OVID)
The Shepherd and the Bear (2024) - A documentary feature about a shepherd whose flock is threatened by bears. (Blu-ray)
Slavery and the Making of America (2005) - A four-part PBS docuseries about the history of slavery in America. (DVD)
Slavery By Another Name (2012) - A PBS documentary feature about the ways slavery essentially persisted after the Civil War through prison labor and other technically legal practices. (DVD)
Suddenly Royal (2025) - A three-part docuseries about commoners who married royals. (DVD)
The Swan: Behind the Mirror (2026) - A documentary about the titular reality series. (Hulu)
The Warrior Tradition (2019) - A medium-length documentary about Native Americans in the U.S. military. (DVD)
We Shall Remain (2009) - A five-part PBS documentary installment of American Experience about America through the Native American perspective. (DVD)
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Ages of Ice Episode 3: “The Incubator of Life” - The final installment of a three-part docuseries that follows scientists studying ice. (PBS)
Ghost Adventures Season 31, Episode 1 - The latest installment of a docuseries following paranormal investigators. (Discovery Channel)
Linkin Park: Unshatter (2026) - A documentary feature about the titular band as it reunites after the death of its frontman, Chester Bennington. (In Theaters)
NAZA (2026) - A documentary feature by Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor (No Other Land) about the mass killing of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces. See our highlights section for more info. (In Theaters)
Nova Season 53, Episode 11: “Stone Age Masterpiece” - The latest installment of a science docuseries. This episode is about the ancient paintings in Chauvet Cave. (PBS)
Seguridad (2024) - A documentary feature by Tamara Segura about her father’s death and Cuba’s military past. (OVID)
Unmasking A Monster: Aileen Wuornos (2026) - A three-part docuseries about the titular serial killer. (Investigation Discovery)
The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part (2026) - A true-crime documentary feature by Chris Smith (The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann) about a man wed six times and widowed suspiciously in six of those marriages. (Netflix)
Thursday, October 1, 2026
67 Bombs to Enid (2026) - A documentary feature executive produced by Errol Morris about survivors of nuclear bomb testing in the Marshall Islands. (Theatrical Roadshow)
Archive X: Unexplained Phenomena Season 1, Episode 1 - A docuseries that explores prophetic dreams, ESP, near-death experiences, alien encounters, and messages from beyond. (Sundance Channel)
MGM Parade Show #11 (1955) - This installment of the Hollywood-focused docuseries showcases actress Susan Hayward and the MGM films Strange Testament and Let’s Talk Turkey. (TCM)
One Day in People’s Poland (2006) - A medium-length documentary by Maciej Drygas (Trains) presenting communications from the same day in 1962. (OVID)
Stitching Strength (2026) - A short film about the fight against ALS. (In Theaters)
The Trial of Alec Baldwin (2025) - A documentary feature about the criminal case against actor Alec Baldwin for the accidental killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. (In Theaters)
Violated Letters (2011) - A medium-length documentary by Maciej Drygas (Trains) about letters confiscated from socialists in Poland during the Cold War. (OVID)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
10/2 - Gamechangers: Mother/Athlete - A documentary feature that explores motherhood in the WNBA. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (The Roku Channel)
10/7 - The Art of Adventure - A documentary that looks back at two environmental activists who traveled the world in 1957. (In Theaters)
10/9 - Musk - A nearly four-hour documentary feature by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney about Elon Musk. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
10/9 - My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile - A documentary sequel directed by Julia Loktev that follows the characters from My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow after they leave Russia. (In Theaters)
10/12 - Free Leonard Peltier - A documentary feature directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker David France (How to Survive a Plague) 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. Watch the film’s new trailer below. (Netflix)
10/16 - Once Upon a Time in Harlem - A documentary feature that resurrects footage that William Greaves shot in 1972 of a get-together of Harlem Renaissance legends. (In Theaters)
10/16 - You Can See Everything - A three-hour documentary feature by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim that follows Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in the days before she went to prison. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
10/21 - One in a Million - A Sundance-winning documentary feature that captures 10 years in the life of a Syrian refugee and her family. Read our review of One in a Million. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
10/28 - Closure - A documentary feature by Michal Marczak (All These Sleepless Nights) that follows a man as he searches for his missing son. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
11/6 - Soul Patrol - A documentary feature about the men who were in the first Black special ops team in the Vietnam War. Read our review of Soul Patrol. *NONFICS PICK*(In Theaters)
12/4 - 14th - A documentary feature by Ava DuVernay (13th) about the 14th Amendment. (Netflix)