Between the awards and box office success for You Can See Everything, I’m really happy for Lance Oppenheim. At the same time, I feel like the ‘90s teenage version of me who would get annoyed at the sudden popularity of bands I liked for years. Oppenheim isn’t going to be this little secret for me anymore. I have to share him with more people than have probably seen a documentary in a theater in decades. But I am glad these people might now discover his previous films, including Some Kind of Heaven, which just began streaming for free with ads on Tubi and Fandango.
There is also some concern that Oppenheim will leave documentary behind. You Can See Everything is a bit different from his other nonfiction features, and some critics claim it isn’t even a documentary (they’re wrong, of course). Oppenheim also recently directed the drama Primetime, which has given him additional success and promise in the “narrative feature” arena. But how sad would it be if he’s the one to, as many pundits predict, finally have a documentary nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars and then leave nonfiction cinema behind? I don’t think that will happen. I hope not.
Speaking of my favorite documentarians doing other things, I’ve been wanting to share Don Argott’s side hustle for a while (and no, I’m not being paid to mention this). It’s an apparel brand called Depressed Heroes, and it’s focused on music and movie t-shirts. Some designs feature clever mashups for fans of both. The only documentary represented is Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (eventually I’d love for Nonfics to make classic doc tees if anyone wants to help us figure that out). Most of the film-focused shirts involve New Hollywood auteurs, ‘80s teen movies, ‘90s indie directors, or horror. The last of which is perfect for Halloween, of course. He’s got a sale on horror apparel for the season, so check that out now.
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 Ron Howard). Please consider becoming a paid subscriber for more in-depth highlights and reviews, 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 an upcoming documentary needing coverage or a mention, reach us at nonficseditor (at) gmail and let us know its release plans.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: The Eyes Of Ghana (2025)
Ben Proudfoot is best known for his prolific work directing short documentaries, including Oscar winners The Queen of Basketball and The Last Repair Shop and Oscar nominee A Concerto Is a Conversation. One of his latest, The Baddest Speechwriter of All, was just nominated for a Critics Choice Award and is considered a strong contender in this year’s Academy Awards race. He also has The Eyes of Ghana in contention. It’s not his feature debut, but given it’s been a decade since his only other feature, Rwanda & Juliet, and he’s made so many shorts in that time, it may as well be. It also ought to be his breakout feature, and deserves to be.
Here is an excerpt from our review of The Eyes of Ghana published after its festival premiere last year (and which is quoted in the trailer shared above):
“With The Last Repair Shop, Proudfoot and Bowers gave us a love letter to music education. His and Thrash’s The Turnaround is a love letter to sports fandom. Now he has made a love letter to the power of cinema. If you’re not familiar with Proudfoot’s work, your expectations for The Eyes of Ghana may differ. It’s not a deep examination of post-colonial Ghana, nor a history lesson about its first prime minister, Kwame Nkrumah. It’s not even the complete story of the discovery of a treasure trove of surviving films that had been thought destroyed after Nkrumah’s government was overthrown by the military. All of those things are part of the documentary, but as firstly a portrait of 93-year-old Ghanaian filmmaker Chris Hesse, it’s a lighter affair than, say, Concerning Violence or even Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat.”
The Eyes of Ghana will be released in theaters on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, for a limited time, via IShowSpeed.
Other Documentary Highlights
Closure (2026) & Making Marie Antoinette (2026)
These two new releases couldn’t be more different in their subject matter (though both involve a parent-child relationship). But in my attempt to consolidate, I’m grouping them because they’re both tedious watches, for different reasons. Closure, the latest from All These Sleepless Nights director Michal Marczak, follows a father relentlessly searching a river for the body of his missing teenage son. It’s repetitive and seems to go nowhere until a contrasting search gives us a greater understanding of the tedium we’ve experienced.
Critics Choice nominee Making Marie Antoinette, the final making-of feature by Hearts of Darkness director Eleanor Coppola, emphasizes the tiresome routine of moviemaking as it follows the production of daughter Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. Having been on many a set, I can attest that it’s a faithful representation — tedious, yes, but never dull if you’re like me and can never get enough. Also, Diane Lane provides a wonderful voiceover reading of Eleanor Coppola’s filming diary.
Closure will be released theatrically in New York City on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, via 1-2 Special, ahead of a national rollout.
Making Marie Antoinette will be released in theaters nationwide on Friday, October 23, via Mubi, ahead of its debut on the streaming service.
The One About Matthew Perry (2026) & Paralyzed By Hope: The Maria Bamford Story (2026)
Another grouping for this week highlights two new Netflix celebrity biographies, both of which see their subjects in and out of institutions for their mental health disorders. The One About Matthew Perry is a three-part docuseries about the titular actor best known for the sitcom Friends and secondarily known for his struggles with addiction. I can’t say more since reviews are embargoed until its release date.
Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story, the second documentary from Judd Apatow on the life of a comedian in as many weeks, is about the titular performer. She is known for her stand-up bits and television specials and series addressing and poking fun at her own diagnoses of OCD and bipolar II disorder. Apatow directed Paralyzed by Hope with Neil Berkeley, who also just recently put out another comedian biography with Who Is Martin Mull? on Netflix. This is one of the best from both of them, as they together and separately continue to elevate the genre with hilarious, moving, and compelling stories that are never stale in their structures.
The One About Matthew Perry will premiere and begin streaming exclusively on Netflix on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story will premiere and begin streaming exclusively on Netflix on Friday, October 23, 2026.
When We Were Kings (1996)
One of the first articles published on Nonfics for its launch in September 2013 was our first Documentary Classics column, spotlighting Leon Gast’s When We Were Kings. More than 13 years later, this week the film is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its release. Following its premiere at Sundance that January, it opened theatrically on October 25, 1996. That was 20 years after Gast had originally intended to put out the documentary, which would have been more of a concert film focused on the three-day Zaire 74 event. Instead, it wound up being about the simultaneous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman called “The Rumble in the Jungle.” When We Were Kings also went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and remains one of the most memorable Oscar-winning docs of the 1990s.
Here is an excerpt from our column reviewing When We Were Kings and its legacy:
“By the time Gast settled a legal battle for the footage, struggled to find money to finish it, and finally had a premiere at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, the documentary still featured Foreman as a secondary character. However, the fight was now the main event. And Ali was the main concentration. Whether he’s the main character is another story. It’s certainly about him, but I might argue that Norman Mailer and George Plimpton are the stars of When We Were Kings as much as Ali is. The two writers are among the five talking heads who were interviewed for the film in the ’90s (Spike Lee is another), and at one point, they provide a rat-a-tat-tat telling and analysis of the bout’s climax that is even more captivating than the boxer’s poetic showboating that makes up much of the earlier-shot material. Meanwhile, the concert acts, including James Brown, B.B. King, and The Spinners, are almost relegated to tertiary status.”
When We Were Kings is currently available to stream on HBO Max with a subscription, and for free with ads on Shout! TV and JustWatch.
William Greaves Documentaries
Once Upon a Time in Harlem, which William Greaves conceived and filmed more than 50 years ago, was completed by his son, David Greaves, this year and was released in theaters last week courtesy of Neon. Timed to that occasion and his centenary (100th birthday) earlier this month, NYC’s Film Forum is hosting a one-week retrospective of the elder Greaves’s work. Some of the screenings will be presented by his granddaughter, Liani Greaves, who was also a producer on Once Upon a Time in Harlem. Most of the films are unavailable to stream at home, so if you can, definitely check out them out on the big screen. For those that are available, I recommend anyone incapable of getting to Film Forum watch along at home.
The series begins with William Greaves’s most famous and pioneering documentary, the brilliantly constructed, ahead-of-its-time, National Film Registry-selected 1968 feature Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (now streaming on The Criterion Channel). Also screening on the first day is Nationtime (now streaming on Kanopy), on the 1972 National Black Political Convention, the 1986 medium-length film Black Power in America: Myth…or Reality?, and the 1974 short From These Roots. On Saturday, you can find his early shorts Putting It Straight (now streaming for free on the National Film Board of Canada website) and Smoke and Weather (also on the NFB website), plus Still a Brother: Inside the Negro Middle Class (now streaming for free via the American Archive of Public Broadcasting), In the Company of Men, and the shorts The First World Festival of Negro Arts and Wealth of a Nation (now on YouTube via the U.S. National Archives).
Sunday offers the first showings in the series of Greaves’s 2001 biographical feature Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey (now streaming on Kanopy), while Monday brings the sequel/remake Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1/2 (now streaming on The Criterion Channel), the short You’ve Got a Number, and the medium-length In the Company of Men follow-up The Deep North. On Tuesday, you can see Voice of La Raza. On Wednesday, you can see Frederick Douglass: An American Life (also on YouTube via the U.S. National Archives) and Booker T. Washington: The Life and the Legacy (also on YouTube via the U.S. National Archives). And on Thursday, you can see the shorts Where Dreams Come True (also on YouTube via the U.S. National Archives) and Space for Women (also on YouTube via the U.S. National Archives).
The retrospective also includes films in which Greaves is an actor (such as Lost Boundaries, Souls of Sin, and Miracle in Harlem) and documentaries that he edited, such as Stanley Jackson’s short Profile of a Problem Drinker and Terence Macartney-Filgate’s short Blood and Fire (also now streaming on the NFB website). For those in New York City, Once Upon a Time in Harlem will also be screening for free this Saturday and Sunday at a few theaters in Manhattan, presented by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
William Greaves 100 begins on Friday, October 23, 2026, and runs through Thursday, October 29, 2026.
Awards Highlights
Cinema Eye Honors Unforgettables & Broadcast Nominees
The first nominees and honorees for the 2027 Cinema Eye Honors were announced last week, including the contenders for its broadcast documentary categories. Among the features and series recognized there are Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story (now streaming on HBO Max), Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV), The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max), Trust Me: The False Prophet (Netflix), Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Hulu), Katrina: Come Hell or High Water (Netflix), The Man Will Burn (HBO Max), Critical Incident: Death at the Border (HBO Max), Breakdown: 1975 (Netflix), and Earth, Wind & Fire: To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World (HBO Max).
This year’s Unforgettables include the subjects and participants of the documentaries American Doctor (now in theaters), Ask E. Jean (VOD), A Fox Under a Pink Moon, Give Me the Ball!, Steal This Story, Please! (VOD), and One in a Million (now in theaters). The Cinema Eye Honors also shared their longlist for the Audience Choice Prize, which includes You Can See Everything (in theaters), The History of Concrete (in theaters), The Bend in the River, Cookie Queens (VOD), The Cycle of Love (in theaters), Time and Water (Disney+ and Hulu), NAZA (in theaters), Everybody to Kenmure Street (in theaters), Wild Inside (in theaters), and Once Upon a Time in Harlem. They also unveiled the shortlist for shorts, which includes A Derailment, La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave) (streaming online via the Los Angeles Times), They’re Here, and Bill Morrison’s Sawyer Avenue, Sunday Afternoon (now on YouTube via The New Yorker).
Documentary Release Calendar 10/23/26 - 10/29/26
Friday, October 23, 2026
Agatha’s Almanac - A documentary feature about a 90-year-old woman and her devotion to her farm. Read our review. *NONFICS PICK* (OVID)
First We Bombed New Mexico (2023) - A documentary feature about Indigenous and Latino Nuevomexicano people who have suffered from the radiation caused by the atomic bomb testing in New Mexico. (In Theaters)
The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony (2026) - A documentary feature about girl gymnasts in Pakistan. (In Theaters)
Making Marie Antoinette (2026) - A Critics Choice-nominated making-of documentary directed by Eleanor Coppola about her daughter Sofia’s 2006 film Maria Antoinette. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. (In Theaters)
Nuns vs. the Vatican (2025) - A documentary feature about nuns who expose the priests who abused them. (In Theaters)
Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story (2026) - A documentary feature directed by Judd Apatow (Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!) and Neil Berkeley (Gilbert) about the titular comedian. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (Netflix)
Pasión (2026) - A documentary about what soccer means to Mexico. (In Theaters)
The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd Season 4, Episode 4: “Astonishing Beings” - The latest installment of a docuseries about mysterious and bizarre people and things. (History)
Saturday, October 24, 2026
48 Hours Season 40, Episode 3: “What the Cameras Saw” - The latest installment of an investigative documentary series. (CBS)
Austin City Limits Season 52, Episode 8: “Red Clay Strays” - The latest installment of a long-running music series. (PBS)
Earth Odyssey with Dylan Dreyer Season 9, Episode 4: “A High-Climbing Adventure” - The latest installment of an adventure series that takes viewers to exotic locations. (NBC)
Heathens (2026) - A documentary about five strangers who have lost their religious faith as they gather at a mountain retreat. (In Theaters)
Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild Season 4, Episode 4: “Weird and Wonderful” - The latest installment of a nature series focused on wildlife conservation. This episode involves animals specific to Australia, including cassowaries, echidnas, and platypuses. (NBC)
Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler Season 3, Episode 4: “Triangle of Guilt” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries involving murder trials in Texas. (Oxygen)
Super Animals Season 4, Episode 10 - The latest installment of a nature docuseries for kids about animals with special traits. This episode involves jungle animals including jaguars, pythons, monkeys, and toucans. (National Geographic)
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Catfish Murders Season 1, Episode 2: “A Hopeless Romantic” - The latest installment of a true-crime series about murders involving catfish scenarios. (Oxygen)
A Course Called Ireland (2026) - A six-part docuseries starring Bill Murray as he tours golf courses in Ireland. (Paramount+)
Late Night Law Season 2, Episode 7 & 8 “Neck Chair” & “Running with Warrants” - The latest installments of a docuseries that follows law enforcement during the night shift. (A&E)
Snapped: Killer Moms Season 1, Episode 2: “Cynthia Cdebaca” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about mothers who kill to protect or avenge their children. (Oxygen)
Warren Miller’s Days Off (2026) - A documentary that showcases professional skiers on their days off. (In Theaters)
The Wolves of Real Estate: The Alexander Brothers (2026) - A docuseries about three brothers, their ascent in the world of luxury real estate and private security, and their convictions for sex trafficking. (Peacock)
Monday, October 26, 2026
Harlan Coben’s Final Twist Season 2, Episode 4: “Caught on Camera” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries exposing shocking murders and scandals. This episode involves a couple shot dead in a crashed car. (CBS and Paramount+)
Pati Jinich Explores Panamericana Season 2, Episode 1: “Montana & Wyoming -- Small Acts, Wide Ripples” - The latest installment of a docuseries starring the titular chef about Pan-American food, culture, and history. (PBS)
Seeds (2025) - A documentary feature about Black generational farmers in Georgia. Presented as an episode of Independent Lens. Read our review. *NONFICS PICK* (PBS)
A Well-Spent Life (1971) - A medium-length documentary by Les Blank and Skip Gerson about blues singer and guitarist Mance Lipscomb. *NONFICS PICK* (TCM)
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
40 Watts from Nowhere (2025) - A documentary about an independent FM station in Los Angeles in the 1990s. (Blu-ray)
Fools’ Paradise (lost?) (2024) - A documentary feature about the healing power of the natural world. (DVD)
In Pursuit: Lessons of American Leadership (2026) - A documentary special about what can be learned from the past to make for a better America. (PBS)
Kordell Stewart / Slash & Burn (2026) - A short documentary about NFL quarterback Kordell Stewart and a rumor that followed him for decades. (HBO and HBO Max)
Le Joli Mai (The Lovely Month of May) (1963) - A documentary feature by Chris Marker and Pierre Lhomme about Paris in 1962 after the ceasefire with Algeria. Read our essay on the film. *NONFICS PICK* (Blu-ray)
Magical Universe (2013) - A documentary about the artist Al Carbee. (DVD and Blu-ray)
Megadoc (2025) - A documentary feature by Mike Figgis about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. Read our review. (Blu-ray)
The One About Matthew Perry (2026) - A three-part docuseries about the titular actor. See our highlights section for more info. (Netflix)
Scary Stories (2018) - A documentary feature about the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book series. Read our review. (Blu-ray)
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Blind AF (2024) - A feature-length documentary about a blind Paralympic champion attempting a record-breaking cross-country bike ride. (Prime Video)
Closure (2026) - A documentary feature by Michal Marczak (All These Sleepless Nights) that follows a man as he searches for his missing son. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. (In Theaters)
The Eyes of Ghana (2025) - A documentary feature by two-time Oscar-winning director Ben Proudfoot (The Queen of Basketball; The Last Repair Shop) about filmmaker Chris Hesse and his nearly lost coverage of post-colonial Africa. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
Ghost Adventures Season 31, Episode 5: “Mountain Meadows Massacre” - The latest installment of a docuseries following paranormal investigators. (Discovery Channel)
Hanging By a Wire (2026) - A documentary feature about the rescue operation to save a group of students trapped in a cable car high above a valley. Read our review. (Paramount+)
Nature Season 45, Episode 3: “Tiger Island” - The latest installment of a nature series. This episode continues to involve tigers. (PBS)
Nova Season 53, Episode 15: “Evolution: Bodybuilders” - The third installment of a five-part series within Nova about evolution on Earth over billions of years. This episode looks at the evolution of body shapes and sizes. (PBS)
Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back To The Beginning (2025) - A concert film starring Ozzy Osborne and his band Black Sabbath. (In Theaters)
Pati Jinich Explores Panamericana Season 2, Episode 2: “New Mexico & Colorado -- Life Along the Rio” - The latest installment of a docuseries starring the titular chef about Pan-American food, culture, and history. (PBS)
Thursday, October 29, 2026
After The First 48 Season 13, Episode 2: “No Road Home” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries about murder cases attempted to be solved in the first 48 hours. This episode involves a woman gunned down on the side of the road. (A&E)
Archive X: Unexplained Phenomena Season 1, Episode 5: “Near Death Experience” - The latest installment of a docuseries that explores prophetic dreams, ESP, near-death experiences, alien encounters, and messages from beyond. (Sundance Channel)
Black Cats and Broomsticks (1955) - A short documentary about superstitions, personal rituals, taboos, and talismans. (TCM - Technically airing early Friday morning.)
George Hall and His Orchestra (1937) - A short music film featuring performances by the titular group. (TCM - Technically airing early Friday morning.)
Killer Investigations Season 2, Episode 2: “The Missing Mom” - The latest installment of a true-crime series about the country’s most gripping homicide cases. (A&E)
MGM Parade Show #13 (1955) - This installment of the Hollywood-focused docuseries showcases the MGM films The Great Waltz and I’ll Cry Tomorrow. (TCM)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
10/30 - Paging Hezbollah - A documentary feature about Israel’s use of electronic devices, including pagers, in attacks against Hezbollah. (In Theaters)
11/4 - Taken: Natalee Holloway - A three-part true crime docuseries about the 2005 disappearance of the titular teenager during her high school graduation trip to Aruba. Watch the new trailer for the series below. (Netflix)
11/6 - Kratom: Side Effects May Include - A documentary feature about the titular substance known as “gas station heroin.” (VOD)
11/6 - Wolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory - A nature documentary special about wolves. (National Geographic)
11/8 - The Biggest Little Farm Series - A 12-part docuseries sequel to the film The Biggest Little Farm that continues the story of the Chester farm. Watch the new trailer for the series below. (YouTube)
11/10 - We Chose to Go to the Moon - A live documentary about America’s mission to go to the Moon. (PBS)
11/11 - Avedon - A Critics Choice-nominated biographical documentary feature by Ron Howard (Pavarotti) about the photographer Richard Avedon. Watch the new trailer for the film below. *NONFICS PICK* (Netflix)
11/13 - Expedition: Saving Our Seas - A medium-length documentary special about the impact of rapid environmental change on the world’s oceans. (National Geographic)
11/16 - Crime and Punishment in America - A four-part docuseries directed by Lynn Novick (The U.S. and the Holocaust), executive produced by Ken Burns and Sam Pollard, and narrated by Keith David about the history of the American criminal justice system. Watch the trailer for the series below. (PBS).
11/27 - 14th - A Critics Choice-documentary feature by Ava DuVernay (13th) about the 14th Amendment. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
12/6 - Lucy Worsley’s Keys to the Castle - A four-part docuseries that spotlights four of Europe’s most iconic castles. (PBS)