Top 20 Best Documentary Films of the Last Decade

[00:01] This list could have easily been a top 40. Hey everyone, I'm Rebecca and welcome to WatchMojo. Today, we're counting down our picks for the top 20 documentary films of the decade. What was your favorite post that line?

[00:14] I don't read the New York Post. That means we're looking at the greatest documentaries released between 2010 and 2019. All right, let's check it out. I don't feel really, really, really sad for her.

[00:28] Number 20 Won't You Be My Neighbor Honest and unassuming, Fred Rogers was nevertheless a beacon of hope, and an endless source of entertainment to the millions of children who tuned into his weekly television program, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

[00:42] I end the program by saying you've made this day a special day by just you're being you. The 2018 documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor peels back the curtain on Rogers,

[00:54] a man who was never afraid to broach difficult topics, such as death and divorce with his young audience, and who ultimately embodied all that's good and kind about humanity. Every part of you, your skin, your eyes, your feeling.

[01:12] A beautiful portrait of one man's enduring legacy. The film would be named by Time Magazine as the second best of 2018, and would later take home an independent spirit award for best documentary feature. I watched your show as a youngster.

[01:26] I wasn't allowed to go to preschool because I had a disability and my mom made me watch your show every night, so thank you. Bless your heart and hearing my free school education. Number 19 20 Feet from Stardom

[01:39] They might not be household names, but that doesn't mean you haven't heard them. Morgan Neville's enlightening and moving documentary about background singers

[01:52] shifts the spotlight from the stars to the talents we seldom hear about. I started to sing with Mick. She sings the lyrics right on me and with a lot of personality,

[02:04] which is what was needed. Filled with powerful female voices and irresistible music, 20 feet from Stardom is a sincere tribute to their struggles and triumphs. Thanks to eloquent, emotional interviews, deft direction and a killer soundtrack,

[02:18] it met with universal acclaim from critics, and took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards. There's not as much work for background singers, because different ones have called me over the years and just asked me,

[02:32] are you working because my phone hasn't been ringing? Number 18 Minding the Gap By examining the lives of three friends united by their love of skateboarding, minding the gap shines a light on some of the darkest aspects of our society,

[02:45] including racism, domestic abuse and poverty. She works and I watch him, or I work and she watches him. I don't know, and other than that, we're both pretty much around. Directed by Bing Lou, who also serves as one of the film's primary subjects,

[02:59] the doc was shot over a 12-year period and captured the struggles faced by the three young men as they came of age in Rockford, Illinois. I have like my registration, my insurance, my license, so you don't have to reach for anything in your pocket.

[03:11] The cop is like, less in registration, and I was like, sure. Dubbed, quote, a rich, devastating essay on race, class and manhood in 21st century America by New York Times writer A.O. Scott, minding the gap was nominated for best documentary feature at the 91st Academy Awards,

[03:27] and holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I've never been able to deal with myself because I'm so busy. I'm not even convincing other people I'm convincing myself that I'm a good person.

[03:41] Number 17, Apollo 11 Apollo 11 is proof that you can make an engaging and thought-provoking documentary without the use of narration or interviews. 38-year-old, civilian, and kneel, old and arm strong

[03:54] that will become the first human being to touch the moon. The film, which focuses on NASA's successful 1969 attempt to land man on the lunar surface, consists entirely of archival footage, some of which had never before been seen by the public.

[04:09] By depicting this triumph of human achievement in a manner that's devoid of frills, the film manages to create a truly visceral experience for the viewer, one that grabs hold and doesn't let go.

[04:21] A masterwork in film restoration and editing, Apollo 11, one over critics at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the documentary grand jury prize.

[04:39] Number 16, Citizen 4 To say that Citizen 4 was the documentary of 2014 would be a gross understatement. It pretty much swept the best documentary category at award ceremonies the world over,

[04:52] including the Oscars. I feel the modern media has a big focus on personalities, totally. And I'm a little concerned, the more we focus on that, the more they're going to use that as a distraction.

[05:05] It's about Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee and computer contractor, who in 2013 leaked classified NSA documents that exposed global surveillance programs run by the United States and its allies.

[05:17] And the government is becoming that of the ruling and the ruled, as opposed to actually, you know, the elected and the electorate. The documentary takes place primarily inside Snowden's Hong Kong hotel room,

[05:29] as director Laura Poitress and journalist Sklen Greenwald and you and McCaskill interview him. A thrilling and thoughtful film about a subject that should concern us all. Citizen 4 is an absolute must see. I know what the risks were.

[05:43] If I get arrested, I get arrested. Number 15, going clear, Scientology and the Prison of Belief This documentary is a poignant look at one of the most controversial religions in the world today.

[05:55] Scientology. He asked me, what's ruining your life? I said, I'm in love. I'm in love with this woman. It's impossible. I don't know what to do. I need some help. And she said, we can help you with that. The film provides viewers with a history of both Scientology and its founder,

[06:10] the infamous Elron Hubbard. As well as interviews with former members who are more than willing to divulge information about the abuse they faced during their time as members of the church. I know this because I used to do it when I was the head of the Office of Special Affairs.

[06:26] Director Alex Gibney, who also produced the documentary The Armstrong Lie in 2013, does an excellent job of crafting a film that holds nothing back in its pursuit of the truth. I studied geography in school. Those volcanoes didn't exist 75 million years ago.

[06:42] Number 14, Searching for Sugarman Endlessly entertaining, thoroughly engaging, and totally delightful. Searching for Sugarman was a breath of fresh air for Cinemagoers in 2012. The wildly unexpected doc tells the story of a mysterious American musician

[06:58] named Sixto Rodriguez, who captured the hearts and minds of apartheid era South Africans, despite being a complete unknown in his home country. Any revolution needs an answer. And in South Africa,

[07:10] Cold Fact was the album that gave people permission to free their minds. The film is primarily about the efforts of two men to locate Rodriguez, whom they had long considered to be dead. Did you believe that it was a good album?

[07:25] I did my best with it. Searching for Sugarman won all the awards upon release, including the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and after watching it, you will understand why.

[07:37] Few docs from the 2010s will make you laugh, cry, and cheer as much as this one. This is a once in a lifetime experience. This is never going to happen again. Number 13, I Am Not Your Negro

[07:50] This documentary was inspired by the unfinished memoir Remember This House, written by the late outspoken social critic James Baldwin. I missed Harlem Sunday mornings and fried chicken and biscuits.

[08:02] I missed the music. I missed the style that style possessed by no other people in the world. The original manuscript focused on notes and letters written by Baldwin, that discussed the lives of his friends and civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

[08:16] Martin Luther King is just the 20th century or modern Uncle Time, or a religious Uncle Time, who was doing the same thing today to keep Negroes defenseless in the face of a tank that Uncle Time did on the plantation to keep those Negroes defenseless

[08:28] in the face of the attack of the clan in that day. I Am Not Your Negro expands upon Baldwin's work in order to examine racism in America, both today and in the past. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson,

[08:40] the film is a stark and honest look at a societal blemish that continues to permeate the country. The film was highly acclaimed, and in 2016, scored a nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards.

[08:52] A brutal and humiliating fact would sterily destroy whatever relationship this girl and I might have been able to achieve. Number 12. Tickled. If searching for Sugarman was the most

[09:05] unexpected documentary of the past decade, then tickled was its most bizarre. It follows David Ferrier, a New Zealand journalist who discovers an odd video for competitive endurance tickling. With the CET competitive endurance tickling group we got here, and first of all,

[09:21] I'd like to give a shout out to you, Jaina Brian Media for making this happen. Despite the inherently humorous nature of the subject matter, the truth at the heart of this documentary is anything but fun. Rebuffed at every turn and facing legal action from the producers

[09:35] of the videos, Ferrier presses on and discovers something so sinister it needs to be seen to be believed. Then to top it all off, Jaina Brian Media told us they were flying three people across the world from

[09:48] New York to New Zealand to see us. They're clearly serious about stopping this documentary. Critics called the documentary, quote, a stranger than fiction voyage, and quote, not a film you'll soon forget. Yeah, we can vouch for that.

[10:04] I'm about to meet this man who's been such a threatening figure in so many lives. Number 11. OJ Made in America. Produced by ESPN Films, this documentary tackles one of the most infamous and divisive figures in American history,

[10:19] former football player celebrity and murder suspect OJ Simpson. He would like glide. He never really picked his feet more than a couple of inches off the ground so he was like slithering through a hole. OJ Made in America is the documentary everybody

[10:31] and their grandmother was talking about in 2016. It's a deadly up. That's not the OJ that there was behind closed doors and certainly not with her and she told me that. Through a combination of news footage and interviews, director Ezra Edelman crafts a compelling film series that uses

[10:46] Simpson's rise and fall as a microcosm for the bigger issues that plagued America in the 80s and 90s. When her of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, OJ Made in America is a rollercoaster of a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

[11:00] He said I heard it over and over. That was paid back for Rodney Keane. Number 10. Fire. One of the most talked about documentaries of 2019, Fire was on everybody's radar when it premiered on Netflix.

[11:14] It details the infamous story of Fire Festival, a failed business venture in the Bahamas,

[11:26] spearheaded by the now notorious fraudster Billy McFarland. Is this guy a genius or is he a madman? Through candid interviews with the people McFarland enlisted to help and pull off his insane scheme,

[11:38] Fire slowly reveals how one man with a vision for the greatest party ever can ruin countless lives with a mix of hubris and ineptitude. A cautionary tale of epic proportions, Fire is a must watch.

[11:51] I thought something was wrong after they held us on the beach for six hours, kind of funneling to kill it down our throats. Number 9. They Shall Not Grow Old. Loaded with previously unseen World War One footage,

[12:03] Peter Jackson's seminal documentary transformed century-old footage through the use of voice-over and modern colorizing techniques. Your day would start before dawn, when ensues would go down this 100 yards and make sure everybody was alive.

[12:18] The result was a stunning and immensely visceral cinematic experience that garnered rave reviews from critics, beating to a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. When asked why he chose to modernize the footage of British soldiers fighting

[12:38] on the western front, Jackson succinctly replied, quote, the men saw a war in color. They certainly didn't see it in black and white. I wanted to reach through the fog of time and pull these men into the modern world

[12:50] so they can regain their humanity once more. If that doesn't convince you to see this film, nothing will. They were decent sort of family people and thought a great deal of their children.

[13:02] Number 8. Amy. Just as Citizen 4 was the documentary of 2014, Amy was the documentary of 2015. The film is about the tumultuous life of British singer Amy

[13:14] Winehouse, who, at 27, died from alcohol poisoning. An incredible talent with a personality to match, this documentary did an excellent job of presenting viewers with an unfiltered look at both

[13:26] Winehouse's musical ability, as well as her self-destructive nature. Blake's managed to get to her hook, get into her bedroom, and the next check-up the doctors found out she's got herring in her blood

[13:38] again. The success of Amy likely came as little surprise to director Asif Kapadia, seeing as how his 2010 documentary, Senna, about former Brazilian formula one champion, Erton Senna, was met with similar claim.

[13:57] Number 7. Free Solo. A documentary that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, Free Solo is the story of rock climber Alex Honold. A daredevil of the highest order, Honold has made a name for himself as one of the world's

[14:16] preeminent free soloists. That is to say, for climbing some of the biggest rock walls on Earth, without the use of ropes, harnesses, or protective gear of any kind.

[14:30] Free Solo is about Honold's quest to conquer El Capitan, an imposing rock formation in Yosemite National Park that stands 3,000 feet tall. The dock delves into Honold's motivations, as well as the challenges faced by the film crew attempting to capture his record breaking

[14:46] climb. Trust us, this Oscar winner is worth your time. He must be so stoked. Number 6. Life Itself. Film critic Roger Ebert was a legend in his lifetime,

[15:00] so it's only fitting that this biographical documentary about his life was a cinematic masterpiece. Thriller Wake on Cisco Neighbor in the Movies, and we've got three new ones. Sound a little exciting. Sound less excited, Roger.

[15:12] Begun before his passing in 2013, Life Itself takes its name from Ebert's memoir, and looks back at a career that spanned over four decades. Featuring footage filmed during his final months, as well as interviews with his peers and loved ones,

[15:25] it's a tribute to an influential cultural voice that manages to be celebratory, poignant, and humorous all at once. It is a crime that Life Itself was not nominated for an Oscar. It lets you understand hopes, aspirations, dreams, and fears.

[15:39] It helps us to identify with the people who are sharing this journey with us. Number 5. Icarus. An investigation into the world of illegal doping, wound up uncovering one of the largest sports scandals of all time.

[15:52] If I could do that, and I could get away with it, that would mean that pretty much any athlete could do that, and any athlete could get away with it. From the very beginning, filmmaker Brian Vogel was there to document it all.

[16:06] It all started when Vogel connected with the director of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory, Gregory Ruchenkov, who revealed to him that Russian athletes had long been participating in a state-sponsored doping program. Russian won a total of 73 medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

[16:22] How many of those athletes were dirty? The twists come hard and fast in this documentary, which wound up taking home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

[16:35] Many a documentary has started with the goal of uncovering some hidden truth, but few have managed to succeed quite like Icarus. What is the conspiracy? It was conspiracy since 1980. Let's reconsider Moscow and the Olympics and consider the situation in the United States in 1984.

[16:51] Number 4. Exit Through The Gift Shop. Directed by the elusive street artist Banksy, exit through the gift shop is the documentary the world didn't know it needed. That's graffiti. That's not graffiti.

[17:04] That's not the graffiti. Nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards, the film is an exploration into both the world of underground street art and a biographical look at

[17:16] Tiyagi Getta, a French videographer who ultimately transforms into the artist Mr. Brainwash. How can I get this guy? He said, it's impossible. It's impossible. Though the film received considerable praise upon its release,

[17:29] people quickly began to speculate that it was all an elaborate hoax perpetrated by none other than Banksy himself. However, the film's producers vehemently deny these accusations. We think a story this crazy has to be true.

[17:42] It was magic that this person let me film, you know. I felt like I had the peace, the world finished the puzzle. Number 3. Blackfish. Blackfish is a prime example of how documentary films can have

[17:58] lasting consequences. Maybe because he was alone, maybe because he was hungry, maybe because he just liked you, who knows what was going on in his head. Focusing on a captive Orca named Tillicum and his drowning of three people, the doc is an exposé of SeaWorld's treatment of killer whales.

[18:13] What I found really odd at first was the way they were acting around this whale and what they had told us seemed to me to be two different things. The film took the world by storm upon its release, creating fierce opposition to

[18:25] SeaWorld's use of these majestic marine mammals in their theme parks. A critical success, the film picked up a nomination for Best Documentary at the 2014 BAFTAs. Clearly, the film had an impact on the industry. As SeaWorld announced in 2016,

[18:38] it would no longer use Orcas for live performances. They're not your whales. They are on them. Number 2. 13. In 13th, director Ava DuVernay tackles one of America's worst dilemmas,

[18:51] mass incarceration, named for the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited slavery, but failed to prevent the government from using it as a form of punishment. 13th claims that since its inception, this oversight has been exploited to lock up a disproportionate

[19:06] number of African Americans. We had parole in this country as a mechanism for getting people out of jails in prison when it was clear that they were no longer a threat to public safety. An examination of the cruel distortion of the law, and a passionate call to end its negative

[19:20] effect on Black America. 13th isn't just one of the best documentaries of this decade, but of all time. It's always been Idaho potatoes. They're planted, grown, harvested, packed, and shipped by

[19:33] inmates. Variety described the film as having a, quote, piercing relevance to our current social, economic, and political climate. And we are inclined to agree. Having people truly understand that when Black Lives Matter, everybody's life matters.

[19:50] I don't think it would be crazy to say that we're living in a golden age of documentaries. And one of my favorites is, won't you be my neighbor? How about you guys? Have you seen any or all of these? Do you have any idea what's at number one?

[20:02] Well, let's run through some honorable mentions and then we'll see our choice for top dark of the decade. I can guarantee you that this kid was not raised in an English-speaking family.

[20:25] You know, I don't know who he is, but the person who was, I was interviewed could not have been in the sport.

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[20:54] Number one, the act of killing. If you still haven't seen this documentary, stop what you're doing and go watch it. No, seriously, we'll wait. The act of killing is about the infamous Indonesian mass killings

[21:07] of the 60s, but told in a wholly unique way. Director Joshua Oppenheimer tasked on War Congo, a former death squad leader, to re-enact his killings for the camera, but in the style of whichever film genre he'd like, the result is a documentary unlike any other.

[21:22] As on War begins to recreate his own atrocities, a glimmer of humanity begins to emerge within him.

[21:38] An emotional roller coaster unlike any you've ever seen. The act of killing is one of the most powerful documentaries of the decade. So what do you think? Are there any we missed? Let us know in the comments which documentary you think I should watch this weekend,

[21:52] or come tell me on Instagram or Twitter at Rebecca Brayden. Also, be sure to like and subscribe, and please watch this other video.