documentary film

When you submit a profile photo on a dating site, who approves it? When you report an offensive image on social media, who decides whether or not it stays? Other people. But who are they? And what are they looking at all day, every day? How do they decide what is okay and what isn’t? What… continue reading

Watch the trailers for three new or upcoming documentaries, including one that makes stray cats stars, and another about a comedian converting to Judaism.

The nominees for the 89th Academy Awards were announced today, including those nominated for feature and short documentaries.

In Tickled, a new documentary that’s being compared to Catfish, investigating competitive tickling videos leads a journalist into a world of legal threats.

Learn more and watch the trailer.

Cartoonist Matthew Inman, aka The Oatmeal, describes the origins of The Blerch and talks about his life as a runner in this brief, 171-second documentary.

David and Jackie Siegel’s daughter Victoria, 18, died Saturday. The Orlando Sentinel reports that she “was found unresponsive by deputy sheriffs at the Siegels’ ‘Seagull Island’ mansion on Green Island Cove just after 2 p.m. Saturday,” and that the cause of death is being investigated. Victoria had a central role in the documentary film The… continue reading

All-around awesome person George Takei has parodied The Bachelor, been fired on Celebrity Apprentice, and was part of a King of the Nerds challenge. Now he’s the star of a documentary about his present and past, from Japanese-American interned in the U.S. during World War II with his family to Star Trek star to universally beloved… continue reading

The thrilling documentary Queen of Versailles is becoming a reality series, as NBCUniversal has signed Jackie Siegel for a six-episode series that will film a presentation reel over Labor Day weekend, The Orlando Sentinel reports. At the same time, David Siegel, the owner of Westgate resorts, just announced his purchase of the Orlando Predators. It’s… continue reading

I haven’t seen a film as simultaneously charming, inspiring, and thought-provoking as Tim’s Vermeer in a long time, perhaps ever. While the documentary details Tim Jenison’s quest to discover and reproduce how Johannes Vermeer painted in the 1600s, and explores ideas about art and technology, it’s ultimately just absurdly fun. Tim’s Vermeer is directed by… continue reading

The two documentary films that won Oscars last night are 20 Feet From Stardom and the short The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life. You can watch the nominees online or on demand, which I think should take less time than the telecast did. The star of the latter, Alice Herz-Sommer, died last… continue reading

The 10 films nominated for Best Documentary Feature (20 Feet from Stardom, The Act of Killing, Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars, and The Square) and Best Documentary Short Subject (CaveDigger, Facing Fear, Karama Has No Walls, The Lady in Number 6, and Prison Terminal) are all available to watch online. CBS News has compiled… continue reading

At the start of the film Hawking, Stephen Hawking, through his now-well-known computerized voice, says, “This film is a personal journey through my life, told in my own life. Come with me and I will tell you the story of how I became who I am.” PBS broadcast the film on TV last night and… continue reading

There was a panic last week that Sriracha, the hot chili sauce that has a cult following and has inspired multiple cookbooks, would start to disappear. The potential shortage was because the City of Irwindale sued to shut down Huy Fong Foods’ new plant. However, a judge allowed the factory to continue production, though the… continue reading

Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, CNN will broadcast Blackfish, the film about SeaWorld’s killer whale, Tilikum, that’s really about a lot more than that. It’s worth watching. The film is not as gorgeously shot, narratively engrossing, or polemic as The Cove, the Oscar-winning documentary about dolphin slaughter that plays like a real-life thriller. At first,… continue reading

The star of The Queen of Versailles wants to star in her own reality series, and although the film is incredible, that’s an incredibly bad idea Jackie Siegel discusses this in an interview with The Orlando Sentinel that’s just as sad as parts of the film. She’s defensive about everything from her husband’s disposition to… continue reading

People are fond of giving reality TV shit for being fake and scripted, even though a lot of it is just produced, not fake (and there is a difference). Documentary films–including those that have won awards–aren’t immune from criticism, but the genre isn’t as reviled and demonized as reality TV. In fact, it’s usually the… continue reading

In 2010, after a Dine with Shamu show featuring SeaWorld’s star–a killer whale named Tilikum and the largest orca in captivity–the whale declined to dive down underwater for a photo op for tourists. Instead, he dragged its trainer, Dawn Brancheau, into the water and killed her, just as he’d killed two other people. Now, a… continue reading