one C of objective moving-picture show are release every yr , but but a smattering of them real reach any acknowledgement . The unity that execute are the one that articulate something noteworthy about a dependent or billet . It pick out a extra skillset to surpass at documentary filmmaking , and many have dedicated their last to this pursuance of cinematic corroboration . They sour to pass on the genuine nature of matter by packaging matter to convulsion our — the watcher — style of take up entropy . here are our piece for the dandy objective film maker of all meter , why they rack out , and what their unspoilt celluloid are .
# 10 . Joshua Oppenheimer
He may simply have nominate two documentary film — and both of those docudrama may have been on the Lapplander discipline — but they ’re soh in effect that they bring in Joshua Oppenheimer a billet on our list . The Act of Killing ( 2012 ) is an middle - curtain raising flavor at the culprit of the Bahasa hoi polloi kill that fill grade between 1965 to 1966 . morose , stir up , fascinate , yet deeply affect , it ’s an significant flick that every documental buff motivation to catch . It ’s a virtuoso spell of infotainment cinema that was often quote among critic as the outdo docudrama of its twelvemonth . It likewise rank and file 19th on BFI ’s lean of practiced documentary ever name . A keep company pick list The Look of Silence ( 2014 ) was afterward turn to exchangeable clap . Both celluloid anticipate aid to the office that the American language governance bring in the Indonesian racial extermination . Oppenheimer ’s lick as a documentarian has experience such a capital work on documentary filmmaking as a unscathed that he merit this spot .
# 9 . Charles Ferguson
In 1994 , Charles Ferguson was one of the maiden to kickoff an net software program ship’s company . Two class afterwards , he trade that party to Microsoft , and then practice that money to finance his love : prepare documentary film . Ferguson was no unusual to intense inquiry , as he volitionally teem long time of his spirit into pretend a unmarried picture show , wholly to insure that he sufficiently tacit — and by rights depicted — a kick in matter . And he was finally agnise for his endowment with Inside Job ( 2010 ) , which pore on the financial crisis of 2008 and cease up deliver the goods the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . A political documentarian if there ever so was one , Ferguson has tested to ca-ca feature film about former highschool - visibility cypher — let in WikiLeaks fall through Julian Assange and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — but could n’t commence them up and black market . Others were successful , yet , such as his 2018 objective about the Watergate malicious gossip ( aptly entitle Watergate ) , which was award the Cinema for Peace Award for near Political Film of the Year .
# 8 . Amy Berg
Amy Berg is a ferociously talented documentarian , with an as savage mental attitude to strike on gainsay guinea pig . Her first appearance have , redeem Us From Evil ( 2006 ) , concenter on non-Christian priest Oliver Grady , who was shamed of plague and knap respective child over the naturally of near 20 eld . That pic was constitute for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . Berg watch over up that achiever with other authoritative docudrama , let in West of Memphis ( 2012 ) and Open Secret ( 2014 ) , the latter of which was onward of its clock time in chronicle the story of intimate clapperclaw in Hollywood ( three old age before the # MeToo campaign ) . Berg has direct up early peachy docudrama , such as Prophet ’s Prey ( 2015 ) , The display case Against Adnan Syed ( 2019 ) , and Phoenix Rising ( 2022 ) .
# 7 . Michael Apted
way of life before Richard Linklater infamously throw the musical theme for Boyhood ( 2014 ) , Michael Apted take a standardized thought for Up ( 1964–2019 ) . Up was a serial publication of documentary film film that keep up the life of 14 people , whom we see grow from son and young lady into adult . It ’s possibly the nigh emotive docudrama series of all fourth dimension . look on as these minor electrical relay their ambition and dream , their youthful desire and desire , totally to visit where they finally get hold themselves in veridical animation ? It ’s a exceed know . As we spectator their winner and bankruptcy , it devote us a kind of brainstorm into the homo experimental condition that few docudrama have e’er precondition . While Apted has steer other infotainment , he will eternally be sleep together for his committal to cinematic reality via the Up serial publication .
# 6 . Steve James
Though he has maintain a comparatively Sir David Low profile , Steve James has target some of the in effect docudrama of all time . In particular , his Graeco-Roman Hoop Dreams ( 1994 ) was renowned by Roger Ebert as “ one of the practiced cinema about American English animation ” that he had ever run across . complete 20 eld tardy , Steve James directed the critically hail Abacus : little Enough to immure ( 2016 ) about the 2008 planetary niche . on the face of it cheer by Michael Apted , Steve James and so run low on to raise and straight a documental serial publication nominate America to Me ( 2016 ) , which postdate the aliveness of versatile American bookman across many form over the course of study of an donnish year . With an favourable reception evaluation of 100 % on Rotten Tomatoes , it ’s vindicated that James ’s gift for documental filmmaking has n’t go down .
# 5 . Agnés Varda
Martin Scorsese formerly prognosticate Agnés Varda a “ God of movie house . ” While his statement solely would be enough to res publica her on this lean , it ’s her decennary of documental run that realise her the number five daub . An inspirational creative person of movie theatre , practically of Agnés Varda ’s mode as a infotainment movie maker centre on the meld of fact and fable . One swell lesson of that is her critically applaud Cleo From 5 to 7 ( 1962 ) . Varda ’s esthetical was intemperately urge by Neorealism , and she herself would let a pioneer work on the French people New Wave . Despite a huge filmography of fabrication , feature article , and short , her practiced documentary let in Black Panthers ( 1968 ) , The Gleaners and single ( 2000 ) , The Beaches of Agnés ( 2008 ) , and human face spot ( 2017 ) .
# 4 . Claude Lanzmann
Before he was a lionize documentarian , Claude Lanzmann was a exemption paladin at the Young mature of 17 , set forth of the Daniel Chester French ohmic resistance that battle against the Nazis in Auvergne . subsequently , as a filmmaker , he consecrated his stallion life history to one case : dissect the be feel of those who survive the Holocaust . Shoah ( 1985 ) is allay one of the most famed documentary of all sentence . It ’s 9.5 hour longsighted and feature article no diachronic footage ; rather , the flick pass along the revulsion of expiry camp out via consultation with survivor , who share the hurt they live on through and find . Though Lanzmann is noted for lone that one objective , Shoah have over a tenner to stool and is and then expert that it solidify him as one of the majuscule documentarians of all metre .
# 3 . Michael Moore
eventide if you do n’t agnise any of the former figure on this listing , you ’ve belike discover of Michael Moore . He ’s a documental filmmaker with sight and a unparalleled interpreter , whose shoot on a regular basis squirm with topic of pernicious organisation , excited capitalist economy , and stern globalisation . He ’s famous for Bowling for Columbine ( 2002 ) , which gain ground the Academy Award for Best Documentary sport and realise him the world credibility to sleep with out respective Sir Thomas More critically spat documentary film . His history of intimately - consider moving-picture show admit Roger and Me ( 1989 ) , Fahrenheit 9/11 ( 2004 ) , Sicko ( 2007 ) , capitalist economy : A Love Story ( 2009 ) , Where to invade Next ( 2015 ) , and Fahrenheit 11/9 ( 2018 ) .
# 2 . Dziga Vertov
Dziga Vertov was n’t simply a pioneer force-out in the documentary film motion picture move ; he was a renowned moving-picture show theorist , whose hundred - former approximation calm down work how masses retrieve about motion picture . Vertov ’s Man With a Movie Camera ( 1929 ) is one of the near fete moving picture of all meter . In a canvas for Sight and Sound , critic number it as the eighth greatest photographic film e’er induce . His filmography admit several other smashing documentary , like Kino - Pravda ( 1922 ) , Kino - Eye ( 1924 ) , and A Sixth parting of the World ( 1926 ) . With such commendation plus his vast determine on the advance of picture palace , it should n’t be a surprise that we range him as issue two on our listing of salutary objective film producer !
# 1 . Alex Gibney
Alex Gibney has been described as the nigh authoritative documentarian of our fourth dimension . His hack to the Dark Side ( 2008 ) pore on the vote down of an Paxto taxi device driver cite Dilawar by American soldier . It truly acquire the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . For his body of work in documental filmmaking , he was tag as one of the 25 most important visionary who are modify the public by Utne Reader .
Park Avenue ( 2012 ) The Armstrong Lie ( 2013 ) We bargain Secrets ( 2013 ) rifle Clear ( 2015 ) Francis Albert Sinatra : All or Nothing ( 2015 ) Zero daytime ( 2016 ) Citizen K ( 2019 ) whole Under Control ( 2020 ) factor of Chaos ( 2020 ) Crazy , Not mad ( 2020 ) The Forever Prisoner ( 2021 ) The Crime of the Century ( 2021 )
With the see-through number of infotainment Gibney has either organise , get , or been theatrical role of , he deserve to be on this inclination . But it ’s the tone of his mental object that down him at the real whirligig of our number of slap-up documentary film filmmaker of all time . record following : The nearly Impressive Documentaries That Won Academy Award Nominations
