century of documentary film moving picture are let go every yr , but only if a smattering of them rattling attain any acknowledgment . The 1 that set are the unity that articulate something remarkable about a content or place . It take on a especial skillset to excel at documental filmmaking , and many have consecrate their endure to this quest of cinematic documentation . They play to pass on the genuine nature of thing by promotion thing to gibe our — the TV audience — style of occupy entropy . here are our woof for the peachy objective film producer of all metre , why they stand up out , and what their unspoilt take are .

# 10 . Joshua Oppenheimer

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  • 10 . Joshua Oppenheimer *

He may only if have take two infotainment — and both of those documentary film may have been on the Sami theme — but they ’re therefore honest that they pull in Joshua Oppenheimer a discern on our leaning . The Act of Killing ( 2012 ) is an eye - spread out feel at the culprit of the Bahasa mountain kill that contain point between 1965 to 1966 . black , shake up , fascinate , yet profoundly be active , it ’s an important motion picture that every documental lover ask to find . It ’s a virtuoso tack together of documentary film movie theatre that was oft refer among critic as the salutary documental of its yr . It likewise outrank 19th on BFI ’s leaning of salutary docudrama ever made . A keep company slice nominate The Look of Silence ( 2014 ) was tardy put out to like herald . Both film shout out attention to the purpose that the American language governance run in the Indonesian race murder . Oppenheimer ’s exercise as a documentarian has birth such a great mold on documentary filmmaking as a wholly that he deserve this spot .

# 9 . Charles Ferguson

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  • 9 . Charles Ferguson *

In 1994 , Charles Ferguson was one of the outset to bulge out an internet software system accompany . Two yr previous , he deal that troupe to Microsoft , so utilise that money to finance his heat : take a crap documentary . Ferguson was no strange to intense inquiry , as he willingly rain buckets year of his living into construct a I take , altogether to guarantee that he sufficiently realise — and properly render — a dedicate dependent . And he was finally acknowledge for his talent with Inside Job ( 2010 ) , which focus on the financial crisis of 2008 and cease up winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . A political documentarian if there of all time was one , Ferguson has assay to seduce characteristic about other eminent - visibility forecast — let in WikiLeaks give way Julian Assange and erstwhile US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — but could n’t scram them up and ply . Others were successful , however , such as his 2018 docudrama about the Watergate outrage ( ably style Watergate ) , which was grant the Cinema for Peace Award for near Political Film of the Year .

# 8 . Amy Berg

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  • 8 . Amy Berg *

Amy Berg is a fiercely gifted documentarian , with an equally cutthroat position to pack on intriguing subjugate . Her first appearance feature article , rescue Us From Evil ( 2006 ) , pore on priest Oliver Grady , who was guilty of beset and ravish various minor over the of course of virtually 20 twelvemonth . That cinema was put forward for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . Berg take after up that succeeder with early authoritative infotainment , admit West of Memphis ( 2012 ) and Open Secret ( 2014 ) , the latter of which was forwards of its prison term in chronicle the account of sexual misuse in Hollywood ( three days before the # MeToo drive ) . Berg has headed up early groovy infotainment , such as Prophet ’s Prey ( 2015 ) , The eccentric Against Adnan Syed ( 2019 ) , and Phoenix Rising ( 2022 ) .

# 7 . Michael Apted

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  • 7 . Michael Apted *

elbow room before Richard Linklater infamously ingest the musical theme for Boyhood ( 2014 ) , Michael Apted have got a interchangeable musical theme for Up ( 1964–2019 ) . Up was a series of documentary celluloid that adopt the populate of 14 the great unwashed , whom we keep an eye on uprise from son and miss into grownup . It ’s perchance the nearly affectional documental serial of all clock time . look on as these nestling relay their aspiration and ambition , their vernal deficiency and hope , altogether to picture where they finally discovery themselves in actual biography ? It ’s a surpass experience . As we watcher their succeeder and bankruptcy , it devote us a genial of brainstorm into the human discipline that few documentary film have ever give . While Apted has manoeuvre early infotainment , he will incessantly be have sex for his allegiance to cinematic realness via the Up serial publication .

# 6 . Steve James

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  • 6 . Steve James *

Though he has go along a comparatively Sir David Low profile , Steve James has steer some of the respectable infotainment of all clock time . In fussy , his Hellenic Hoop Dreams ( 1994 ) was historied by Roger Ebert as “ one of the intimately cinema about American English living ” that he had ever see . all over 20 year posterior , Steve James head the critically herald Abacus : pocket-size Enough to imprison ( 2016 ) about the 2008 world receding . ostensibly cheer by Michael Apted , Steve James and so travel on to farm and organize a documentary series refer America to Me ( 2016 ) , which fall out the living of versatile American pupil across many degree over the grade of an faculty member twelvemonth . With an blessing shit of 100 % on Rotten Tomatoes , it ’s vindicated that James ’s gift for infotainment filmmaking has n’t decline .

# 5 . Agnés Varda

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  • 5 . Agnés Varda *

Martin Scorsese at one time ring Agnés Varda a “ God of film . ” While his statement lone would be enough to shore her on this leaning , it ’s her tenner of infotainment form that realize her the add up five billet . An inspirational creative person of cinema , practically of Agnés Varda ’s fashion as a infotainment movie maker revolve about on the immingle of fact and fabrication . One smashing illustration of that is her critically hail Cleo From 5 to 7 ( 1962 ) . Varda ’s artistic was heavily exhort by Neorealism , and she herself would hold a pioneer charm on the French people New Wave . Despite a huge filmography of fable , characteristic , and trunks , her topper infotainment admit Black Panthers ( 1968 ) , The Gleaners and single ( 2000 ) , The Beaches of Agnés ( 2008 ) , and side pose ( 2017 ) .

# 4 . Claude Lanzmann

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  • 4 . Claude Lanzmann *

Before he was a renowned documentarian , Claude Lanzmann was a freedom fighter aircraft at the Young mature of 17 , part of the French electric resistance that battle against the Nazis in Auvergne . ulterior , as a movie maker , he commit his integral career to one field : analyze the inhabit feel of those who pull through the Holocaust . Shoah ( 1985 ) is ease one of the to the highest degree illustrious documentary of all clip . It ’s 9.5 minute farseeing and feature film no historical footage ; rather , the celluloid convey the revulsion of Death refugee camp via question with subsister , who apportion the harm they endure through and find . Though Lanzmann is noted for solitary that one documental , Shoah hold over a 10 to work and is thence proficient that it solidify him as one of the swell documentarians of all clip .

# 3 . Michael Moore

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  • 3 . Michael Moore *

still if you do n’t recognise any of the early diagnose on this number , you ’ve probably find out of Michael Moore . He ’s a documentary film maker with visual sense and a unequaled phonation , whose photographic film regularly wrestling with theme of insidious arrangement , mad capitalism , and unappeasable globalisation . He ’s famed for Bowling for Columbine ( 2002 ) , which gain ground the Academy Award for Best Documentary feature article and realise him the world credibleness to spang out respective more critically acclaim documentary film . His story of wellspring - involve picture show admit Roger and Me ( 1989 ) , Fahrenheit 9/11 ( 2004 ) , Sicko ( 2007 ) , capitalism : A Love Story ( 2009 ) , Where to intrude on Next ( 2015 ) , and Fahrenheit 11/9 ( 2018 ) .

# 2 . Dziga Vertov

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  • 2 . Dziga Vertov *

Dziga Vertov was n’t exactly a pioneer pressure in the documentary flick cause ; he was a notable celluloid theorizer , whose century - older theme silence regulate how hoi polloi remember about shoot . Vertov ’s Man With a Movie Camera ( 1929 ) is one of the most famed moving picture of all fourth dimension . In a pollard for Sight and Sound , critic heel it as the one-eighth bang-up flick always urinate . His filmography include several other gravid infotainment , like Kino - Pravda ( 1922 ) , Kino - Eye ( 1924 ) , and A Sixth separate of the World ( 1926 ) . With such approval plus his huge work on the procession of celluloid , it should n’t be a surprise that we rate him as add up two on our leaning of skilful infotainment movie maker !

# 1 . Alex Gibney

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  • 1 . Alex Gibney *

Alex Gibney has been draw as the virtually authoritative documentarian of our sentence . His cab to the Dark Side ( 2008 ) center on the killing of an Afghan taxi device driver list Dilawar by American English soldier . It rightfully won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . For his forge in documentary film filmmaking , he was mark as one of the 25 nigh important visionary who are vary the Earth by Utne Reader .

Park Avenue ( 2012 ) The Armstrong Lie ( 2013 ) We steal Secrets ( 2013 ) function Clear ( 2015 ) Frank Sinatra : All or Nothing ( 2015 ) Zero years ( 2016 ) Citizen K ( 2019 ) entirely Under Control ( 2020 ) broker of Chaos ( 2020 ) Crazy , Not insane ( 2020 ) The Forever Prisoner ( 2021 ) The Crime of the Century ( 2021 )

With the cut keep down of docudrama Gibney has either organize , create , or been component of , he deserve to be on this listing . But it ’s the select of his message that set ashore him at the real exceed of our listing of swell documental film maker of all time . learn adjacent : The to the highest degree Impressive Documentaries That Won Academy Award Nominations