Documentary magazine is embarking on an exciting new project to anoint the 25 Greatest Docs of the 21st Century (so far!). We know we cannot do this on our own, which is why we’re asking all our active IDA members, as well as past and present magazine contributors, to help us compile this list.
The last time Documentary attempted such an ambitious project was back in 2007. To commemorate its 25th anniversary, Documentary asked IDA members to vote on the “Top 25 documentaries of all time.” Surprisingly, the results had ten titles from just the first seven years of this century (Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine even made the #3 spot). Since then, there has been no shortage of documentary projects, on screens both big and small, that no doubt deserve to be on this list.
Taken together, this new list of 25 titles will offer a historical snapshot of an industry and a filmmaking community that continues to find new ways of engaging with the world around us, with films that range from achingly personal to urgent and timely.
All eligible participants will be asked to pick three docs (yes, only three!) they believe fit this description.
If you’re an active IDA member, you are eligible to participate. You can access your individual poll here.
Not a member? Join IDA today, and you can also vote!
We are not setting parameters as to how “documentary” is defined. As for what we mean by “greatest”? Allow that to feel as expansive as you’d like. Best? Groundbreaking? Influential? Touching? All around impactful? Highly respected? Formally daring? Use your judgment.
The deadline for voting is Friday, January 2, 2026.
Documentary will publish the finished, tabulated ballot of the 25 most voted-on documentaries in 2026. The list will serve as an opportunity to examine our current century through the lens of the documentary projects that are best remembered and admired, offering a cross-section of the so-called “Golden Age” of documentary, the streaming boom, and many of the other key moments in nonfiction from this nascent century.
But that’s not all. Intent on not merely parroting similar lists or perpetuating ideas that the canon of documentary film is set in stone, Documentary will also publish an alternate roster of titles: “Singular Picks,” films that earn a single vote across our entire poll. We aim to highlight projects that may not have widespread appeal but deserve consideration when compiling this type of list. They’ll represent, we hope, beloved films and projects that merit equal recognition as those that garner the most votes across all ballots. Think of it as a way to single out underseen, forgotten, or otherwise under-the-radar picks that’ll broaden the very canon the poll’s results will undoubtedly construct.
We look forward to your responses and cannot wait to share the results with you all.