Essential Doc Reads

IDFA Artistic Dierctor Orwa Nyrabia, shown delivering a keynote address on a large screen at the 2018 Getting Real conference, is a Syrian man with a beard, wearing a dark sweater. Photo courtesy of AMPAS

Fri, 11/11/2022 - 14:02

Essential Doc Reads: Week of November 11, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...

Heavily armed troops, wearing body armor, face shields and helmets, march through the streets of Moscow at night. From Gesbeen Mohammed’s ‘Putin’s War at Home,’ a ‘Frontline’ production currently streaming on PBS.org. Courtesy of ‘Frontline’.

Fri, 11/04/2022 - 00:00

Essential Doc Reads: Week of October 31, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...

Harry Belafonte is a Black man, bald, smiling, wearing a grey hoodie and sitting on a chair, in front of a bookshelf. From Elvis Mitchell’s ‘Is That Black Enough For You?!?’ Courtesy of netflix

Fri, 10/28/2022 - 00:00

Essential Doc Reads: Week of October 24, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...

Two women, both with long brown hair and wearing sleeveless vests, perform on their electric guitars in a field of uncut wheat and grass. From Rita Baghdadi's 'Sirens," which is showing in theaters through Oscilloscope Laboratories. Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories .

Fri, 10/21/2022 - 11:51

Essential Doc Reads: Week of October 21, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...

A black-and-white photo shows Chol Soo Lee, an Asian American man, smiling outside of a car after being released from prison, From Julia Ha and Eugene Yi's ‘Free Chol Soo Lee.’ Photo courtesy of Grant Din/ITVS.

Fri, 09/09/2022 - 13:10

Essential Doc Reads: Week of September 09, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...

Archival photo of a Japanese family as they await a train that will take them to an internment camp. From Ken Burns’ ‘The U.S. and the Holocaust.’ Photo by Dorothea Lange. Image courtesy of PBS.

Fri, 09/02/2022 - 00:00

Essential Doc Reads: Week of September 02, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...

Leo Baker, a white person with buzz-cut hair, smiles toward the ground while holding a neon green skateboard deck. From Nicola Marsh and Giovanni Reda’s ‘Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story,. Photo courtesy of Netflix.

Fri, 08/12/2022 - 13:50

Essential Doc Reads: Week of August 12, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...

Virtual reality avatars DragonHeart, IsYourBoi, DustBunny, Toaster and Jenny sit together on a long wooden bench. From Joe Hunting’s ‘We Met in Virtual Reality.’ Courtesy of HBO.

Fri, 07/29/2022 - 10:50

Essential Doc Reads: Week of July 25, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...

An archival black-and-white photo from the sets of SOUL!, the first nationally broadcast all-Black variety show on public television. From Melissa Haizlip's 'Mr Soul!'. Courtesy of PBS.

Fri, 07/01/2022 - 12:20

Essential Doc Reads: Week of June 27, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy!

Margaret Ratliff is a white woman. Her back faces the camera as she looks at a billboard advertising the TV series ‘The Staircase.’ From Jennifer Tiexiera and Camilla Hall’s ‘Subject.’ Photo courtesy of Susan Norget Film Promotion.

Fri, 06/17/2022 - 14:24

Essential Doc Reads: Week of June 13, 2022

Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary...