Best Documentaries of 2012 & 2013
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21 titles
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsMichael PolleyJohn BuchanMark PolleyA film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.
- DirectorJoshua OppenheimerAnonymousChristine CynnStarsAnwar CongoHerman KotoSyamsul ArifinA documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
- DirectorLucien Castaing-TaylorVerena ParavelStarsBrian JannelleAdrian GuilletteArthur SmithA documentary shot in the North Atlantic and focused on the commercial fishing industry.
- DirectorDror MorehStarsAmi AyalonAvraham ShalomAvi DichterA documentary featuring interviews with all surviving former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency whose activities and membership are closely held state secrets.
- DirectorGabriela CowperthwaiteStarsTilikumDave DuffusSamantha BergA documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
- DirectorAmy BergStarsJason BaldwinDamien Wayne EcholsJessie MisskelleyAn examination of a failure of justice in the case against the West Memphis Three.
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsDarlene LoveMerry ClaytonLisa FischerBackup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.
- DirectorRodney AscherStarsBill BlakemoreGeoffrey CocksJuli KearnsAn exploration of various interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror film, The Shining (1980).
- DirectorZach HeinzerlingStarsUshio ShinoharaNoriko ShinoharaAlex ShinoharaThis candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
- DirectorChiemi KarasawaStarsElaine StritchTina FeyAlec BaldwinThe uncompromising Tony and Emmy Award-winner is showcased both on and off stage via rare archival footage and intimate cinema vérité.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsBalinese Tari Legong DancersNi Made Megahadi PratiwiPuti Sri Candra DewiFilmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsJulian AssangeAdrian LamoJohn 'FuzzFace' McMahonA documentary that details the creation of Julian Assange's controversial website, which facilitated the largest security breach in U.S. history.
- DirectorFrank PavichStarsAlejandro JodorowskyMichel SeydouxH.R. GigerThe story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.
- DirectorLucy WalkerStarsKevin PearceShaun WhiteMason AguirreFifteen years of verite footage show the epic rivalry between half-pipe legends Shaun White and Kevin Pearce, childhood friends who become number one and two in the world leading up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, pushing one another to ever more dangerous tricks, until Kevin crashes on a Park City half-pipe, barely surviving. As Kevin recovers from his injury, Shaun wins Gold. Now all Kevin wants to do is get on his snowboard again, even though medics and family fear this could kill him. We also celebrate Sarah Burke who crashed in Park City and died January 19, 2012.
- DirectorMike LernerMaxim PozdorovkinStarsNadezhda TolokonnikovaMariya AlyokhinaYekaterina SamutsevichFollows the court case of three members of the Russian feminist punk protest group Pussy Riot after their performance in a Russian Orthodox cathedral.
- DirectorSophie FiennesStarsSlavoj ZizekPhilosopher Slavoj Zizek examines the hidden themes and existential questions asked by world renowned films.
- DirectorBill SiegelStarsEamonn AndrewsMuhammad AliDavid SusskindThe legal battles of the great American boxer against being conscripted into the US military during the Vietnam War.
- DirectorJeffrey SchwarzStarsDivineMichael MustoMark PayneHow Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, became John Waters' cinematic muse and an international drag icon.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsLance ArmstrongReed AlbergottiBetsy AndreuA documentary chronicling sports legend Lance Armstrong's improbable rise and ultimate fall from grace.
- DirectorSaffron CassadayStarsShura EadiePelletier HenriSchellenberg MaxA film about senior citizens learning about computers from teenage mentors and the connections made both on and offline.
- DirectorMarina ZenovichStarsPascal BrucknerHillary ClintonDouglas DaltonA follow-up to the documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008), focusing on the filmmaker's successful battle to avoid extradition into the U.S. in 2010.