Documentary Movies 2021 List

With Matt Ogens

A coming of age documentary following Maryland School for the Deaf high school athlete Amaree McKenstry and his close friends as they face the pressures of senior year and grappling with the realities of venturing off into the hearing world. Amaree and his teammates take out their frustrations on the football field as they battle to protect an unprecedented winning streak, while coming to terms with the tragic loss of a close friend. This is a story about kids who stand up to adversity. They face conflict, but approach the future with hope – shouting to the world that they exist and they matter.

With Chris Rock • Sal Masekela • Max Roach • Lin-Manuel Miranda • Mahalia Jackson • B.B. King • Stevie Wonder • Abbey Lincoln • Nina Simone • Jesse Jackson • Questlove • Moms Mabley • Mavis Staples

Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten–until now. SUMMER OF SOUL shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past and present. The feature includes never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Baretto, Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach and more.

With Doug Liman • Orlando von Einsiede • Patrick Forbes • Mark Bentley

Documentary about the execution of Carlos DeLuna who was arrested in 1993 aged 21 for the murder of Wanda Lopez. DeLuna protested his innocence until his execution, declaring that it was another Carlos who committed the crime.

With Josh Zeman

A cinematic quest to find the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale. As the film embarks on this engrossing journey, audiences will explore what this whale’s lonely plight can teach us — not just about our changing relationship to the oceans, but to each other.

With Morgan Neville • Cait Rogers

It’s not where you go. It’s what you leave behind . . . Chef, writer, adventurer, provocateur: Anthony Bourdain lived his life unabashedly. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain is an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?), this unflinching look at Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.

With Vera Whelpton • Kendall Whelpton

The world-famous haunted house that inspired the Conjuring films has recently been sold and is now open to paranormal investigations. A small group of close friends is invited to move in and document a real haunted house for two weeks. Filmmakers Vera and Kendall Whelpton, along with their paranormal investigator friends Richel Stratton and Brian Murray immerse themselves deep into the experience. With hopes of capturing real paranormal evidence day and night, the team will investigate and document the house best known for a seance gone wrong, with a possible demonic possession. Will they be able to make it through their stay? Do spirits still haunt this home or is it something more sinister?

With Chase Joynt • Aisling Chin-Yee

American jazz musician Billy Tipton developed a reputable touring and recording career in the mid-twentieth century, along with his band The Billy Tipton Trio. After his death in the late 80s, it was revealed that Tipton was assigned female at birth, and his life was swiftly reframed as the story of an ambitious woman passing as a man in pursuit of a music career.

With Val Kilmer • Jordan Wynn • Dane Lillegard • Leo Scott • Ting Poo • Andrew Fried • Ali Alborzi • Brad Koepenick

For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood’s most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever. This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man.

With Jamila Wignot • Lauren DeFilippo

Many know the name Alvin Ailey, but how many know the man? Ailey’s commitment to searching for truth in movement resulted in pioneering and enduring choreography that centers on African American experiences. Director Jamila Wignot’s resonant biography grants artful access to the elusive visionary who founded one of the world’s most renowned dance companies, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

With Errol Morris • Sonia Kennebeck

Investigates the case of alleged Wikileaks courier and Anonymous hacker Matt DeHart, an alleged whistleblower who believes he was the target of a U.S. government conspiracy.