2023 Movies : Documentary

With Jon Lovitz • Taylor Morden

Produced in a mixed-media format including animation and storyboarded sequences, Unstuffed: A Build-A-Bear Story explores the origins of the “teddy bear” as well as the psychological importance of stuffed animals in childhood development. Sprinkled with heartwarming stories of Build-A-Bear’s lasting and emotional impact on the lives of everyday people to celebrities, the documentary is told through the eyes of a teddy bear narrator (voiced by Jon Lovitz) as it follows the furry footsteps of a single idea that reimagined not one, but two industries. The documentary starts with founder Maxine Clark’s 1997 entrepreneurial inspiration to launch an experiential mall-based retailer where kids could make their own stuffed animals, to one that has grown into a multi-generational pop culture iconic brand with a global footprint.

With David Zucker

Memphis is wild at heart. But as a young man with cerebral palsy, he feels stuck. His parents waver between supporting his desire for independence and pushing him towards a more pragmatic reality. YOUR FRIEND, MEMPHIS is an intimate portrait of Memphis’ dogged determination to bridge the distance between the world’s expectations and his own aspirations.

With Nathaniel Paul Hoff • Jillian Ann Speece

Is unity possible? This simple question launched the Brooklyn-based band The Bergamot on a quest to all 50 States to unite people with music, community, and collaboration. What began as a simple idea in the band's touring vehicle, brought about a profound revelation. How do we reframe the way we perceive and understand unity? "For it is not a shared narrative of a future, but a narrative of a shared future, that can unite us together" says David Hooker Ph.D. How the duo connected people, with that exact vehicle they were sitting in, started a conversation that continues to this day. Join them in this timely 50,000-mile tour in human understanding, perseverance, and empathy that changed their lives forever.

With Thomas Tancred

Nestled deep in the Australian Outback is the remote town of Larrimah and its 11 eccentric residents. When Paddy Moriarty and his dog Kellie left the local pub and vanished in December of 2017, a long history of infighting is unveiled as the remaining residents become suspects in an unfolding investigation that leads to Paddy being declared dead. The documentary, told in five chapters, shines a light on Larrimah’s quirky history and how the town’s once close-knit and jubilant residents brought about their own fate.

With Dunstan Bruce

Part music documentary, part unflinching character study, part a punk version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ - I Get Knocked Down is the funny, surreal, and deeply human untold story of Chumbawamba and its ex-front man Dunstan Bruce.

With Sonia Kennebeck

The incredible true story of Reality Winner in her own words. Filmed over five years, this is the only documentary about the young NSA whistleblower who exposed Russian interference in U.S. elections and went to jail for it. With exclusive access to Reality Winner and the media outlet involved in her arrest, this film also uncovers FBI evidence never before released. Would you risk your freedom to protect democracy?

With Andrew Renzi

This Halloween, take a deep dive into one of America’s most extreme destinations of horror.

With Raoul Peck

Based on the ProPublica article, the documentary recounts the riveting narrative of the Reels family, led by the matriarch fondly known as "Mamie." Ever since the days following emancipation, the Reels family dedicated themselves to farming, fishing, and painstakingly forging a sustainable existence upon their expansive parcel of land nestled along the coastal reaches of North Carolina's Silver Dollar Road. Their unwavering stance led to their wrongful conviction for civil contempt in 2011, resulting in the harshest sentence ever issued for such an offense in North Carolina—eight long years behind bars. Finally released in 2019, Mamie, Melvin, and Licurtis continue their arduous struggle to reclaim the land that was unjustly ripped from their ancestral embrace.

With Jesse Moss • Amanda McBaine

In 2018, a shocking event made headlines around the world: a young American missionary, John Chau, was killed by arrows while attempting to contact one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous peoples on remote North Sentinel Island. Through exclusive interviews and with unprecedented access to Chau’s secret plans, personal diaries, and video archives, THE MISSION examines the mythology of exploration that inspired him, the evangelical community that supported his quest, and reveals his own father’s heartbreak as Chau’s youthful thirst for adventure became a fatal obsession.

With Vera Whelpton • Kendall Whelpton

In this unscripted investigative documentary, American filmmakers Kendall and Vera are asked to film a remote hunting lodge in Georgia that has been experiencing paranormal activity for over a decade. Dan, the desperate lodge owner, is searching for answers, as the hauntings are scaring hunters away and could ruin his business. Kendall and Vera move into the lodge to begin their investigation. Vera is the first to experience the hunter’s claims, but soon they both experience terrifying events, including being touched while they sleep. They call upon psychic medium Jill Morris to help them solve the case, and she reveals that the haunting is the work of an intelligent entity. The lodge's dark secrets are revealed as the paranormal activity escalates at the never-before-investigated location, and the couple find themselves in over their heads when they finally capture evidence of something otherworldly.

With Raine Van Elsacker • Kathy Rupcic • Chris Holt • Arne Cheyenne Johnson • Susannah Spearin • Foster Hamilton • Adam Hunt

The Devil on Trial explores the first – and only – time “demonic possession” has officially been used as a defense in a U.S. murder trial. Including firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and a shocking murder, this extraordinary story forces reflection on our fear of the unknown.

With Raoul Peck

Based on the ProPublica article, the documentary recounts the riveting narrative of the Reels family, led by the matriarch fondly known as "Mamie." Ever since the days following emancipation, the Reels family dedicated themselves to farming, fishing, and painstakingly forging a sustainable existence upon their expansive parcel of land nestled along the coastal reaches of North Carolina's Silver Dollar Road. Their unwavering stance led to their wrongful conviction for civil contempt in 2011, resulting in the harshest sentence ever issued for such an offense in North Carolina—eight long years behind bars. Finally released in 2019, Mamie, Melvin, and Licurtis continue their arduous struggle to reclaim the land that was unjustly ripped from their ancestral embrace.

With Errol Morris

Academy Award-winning documentarian Errol Morris pulls back the curtain on the storied life and career of former British spy David Cornwell — better known as John le Carré, author of such classic espionage novels as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Constant Gardener. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Cold War leading into present day, the film spans six decades as le Carré delivers his final and most candid interview, punctuated with rare archival footage and dramatized vignettes. "The Pigeon Tunnel" is a deeply human and engaging exploration of le Carré's extraordinary journey and the paper-thin membrane between fact and fiction.

With Madeleine Gavin

A suspenseful, riveting portrait of the lengths people will go to gain freedom, the documentary Beyond Utopia follows various individuals as they attempt to flee North Korea, one of the most oppressive places on Earth, a land they grew up believing was a paradise. At the film's core is a courageous pastor, a man of God on a mission to help a mother reunite with the child she was forced to leave behind, and a family of five — including small children and an elderly grandmother — embarking on a treacherous journey into the hostile mountains of China and through southeast Asia and eventually into Thailand. Leaving their homeland is fraught with unimaginable danger — yet these individuals are driven to take a great risk to finally live a free life.

With Nem Stankovic • Thomas Lee

Tommy is a sheltered, real-life 40 year old virgin who embarks on a life-changing quest across the country to discover the adulthood he’s missed out on with his friends. As he’s pushed far out of his comfort zone to grow up, past traumas arise.

With Luke Korem

Step inside music's biggest scandal with Milli Vanilli, a new feature-length documentary that tells the story of Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan. Rob and Fab, better known as Milli Vanilli, became the world’s most popular pop duo in 1990—but their ascension came at a devastating price that ultimately led to their infamous undoing. Hear from the real voices in Milli Vanilli, a documentary that's critically acclaimed as "captivating" and "revealing".

With Morgan Freeman • Steven Spielberg

Life's extraordinary journey to conquer, adapt and survive on Earth across billions of years comes alive in this groundbreaking nature docuseries.

With Stephen Gray • Chris Radtke • Michael Jovanovski • Koko Marshall • Doug Lito • Kate Duffy • Drew Neal Horton • Fabian Jaime

After Death is a gripping feature film that explores what happens after we die, based on real near-death experiences, conveyed by scientists, authors, and survivors. From the New York Times bestselling authors who brought you titles like 90 Minutes in Heaven, Imagine Heaven, and To Heaven and Back, emerges a cinematic peek beyond the veil that examines the spiritual and scientific dimensions of mortality, inviting us to wonder: Is there life after death?

With Jason Momoa • Matthieu Rytz

Narrated and executive produced by Jason Momoa, takes viewers on an epic journey from the ocean's depths to the future of sustainable energy. Through awe-inspiring footage of the deep’s most dazzling creatures, this feature-length documentary illuminates the secrets of the deep ocean and how its fate holds the key to our survival. In a riveting tale of geopolitical, corporate and scientific intrigue, DEEP RISING sheds light on the secretive International Seabed Authority (ISA), responsible for nearly half our planet’s surface on the ocean floor, while highlighting the vital need to protect the seabed as the common heritage of humankind and stressing the urgency of responsible choices for future generations.

With Kaouther Ben Hania • Eya Chikhaoui • Tayssir Chikhaoui • Olfa Hamrouni • Nour Karoui • Ichrak Matar

This riveting exploration of rebellion, memory, and sisterhood reconstructs the story of Olfa Hamrouni and her four daughters, unpacking a complex family history through intimate interviews and artful reenactments to examine how the Tunisian woman’s two eldest were radicalized. Casting professional actresses as the missing daughters, along with acclaimed Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabri as Olfa, Oscar® nominated director Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man Who Sold His Skin) restages pivotal moments in the family’s life. These scenes are interwoven with confessions and reflections from Olfa and her younger daughters, offering the women agency to tell their own story and capturing moments of joy, loss, violence, and heartache. Winner of four prizes including L’Oeil d'Or (Best Documentary) when it screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Four Daughters is a compelling portrait of five women and a unique and ambitious work of nonfiction storytelling that explores the nature of memory, the weight of inherited trauma, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.

With Josh Berman • Trevor Kennison

Faced with a traumatic injury that renders you permanently disabled; how would you reinvent yourself? In 2014, Trevor Kennison's life was forever altered by a broken back - for worse and for better, in equal measures. Barry Corbet, an intrepid skier, mountaineer, explorer, filmmaker, and Jackson Hole legend, broke his back in a helicopter crash in 1968. Frustrated by a pre-ADA culture that did not accept or support the disabled, Barry reinvented himself, becoming a seminal leader in the disability community. FULL CIRCLE follows Trevor on a path towards post-traumatic growth in parallel with Barry, 50 years later. Their stories mirror each other, connected through time and space by common locations and motifs; injuries in the Colorado backcountry, rehab at Craig Hospital, fame in Jackson Hole; but also, through their shared resiliency and refusal to let their passion for life be limited by their injuries. FULL CIRCLE is an unblinking examination of the challenges of Spinal Cord Injury, and a celebration of the growth that such tragedy can catalyze.

With Grace Evans • Jerry Rothwell • Christos Lawton

Experience the chilling true story of the world’s most famous poltergeist case through original audio recordings made inside the house as the events unfolded.

With Sonia Kennebeck

The incredible true story of Reality Winner in her own words. Filmed over five years, this is the only documentary about the young NSA whistleblower who exposed Russian interference in U.S. elections and went to jail for it. With exclusive access to Reality Winner and the media outlet involved in her arrest, this film also uncovers FBI evidence never before released. Would you risk your freedom to protect democracy?