Honestly, I completely forgot it was Thursday so if this feels rushed, it’s because it is. I’ve been trying to read and I’m also nursing a huge Stardew Valley addiction which occupies most my free evenings now. Anyway, to make this into a theme within the releases theme I’m going with the documentary route. I saw a lot of docuseries as well as documentaries in 2020, most last years releases. I hope I keep up with this new found curiosity towards documentaries. That being said, here are three of my favourite documentary releases (one short) of 2020 that made it to my Top 15 Best of 2020 list.
3. CRIP CAMP: A DISABILITY REVOLUTION (2020)
This is a very emotional documentary that is a must for anyone. It tells the story of people fighting for their human rights… while everything seems to be working against them. Obamas were the executive producers here and so many people from that specific time gave interviews. It all started with an unlikely camp and honestly, that camp feels like a dream place to be.
2. FATHER SOLDIER SON (2020)
Leave politics out of it and Father Soldier Son will give you a very humanised story of war, its aftermath and the struggles that fathers and sons might face. This is filmed over a course of 10 years and it’s honestly very heavy. There’s an unexpectedness to this that could rip your heart out. There’s not a lot of politics in it, which can be something a war related documentary could do but I’m grateful it steers away from it. If it were too political it would feel less human.
1. MY BROTHER JORDAN (2020)
Finally a documentary short that was simply uploaded to Youtube and that ended up in my recommendation feed. It’s emotional, heavy with grief and told beautifully through the lens of a filmmaker who lost his brother. While there are elements in here that I myself don’t connect with (faith, sports), those don’t take way from the story. To lose someone is to lose a part of you. I wrote a full review here.
THIS SERIES IS CREATED BY WANDERING THROUGH THE SHELVES
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I haven’t seen any of these but I’m interested and I’ll definitely check out that Youtube one.
Nice theme! Unfortunately, I haven’t watched a lot of documentaries, but I’ve seen Crip Camp on Netflix. I’ll try to check it out this year.
I’ve not seen any of these but I saw so little of 2020 that my list making was a snap. All three of your docs sound interesting and worthwhile.
As I said choosing this time out was easy since I only saw three films from 2020 including one documentary.
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears-Fabulously wealthy and endlessly chic 20’s Aussie detective and adventuress Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis) globetrots to unravel an ancient curse involving priceless emeralds aided by stalwart and smitten Detective Inspector Jack Robinson (Nathan Page). Big screen continuation of the highly entertaining Phryne Fisher Mysteries TV series from Australia.
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind-Through interviews with family (including her two daughters) and friends the life and tragic mysterious death of megastar Natalie Wood is examined.
The Invisible Man-Cecilia (Elizabeth Moss) attempts to escape from the virtual imprisonment of her marriage to an ultra-wealthy, brilliant and psychotic husband Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). While trying to rebuild her life she discovers he has devised a way to mask himself to the point of invisibility as he terrorizes her. Okay thriller sustains its suspense until an ending that betrays both of its main characters.
Great list! I haven’t seen any of these documentaries, but they all sound interesting!
I haven’t seen any of these but glad that you decided to highlight documentaries. There’s one powerful and gripping doc that made it to my Top 10 list, too, docs can be more emotional + thrilling than fictional films.
I haven’t seen any of these (because I suck and barely watch documentaries) but I will definitely check one your first and third picks.
I haven’t seen any of these but I watch very few documentaries (which I need to change).
YES for Stardew Valley though – although it’s scary how much time you can lose in such a simple, peaceful game.
Stardew Valley is also an endless world building experience as there ARE SO MANY THINGS TO DISCOVER! We just got the island open so like.. it’s still giving us new things.
But yes, documentaries have become more of my thing these past few years. I love true crime ones the most but I also gravitate towards some sports ones. The three here happen to be the ones that were neither but I think that’s why they stood out. Also I do watch more docuseries than documentaries.