The 21 Documentaries From the 21st Century Every Man Should See

Have you noticed that the best movies these days are the realest? With Weiner and killer crime stories like The Jinx streaming everywhere we look, true films are better, cooler, more ambitious and more mind-blowing than ever. Here’s a list of our favourite recent docs – plus some recs from their directors.

01 WEINER

Josh Kriegman & Elyse Steinberg (2016)

Turns out Beyonce’s Lemonade was only the second most interesting meditation on infidelity this year. Weiner, which tracks the sexting-induced implosion of Anthony Weiner’s comeback NYC mayoral race, turns gawking into art through the questions it poses: Why didn’t Weiner cut off access from the film-makers when the scandal broke? How long would the nadir of his need for attention last? (Well...) And what was Huma Abedin thinking as she watched her husband fall apart? Boy, ’bye.

02 AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN

Khushboo Ranka & Vinay Shukla (2016)

The formation of the Aam Aadmi Party promised the romance of revolution to ordinary Indians numbed by cynicism. An Insignificant Man, documenting the rise of that alternate political force, shows us the bare bones of a remarkable movement, and, with a razor-sharp narrative (backed by smart cuts and an ingenious background score), takes us deep into India’s political landscape, without sacrificing any of the  elements of human drama.

03 THE CINEMA TRAVELLERS 

Amit Madheshiya & Shirley Abraham (2016)

This multiple award winning documentary revolves around a form of film exhibition – celluloid projection – on the verge of extinction. The Cinema Travellers’ directors chronicle the lives of the owners of two travelling cinemas and a celluloid projector technician, who tour some of Maharashtra’s most far-flung villages, over the course of five years. The result of that doggedness is a documentary that’s a beautiful ode to cinema and times long gone.

04 WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE

Spike Lee (2006)