Documentary Films

Sociology Through Documentary Film

For a comprehensive list of documentaries and films pertaining to subjects in sociology, see the list below.

This list was initially created by Jessie Daniels, PhD (Hunter College and The Graduate Center-CUNY). See original posting at 
sociologythroughdocumentaryfilm.pbworks.com.

Also see this website: GoodDocs: Sociology

Topics

1. The Sociological Imagination
2. Sociological Investigation / Research Methods / Research Ethics
3. Culture
4. Class Inequality / Corporations
5. Crime/Criminal Justice System
6. Drugs: Addiction, Alcohol, Tobacco
7. Drugs: Drug War
8. Ethnicity / Race
9. Education
10. Environment: Food, Water & Energy Industry
11. Family
12. Gender
13. Genocide, Conflict, Human Rights
14. Globalization
15. Groups and Organizations
16. Health, Illness, Medicalization & the Business of Health Care
17. Immigration
18. Law & Society
19. Media & Internet
20. Politics
21. Religion
22. Social Movements / Community Organizing
23. Sexuality / Gender
24. Socialization
25. Social Networks
26. Self and Society
27. Technology
28. Urban/Suburban
29. Visual Sociology
30. Work / Occupations
31. Youth / Deviance

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The Sociological Imagination

• “56 Up” (2013). Directed by Michael Apted (140 min).  
• The Up Series (1964-2005). Directed by Michael Apted (40-135 min per film).  A sociological cross-section of children in England are interviewed about their hopes for the future.  The children are revisited every 7 years as they progress into adulthood.  Each film in the series is emotional and moving.  Currently concludes with 56 Up.

Sociological Investigation / Research Methods / Research Ethics

• “The Human Behavior Experiments” (2006). Directed by Alex Gibney (43 min). Documentary about both Milgram, Zimbardo and more contemporary examples, such as Abu Gharib.
• “The True Meaning of Pictures” (2002). Directed by Jennifer Baichwal (71 min).  A documentary about Shelby Lee Adams’ controversial photos of families in Appalachia.
• “La Sociologie est un Sport de Combat” (“Sociology is a Martial Art”) (2001). Directed by Pierre Carles (140 min).  
• “The Deadly Deception” (1993). Directed by Denisce DiAnni (56 min).  
• “Quiet Rage” (1992). Produced and Directed by Ken Musen (50 min). A documentary about Zimbardo experiments. 
• “Stanley Milgram Obedience” (1965). Produced by Stanley Milgram (44 min). A documentary about Milgram experiments.

Culture

• “Tokyo Idols” (2017). Directed by Kyoko Miyake.    
• “India’s Wandering Lions” (2016). Written and Directed by Martin Dohrn and Praveen Singh (53 min). 
• “Generation Like” (2014). Directed by Douglas Rushkoff (54 min) (follow-up to “The Merchants of Cool”).
• “Exit Through the Gift Shop” (2010). Directed by Banksy (86 min). 
• “Good Hair” (2009). Directed by Jeff Stilson (95 min).
• “No Impact Man” (2009). Directed by Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein (92 min).
• “Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis” (2009). Directed by M. Black (88 min).
• “We Live in Public” (2009). Directed by Ondi Timoner (91 min).
• “Beautiful Losers” (2008). Directed by Joshua Leonard and Aaron Rose (90 min).
• “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Kids” (2008). Directed by Adriana Barbaro & Jeremy Earp (66 min).
• “Guns In America” (2008). Produced by National Geographic (50 min).
• “In The Footsteps of Marco Polo” (2008). Directed by Denis Belliveau and Francis O’Donnell (87 min).
• “The Story of Stuff” (2007). Directed by Annie Leonard (21:00).
• “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” (2006). Directed by Kirby Dick (100 min).
• “I for India.” (2005). Directed by Sandhya Suri (70 min).
• “Do You Speak American?” (2004). Produced and Directed by William Cran. Set of 3 videos (57 min each)
• “The Persuaders” (2004). Directed by Douglas Rushkoff (55 min).
• “Daughter from Danang” (2002). Directed by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco (81 min). 
• “Spellbound” (2002). Directed by Jeffrey Blitz (97 min).
• “The Devil’s Playground” (2002). Directed by Lucy Walker (76 min).   
• “The Merchants of Cool” (2001). Directed by Douglas Rushkoff (58 min).
• “The Split Horn: Life of a Hmong Shaman in America” (2001). Directed by Taggart Siegel (59 min).
• “The Primal Mind” (1996). Directed by Jamake Highwater (57 min).
• “Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh” (1993). Produced/Directed by John Page, Chris Beeman, & Helena Norberg-Hodge (60 min).
• “American Tongues” (1987). Directed by Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker (57 min).
• “A Man Called Bee”: Studying the Yanomamo (1974). Directed by Timothy Asch and Napoleon Chagnon (44 min) (but, not without controversy, see here, here, and here).
• “The Cry of Jazz” (1959). Directed by Edward Bland (34 min).
• “The Mad Masters” (Les maîtres fous) (1955). Directed by Jean Rouch (28 min).

Class Inequality / Corporations

• “The Divide” (2015). Directed by Katharine Round (81 min).  
• “Forward 13: Waking Up the American Dream” (2014). Directed by Patrick Lovell (120 min).  
• “Poverty, Inc.” (2014). Directed by Michael Matheson Miller (94 min). 
• “Masters of Money – Marx” (2012). Produced by the BBC in association with The Open University (59 min).  
• “Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream” (2012). Directed by Alex Gibney (54 min). 
• “Queen of Versailles” (2012). by Lauren Greenfield (100 min). 
• “War by Other Means” (2011). Directed by John Pilger and David Munro (52 min). 
• “Capitalism: A Love Story” (2009). Directed by Michael Moore (127 min).  
• “Garbage Dreams” (2009). Directed by Mai Iskander (83 min).
• “The End of Poverty?” (2008). Directed by  Phillipe Diaz (105 min).  
• “The Big Sellout” (2007). Directed by Florian Optiz (95 min).  
• “Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class” (2005). Directed by Sut Jhally (65 min).  
• “The Boys of Baraka” (2005). Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (84 min).  
• “Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids” (2004). Directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kaufman (85 min).  
• “The Corporation” (2004). Directed by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott & Joel Bakhan (165 min).  
• “The Diamond Empire” (2004). Directed by Janine Roberts (Two part documentary. Part i is 56 min and part 2 is 46 min). 
• “The Overspent American” (2004). Directed by Sut Jhally, Loretta Alper & Kelly Garner (33 min).  
• “Born Rich” (2003). Directed by Jamie Johnson (75 min).  
• “Life and Debt” (2001). Directed by Stephanie Black (86 min).  
• “People Like Us: Social Class in America” (2001). Directed by Louis Alvarez and Andy Kolker (125 min).  
• “The New Rulers of the World” (2001). Directed by John Pilger (54 min). 
• “Taken for a Ride: How the American Auto Industry Engineered the Demise of City Public-transit Systems.” (1996). Directed by Jim Klein (56 min).  
• “The Diamond Empire” (1994). Produced by PBS Frontline (90 min). 

Crime/Criminal Justice System

• “13th.”(2016). Directed by Ava Duvernay (100 min).
• “Supermarket Slave Trail” (2014). Directed by Chris Kelly (23 min).
• “The Central Park Five” (2012). Directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon (120 min). 
• “The House I Live In” (2012). Directed by Eugene Jarecki (108 min).
• “Crips & Bloods: Made in America” (2009). Directed by Stacy Peralta (93 min). 
• “Tulia, Texas”(2008). Directed by Cassandra Herrman and Kelly Whalen (54 min).
• “Race to Execution”(2007). Directed by Rachel Lyon (58 min). (More information at PBS.)
• “Very Young Girls” (2007). Directed by David Schisgall, Nina Alvarez (82 min).
• “American Gangster: Seasons 1-3″ (BET series, 2006-2008) Executive produced by Nelson George. 
• “The Trials of Darryl Hunt” (2006). Directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg (106 min).
• “Bastards of the Party” (2005). Directed by Cle Sloan (95 min). 
• “Every Mother’s Son” (2004). Directed by Tami Gold and Kelly Anderson (54 min).
• “Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer” (2003). Directed by Nick Broomfield (90 min).
• “Capturing the Friedmans” (2003) Produced/Directed by Andrew Jarecki (107 min). 
• “Girlhood” (2003). Directed by Liz Garbus (82 min).
• “The Execution of Wanda Jean” (2002). Directed by Liz Garbus (88 min).
• “Murder on a Sunday Morning” (2001). Directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Academy Award for Best Documentary (2001). (111 min).
• “The Farm: Angola, USA” (1998). Directed by Liz Garbus, Wilbert Redeau, and Jonathan Stack (88 min).
• “Taken for a Ride: How the American Auto Industry Engineered the Demise of City Public-transit Systems.” (1996). Directed by Jim Klein (56 min). 
• “Thin Blue Line” (1988). Directed by Errol Morris (103 min).
  • Nice list here of crime-related documentaries from sociologist Bradley Wright. 

Drugs: Addiction, Alcohol, Tobacco

• “I’m Dangerous With Love” (2009). Directed by Michel Negroponte (84 min).
• “Addiction” (2007). HBO/NIH. A series of nine separate films on the topic of drug addiction. 
• “Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease, Pushing Drugs” (2006). Produced & Edited by Ronit Ridberg (46 min). 
• “The Meth Epidemic” (2006) Written and Proudced by Carl Byker (54 min). 
• “Spin the Bottle: Sex, Lies & Alcohol” (2004). Produced & Edited by Ronit Ridberg (45 min).
• “Making a Killing: Philip Morris, Kraft, and Global Tobacco” (2000). Directed by Kelly Anderson & Tami Gold (30 min).

Drugs: Drug War

• “The House I Live In” (2012). Directed by Eugene Jarecki (108 min).
• “Crips & Bloods: Made in America” (2009). Directed by Stacy Peralta (93 min).
• “American Drug War: The Last White Hope” (2007). Directed by Kevin Booth (118 min).
• “The Union: The Business Behind Getting High” (2007). Directed by Brett Harvey (107 min).
• “Cocaine Cowboys” (2006). Directed by Billy Corben (152 min).
• “Plan Columbia: Cashing in on the Drug-War Failure” (2002). Directed by Gerard Ungeman (58 min).
• “Grass” (1999). Directed by Ron Mann (79 min). 

Ethnicity / Race

• “13th” (2016). Directed by Ava DuVernay (100 min).
• “I Am Not Your Negro” (2016). Directed by Raoul Peck (94 min).   
• “Jihad: A Story of the Others” (2016). Directed by Deeyah Khan (49 min).
• “Separate and Unequal” (2014). Produced by Mary Robertson (57 min). 
• “White Like Me” (2013). Directed by Scott Morris (69 min).  
• “Vincent Who” (2009). Directed by Tony Lam (41 min).
• “Moving Midway” (2008). Directed by Godfrey Cheshire (99 min).
• “Grace Lee Project” (2005). Directed by Grace Lee (68 min).
• “Race: The Power of an Illusion” (2003). Directed by Larry Adelman (172 min).
  • Episode 1: “The Difference Between Us” – about science, genetics. 
  • Episode 2:  “The Story We Tell” – recent invention of race.
  • Episode 3: “The House We Live In – about housing. 
• “True Colors.” (1991). (ABC, PrimeTime Live). Diane Sawyer and news crew stage what is basically a “matched study” experiment by pairing John, who is white, and Glen, who is black, and follow them with a series of hidden cameras with as they expose racism in a variety of settings.  Although old (early 1990s) and very short (just 19 minutes), if I could only show one film to a class about race in the U.S., I would choose this one. Available for purchase here.

Education

• “The Revisionaries” (2012). Directed by Scott Thurman (84 min).
• “The Lottery” (2010). Directed by Madeleine Sackler (81 min).
• “Brick by Brick: A Civil Rights Story” (2008). Directed by Bill Kavanah (54 min).
• “Resolved” (2007). Directed by Greg Whiteley (91 min).
• “The Hollywood Librarian” (2007). Directed by Ann Seidl (96 min).
• “Corridor of Shame”(2006). Directed by Bud Ferillo (58 min).
• “The Heart of the Game” (2005). Directed by Ward Serrill (103 min).
• “Hell’s Highway: The Story of Highway Safety Films” (2003). Directed by Bret Wood (91 min).

Environment: Food, Water & Energy Industry

• “Fed Up” (2014). Directed by Stephen Soechtig (92 min).
• “Damn The Dams”  (2012). Directed by: Özlem Sarıyıldız, Osman Şişman (47 min).
• “Forks Over Knives” (2011). Directed by Lee Fulkerson (96 min).
• “Shelter in Place” (2010). Directed by Zed Nelson (48 min).
• “A River of Waste” (2009) Directed by Don McCorkell (92 min).  
• “Crude: The Real Price of Oil” (2009). Directed by Joe Berlinger (105 min).
• “Food, Inc.” (2009). Directed by Robert Kenner (94 min).  
• “The Cove” (2009). Directed by Louie Psihoyos (92min).
• “Food Fight” (2008). Directed by Christopher Taylor (83 min).
• “Flow: For the Love of Water” (2008). Directed by Irena Salina (93 min).
• “The Garden” (2008) Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy (80 min).
• “Garbage Warrior” (2007). Directed by Oliver Hodge (86 min).
• “King Corn” (2007). Directed by Aaron Woolf (90 min).
• “Sweet Remedy:The World Reacts to an Adulterated Food Supply” (2006). Directed by Cori Barkett, JT Waldon (134 min).
• “Who Killed the Electric Car?” (2006). Directed by Chris Paine (92 min). 
• “Genetically Modified Food: Panacea or Poison” (2005). Directed by Josh Sore Servidor Dedicado (51 min).
• “Our Daily Bread” (2005). Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter (92 min).
• “Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World” (2004). Directed by Cori Barkett, JT Waldon (90 min).
• “The Future of Food” (2004). Directed by Deborah Koons (90 min).
• “The Meatrix,” and “Meatrix II” (2003, 2006). Produced by Sustainable Table (4 min each).
• “Modern Meat” (2002). Directed by Doug Hamilton (56 min).
• “The Global Banquet” (2001). Directed by Zoe Young (57 min).
• “Taken for a Ride: How the American Auto Industry Engineered the Demise of City Public-transit Systems.” (1996). Directed by Jim Klein (56 min).

Family

• “Nana” (2015). Directed by Tatiana Fernandez Geara (71 min).
• “Babies” (2010). Directed by Thomas Balmès (79 min).
• “Made in India” (2010). Directed by Vaishali Sinha and Rebecca Haimowitz (97 min).
• “Wo Ai Ni Mommy (I love you mommy)” (2010). Directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal (77 min).
• “Off and Running” (2010). Directed by Nicole Opper (75 min).  
• “Treeless Mountain” (2008). Directed So Yong Kim (90 min).
• “For the Bible Tells Me So” (2007). Directed by Daniel Karslake (99 min).
• “Maybe Baby” (2007). Directed by Shannon O’Rourke (61 min).
• “The Motherhood Manifesto” (2006). Directed by Laura Pacheco (45 min).
• “Maid in America” (2005). Directed by Anayansi Prado (57 min).
• “Capturing the Friedmans” (2003). Produced/Directed by Andrew Jarecki (107 min). 
• “People Like Us: Social Class in America” (2001). Directed by Louis Alvarez and Andy Kolker (125 min).
• “Big Mama” (2000). Produced and Directed by Tracy Seretean (40 min).
• “The Child the Stork Brought Home” (2000). Directed by Gillian Goslinga (60 min).
• “The Pill” (1999). Directed by Erna Buffie and Elise Swerhone.
• “Defending Our Lives” (1993). Directed by Margaret Lazarus and Renner Wunderlich, Academy Award for Best Documentary (1994), (42 min). 

Gender

• “My Whole Self: Microaggressions and Gender” (2017). Directed by Barbara J. Diamond (27 min). 
• “A Chance to Dress” (2015). Directed by Alice Bouvrie (40 min).
• “Growing-up Trans” (2015). Written, Produced and Directed by Miri Navasky and Karen O’Connor (84 min).
• “The Mask You Live In” (2015). Directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom (97 min).
• “Spitting Game” (2009). Directed by Denice Ann Evans (65 min).

Genocide, Conflict, Human Rights

• “Canada’s Dark Secret” (2017). Directed by Rania El Rafael (47 min).
• “Congo, My Precious” (2017). Directed by Anastasia Trofimova (52 min).  
• “Banana Land: Blood, Bullets and Poison” (2014). Produced by Jason Glaser et al. (71 min).  
• “Supermarket Slave Trail” (2014). Directed by Chris Kelly (23 min).
• “#chicagogirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator” (2013). Directed by Joe Piscatella (74 min).
• “Red Reign: The Harvesting of China’s Organs” (2013). Directed by Masha Savitz (62 min). 
• “Waste Land” (2010). Directed by Lucy Walker (100 min).
• “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” (2009). Directed by Gini Reticker (72 min). 
• “Standard Operating Procedure” (2008). Directed by Errol Morris (118 min).
• “Buying the War” (2007). PBS Frontline with Bill Moyers (83 min).  
• “Darfur Now” (2007). Directed by Ted Braun (98 min).
• “Ghosts of Abu Gharib” (2007). Directed by Rory Kennedy (82 min).
• “Nanking” (2007). Directed by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman (88 min).
• “No End In Sight” (2007). Directed by Charles Ferguson (102 min).
• “Taxi to the Dark Side” (2007). Directed by Alex Gibney (106 min).
• “The Invisible Nation” (2007). Directed by Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie (93 min).
• “The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair” (2007). Directed by Michael Tucker (72 min).
• “War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death” (2007). Directed by Andrew Killoy, Loretta Alper, Jeremy Earp, and Sut Jhally (73 min).  
• “In Whose Interest?” (2003). Written, Produced and Directed by David Kaplowitz (27 min). 
• “Stealing a Nation” (2004) Directed by John Pilger (56 min).
• “Akuntsu” (2004). Directed by Luis Miguel Dominguez (57 min). 
• “Night and Fog” (1955) Directed by Alain Resnais. 
• “Well-Founded Fear” (2000) Directed by Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson.
• “Srebrenica: Triumph of Evil”  (2001). Produced by SENSE Agency.
• “Ghosts of Rwanda” (2004), Directed by Greg Barker. 
• “Control Room” (2004) Directed by Jehane Noujaim 
• “Paper Clips” (2004) Directed by Elliot Berlin and Joe Fab.
• “Gunner Palace” (2004) Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker. 
• “Why We fight” (2005) Directed by Eugene Jarecki  
• “The War Tapes” (2006) Directed by Deborah Scranton. 
• “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo” (2006) Directed by Lisa Jackson.
• “Darwin’s Nightmare” (2006). Directed by Hubert Sauper.
• “Shadow Company” (2006). Directed by Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque. Narrated by Gerard Butler.
•  “Inheritance” (2006). Directed by James Moll (75 min). 
• “Radio Bikini” (1988). Directed by Robert Stone (56 min).

Globalization

• “Life and Debt” (2001) Directed by Stephanie Black.  
• “Control Room” (2004) Directed by Jehane Noujaim.
• “Manufactured Landscapes” (2006) Directed by Jennifer Baichwal.
• “Maquilapolis: City of Factories” (2006) Directed by Vicky Funari and Sergio De La Torre. 
• “The Divide” (2015) Directed by Katharine Round. 

Groups and Organizations

• “Taken for a Ride: How the American Auto Industry Engineered the Demise of City Public-transit Systems.” (1996) Directed by Jim Klein. 
• “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” (2005) Directed by Alex Gibney.
• “The Hollywood Librarian” (2007) Directed by Ann Seidl.
• “Crips and Bloods: Made in America” (2008) Directed by Stacy Peralta. 
• “Standard Operating Procedure” (2008) Directed by Errol Morris.

Health, Illness, Medicalization & the Business of Health Care

• “Titicut Follies” (1967) Classic, and controversial film, by Frederick Wiseman.
• “The Fire Within: HIV/AIDS” (1995) Produced and directed by Leanne Whitney.
• “The Pill” (1999) Directed by Erna Buffie and Elise Swerhone.
• “Sound and Fury” (2000) Directed by Josh Aronson. (Also available: “Sound and Fury: Six Years Later,” 2006).
• “Cracking the Code of Life” (2001) Directed by Betsey Arledge and Elizabeth Arledge.
• “Medicating Kids” (2001) Directed by Marcela Gaviria.
• “Pills, Profits, Protest: Chronicle of the Global AIDS Movement” (2003) Directed by Anne-Christine d’Adesky, Shanti Avirgan, & Ann T. Rossetti.
• “Pandemic: Facing Aids” (2003) Directed by Rory Kennedy.
• “The Origin Of AIDS” (2003) Produced by Peter Chappell and Catherine Peix.
• “The Gift” (2003) Directed by Louise Hargarth.
• “Super Size Me” (2004) Directed by Morgan Spurlock.
• “Selling Sickness” (2004) Directed by Catherine Scott.
• “Global Dimming” (2005) Producer David Sington, Horizon (BBC).
• “The Education of Shelby Knox” (2005) Directed by Marion Lipschutz & Rose Rosenblatt.
• “The Meth Epidemic” (2006) Directed by Carl Byker.
• “McLibel” (2006) Directed by Franny Armstrong.
• “Andrew Jenks, Room 335”  (2006) Directed by Andrew Jenks.
• “The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s Stories of Love, Courage and Hope” (2006) Produced by Kaiser Permamente Foundation.
• “Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease, Pushing Drugs” (2007) Produced and directed by Ronit Ridberg.
• “Sicko” (2007) Directed by Michael Moore.
• “Addiction” (HBO/NIH series) (2007) Various directors. 
• “Unnatural Causes” (2008) Executive Producer, Larry Adelman.
•  “All of Us” (2008) Directed by Emily Apt.
• “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” (2008) Directed by Chris Bell.
• “Generation Rx” (2008) Directed by Kevin Miller.
• “Depression Out of the Shadows” (2008) Directed by Larkin McPhee.
• “Killer at Large” (2008)  Directed by Steven Greenstreet.
• “Fat: What No One is Telling You”  (2008) PBS Special. 
• “Sick Around the World” (2008) Directed by Jon Pelfreman.
• “The Business of Being Born” (2008), Directed by Abby Epstein, Executive Produced by Ricki Lake.
• “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors without Borders” (2008) Directed by Mark N. Hopkins.
• “Including Samuel” (2009) Directed by Dan Habib and Edited by Rikk Desgres.
• “No Family History” (2009) Directed by Sabrina McCormick.
• “The Released” (2009) Produced by Karen O’Connor and Miri Navasky. 
• “The Alzheimer’s Project: Caregivers” (2009) Directed by Bill Couturie.
• “Why Us? Left Behind and Dying” (2009) Directed by Claudia Pryor. 
• “65_RedRoses” (2009) Directed by Philip Lyall and Nimisha Mukerji  
• “Forks Over Knives” (2011) Directed by Lee Fulkerson.
• “The Waiting Room” (2012) Directed by Peter Nicks. 
• “Sugar Coated” (2015) Directed by Michèle Hozer. 

Immigration

• “Dead in the Desert” (2012) Directed by Austin Counts (57 min). 
• “Harvest of the Empire” (2012) Directed by Eduardo Lopez and Peter Getzels (90 min). 
• “Immigrants for Sale” (2015) Produced by Brave New Films (33 min). 
• “The Split Horn: Life of a Hmong Shaman in America” (2001) Directed by Taggart Siegel.
• “Daughter from Danang” (2002) Directed by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco.
• “Farmingville” (2004) Directed by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini.
• “I for India.” (2005) Directed by Sandhya Suri.  
•  “No le Digas a Nadie / Don’t Tell Anyone.”  (2015)  Dir. Mikaela Schwer
• “Which Way Home” (2009) Directed by Rebecca Cammisa.
• “The Other Side of Immigration” (2009) Directed by Roy Germano.
• C.N. Le maintains a separate and extensive list of documentaries about immigration, organized by topic, at Asian-Nation.org. 

Law & Society

• “Race to Execution” (2007) Directed by Rachel Lyon and Jim Lopes.
• “Tulia, Texas” (2008) Produced and directed by Cassandra Herman and Kelly Whalen.
• “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe” (2009) Directed by Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler.

Media & Internet

• “The Century of the Self” (2002) Written and Produced by Adam Curtis (240 min). 
• “Manufacturing Consent” (1992) Directed by Mark Achbar and Wintonick. 
• “Control Room” (2004) Directed by Jehane Noujaim. 
• “The Persuaders” (2004) PBS Frontline Directed by Rachel Dretzin, Barak Goodman (Douglas Rushkoff, appears and has writing credit).
• “Blog Wars” (2006) Directed by James Rogan.
• “Buying the War” (2007) PBS Frontline with Bill Moyers.  
• “War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death” (2007) Directed by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp.  
• “We Live in Public” (2009) Directed by Ondi Timoner.
• “The Yes Men Fix the World” (2009) Directed by Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno.
• “Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier” (2010)  PBS Frontline Directed and Produced by Rachel Dretzin
• “Catfish” (2010) Created by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. (NB: may or may not be a documentary)
• “The Status Films” (2011) Directed by Andrew Filippone Jr. A 4-part documentary culled from public Facebook updates.
• “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” (2011) Directed by Morgan Spurlock.
• “Terms and Conditions May Apply” (2013) Directed by Cullen Hoback. 
• “#chicagogirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator” (2013) Directed by Joe Piscatella. 

Politics

• “Taken for a Ride: How the American Auto Industry Engineered the Demise of City Public-Transit Systems.” (1996) Directed by Jim Klein. 
• “Chisolm ‘72: Unbought & Unbossed” (2004) Directed by Shola Lynch.
• “The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear” (2004) Directed by Adam Curtis.
• “Blog Wars” (2006) Directed by James Rogan.
• “Al Franken: God Spoke” (2006) Directed by Nick Doob, Chris Hegedus. Executive Produced by D.A. Pennebaker.
• “Hacking Democracy” (2006) Directed by Simon Adrizzone and Russell Michaels.
• “Fourteen Women” (2007) Directed by Mary Lambert.
• “Please Vote for Me” (2008) Directed by Weijun Chen.
• “The Yes Men Fix the World” (2009) Directed by Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno.
• “#chicagogirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator” (2013) Directed by Joe Piscatella. 

Religion

• “Missionaries of Hate” (2010) Produced by Darren Foster, Alex Simmons and Mariana Van Zeller (45 min).
• “A Life Apart: Hasidim in America” (1997) Directed by Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky.
• “Trembling Before G-d” (2001) Directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski.
• “The Devil’s Playground” (2002) Directed by Lucy Walker.
• “Wheel of Time” (2003) Directed by Werner Herzog.
• “With God on Our Side” (2004) Directed by Calvin Skaggs, David Van Taylor, and Ali Pomeroy.
• “Jesus Camp” (2006) Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady.
• “Deliver Us From Evil” (2006) Directed by Amy Berg.
• “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple” (2006) Directed by Stanley Nelson.
• “For the Bible Tells Me So” (2007) Directed by Daniel Karslake.
• “A Jihad for Love”(2007) Directed by Parvez Sharma. 
• “Constantine’s Sword” (2008) Directed by Oren Jacoby.
• “Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School” (2008) Produced by Keshet.
• “Religulous” (2008) Directed by Larry Charles. Written by and Starring Bill Maher.
• “New Muslim Cool” (2009) Produced/Directed by Jennifer Maytorena Taylor.

Social Movements / Community Organizing

• “I Am Somebody” (1970) Directed by Madeline Anderson.
• “Harlan County USA” (1976) Directed by Barbara Kopple. 
• “Berkeley in the Sixties” (1990) Directed by Mark Kitchell.
• “Taken for a Ride: How the American Auto Industry Engineered the Demise of City Public-transit Systems.” (1996) Directed by Jim Klein. 
• “Soldiers in the Army of God” (2000) Directed by Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson.
• “The Weather Underground” (2002) Directed by Sam Green and Bill Siegel.
• “V-Day: Until the Violence Stops” (2003) Directed by Abby Epstein.
• “This Black Soil” (2004) Directed by Teresa Konechne.
• “Sir, No Sir!” (2005) Directed by David Zeiger.
• “Sisters of ‘77″ (2005) Directed by Cynthia Salzman Mondell and Allen Mondell.
• “Favela Rising” (2006) Directed by Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary.
• “Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth)” (2006) Directed by Jill Irene Freidberg.
• “The Shape of Water” (2006) Directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani.
• “The Garden” (2008) Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy.
• “Made in L.A.” (2009) Directed by Almudena Caarracedo and Robert Bahar.
• “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” (2009) Directed by Gini Reticker.
• “A Village Called Versailles” (2009) Directed by S. Leo Chiang. 
• “The Yes Men Fix the World” (2009) Directed by Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno.
• “Waste Land” (2010) Directed by Lucy Walker.
• “The Interrupters” (2011) Directed by Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz.  
• “Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975” (2011) Directed by Göran Olsson. 
• “Water Salt Flour”  (2011) Directed by: Özlem Sarıyıldız, Bettina Frese.
• “Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” (2015) Directed by Stanley Nelson. 
• “Dolores” (2017) Directed by Peter Bratt (Carlos Santana, Executive Producer). 

Sexuality / Gender

• “Defending Our Lives” (1994) Directed by Margaret Lazarus and Renner Wunderlich.  
• “Slim Hopes: Advertising & the Obsession with Thinness” (1995) Directed by Jean Kilbourne. 
• “You Don’t Know Dick: Courageous Hearts of Transexual Men” (1996) Directed by Bestor Cram.
• “The Pill” (1999) Directed by Erna Buffie and Elise Swerhone.
• “Sex: The Annabel Chong Story” (2000) Directed by Gough Lewis.
• “Live Nude Girls Unite!” (2000) Directed by Julia Query.
• “Southern Comfort” (2001) Directed by Kate Davis. 
• “The Right to Feminity” (2004) Directed by Marion Mayer-Hohdahl.
• “I Was A Teenage Feminist” (2005) Directed by Therese Shechter. More info available here.
• “Transgeneration” (2005) Directed by Jeremy Simmons.
• “The Education of Shelby Knox” (2005) Directed by Marion Lipshultz and Rose Rosenblatt. 
• “Gender Rebel” (2006) Directed by Norman Green.
• “Queer Streets” (2006) Directed by Brooke Sopelsa, Sarah Freightner, & Alex Waterfield.
• “HIP-HOP:Beyond Beats & Rhymes” (2006) Directed by Byron Hurt.  More info available here.
• “No! The Rape Documentary” (2006) Directed by Aishah Shahidah Simmons. 
• “Very Young Girls” (2007) Directed by David Schisgall, Nina Alvarez.
• “Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex & Power in Music Video” (2007) Directed by Sut Jhally. Streaming here.
• “Very Young Girls” (2007) Directed by David Schisgall.
• “Juggling Gender / Still Juggling” (1992/2008) Directed by Tami Gold.
• “Passion & Power: Technology of Orgasm” (2008) Directed by Emiko Omori and Wendy Slick.
• “Taboo Yardies” (2008) Directed by Selena Blake.
• “Finding Face” (2009) Directed by Skye Fitzgerald and Patti Duncan.
• “Killing Us Softly 4” (2010) Directed by Jean Kilbourne. 
• “The Bro Code” (2011) Directed by Dr. Thomas Keith.
• “The Purity Myth” (2011) Directed by Jeremy Earp.
• “Miss Representation” (2011) Directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsome.
• “Tough Guise 2” (2013) Directed by Jackson Katz.
• “There and Back” ( 2013) Directed by: Özlem Sarıyıldız; Bige Demirtaş
• “Love Between the Covers” (2015) Directed by Laurie Kahn 
• “Tokyo Idols” (2017) Directed by Kyoko Miyake.  

Socialization

• “Secret of the Wild Child” (1994) Directed by Linda Garmon.
• “Jesus Camp” (2006) Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady.
• “Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy” (2010) Directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal.

Social Networks

• “Six Degrees of Separation” (2009) Directed by Annamaria Talas. 

Self & Society

• “The Century of the Self” (2002) Directed by Adam Curtis.
• “The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom” (2007) Directed by Adam Curtis.
• “The Declaration of Human Rights” (2008) Directed by Seth Brau.
• “We Live in Public” (2009) Directed by Ondi Timoner.

Technology

• “Digital Amnesia” (2014) Directed by Bregtje van der Haak (49 min). 
• “Panopticon” (2012) Produced, Written and Directed by Peter Vlemmix (57 min).

Urban/Suburban

• “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces” (1988) Directed by Wm. H. Whyte.
• “Taken for a Ride: How the American Auto Industry Engineered the Demise of City Public-transit Systems.” (1996) Directed by Jim Klein. 
• “Dark Days” (2000) Directed by Marc Singer.
• “The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream” (2004) Directed by Gregory Greene.
• “Symbols in Transition” (2006) Directed by Antonis Pitsios and Christos Varvantakis 
• “Subdivided:Isolation and Community in America” (2007) Directed by Dean Terry.
• “Bomb It: Graffiti Documentary” (2007)  Produced and directed by Jon Reiss.
• “Brick City” (2009-10) Produced and directed by Mark Benjamin and Mark Levin.
• “Waste Land” (2010) Directed by Lucy Walker.
• “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” (2012) Directed by Chad Freidrichs. 

Visual Sociology

• “True Meaning of Pictures” (2002) Directed by Jennifer Baichwal.
• “Manufactured Landscapes” (2006) Directed by Jennifer Baichwal.
• “Standard Operating Procedure” (2008) Directed by Errol Morris.
• “We Live in Public” (2009) Directed by Ondi Timoner.

Work / Occupations

• “Harvest of Shame” (1960) Directed by Fred Friendly. Produced by Fred Friendly, David Lowe, Edward R. Murrow.
• “Harlan County USA” (1976) Directed by Barbara Kopple.
• “The Wobblies” (1979) Directed by Steward Bird & Deborah Shaffer
• “The Life & Times of Rosie the Riveter” (1980) Directed by Sue Davenport.
• “Clockwork” (1981) Directed by Eric Breitbart.
• “Fast Food Women” (1992) Directed Anne Lewis Johnson.
• “Fast Cheap & Out of Control” (1997) Directed by Errol Morris.
• “Life and Debt” (2001) Directed by Stephanie Black.
• “The Overspent American” (2004) Directed by Sut Jhally, Loretta Alper & Kelly Garner.
• “Farmingville” (2004) Directed by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini.
• “A Decent Factory” (2004) Directed by Thomas Balmes.
• “Wetback” (2005) Directed by Arturo Torres.
• “Taking the Heat” (2006) Directed by Bann Roy.
• “Maquilapolis: City of Factories” (2006) Directed by Vicky Funari and Sergio De La Torre.
• “Mardi Gras: Made in China” (2006) Directed by David Redmon.
• “En El Hoyo (In the Pit)” (2006) Directed by Juan Carlos Rulfo.
• “China Blue” (2006) Directed by Mica X. Peled. 
• “Made in L.A.” (2009) Directed by Almudena Caarracedo and Robert Bahar.
• “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” (2009) Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert 
• “Triangle: Remembering the Fire” (2011) Dephane Pinkerson  
• “Love Between the Covers” (2015) Directed by Laurie Kahn 

Youth / Deviance

• “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills” (1996) Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.
• “Paradise Lost 2: Revelations” (2001) Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.
• “The Devil’s Playground” (2002) Directed by Lucy Walker.
• “Girlhood” (2003) Directed by Liz Garbus
• “Bomb It: Graffiti Documentary” (2007)  Produced and Directed by Jon Reiss.

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