How Do You Measure a Year? from director and father Jay Rosenblatt captures 16 years of growth in a short documentary. Rosenblatt interviewed his daughter Ella every year on her birthday. This film is the result.
Being Mary Tyler Moore, a documentary from director James Adolphus, is less about Mary Tyler Moore as a person and more about her influence on culture and feminism.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, from director Lana Wilson, takes a look at Brooke Shields life and career from her point of view now as a woman in her 50s who has survived as a famous icon for her entire life.
From writer and director Nina Menkes, Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power explains how the politics of shot design on our screens affects sexual assault and employment discrimination against women. The documentary uses over 175 film clips to make its point.
If you’re a certain age (like me), you can sing along with every Dionne Warwick song because you know all the lyrics by heart. In Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, the lady herself leads a retrospective look back at her career.
Descendant is a sweeping tale of American history and of the descendants of enslaved Africans brought to the U.S. long after slave ships were outlawed. It’s a story of ancestry, survival, and American racism.
Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known is an HBO Max documentary about a single performance of the Tony winning Broadway musical Spring Awakening. The original cast came together after 15 years with a week of rehearsal to stage the play one more time.
Julia the documentary is a look at Julia Child’s entire life from directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West. It uses a wealth of archival footage of her cooking and giving interviews. People who knew her and worked with her speak, and modern chefs who owe so much to her were interviewed.
Phoenix Rising uses two feature length episodes to document the story of Evan Rachel Wood and her abuser, rocker Marilyn Manson. It’s very frank, horrific, and hard to watch, but necessary. Amy Berg directed.
Lucy and Desi, from director Amy Poehler, is a look at the entire life stories of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. It tells about their early lives, their marriage, their business empire, and their influence on television and American culture.
