Best Documentaries 2021

Critics Consensus: Deftly interweaving incredible live footage with a series of revealing interviews, Summer of Soul captures the spirit and context of a watershed moment while tying it firmly to the present.

Synopsis: In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary-part music film, part historical record created around an epic... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Chris Rock

Directed By: Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson

Critics Consensus: The Velvet Underground takes a fittingly idiosyncratic approach to delivering a rock documentary that captures the band as well as its era.

Synopsis: The Velvet Underground created a new sound that changed the world of music, cementing its place as one of rock 'n' roll's most revered bands.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mary Woronov, Jonathan Richman, John Cale, Maureen Ann Tucker

Directed By: Todd Haynes

Critics Consensus: The Truffle Hunters explores a world most viewers will know nothing about -- with delightfully savory results.

Synopsis: A handful of men search for rare, expensive and delicious white Alba truffles deep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy.

Starring: Enrico Crippa, Carlo Gondola, Piero Botto, Sergio Cauda

Directed By: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw

Critics Consensus: Clear, concise, and comprehensive, Coded Bias offers a chilling look at largely unseen side effects of modern society's algorithmic underpinnings.

Synopsis: An exploration into the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini's discovery of racial bias in facial recognition algorithms.

Starring: Joy Buolamwini

Directed By: Shalini Kantayya

Critics Consensus: Their albums may be cult favorites, but this Edgar Wright-directed documentary offers an introduction to Sparks that has something for everyone.

Synopsis: How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? Edgar Wright's debut documentary THE SPARKS BROTHERS,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Edgar Wright, Flea

Directed By: Edgar Wright

Critics Consensus: A clear-eyed look at an extraordinary subject, Mayor makes essential viewing out of one politician's quest to preserve dignity in the midst of bureaucracy.

Synopsis: A look at the life of Musa Hadid, the charismatic mayor of Palestinian city Ramallah, who aspires to lead the city into the future.

Starring: Musa Hadid

Directed By: David Osit

Critics Consensus: Urgent and empathetic, Changing the Game takes an affecting and admirably nuanced look at young transgender athletes.

Synopsis: This intimate story takes us into the lives of three high school athletes from across the US -- all at different stages of their athletic... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mack Beggs, Sarah Rose Huckman, Andraya Yearwood

Directed By: Michael Barnett

Critics Consensus: Acasa, My Home presents a powerful documentary portrait of one family's odyssey that illustrates bittersweet truths about freedom and society.

Synopsis: A rural Romanian couple and their nine children must learn to live in the big city.

Directed By: Radu Ciorniciuc

Critics Consensus: Sabaya presents a scary and sobering look at human suffering -- and the efforts of those dedicated to ending it.

Synopsis: Members of a group risk their lives trying to save Yazidi women and girls who are being held as sex slaves in the most dangerous... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Hogir Hirori

Critics Consensus: Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror takes a fascinating deep dive that'll leave like-minded viewers making numerous new additions to their streaming queues.

Synopsis: WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED is the first feature-length documentary on the history of folk horror, exploring the phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Piers Haggard, Lawrence Gordon Clark, Jeremy Dyson, Alice Lowe

Directed By: Kier-La Janisse