Documentary of the Week

'The Disappearance of Shere Hite' explores the rise and fall of the sex researcher who emerged in the 1970s with best-selling books then faded into obscurity. Filmmaker Nicole Newnham draws upon a vast archive of footage and enlists Dakota Johnson to read from Hite's writing.

'Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled' profiles the actress-director-writer who will appear in person for the film's U.S. premiere at the DOC NYC festival on November 12. The film explores her journey as a storyteller and an activist for refugees.

'Another Body' explores the rising cases of non-consensual deepfake technology used in pornography, whereby an unsuspecting woman's face is digitally edited into explicit content. The film follows a college student who investigates her own victimization when she can't find justice from police.

Filmmaker Errol Morris profiles the renowned spy novelist David Cornwell - better known as John le Carré - in the documentary 'The Pigeon Tunnel,' based on the author's memoir. Cornwell describes this interview as 'definitive.' It would the final one he gave before his death in 2020 at age 89.

'Silver Dollar Road,' based on reporting by ProPublica and The New Yorker, explores the story of the Reels family who fought developers to retain their inherited property in North Carolina. Director Raoul Peck ('I Am Not Your Negro') highlights the strength of the Reels' resistance to intimidation and legal pressure.

'Reality Winner' profiles the whistle-blower who leaked a secret NSA report about Russian attempts to interfere with the U.S. election. Filmmaker Sonia Kennebeck interviews Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers to explore the legal, political and psychological dimensions of the case.

'Joan Baez: I Am a Noise' profiles the folk singer whose career was intertwined with the civil rights and non-violence movements. The film follows her on tour at age 79 as she looks back on the relationships and politics that shaped her.

"Every Body" explores the history, science and politics of people who were born with reproductive anatomy that doesn't easily fit the categories of male or female. Filmmaker Julie Cohen profiles three people who went public with their stories.

"26.2 to Life" follows inmates at California's San Quentin prison as they train and compete for a marathon. Filmmaker Christine Yoo explores how each prisoner strives for their personal best, seeking different forms of redemption.

"The League" is a vibrant history of baseball's Negro leagues that rose up in the Jim Crow era and pushed the game in new directions. Filmmaker Sam Pollard ("MLK/FBI") covers legendary players such as Satchel Paige as well as behind the scenes figures such as Newark's club co-owner Effa Manley.

"Youth v Gov" follows young people suing the United State government to address the climate crisis. The film shows the depth of a larger activist movement that won a victory this past week in Montana's courts.

"Stephen Curry: Underrated" tells the origin story of the NBA All-Star from his college days at Davidson College when he grabbed the attention of fans with a series of March Madness upsets. Filmmaker Peter Nicks weaves that history together with Curry's storybook run at the NBA finals in 2022.

Sundance Film Festival prize winner "Kokomo City" is sexy, sassy and surprising in its portrait of four transgender sex workers. Hip-hop producer turned filmmaker D. Smith brings tremendous vitality to celebrating these lives in language that's mostly too raw for public radio.

"While We Watched" profiles India's TV news anchor Ravish Kumar as he faces death threats and other pressures while trying to practice journalism in an age of rising extremism. The film, directed by Vinay Shukla, has won multiple festival awards.

"Casa Susanna" reflects on a haven for transgender expression in the Catskills that was kept secret for decades. French filmmaker Sébastien Lifshitz profiles four people whose lives were profoundly intertwined with this history.

"The Stroll" explores the history of transgender sex workers who worked the streets of New York's Meatpacking District before the neighborhood's gentrification. Directors Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker document the intense pressures, but also the activism, sisterhood and self-empowerment in the community.

"Victim/Suspect" follows reporter Rae de Leon as she investigates a pattern of cases where women reported sexual assault only to be accused by police of lying. Filmmaker Nancy Schwartzman explores the underlying biases behind this trend.

The actor, John Leguizamo takes a road trip to Latin American communities across the country in, "Leguizamo Does America." He engages prominent locals in lively conversations about their history, food, music and culture.

New York based-filmmaker Jon-Sesrie Goff traces his family's roots in the Gullah community of South Carolina in "After Sherman," a title evoking the Civil War general. The film is more poetic than didactic as it connects the past to the present.

"Being Mary Tyler Moore" explores how the actress compared and contrasted in real life to the characters she portrayed. Director James Adolphus chronicles how Moore was constantly evolving.

In "1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed," Director W. Kamau Bell interviews mixed race people across three generations to understand their challenges and insights. The film is an opportunity to listen and learn.

"32 Sounds" is a documentary essay that enlists composers, scientists, Hollywood effects specialists and others to contemplate how we listen. Filmmaker Sam Green has created an interactive experience best experienced in a movie theater.

"Little Richard: I Am Everything" brings a fresh perspective on the history of rock 'n' roll with insights from Mick Jagger and Billy Porter. Director Lisa Cortes explores what it meant to be Black and queer when both were subject to intense discrimination and violence.

"Wild Life" tells the love story of Doug and Kris Tompkins who gave up careers running North Face and Patagonia to devote themselves to conservation. Oscar-winning filmmaker E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ("Free Solo") chronicle how the Tompkins orchestrated the largest national park land donation in history.

In "The First Step," we follow progressive activist Van Jones as forges an unlikely alliance with Jared Kushner in the Trump administration to pass criminal justice reform. The film-making brothers, Brandon and Lance Kramer show how political coalitions are hard to win and easy to lose.

The American soldiers who were interviewed 20 years ago for the documentary "Gunner Palace" about the war in Iraq, look back on their experiences today in "The Army We Had." While many Americans may want to forget the war, filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker keep the memories of these soldiers alive.

"Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV" profiles the ground-breaking video artist whose work in the 1970s and 80s anticipated numerous artistic and technological innovations that came afterward. Filmmaker Amanda Kim interviews Paik's friends and admirers who put his legacy in perspective.

"All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" profiles the artist Nan Goldin and her fight to have the Sackler family held accountable for the opioid epidemic. Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras explores Goldin's complex history as an artist and activist while chronicling her recent campaign to have art institutions disassociate themselves from the Sacklers as donors.

"Navalny" follows the Russian dissident Alexei Navalny as he investigates a Kremlin plot to assassinate him. Today, Navalny is in prison, but this film by Daniel Roher keeps his voice alive and is nominated for an Academy Award.

"Framing Agnes" brings to life archival interviews with transgender men and women from the 1950s. Filmmaker Chase Joynt leads a team of trans collaborators including Zackary Drucker, Angelica Ross and Max Wolf Valerio to shed light on this earlier generation.

"The 1619 Project" adapts the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism of Nikole Hannah-Jones into a six-part series on Hulu. Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams teams with The New York Times and Oprah Winfrey to reexamine Black American history.

"Nothing Lasts Forever" explores how the rise of synthetic diamonds is disrupting the longtime monopoly of the company De Beers. Filmmaker Jason Kohn interviews a wide range of industry insiders including jewelry designer and historian Aja Raden.

"Body Parts" explores Hollywood's complicated history of filming nudity and sexuality. We hear from actors such as Jane Fonda and Rose McGowan about their frequent experiences of being coerced into explicit scenes against their better judgment - and how they found their voice to push for change.

"Roberta" chronicles how the singer of "Killing Me Softly" went from being a classically trained musician to a soul sensation. Director Antonino D'Ambrosio draws upon interviews with Roberta Flack and her contemporaries such as Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis along with music scholars Emily Lordi and Jason King.

"Angola Do You Hear Us?" follows Liza Jessie Peterson as she performs her one woman show, "The Peculiar Patriot" at Louisiana's Angola Prison. Filmmaker Cinque Northern captures how the event raises excitement for the inmates and tensions for the guards.

"38 at the Garden" looks back on Jeremy Lin's phenomenal scoring streak with the New York Knicks in 2012 and what it meant for Asian Americans. Filmmaker Frank Chi interviews Lin along with comedian Hassan Minaj, journalist Lisa Ling and others who reflect on how "Linsanity" became about more than just basketball.

In "Bad Axe," filmmaker David Siev documents his immigrant family running their restaurant during the 2020 challenges of COVID and a racial reckoning. When tensions rise, the family has to choose when and how to make a stand.

"Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb" looks at the relationship between Lyndon Johnson's biographer and his editor. Filmmaker Lizzie Gottlieb brings a personal perspective as the editor's daughter.

Joyce Chopra, who made the ground-breaking 1972 personal documentary "Joyce at 34," has published a new memoir called "Lady Director." A collection of her films is now available on Criterion.

"To the End" follows young activists with the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats as they join forces with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to push the Green New Deal. Filmmaker Rachel Lears examines the idealism, road blocks and breakthroughs as the activists face pushback from the fossil fuel industry and its political supporters.

"2nd Chance" profiles the complicated life Richard Davis whose invention of body armor saved lives while he ducked scandals. Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani explores American myth-making around guns, retribution and redemption.

"Descendant" explores the legacy of the last known slave ship that arrived in Mobile, Alabama in 1860. Filmmaker Margaret Brown profiles the descendants of enslaved Africans who were aboard the ship and the family that financed it.

Before there was Robert Downey Jr., there was his namesake father, an underground filmmaker, who's profiled in "Sr." Documentarian Chris Smith follows the two generations of Downeys as they seek to become closer and the father feels his mortality.

"Fragments of Paradise" celebrates the life of Jonas Mekas, co-founder of New York's Anthology Film Archives, who left a lasting legacy on the New York film world. Directed by KD Davison, the film premieres among nearly 200 films at the DOC NYC festival in theaters and online. "Fragments of Paradise" premieres Saturday, Nov. 12 at DOC NYC.

"The Best Chef in the World" profiles Sally Schmitt, founder of the legendary restaurant The French Laundry. Oscar-winning filmmaker Ben Proudfoot captures her history as a trail blazer when it was rare for a woman to run a restaurant.

"Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues" explores the legendary trumpet player and singer in all his complexity. Filmmaker Sacha Jenkins draws upon Armstrong's private audio diaries and interviews to tell his own story.

Filmmaker Nausheen Dadabhoy interviews American Muslims from diverse backgrounds to create a mosaic of voices in "An Act of Worship." The film shows how love can serve as an antidote to discrimination and hate.

"The Last Out" follows several Cuban baseball players trying to emigrate to the United States to follow their major league dreams. We watch them be challenged physically and mentally in a competitive marketplace where raw talent alone isn't enough.

In "Last Flight Home," director Ondi Timoner chronicles her entrepreneur father Eli, creator of Air Florida, in the final weeks of his life. The film captures their family's experience as the 92-year-old patriarch chooses to exercise California's legal right to end his own life.

"The U.S. and the Holocaust" looks at the World War II era when many European Jews fleeing the Nazis were turned away by America. Filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein tell a story that deeply resonates today as the United States grapples with the arrival of asylum seekers.