Documentary of the Week

After 50 years of making films about institutions, Frederick Wiseman’s latest is “Ex Libris - The New York Public Library.” The documentary covers multiple angles - from serving patrons to soliciting funds - to make an eloquent case for the library’s value to the city. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

Nicely timed for September, the documentary "School Life” is set at Headfort boarding school in County Kells, Ireland. Filmmakers Neasa Ní Chianáin and David Rane aren’t entering any debate over education. Instead, the film plays as a light comedy as they sweetly observe the staff and students growing together over a year. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

Nearly one in six American couples are unable to naturally conceive a baby and carry it to term. The documentary “Vegas Baby” follows the contestants in a controversial contest to win in-vitro fertilization treatment. Filmmaker Amanda Micheli shines a light on infertility issues by creating memorable portraits of these people and their struggles. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The documentary "Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman" profiles the kind of American you don't usually associate with the environmental movement -- a Montana rancher, a Gulf Coast fisherman. Filmmakers Susan Froemke and John Hoffman explain the stories of these mavericks in their own words and through gorgeous cinematography. They speak from a hard-won wisdom. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

In the documentary “Icarus," filmmaker Bryan Fogel, an amateur cyclist, engages Russian doping mastermind Grigory Rodchenkov for an experiment that has a dramatic twist. We follow in real time, through a web of intrigue and exile, as Rodchenkov exposes a long history of Olympic doping. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

In the documentary “Brillo Box (3¢ off),” filmmaker Lisanne Skyler traces the journey of Andy Warhol’s famous pop-art creation that her parents bought and sold. Through the ups and downs of Warhol's place in the art market, the film blends cultural history with family history to explore how we assign value and why. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

In the documentary “Step,” filmmaker Amanda Lipitz follows three Baltimore high school seniors who draw strength and lessons from their percussive dance group. The team called the Lethal Ladies seek to fulfill their goals in a regional competition. As the student named Blessin says, “Step is life." — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary "Rumble: Indians Who Rocked the World" explores a hidden history of Native American musicians who made an impact on rock, jazz, blues and more. Filmmaker Catherine Bainbridge profiles artists such as Link Wray, Charlie Patton, Mildred Bailey and Black Eyed Peas rapper Taboo. No matter what your musical taste, there’s something to be gained from this invigorating history. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary “I Am Jane Doe” profiles victims of underage sex trafficking and their all-out legal battle the popular advertising website Backpage.com. Filmmaker Mary Mazzio examines how Backpage.com has used the First Amendment to battle the lawsuits and why its critics claim that’s a problematic defense. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

Environmentalists report the world lost half its coral reefs in the last 30 years — and the pace is increasing. It’s one thing for someone to say that. It’s another to see it. In the film "Chasing Coral,” filmmaker Jeff Orlowski follows a team of researchers who use time-lapse cameras to examine the effects of climate change and pollution. We get as close as we can get without putting on a wet suit. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary “City of Ghosts” profiles the Syrian activists from the group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently as they report on the takeover of their hometown by the Islamic State. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Matthew Heineman follows the key organizers as their group experiences exile and assassination, but succeeds in overcoming the wall of silence. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The director Errol Morris is known for probing morally challenged men, in films like "The Thin Blue Line" and "Fog of War." His new film, “The B Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography,” is a celebration of a woman who specialized in making pictures with a rare Polaroid large format camera. This film is a moving tribute from one artist to another. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

In the Netflix documentary “Nobody Speak: Trials of a Free Press,” filmmaker Brian Knappenberger looks at two cases in which American billionaires tried to silence their critics. His portrayals of the Hulk Hogan vs Gawker lawsuit and the purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal underscore the new threats to the first amendment. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

D.A. Pennebaker’s “Monterey Pop” captures the landmark 1967 concert that kicked off the summer of love. Newly restored by Criterion for the 50th anniversary, the film features memorable performances by Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, topped off by a finale with Ravi Shankar. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The Netflix documentary series “The Keepers” digs into the 1969 murder of a Baltimore nun named Sister Cathy Cesnik, a popular Catholic high-school teacher. Over seven episodes, filmmaker Ryan White connects the murder to accusations of rampant child sex abuse at Baltimore’s Keough High School. The quest for justice is an eye-opening look into corruption that is larger than just one case. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary “Letters from Baghdad” is a sweeping history of the Middle East in the early 20th century, told through the eyes of the British writer Gertrude Bell, who spent three decades in the region. Filmmakers Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum enlist actress Tilda Swinton to give voice to Bell’s correspondence, set against a rich trove of archival footage and photography. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The film “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower” shows how the young organizer Joshua Wong rallied fellow students in 2012 to protest Chinese meddling in the school curriculum and how it snowballed into a powerful pro-democracy movement. Filmmaker Joe Piscatella draws upon multiple sources of footage to chronicle how Joshua faced controversies and crackdowns. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

Thomas Sung was inspired by “It’s a Wonderful Life” to establish the Abacus bank in New York’s Chinatown as a place for immigrants to get loans. But after the 2008 financial meltdown, Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr targeted Abacus bank for prosecution while other banks “too big to fail” got bailouts. Documentary maker Steve James follows the case in his new film “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.” — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The documentary “Get Me Roger Stone” profiles the political operative who’s infamous for campaigning with dirty tricks from Nixon to Trump. The filmmaking trio of Dylan Bank, Daniel DiMauro and Morgan Pehme tell Stone’s history while following him over the 2016 Presidential campaign. Now that questions swirl over Stone’s connections to Russian hackers, this film serves as a vital primer to a story that's still unfolding. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen Fore more information, click here to visit the film web site.

Laura Poitras is known for her Oscar-winning documentary “Citizenfour” about Edward Snowden. Now, in “Risk,” she gains access to Wikileaks leader Julian Assange and his associates, focusing heavily on his activities around the 2010 “Cablegate” leak of U.S. State Department documents and tracking him through the 2016 Presidential election. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information click here to visit the official film web site.

Marcel Ophuls is best known for his epic documentaries “The Sorrow and the Pity” and the Oscar-winning “Hotel Terminus.” But he believes his best film is “Memory of Justice,” which has scarcely been available since its original release in 1976. Now Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation has led an effort to restore the film, allowing us to experience its magisterial exploration of bringing justice to war crimes. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more inforation, click here to visit the film web site.

The author and activist Jane Jacobs changed the way we look at cities, emerging in the 1960s as the visionary opposition to her nemesis, the New York power broker Robert Moses. In “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City”, filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer tells the story of how Jacobs led a movement to block Moses from building a highway through lower Manhattan. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

John Coltrane died too young, at the age of 40, in 1967. But the master saxophonist packed his years with enough musical innovation for several lifetimes. In the new documentary “Chasing Trane,” director John Scheinfeld tells Coltrane's story through the eyes and ears of contemporaries and fans. Coltrane’s words are voiced by Denzel Washington. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The Netflix series “Five Came Back,” adapted from Mark Harris’ book, explores the Hollywood directors who made propaganda documentaries for the U.S. military during World War II. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Laurent Bouzereau, the 3-part series enlists contemporary directors such as Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola to reflect on works such as Frank Capra’s “Why We Fight," John Ford’s “The Battle of Midway,” and John Huston's “San Pietro." — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

In the documentary “Karl Marx City,” filmmaker Petra Epperlein investigates a mystery from her East German childhood to discover if her father was an informer for the Stasi secret police. Watching the film, directed by Epperlein and her husband Michael Tucker, you can’t help thinking about our modern state of surveillance and its consequences. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The documentary “I Called Him Morgan” is a moody investigation into the life and death of the trumpet player Lee Morgan. In 1972, Morgan was shot and killed in a New York bar by his common law wife Helen. Swedish filmmaker Kasper Collins spent several years trying to understand her crime of passion. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

In 2010, filmmaker Danae Elon moved back to Jerusalem, the city of her childhood, with her family. Her late father Amos Elon, the acclaimed writer, had warned her not to move back. In this documentary “P.S. Jerusalem,” filmed over three years, she gives a first person account of the city’s political tensions. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

If you were a black woman who wanted to make a film in the civil rights era, the doors were mostly closed. Madeline Anderson managed to overcome those obstacles. Now she presents three of her short films “Integration Report 1” (1960); “A Tribute to Malcolm X” (1967); and “I Am Somebody” (1970) at the Metrograph theater. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the theater web site.

For 50 years, the Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been a key bone of contention for peace negotiations. Now a new documentary "The Settlers,” by the Israeli-American director Shimon Dotan, tries to unravel this complex history. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

In "Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise," the author, who died in 2014, remains vibrant and alive. Filmmakers Bob Hercules and Ruth Coburn Whack draw upon extensive interviews with Angelou that are frank, funny and inspiring — especially on the topic of overcoming hardships. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

For most New Yorkers, Jamaica Bay is just some place out by JFK airport. But the new documentary "Saving Jamaica Bay," directed by David Sigal, calls attention to the natural wonders that lie below the air traffic. The film honors the local residents who never wavered in their commitment to the bay, even after Hurricane Sandy wiped out their homes. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

In the new Netflix series “Abstract: The Art of Design” we meet eight designers from the fields of graphics, architecture, clothing and more. You may not know their names, but you’d recognize their work. In one episode, the artist Christoph Niemann walks us through the process of creating a cover for The New Yorker magazine. Series producer Morgan Neville (“20 Feet From Stardom”) oversees a team of directors who use inventive camerawork to bring these visions to screen. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information click here to visit the series home page.

James Baldwin died in 1987, but his quiet rage speaks eloquently to our times. In the Oscar-nominated documentary “I Am Not Your Negro," director Raoul Peck creates a film essay from Baldwin’s words, using footage from past and present with narration by the actor Samuel Jackson. A key part of the film is the author's unfinished manuscript about three martyrs of the civil rights movement — Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

In the documentary “Don’t Blink: Robert Frank,” we spend quality time with the New York photographer and filmmaker, now in his 90s. While Frank has been a reluctant interview subject in the past, director Laura Israel gets him to open up about his influential works including “The Americans,” his famous book of candid portraits; his film “Pull My Daisy,” featuring the Beat writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg; and his relationship with the Rolling Stones at their peak in the '70s. His photo-taking advice: "Keep your eyes open. Don’t shake. Don’t blink." — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

Twenty-five years ago, Madonna's Blonde Ambition tour and documentary "Truth or Dare" signaled a new era of sexual expression. Now, in the new documentary "Strike a Pose," directed by Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan, her seven male dancers reflect on that tour and its aftermath. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

Sidney Lumet started his career as a child actor in New York’s Yiddish theater and became one of the most prolific filmmakers of his generation, with classics such as “12 Angry Men,” “Serpico” and “Network.” In 2008, he sat for an expansive and probing interview with filmmaker Daniel Anker. After both men passed away, director Nancy Buirski took over the project to interweave Lumet’s reflections with iconic scenes from his films for the documentary “By Sidney Lumet.” It's streaming free this month as part of PBS’s American Masters series. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site at PBS.

The documentary "Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds" captures the unbreakable bond of the mother-daughter Hollywood duo. Directors Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens get candid access as Reynolds faces retirement from show business in her 80s. Filmed two years ago, this emotional portrait is extra poignant so soon after their deaths. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film page at HBO.

Frederick Wiseman’s 1967 directorial debut “Titicut Follies” was a searing expose of Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane. The film proved so controversial that the Massachusetts government sought to have it banned and tied it up in court for 26 years before it was finally made available for general release. This year, Wiseman received an honorary Oscar — click the link below to watch his acceptance speech. The film celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2017, and it's been adapted into a ballet coming to New York City in April. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

In the documentary “Presenting Princess Shaw,” director Ido Haar follows the aspiring singer Samantha Montgomery as she pours out her original songs onto YouTube for a few dozen followers. Unbeknownst to her, the composer Kutiman watches her videos from an Israeli kibbutz and crafts music that will turn her into a viral sensation. Their collaboration “Stay Here” is one of 91 tracks eligible for this year’s Oscar for Best Song. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

Chinese feminist Ye Haiyan (aka Hooligan Sparrow) has a reputation for her viral campaigns in support of sex workers. In the film “Hooligan Sparrow,” filmmaker Nanfu Wang follows the activist as she campaigns for justice in the southern province of Hainan, where six girls — all under the age of 14 — accuse their principal of rape. Sparrow and Wang both stand up to powerful interests that want this story to go away. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The documentary “Sour Grapes” investigates a massive fraud perpetrated on wine collectors. Filmmakers Jerry Rothwell and Reuben Atlas look at the case of Rudy Kurniawan, who was known for having an uncanny palate to identify wines. He applied his talents to creating fake bottles that created a sensation in the auction market until collectors like Bill Koch uncovered his deception and sought revenge. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The Staples Singers topped the R&B charts with songs like “I’ll Take You There” and “Respect Yourself.” The documentary “Mavis!” profiles the group’s lead singer Mavis Staples, now in her 70s. She recounts her winding musical journey that passed through gospel, folk, soul and included solo albums produced by Prince. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

Richard and Mildred Loving were an interracial couple whose marriage was outlawed in their home state of Virginia. In 1967, their case -- Loving vs. Virginia -- went all the way to the Supreme Court. Hope Ryden, a pioneering woman documentary maker, filmed the Lovings in the 1960s, but her footage remained unseen until it was rescued by director Nancy Buirski and producer Elisabeth Haviland James. They artfully combined it with other sources and new interviews to make the “The Loving Story." The documentary is now available on HBO Go and iTunes. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

Winner of the 2016 DOC NYC festival Metropolis Award, "Off the Rails" is a fascinating character portrait of Darius McCollum, who has Asperger's syndrome and a notorious habit of impersonating New York subway and bus drivers. Director Adam Irving follows McCollum through the criminal justice system and shows how it's ill-equipped to deal with his mental health. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

Kenny Anderson was a basketball star from his high school days in Queens. His mother called him “Mr Chibbs” — a play on “cheeks.” In the documentary “Mr Chibbs,” director Jill Campbell follows Anderson after his career as an NBA All-Star. He copes with bankruptcy and demons from his past in the aftermath of his beloved mother’s death. The film makes its world premiere at the DOC NYC film festival with Anderson and other guests in person. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The DOC NYC film festival begins today. Over the past seven years, it’s become America’s largest documentary festival. Over 200 films are screening this year at three locations in Chelsea and Greenwich Village. Thom Powers is DOC NYC's founder and artistic director, as well as the co-host of WNYC’s Documentary of the Week, and he joined us to preview the festival, which opens tonight with a screening of "Citizen Jane: Battle for the City," about the author and activist who stopped Robert Moses from building a highway through lower Manhattan.

The documentary The Ivory Game plays a like a global thriller as it follows activists on the front lines to save elephants. Filmmakers Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani embed with African security forces fighting poachers and the Wildleaks activists conducting sting operations in Asia to arrest black-market dealers. They are racing against time to prevent elephants from going extinct in our lifetime. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

Filmmaker Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Cave of Forgotten Dreams) joins volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer to study volcanoes around the world. They travel from Indonesia to Iceland and even to North Korea, exploring the mystery, science and history of lava-spewing mountains. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) turns to documentary with “13th,” a film essay about the Constitution’s 13th amendment, which abolished slavery with the loophole clause “except as a punishment for a crime.” The film interviews African-American authors such as Michelle Alexander (“The New Jim Crow”) and Bryan Stevenson (“Just Mercy”) along with conservatives like Newt Gingrich to look at how the criminal justice system impacts black lives. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary “Theo Who Lived,” directed by David Schisgall, profiles the freelance American journalist Theo Padnos, who spent nearly two years held captive by Islamic fundamentalists in Syria. Fluent in Arabic, Padnos could communicate with his captors. Despite his harsh treatment, he’s able to see their human side and he retains a sense of humor in telling his story. — Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen For more information, click here to visit the film web site.