The Best Foreign Documentary Films
Ranked By
688 votes
51 voters
Voting Rules
Vote up the best foreign documentary films.
- 1Heidi Bub, Mai Thi KimIn 1975, as the Vietnam War was ending, thousands of orphans and Amerasian children were brought to the United States as part of Operation Babylift. "Daughter from Danang" tells the dramatic story of one of these children, Heidi Bub (a.k.a. Mai Thi Hiep), and her Vietnamese mother, Mai Thi Kim, separated at the war's end and reunited 22 years later.
- 2
20,000 Days on Earth
Darian LeaderA therapist's questions and a visit to a voluminous archive propel a dramatization of a day in the life of musician and cultural icon Nick Cave. - Men and women -- ranging from former SS members to civilians -- discuss their memories and perceptions of the Holocaust.
- Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids is a 2004 Indian-American documentary film about the children of prostitutes in Sonagachi, Kolkata's red light district. The widely acclaimed film, written and directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, won a string of accolades including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2004.
- 5
Listen to Me Marlon
Marlon Brando, Bette Davis, Stella AdlerActor Marlon Brando reveals personal thoughts on audio tape, offering insight into his life and career. - 6David Bohnett, Scott Boms, Chris BonanosIntrepid Viennese biologist Florian "Doc" Kaps risks his career and fortune to save the world's last Polaroid factory.
- 7
McCullin
McCullin is a 2012 documentary film directed by David Morris and Jacqui Morris. - 8Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Tony BennettArchival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.
- 9
In The Same Breath
A look at how the Chinese government turned pandemic cover-ups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist Party. - 10Amin, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Daniel KarimyarOn the verge of marriage to his long-time boyfriend, a successful academic in Denmark is confronted with a secret from his past.More Flee
- #68 of 72 onThe Best LGBTQ+ Documentaries
- #154 of 179 onThe Best Documentaries Of 2021
- #37 of 40 onThe 40 Best Documentaries About Immigration
- 11Eliades Ochoa, Ry Cooder, Joachim CooderThis documentary by lauded German filmmaker Wim Wenders follows renowned guitarist Ry Cooder and his son, Joachim, as they travel to Cuba and assemble a group of the country's finest musicians to record an album. Among the artists included in the project are singer Ibrahim Ferrer and pianist Rubén González, who are both interviewed and featured in studio footage. Eventually the ensemble travels to the United States to perform in front of rapt audiences.More Buena Vista Social Club
- #67 of 98 onThe Best Movies Of 1998, Ranked
- #51 of 109 onThe Best Documentaries About Music
- #74 of 154 onThe 140+ Best Biography Movies
- 12Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Mike TheodoreThough he faded into obscurity in the U.S., an early '70s musician known as Rodriguez became a huge hit in South Africa and was widely rumored to have died. Two obsessed fans set out to learn the man's true fate.More Searching for Sugar Man
- #429 of 675 onThe Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars
- #31 of 277 onThe Greatest Documentaries of All Time
- #21 of 118 onLife-Changing Documentaries You've Got to See
- 13Paul McGill, Robert Sciglimpaglia, Jr.Using actual footage from the event seamlessly mingled with new re-enactments, filmmaker James Marsh masterfully recreates high-wire daredevil Philippe Petit's 1974 stunt: performing acrobatics on a thin wire strung between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Plotting his feat like a master cat burglar, Petit enlists the help of a motley group of friends as he calculates every detail, from acquiring building access to stringing up the wire, and manages to pull off an astounding crime.More Man on Wire
- #461 of 675 onThe Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars
- #29 of 277 onThe Greatest Documentaries of All Time
- #33 of 44 onEvery Single Movie On Rotten Tomatoes With 100% Approval, Ranked
- 14Yehezkel Lazarov, Mickey LeonIsraeli filmmaker Ari Folman wrote, directed and stars in this autobiographical animated film. As a 19-year-old infantry soldier in the 1982 war with Lebanon, Folman witnessed the Sabra and Shatila massacre, but realizes that he has no memory of the event. In 2006, he seeks out others who were in Beirut at the time to discuss their memories, including a psychologist specializing in post-traumatic stress disorders and the first journalist to cover the massacre.More Waltz with Bashir
- #80 of 118 onLife-Changing Documentaries You've Got to See
- #354 of 425 onThe Greatest Movies in World Cinema History
- #15 of 15 on15 Important Movies We Love But Never Need To Rewatch
- 15Anwar Congo, Adi Zulkadry, Herman KotoThe Act of Killing is a 2012 Indonesian documentary film directed by Joshua Oppenheimer. The filmmakers challenge former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
- 16Pelé, Mario Zagallo, JairzinhoThe definitive story of the man who personified soccer, which he called "the beautiful game", and how he changed the history of the sport.
- 17
Faces Places
Agnès Varda, JRFaces Places (aka Visages Villages) is a 2017 French documentary film directed by Agnès Varda and JR. Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship. - 18Banksy, Mr. Brainwash, Space InvaderThe infamous, shadowy British graffiti street artist Banksy has literally left his mark on cities throughout the world. He comes in contact with Thierry Guetta, a Los Angeles-based Frenchman who videotapes various underground art escapades, and later is transformed into an art phenomenon dubbed "Mr. Brainwash." Rhys Ifans narrates an overlapping documentary where the line between what is real and what might be fake blurs, as modern art and celebrity are put under the microscope.
- 19Vik MunizLocated just outside Rio de Janeiro, Jardim Gramacho, Brazil, is the world's largest garbage landfill. Modern artist Vik Muniz works with the so-called catadores, the men and women who pick through the refuse, to create art out of recycled materials. Muniz selects six of the garbage pickers to pose as subjects in a series of photographs mimicking famous paintings. In his desire to assist the catadores and change their lives, Muniz finds himself changed as well.
- 20Mick Jagger, Jason Robards Jr., Klaus KinksiMy Best Fiend is a 1999 German documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog, about his tumultuous yet productive relationship with German actor Klaus Kinski. It was released on DVD in 2000 by Anchor Bay.
- #33 of 47 onThe Best Documentaries To Watch Stoned
- #17 of 35 onThe Best Mick Jagger Movies
- #2 of 78 onThe 75+ Best Documentaries About Movies & Hollywood
- 21Piero Botto, Sergio Cauda, Maria CicciùA handful of men search for rare, expensive and delicious white Alba truffles deep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy.
- 22Razvan Lutac, Mirela Neag, Catalin TolontanCollective (Romanian: Colectiv) is a 2019 Romanian documentary film directed by Alexander Nanau. Investigative journalists at the newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor look into healthcare corruption connected to the Colectiv nightclub fire.More Collective
- #69 of 118 onLife-Changing Documentaries You've Got to See
- #24 of 52 onThe Best Docs On Hulu, Ranked
- #59 of 65 onThe Saddest Documentaries Of All Time
- 23Hatidze MuratovaHoneyland is a 2019 Republic of Macedonia documentary film directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov.
- 24Bengu, Deniz, DumanKedi is a 2016 Turkish documentary film directed by Ceyda Torun. A profile of an ancient city and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.
- 25Billy Tipton, Susan Stryker, Kate BornsteinThe extraordinary life and career of jazz musician and transgender icon Billy Tipton.
- 26
The Look of Silence
Joshua OppenheimerAn optician confronts the men who killed the brother that he never knew during the 1960s Indonesian genocide. - 27Thavisouk PhrasavathA Laotian family leaves its war-torn country behind and moves to New York.
- 28Bern Cohen, Reagan Leonard, Bob AngeliniProject Nim is a 2011 documentary film directed by James Marsh.More Project Nim
- #158 of 277 onThe Greatest Documentaries of All Time
- #37 of 54 onThe 50 Best PG-13 Historical Movies
- #37 of 56 onThe Best Documentaries About Animals
- 29Brenton ButlerOn May 7, 2000, in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn in Jacksonville, Florida, 65-year-old Mary Ann Stephens is shot in the head before her husband's eyes. Ninety minutes later, 15-year-old Brenton Butler is arrested. For the investigators and the media it's just another messed-up youth, just another wasted life.
- 30Petronila Abarca, Romulo Aitken, Sergio ChamyThe Mole Agent (Spanish: El agente topo) is a 2020 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Maite Alberdi. A private investigator hires an elderly man to go undercover in a nursing home in Chile.
