Documentaries Worth Watching

A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.

Did Jesus exist? This film starts with that question, then goes on to examine Christianity as a whole.

An exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S. and how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to stigmatize the gay community.

A documentary shot by film-makers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the twenty-fourth of July, 2010.

A documentary that follows a billionaire couple as they begin construction on a mansion inspired by Versailles. During the next two years, their empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis.

A documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years.

North Korean defectors tell their stories of repression, escape and hope.

A documentary that follows the journeys of indie game developers as they create games and release those works, and themselves, to the world.

This documentary examines a selection of real life serial killers and compares them to the fictional Hannibal Lecter.

Mythology and belief in society today, presenting uncommon perspectives of common cultural issues.

Young filmmakers document their colleague's budding online friendship with a young woman and her family which leads to an unexpected series of discoveries.

Through archival footage and dramatic readings of his personal writings, the life of Nazi Germany's Propaganda Minister, Josef Goebbels, is examined.

A year with one platoon in the deadliest valley in Afghanistan.

In 1997, chess champion Garry Kasparov goes head-to-head against IBM's computer, Deep Blue, and accuses IBM of cheating its way to victory. Interviews with Kasparov, his manager and members of the Deep Blue team illuminate the controversy.

The Vikings were the most ferocious warriors of the Middle Ages. Especially fearsome were the select few who wielded a formidable weapon: a light, razor sharp, virtually indestructible sword with its maker's name, ULFBERHT, inlaid along the blade.

Following the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.

In this hard-hitting but humorous documentary, director Jamie Johnson takes the exploration of wealth that he began in Born Rich one step further. The One Percent, refers to the tiny percentage of Americans who control nearly half the wealth of the U.S. Johnson's thesis is that this wealth in the hands of so few people is a danger to our very way of life. Johnson captures his story through personal interviews with Robert Reich, Adnan Khashoggi, Bill Gates Sr., and Steve Forbes, during which both Johnson's and his subjects' knowledge and humor shine. And he's not afraid to butt heads with Milton Friedman, the economist who coined the term "the trickledown effect." He also shows how the other half lives, using real-world examples of the wealth gap: he takes a tour of a dilapidated housing project in Chicago, rides around with an enlightened taxi driver, and sees the human toll of the unfair economics of the Florida sugar industry. Johnson's film is at its most powerful when it reveals how the super-rich work to preserve their own monetary dominance. As a member of the "Johnson & Johnson" family, he gets rare access to an exclusive wealth conference at which the über rich learn strategies for preserving their fortunes, and learns the personal management styles of some of the countries wealthiest employers. No great society has survived such a massive wealth gap; who knows if ours will?

The collar awarded to the winners of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France) is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef - it is a dream and an obsession. The 3-day competition includes everything from delicate chocolates to precarious six foot sugar sculptures and requires that the chefs have extraordinary skill, nerves of steel and luck. The film follows Jacquy Pfeiffer, founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago, as he returns to France to compete against 15 of France's leading pastry chefs. The filmmakers were given first time/exclusive access to this high-stakes drama of passion, sacrifice, disappointment and joy in the quest to have President Sarkozy declare them one of the best in France.

The feature doc takes a look behind the scenes at top-class restaurants and offers exclusive interviews with celebrity chefs from France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, the USA and Japan.

Conversations with death row inmate Michael Perry and those affected by his crime serve as an examination of why people - and the state - kill.

Paul Liebrandt is one of the most talented and controversial chefs in the food world and the youngest chef to have received 3 stars from the New York Times. He was 24. NY Times food critic, William Grimes, likened Paul to 'a pianist who seems to have found a couple of dozen extra keys.' Through Paul, the film reveals the creative process, the extreme hard work, long hours, and dedication it takes to be a culinary artist and have success in the cutthroat world of haute cuisine. Exploring the complicated relationships between food critics, chefs, and owners the film delves into the life of a dedicated young chef ahead of his time.

A documentary that chronicles artist and activist Ai Weiwei as he prepares for a series of exhibitions and gets into an increasing number of clashes with the Chinese government.

The shocking story of Rev. Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church, those who oppose it, and those who chose to leave it all behind.

On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro is Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill, where men and women sift through garbage for a living. Artist Vik Muniz produces portraits of the workers and learns about their lives.

Theorists consider the evolution of human society and question the sustainability of the current paradigm.