We all love stories because they engage us in some sort of journey. But these stories aren’t always fictional. In fact, the stories that we watch through documentaries happen to have a greater impact on us as they are part of our reality. True stories that inspire us to live with a new perspective. Now let’s see which documentaries have told better stories this year.
American Factory
It’s a story of a Chinese billionaire who travels to Ohio, America to build a factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant. It reveals the real interactions between high-tech China and two thousand blue-collar Americans.
The Edge of Democracy
A tale that explores one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history. The film showcases the story of two Brazilian presidents Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff along with the incidents that follow in terms of democracy in a polarized nation.
For Sama
The story of a Syrian mother and all the obstacles she goes through during the five years of war in the country, and her love story that gives birth to her daughter Sama. The film shows us how the life of a mother looks like in the time of war and how this leads her to the dilemma of leaving or staying in her homeland.
Honeyland
The story of a girl in an isolated mountain region deep within the Balkans, living with her mother in a village dealing with the shortage of roads, electricity, or running water. It reveals the obstacles of wild beekeeping and how a rival beekeeper breaks the harmony of nature around them in his hunt for profit.
Becoming
An inspiring story of Michelle Obama and an up-close look at her life and how she travels along a 34-city tour to reunited people by the power of connection that comes through an honest sharing of personal stories.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
The story of the camp Jened In the early 1970s, a utopian place with summertime sports, smoking and makeout sessions for the disabled people to feel fulfilled as human beings. Where their bond and friendship led them to a form of unity to run a movement for disability rights.
A Thousand Cuts
A film that walks you through the dangerous life of the journalist Maria Ressa as opposed to the authoritarian regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The man who hid his activities behind the diffusion of disinformation through social media.
Coded Bias
The story of injustice through the perspective of an MIT Media Lab researcher who investigates the reasons for face recognition malfunction for the people of color. It reveals the roots of systemic bias in an artificial device meant to be neutral.
Spaceship Earth
A film that projects the adventure of eight explorers who spent two years quarantined inside of a self-engineered replica of Earth’s ecosystem called BIOSPHERE 2 in 1991. It goes through the obstacles of life for these people as the cost of an experiment to create a new world.
Learning To Skateboard In A Warzone (If You’re A Girl)
The story of bringing joy and hope for the girls in a warzone of Afghanistan. Where children are deprived of their rights to live in peace and having a proper education to build their future.
These were the brilliant true stories of 2020 told by the documentary filmmakers. But life goes on and every day, there’s a new story to film and a new filmmaker who wants to change our perspective.
