Awesome Documentaries

According to The New York Times, by age 14 girls are twice as likely to drop out of sports as boys. The Pink Helmet Posse want to beat those odds. These 6-year-old girls dream of becoming professional skateboarders.

The ESPN report that Last Week Tonight cited in its condemnation of FIFA. The report looks at the treatment of migrant workers in Qatar, which will need more workers to prepare for the 2022 World Cup. Unofficial mirror here.

Made with the support of Zach Braff and game designer Cliff Bleszinski, Jeremy Snead’s Video Games: The Movie looks at the history and the future of interactive entertainment. Featuring interviews with developers, inventors and more.

A companion piece to The Verge’s profile of eBoy, arguably the world’s most popular pixel artists. Watch the Berlin-based trio talk a bit about their backgrounds, their arduous dot-by-dot process and their sources of inspiration.

An Honest Liar is a biographical film about James Randi, the retired magician who made it his life’s mission to expose paranormal and occult claims. But it seems as if Randi himself may have perpetrated a grand hoax.

The New York Times profiles the members of a visually impaired soccer club in Brazil. Blind football or five-a-side is played all over the world and even has its equivalent of the World Cup, which is played at the Paralympics.

(NSFW: Language) “Success takes you where character cannot sustain you.” The story of Chappelle’s Show told through interviews with Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, showing how the greed of others poisoned their friendship.

A documentary about the Cyber-Seniors program. Founded by teenagers Macaulee and Kascha Cassaday in 2009, Cyber-Seniors helps senior citizens learn to use the Internet. Find out how you can get involved here.

Writing for the New York Times, director Jerome Thelia said, “As soon as I saw a photograph of an African soccer ball, stitched together from old rags in the geometric patterns so familiar to us, I wanted to tell its story.”

Vocativ gives us a peek at the world’s dopest police academy. The Dubai Police Force has $6 million worth of cars, from a Ferrari FF to a Bugatti Veyron. The cars are used to improve relations between the police and citizens.

When Dogs Fly is an upcoming documentary by BASE jumper, wingsuit flyer and filmmaker Dean S. Potter. It’s about Dean’s dog Whisper, who regularly accompanies him on his adventures and stunts.

Kanpur, India is known for its leather industry, but it has come at the expense of its citizens and environment. Some tanning plants dump large amounts of chemicals into their surroundings, causing pollution, sickness and fatalities.

A teaser for a documentary about two men who became obsessed because of H.G. Wells’ Time Machine. One has been working for 11 years on a replica of a time machine movie prop. The other wants to build an actual time machine.

Matthew Ballard’s profile of Iijima Hiroki, a 22-year old kendama enthusiast. The kendama is a toy that requires excellent hand-eye coordination and reflexes. Iijima loves to spice things up by freestyle dancing while playing.

Hailing from Egypt, 22-year old Ōsunaarashi (“The Great Sandstorm”) is the first professional sumo wrestler to come from Africa. This clip is an excerpt from Salazar’s 30-min documentary. The entire film is on Red Bull TV.

A documentary about the short and tragic life of Reddit developer Aaron Swartz, whose activism to promote open data and free speech were met with persecution, and who ultimately took his own life after losing his battle with depression.

(NSFW: Language) Eight professional skateboarders travel to Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. This beautiful film by Patrik Wallner of Visualtraveling is part skate video and part travel documentary.

A small village in Shikoku, Japan has more dolls than people. Ayano Tsukimi makes the life-size dolls to preserve the memories of fellow villagers who have died or moved away. At once heart-melting and spine-chilling.

(NSFW: Language) Ray-Ban’s Neverhide Films visits New York’s Fool’s Gold Studio, hanging out with Dave 1 and P-Thugg from Chromeo, as they share their diverse inspirations, and their surprisingly down-to-earth recording process.

Paul Bischof builds insanely detailed papercraft models of race cars. Ultimately, his knowledge of car design and attention to detail has led him to a career designing actual Formula 1 parts for the Infiniti Red Bull Racing team.

Five people depicted as cute plants or animals share their stories of loss – a pet, a body part, a friend and parents – how they overcame it and what they took from the experience. A heartwarming claymation by Fiona Dalwood.

Conspiracy theorists will line up to see this film about the possibility that Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain didn’t commit suicide, but in fact Courtney Love had him killed. No matter what you believe, rest in peace Kurt.

“It’s so insignificant, yet so monumental.” Photographer Vik Muniz and designer Marcelo Coelho worked for four years trying to etch microscopic castles on individual grains of sand. More on Marcelo’s website.