Awesome Documentaries

A Netflix documentary series about East Mississippi Community College, one of the middle of nowhere schools where many Division I football and NFL hopefuls try and prove themselves once more. Based on Drew Jubera’s eponymous article.

Terence Malick’s long awaited documentary about the birth and death of the universe. Voyage of Time will have two versions: a 40-minute cut narrated by Brad Pitt, and a feature length – and undoubtedly more epic – cut narrated by Cate Blanchett. Premieres 10/2016.

In 1947, a group of young men founded a hot rod club called the Oilers. In 2008, the club was revived as The Race of Gentlemen – a beach race and car show featuring early to mid 20th century American cars and motorcycles.

“Sometimes we’re kinda like the bartenders of a film.” KNB EFX co-founder Howard Berger (The Chronicles of Narnia, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad) explains the basics of making a prosthetic mask before talking about how makeup artists keep the job fun and exciting.

The Revillagigedo Islands are known as Mexico’s little Galapagos – they’re small yet teeming with life, including dozens of endemic species. The Smithsonian explored the smallest island, Roca Partida, a diving spot known for its congregation of sharks, whales and more.

(SPOILERS, PG-13: Language) The hit TV series Mr. Robot gives itself a well-deserved 40-minute long pat on the back, pointing out that it’s a modern day superhero story that could actually be real, if not already so. Brief season 2 sneak peek at 37:00.

Industrial designer Dieter Rams helped elevate everyday objects with his functionalist approach. Gary Hustwit (Objectified, Helvetica, Urbanized) is currently raising funds to finish a documentary about the designer, made with the help of Rams himself.

“I think creativity is a byproduct of not trying so hard.” Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2 & 3) spoke with the Oscars about her style of filmmaking, making art in her free time to keep her creativity burning and how inspiration can come from anywhere.

Director Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind) takes us back to the Fab Four’s brief but revolutionary takeover of rock and roll, and music in general. Featuring lots of never-before-seen footage and interviews with Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Despite its cluttered interface, Waze is a shining example of crowdsourcing – it turns parts of a problem into parts of a solution. Google employees Nat and Lo visited their co-workers to learn more about the community-based interactive map app.

Basketball is one of New York City’s favorite pastimes, and the city’s Parks Department plays a big role in keeping the sport alive. Great Big Story spoke with one of the city’s blacksmiths, who’s made around a thousand basketball rims for public courts.

Ingrid and Benjamin Hjertefølger (“heart follower”) are advocates of sustainable living. They live in a greenhouse that they built partly out of cob, clean all of their waste water and are encouraging their children to also form a deep bond with nature.

In the early ’90s, Nintendo was looking for more Game Boy exclusive games. Then 19-year-old Masahiro Sakurai – who would go on to create Super Smash Bros. – answered the call with a new title that could be enjoyed by first-time gamers. The result is Kirby’s Dream Land.

In 1984, Tim McVey played the arcade game Nibbler – a predecessor of the mobile game Snake – until he became the first person to score a billion points in a video game. In 2009, after rumors spread of someone beating his record, he tried to set the bar higher.

“I decided that I wanted to be the person whom he thought I was.” In 2010, Eric’s doctor said he’d be dead in 5 years. He was severely overweight, had high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Then a nutritionist gave him a life-changing advice: get a shelter dog.

Munchies and Brooklynite restaurateur Frank Pinello visited Chicago to sample some of the best pizza that the Windy City has to offer, and talk to some of the best local pizza makers and their biggest fans.

Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog explores the good and bad effects of our increasing dependence on the internet by speaking with both experts and his fellow laymen, including a few unfortunate victims. More here.

(PG-13: Language) “The crowd shouldn’t know what you’re going through. Your show shouldn’t reflect on your day.” James Burns’ award-winnning documentary about We Live This, a group of teenagers who dance on New York City’s subway to make money.

Red Bull followed photographer Ulla Lohmann, her husband Sebastian and a small film crew as they descended as near as possible to one of the lava craters in Vanuatu’s Ambrym, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Full episode here.

“I’m not trying to prove anything. I’m just trying to have fun.” Veteran skateboarder Daewon Song has never been comfortable in the limelight. But he’s smart enough to leverage social media to stay relevant. These days he’s playing HORSE against himself on Instagram.

Deborah Cook (Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Boxtrolls, Coraline) is a costume designer who specializes in making clothes for stop-motion puppets. She spoke with the Oscars about what her job entails, the challenges of designing small scale clothing and more.

GoPro celebrates Endangered Species Day with this documentary about naturalist Casey Anderson. About 13 years ago, Casey rescued a grizzly bear, who’s now one of his closest pals and inspired him to create a grizzly sanctuary. Quite a contrast from The Revenant.

Thomas Gleeson’s wordless short film about a transported home. Thomas says it’s his way of exploring what makes a house a home and exposing its fragility. But what we love most about the film is that it seems to be told from the house’s perspective.