Awesome Documentaries

TA feels confident that the Brass Roots Kickstarter project will be a go – it’s a documentary chronicling the rich history, people and culture surrounding contemporary New Orleans brass band music.

A profile of Kiva Ford by online arts & crafts market Etsy. Ford is an expert glassblower who crafts both decorative and scientific glassware. Check out his shop and his website for more.

The latest in David Friedman’s series of interviews of contemporary inventors, with Steven Sasson, who invented the digital camera in 1975. You’ll never guess what he used to store the pictures.

Christopher Riley collaborated with the ESA and the ISS to recreate and trace the path of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering journey into space 50 years ago, on April 12, 1961. Download it here.

Jay Cheel’s Beauty Day tells the story of Canadian cable access TV maverick Ralph Zavadil, who performed a pre-Jackass series of daring and idiotic stunts on his Cap’n Video show in the ’90s.

Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock is back, with the most meta concept film ever, attempting to create a documentary about product placement fully funded by product placement and advertising.

(NSFW: Language) A film that examines the tragic situation of the graffiti artist’s work – they’re put up for free and left in the open, but some people take his art down to make money off of it.

2 Player Productions is making a documentary of Minecraft, and they’ve shared the first 20 minutes of the video. You can donate to their Kickstarter fund to help them finish it. Bonuses await donors.

Lynn Lee and James Leong spent two years in North Korea covering the University of Cinematic and Dramatic Arts in Pyongyang, and this is the result – a “tiny window into a closed-off world.”

A man shares his love for his beat up 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL. We’re not old car junkies, but seeing him share his passion reminded us of things that we do care about – the old Fords in our lives.

Directed by Henrik Hansen, this short film is a glimpse into the mind of legendary custom bike maker Shinya Kimura, who was one of the first proponents of the zero-style motorcycle.

A peek into the life of rock legend Lemmy Kilmister, bassist and vocalist of Motörhead. Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son Of A Bitch has tons of revealing interviews and footage.

Peter Byck’s non-partisan Carbon Nation movie presents the solutions and benefits of a low-carbon economy, e.g., strengthened business, national and energy security, and health improvement.

Zach Levy’s Strongman is the cinéma vérité story of Stanless Steel, a professional strongman, and his attempts to keep the things that truly matter from slipping through his mighty grasp.

Don’t text while driving. It’s so obvious that we shouldn’t even be told about it. But as the people in this documentary will attest, we still do it anyway. Don’t wait until one of these becomes your story.

Salute to the past: Linotype: The Film from Doug Wilson is a documentary about Ottmar Mergenthaler’s revolutionary typesetting machine and the people who own and love them today.

A short treatise on youth culture. Adventurous, spoiled, influential, gullible, imaginative, irreverent, plural, confused, powerful; whatever the case, being young is a hell of a privilege.

More jaw-dropping footage by cinematographer Tom Lowe for his feature film TimeScapes. Every shot is straight out of Canon and Red MX cameras, and no CGI was used. Watch in HD.

While it doesn’t have detailed information on how and why influencers come about, the film provides a peek into what’s happening in pop culture today and identifies events that cultivate inspiration.

Directed by Paul Rojanathara and Davis Johnson, Influencers takes a look at how trends in music and fashion become contagious, and at the “influential creatives” who are shaping pop culture today.

It’s far from being comprehensive, but if you’re into music – especially hip hop – NPR’s short documentary about the origin and legacy of the attention-grabbing gadget is a fascinating watch.

Beyond Limits is the chronicle of Herbert Nitsch’s quest to dive to a depth of 1000ft in one breath. Yes, as in without an oxygen supply save for the one he gathers in his lungs.

Six of today’s greatest documentarians put their collective skills together to bring Levitt and Dubner’s thought-provoking bestseller about economics and human behavior to the big screen.