Awesome Documentaries

Untitled Film Works’ short about one artist’s creative process becomes a film about three artists. At once, it’s a glimpse inside the mind of fine art photographer David Yarrow as he seeks the perfect shot in South Georgia, while showcasing the vision of directors and cinematographers Abraham Joffe ACS and Dom West.

In this episode of Wired’s Obsessed, they introduce us to Jeremy Mayer, an artist who creates truly incredible sculptures of birds, people, and other living things entirely from old typewriter parts. Check out more of his works on his Instagram feed.

Despite his phenomenal posthumous popularity, and having painted thousands of works of art, it’s nearly impossible to find an original Bob Ross painting anywhere. The New York Times dug into the mystery behind what happened to Ross’ numerous paintings in this great short documentary.

“I want my sushi to create a moment for my customers, to say “Wow!” as they put it in their mouth.” BuzzFeed Tasty filmed Daisuke Nakazawa as he made samples of some of his sushi. Like his mentor Jiro Ono, Chef Nakazawa makes it look effortless.

Great Big Story presents a compilation of short documentaries about working with poisonous food and substances. From a gardener who tends to only poisonous plants, to a pioneering group of volunteers who ate poisoned substances, these people risk their lives for science and culture.

Blondie co-founder and lead vocalist Debbie Harry has been the subject of interviews for 40+ years. As a woman leading a rock band, she’s been subjected to all manner of stupid questions. Meghan Fredrich’s brilliant short film documents some of Debbie’s better ways of handling such off-putting interviews.

Little Inventors is a UK-based non-profit organization that encourages creativity and innovation by asking children to come up with their own inventions, then collaborate with makers to build prototypes of them. SciFri dropped by to see what sort of wonderful madness they’re up to. You simply must browse the kids’ ideas.

Netflix’s documentary is about a wildly popular Brazilian TV show host. Wallace Souza claimed he started an anti-crime show to help people. He would go on to parlay his show’s popularity to become a politician. But investigations allege that he was more criminal than savior.

From August 15 to 18, 1969, an outdoor concert was held on a 600-acre dairy farm in New York, with over 400,000 people in attendance. Woodstock would go on to be one of the most legendary festivals ever staged. PBS’ documentary on the show features never before seen footage.

Seo Gyeong-deok channels his lifelong love for anime by painting Gundam models and other figures in a vibrant two-dimensional cartoon style. Thestory met with Seo to learn more about his craft. He also accepts commissions. You can see more of his work on his Instagram page. Turn captions on.

You’d think that chalk would be chalk, but it turns out that some of the brightest scholars on the planet believe that Hagoromo Fulltouch chalk is magical in some way. The Japanese chalk is said to not only write more smoothly and elegantly, but possess some mystical qualities.

“All of the danger, and none of the glory.” HBO shares this segment from Real Sports with Bryan Gumbel about cameramen who cover extreme athletes. Whether its wingsuiting, surfing, skiing, or mountain climbing, these cameramen flirt with both death and seeing someone else die.

Trevor Gordon found an abandoned tiny fishing boat in a field, and reconstructed it in the hopes of using it to find surfing spots. Ian Durkin and his crew chronicled the rebirth of the Camel in an endearing short film that is a sweet tribute to both making and surfing.

Brian Donahue packs boxes at UPS. But he’s also been an NFL player, a WWF pro wrestler, a Disney theme park actor, and for decades now a stuntman and an actor. His body is broken, but he’s still in the mix, hoping to catch that big break in Hollywood.

(PG-13: Language) Dishwashers are the unsung heroes of restaurants. CBC Docs’ documentary gives us a peek into the life of three dishwashers. Instead of focusing on their work, the short film humanizes them by showing us their struggles and experiences.

Greg Loan used to build creatures for theme parks. Now, he’s taken his knowledge of prosthetics, effects, and robotics to create simulators for Boston Children’s Hospital, so doctors can practice procedures and improve outcomes for real patients. More Here.

The Atlantic shares Edwin Lee’s beautiful documentary, Wasabia Japonica. It’s about Shigeo Iida, a 75-year-old who’s an eighth generation wasabi farmer. Most “wasabi” is actually dyed horseradish. Iida’s crop is the real deal, and fetches up to $250/kg.

Tom Scott recently paid a visit a truly unusual and extraordinary collection – a working research library dedicated to the history of color. The Forbes Pigment Collection has spent decades cataloging and storing rare pigments to help verify the authenticity of works of art.

Stig Pryds was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in 2008. It cost him his business and more. But 5 years into the pain and drug dependency, he went cold turkey and sought alternative ways of fighting his ailment. Daan Verhoeven’s short film is a true inspiration.

Documentaries can be as strange, beautiful and horrifying as any work of fiction. CineFix presents its top 10 docs, from legends like Baraka and Hoop Dreams to lesser known classics such as Shoah, Close-Up and The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On.

“I’ll do anything I can to get the best results possible. I’m not worried about dying.” From the producer of the critically-acclaimed documentaries Senna and Amy comes an unprecedented look at the drivers, the teams, and the families behind Formula 1 racing.

History remembers the victors. But this Netflix documentary is about the other side of sports – those who got knocked down, scored fewer points, fumbled, and lost. Losers presents eight stories of athletes who failed and how they bounced back.

When TV shows and movies want to go back in time, they head to an unlikely place, the LES Ecology Center. This Brooklyn, NY urban sustainability organization has found a new use for old E-Waste, operating a prop shop housing thousands of retro gadgets.