Top 10 Documentaries On Global Subcultures
It should be noted that this list takes the perspective of a British viewer in order to qualify these cultures as “different” from their own.
For this edition of Top Docs we teamed up with The Movie Diorama, one of our favourite online movie critics. Luke is a top 150 Amazon reviewer, the proud owner 1,600+ Blu-rays and DVDs and, as we found out recently, an avid documentary fan too.
As lockdown persists around the world and travel continues to be ruled out, we bring you our 10 favourite documentaries that focus on an international subculture, so that you can continue to explore through film.
1. Samsara by Ron Fricke
Picked by The Movie Diorama
Ron Fricke's non-narrative documentary, filmed over a period of five years, grants small snippets into the lavish cultures of twenty-five different countries. Exploring the wondrous natural significance of our world and the enigmatic reaches of humanity's enduring spirit, from a timelapse of pilgrims circling the Kaaba in Mecca to the glistening ancient city of Bagan.
A guided meditation that seeks to celebrate humanity in all its forms.
2. Hoop Dreams by Steve James
Picked by Doc Weekly
Every school day, teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois. Set in a predominately white suburb, the boys stick out, but the school’s basketball program is all they care about.
Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. Filmed over the course of five years, we get a true insight into their lives and how they evolve.
Regarded as one of the best documentaries ever made and consistently coming up in our What Are You Watching series, we couldn’t possibly leave it off our list.
3. Paris Is Burning by Jennie Livingstone
Picked by The Movie Diorama
Ball culture, popularised within the LGBTQ+ community, describes events that originated in 1920s underground New York where an extensive range of communities would compete (or "walk") for glory.
Jennie Livingston's audacious chronicling of 80s ball culture, focussing on African-American, Latino, gay and transgender individuals, has since signified the end of "Golden Age" New York City, becoming a invaluable cult hit in the process.
Through terminology definitions, ranging from "vogueing" to "reading", and insightful followings to specific houses, including the "House of Xtravaganza", Livingstone profoundly confronts societal issues that the LGBTQ+ community faced on an incalculable level whilst informing the mainstream of underground culture..
4. Concrete Football by Jesse Adang, Syrine Boulanouar
Picked by Doc Weekly
For many living in the Parisian banlieues, the local football pitch is the heart of their community. Concrete Football or Ballon sur Bitume shines a light on those who have found solace, family and joy in their humble local pitch.
Set to a stunning soundtrack that brings together classical music and hip hop bass lines, Concrete Football is a delight to watch, whether you’re interested in football or not.
5. Jiro: Dreams of Sushi by David Gelb
Picked by The Movie Diorama
Sukiyabashi Jiro, owned by sushi master Jiro Ono, was the first sushi restaurant in the world to receive an elusive three stars from the Michelin Guide. David Gelb's personable insight into the compelling character of Jiro, likens the traditional and archaic stance of Japanese work ethics and compresses those arduous traits into a brisk documentary that rewards perseverance with perfection. Questioning the worth of relentlessly pursuing perfection from a master whom has dedicated his life to the intricate art of sushi making.
6. Bruce Lee and the Outlaw by Joost Vandebrug
Picked by Doc Weekly
Released this year by Grain Media and Taskovski Films, Joost Vandebrug’s Bruce Lee and The Outlaw is a surreal account of six years spent in Bucharest’s litteral underworld. It starts off as an eye-opening exposé of a homeless child gang’s appalling living conditions but quickly veers into the personal when teenager Nicu’s health, also known as ‘The Outlaw’, worryingly declines.
Part hallucinatory exploration of Bucharest’s street life culture and its medley of personalities, part biography of a boy denied a childhood, Vandebrug’s eye-catching picture is as raw as it is beautiful.
7. I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck
Picked by The Movie Diorama
Raoul Peck's reminiscent documentary, based on James Baldwin's memoir 'Remember This House', uncovers the insidious nature behind historical racism in the United States. A culture segregated for their skin colour, with Baldwin's observations on race relations acting as a stark reminder for current American society to act on. Accompanied by explorations into civil rights leaders Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr., Peck's relentless narrative harshly and promptly exploits historically unnecessary cultural partitioning.
8. The People's Republic of Desire by Hao Wu
Picked by Doc Weekly
In China, as a digitally-native generation comes of age, online friendships are beginning to replace real-life interaction. The People’s Republic of Desire is a real-life Black Mirror story where two live streamers seek fame, fortune and human connection on China's insanely popular live-streaming network, YY.
Witness the creation of an entirely new culture, borne from a generation yearning for connection and cruelly engineered by darker forces to extract profit. You’ll be picking your jaw up off the floor throughout.
9. American Factory by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Picked by The Movie Diorama
An American glass factory concedes into dissolution. The town of Moraine, Ohio, subsiding its local economy on the verge of collapse. Until Chinese company Fuyao occupies the factory, granting American blue-collared workers job security.
Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert's Oscar-winning documentary, produced by the Obamas, perpetuates the clashes between working-class Western and high-tech Eastern work ethics. Insighting political, social and economical differences between two continental divides in the confinements of one factory.
10. Crip Camp by James Lebrecht, Nicole Newnham
Picked by Doc Weekly
Crip Camp is a forensic yet emotional exposé of the restrictions of society, and the heavy cost of living outside of its norms, even if only temporarily. From the 1950s to the late 1970s, Camp Jened in the Catskill Mountains of New York was a haven for young disabled people and others who felt their humanity was marginalised – offering a brief, romantic break where friendship and independence could flourish.
The camp’s ideology of ‘freedom to be yourself’ would lay the foundations for an entire disabled civil rights movement with international influence to this day.
