Documentary Weekly

Jan 13

Jan 13 5 films on why we should never take democracy for granted

The liberal democratic model is at a crossroads. Elections and political unrest around the world have exposed the cracks in our individualist, utilitarian path towards progress. As democracy recedes, people are turning towards authoritarian and theocratic leaders. It is sometimes hard to see this tide turning, but thankfully, documentaries are here to help. Doc Weekly was in attendance at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) to pick out five of the of the most urgent films on the subject, including new 2024 and 2025 releases from Petra Costa and Asif Kapadia.

Jan 9

Jan 9 The Taste of Mango: A Portrait of Generational Trauma As Sweet As it is Sad

Ellie Malpas

Article, Film, Festival

We inherit much from our families. Some things, like Chloe Abraham’s sweet memories of her ancestral land’s ripe Sri Lankan mangoes, bring joy. Others are as hard and unyielding as the stone at the fruit's core. In her debut feature film, The Taste of Mango, Abraham offers a raw yet warm self-documentation of shared trauma spanning three generations.

Dec 26

Dec 26 IDFA Best Film Winner 'Trains' : A Tragic and Mesmerising Portait of 20th Century Europe

Benjamin Hollis

Article, Film, Festival

Doc Weekly was in attendance at the 2024 edition of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) where Trains by Maciej J. Drygas picked up the Best Film and Best Editing in the International Competition. A bitter sweet archival portrait of the people of 20th century Europe, Trains captures their hopes, desires, dramas, and tragedies.

Dec 22

Dec 22 A Want in Her: A raw and surprisingly funny examination of unconditional love

Laoise Murray

Article, Film, Festival

Doc Weekly was in attendance at the 2024 edition of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) where our writer Laoise Murray caught the world premiere of A Want in Her by Myrid Carten, a raw, gut-punching and surprisingly funny examination of the meaning of unconditional love.

Dec 10

Dec 10 Mother City: Still separate and still unequal in Cape Town

Pheladi Sethusa

Article, Film

In Cape Town, a city as breathtakingly beautiful as it is brutal, a young man leads a daring urban revolution at the intersection of political and property power. Doc Weekly writer Pheladi Sethusa had the chance to see the documentary Mother City by Miki Redelinghuys and Pearlie Joubert in Johannesburg during a screening hosted by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation.

Nov 18

Nov 18 Doc Weekly’s Tips for IDFA 2024

Documentary Weekly

Article, Festival

Doc Weekly is attending IDFA 2024 ! Here are our hottest tips from the films premiering in the competition sections of tof the world’s largest documentary film festival of the year…

Oct 21

Oct 21 Travelling Home: An Intimate Portrait of the Travelling Community Five Years in the Making

Maddie Denton

Article, Film, Festival

As part of Doc Weekly’s coverage of the BFI London Film Festival we spoke with Juliet Klottrup, about her film Travelling Home and the five years that she spent meeting and photographing the travellers that pass by her road as they make their annual pilgrimage to Appleby Fair.

Oct 17

Oct 17 Black Box Diaries: A Deeply Personal Battle Against the Patriarchal Systems of Japan

Ellie Malpas

Article, Film, Festival

As part of Doc Weekly’s coverage of the BFI London Film Festival we had the chance to see one of this year’s most exciting documentaries, Black Box Diaries by Shiori Itō, the journalist who investigated her own sexual assault to expose Japan's outdated patriarchal laws and become the country’s key #metoo figure.

Oct 15

Oct 15 Unravelling memories of the Mozambican Civil War

Gabriella Volak

Article, Film, Festival

Doc Weekly is covering this year’s BFI London Film Festival with reviews and interviews of some of our favourite documentaries from the selection. As Noites Ainda Cheiram a Pólvora, or The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder, by Inadelso Cossa first premiered at this year’s Berlinale. Over 30 years after the end of the Mozambican civil war, Inadelso Cossa returns to his grandmother’s village to record untold stories of the conflict.

Sep 8

Sep 8 The Invasion, a patient and terrible testament to Ukrainian resilience by a documentary great

Benjamin Hollis

Article, Film, Festival

Doc Weekly was at this year’s États généraux du film documentaire in Lussas, France, for a rare screening of “The Invasion”, (2024) followed by a Q&A with Sergei Loznitsa. Weeks after seeing it, scenes and characters from Sergei Loznitsa’s new film, “The Invasion”, documenting daily life in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, remain burned into the retina.

Jan 9

Jan 9 The Sumptuous Beauty of the High Tibetan Plateaus

Benjamin Hollis

Film, Out Now, Article, Festival

World-renowned wildlife photographer Vincent Munier and novelist Sylvain Tesson’s search, deep in the Tibetan highlands, for the Snow Leopard, notoriously one of the world’s rarest animals.

Oct 4

Oct 4 In the Middle of the Sahara Desert, meet Malika, Guardian of the Void

Robin Miranda das Neves

Article, Film, Out Now

On the edge of the Trans-Saharan national road, a café-restaurant stands like a fortress. Hassen Ferhani’s latest film reveals Malika and her little kingdom within.

Mar 5

Mar 5 NOTTURNO – The night consuming the people of the Middle East

Robin Miranda das Neves

Article, Film, Out Now

For three years, Gianfranco Rosi filmed armed conflicts in the Middle East along the borders of Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria and Lebanon, witnessing the scars of violence and destruction left across their harsh landscapes.

Feb 21

Feb 21 It’s all fun and games until… - Asssassins Review

Holly Fagan

Film, Article, Out Now

On 13th February 2017, Kim Jong-nam was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport by two female assassins using the fastest acting poison in existence, VX. But no one could have foreseen the elaborate hoax which led the women, Siti Aisyah and Doan Ti Huong, to the airport that day.

Feb 10

Feb 10 Oscars 2021 Shortlisted Documentaries Announced !

Documentary Weekly

Awards, Article

We’re extremely excited to see so many of our favourite films from the past year included in this record-breaking tally of Oscar shortlisted documentaries. For every one that we’ve covered you’ll find a link to our review, including a trailer and a link to watch the film for yourself.

Feb 2

Feb 2 Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets: A Documentary Like No Other

Tommy Hodgson

Film, Article, Out Now

The setting is hazily atmospheric - neon red, smoky scenes in a dive bar in Las Vegas - aptly named The Roaring 20s - about to close its doors for the last time.

Jan 26

Jan 26 More Than Just Mumble-Rappers on Xanax – “American Rapstar” and The Soundcloud Rap Movement

Omar Kay

Film, Festival, Article, Screening

In 2016, a disruptive wave of rappers, encouraged by the low barriers to entry that SoundCloud offered, started sharing lyrically repetitive music with a low-fidelity and low-budget sonic profile.

Dec 24

Dec 24 Dick Johnson is dead. Or is he?

Ellie Hodgetts

Article, Film, Out Now

Netflix’s Dick Johnson Is Dead seems to perfectly balance absurdly comical moments with its melancholic undertone. After all, this is a film about life, just as much as it is about death.

Dec 16

Dec 16 Could You Survive On Your Own Produce For A Year?

Gabriella Volak

Article, Film, Out Now

“First We Eat” is a POV film from the eyes of Suzanne Crocker, a mother of three living in Dawson City, Yukon, inspired to pick up the camera after a road obstruction led to food shortages in the town, exposing the fragility of her family’s food chain. The family of five embark on a challenge to eat only locally sourced food for a whole year.

Dec 14

Dec 14 Watch the Best in Short VR Docs for Free During the Barcelona 360° VR & AR Market

Documentary Weekly

Festival, Film, Article

Today marks the start of the Barcelona 360° VR & AR Market’s fourth edition, running online until the 18th of December, a unique opportunity to discover an exciting new documentary format.