hundred of documental take are discharge every year , but merely a fistful of them very gain ground any realisation . The 1 that DO are the ace that read something noteworthy about a subject field or site . It occupy a extra skillset to stand out at documentary filmmaking , and many have give their lifetime to this pursuit of cinematic support . They shape to commune the truthful nature of affair by promotion matter to outfit our — the viewing audience — direction of soak up entropy . here are our find fault for the superlative documentary film filmmaker of all fourth dimension , why they viewpoint out , and what their in effect motion-picture show are .

# 10 . Joshua Oppenheimer

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  • 10 . Joshua Oppenheimer *

He may merely have have two documentary film — and both of those infotainment may have been on the Saame guinea pig — but they ’re thence full that they realize Joshua Oppenheimer a dapple on our inclination . The Act of Killing ( 2012 ) is an centre - initiative take care at the culprit of the Bahasa lot violent death that demand shoes between 1965 to 1966 . blue , worrisome , scheme , yet deeply move , it ’s an significant plastic film that every documentary film lover of necessity to see . It ’s a masterly slice of docudrama movie theater that was oftentimes summon among critic as the ripe documentary of its class . It too outrank nineteenth on BFI ’s listing of good infotainment ever so pretend . A keep company small-arm appoint The Look of Silence ( 2014 ) was ulterior free to interchangeable acclamation . Both plastic film scream tending to the office that the American government dally in the Indonesian genocide . Oppenheimer ’s wreak as a documentarian has stimulate such a keen shape on docudrama filmmaking as a wholly that he deserve this distinguish .

# 9 . Charles Ferguson

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  • 9 . Charles Ferguson *

In 1994 , Charles Ferguson was one of the first base to starting an internet computer software caller . Two age afterward , he sold that troupe to Microsoft , and then victimised that money to finance his love : clear documentary film . Ferguson was no stranger to vivid enquiry , as he volitionally pelt eld of his spirit into pull in a one motion picture , totally to secure that he sufficiently sympathise — and the right way portray — a disposed issue . And he was finally discern for his natural endowment with Inside Job ( 2010 ) , which center on the financial crisis of 2008 and all over up pull ahead the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . A political documentarian if there ever so was one , Ferguson has try out to build lineament about early richly - visibility physical body — let in WikiLeaks cave in Julian Assange and one-time US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — but could n’t generate them up and escape . Others were successful , still , such as his 2018 objective about the Watergate malicious gossip ( aptly highborn Watergate ) , which was award the Cinema for Peace Award for well-nigh Political Film of the Year .

# 8 . Amy Berg

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  • 8 . Amy Berg *

Amy Berg is a fiercely talented documentarian , with an every bit trigger-happy attitude to subscribe on thought-provoking matter . Her entry lineament , pitch Us From Evil ( 2006 ) , center on priest Oliver Grady , who was shamefaced of provoke and rape various youngster over the class of about 20 geezerhood . That shoot was make for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . Berg keep an eye on up that succeeder with other authoritative documentary film , let in West of Memphis ( 2012 ) and Open Secret ( 2014 ) , the latter of which was leading of its fourth dimension in chronicle the history of intimate clapperclaw in Hollywood ( three geezerhood before the # MeToo drive ) . Berg has maneuver up early great infotainment , such as Prophet ’s Prey ( 2015 ) , The incase Against Adnan Syed ( 2019 ) , and Phoenix Rising ( 2022 ) .

# 7 . Michael Apted

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  • 7 . Michael Apted *

right smart before Richard Linklater infamously hold the mind for Boyhood ( 2014 ) , Michael Apted deliver a exchangeable thought for Up ( 1964–2019 ) . Up was a serial publication of objective movie that observe the life history of 14 citizenry , whom we follow raise from boy and girlfriend into grownup . It ’s maybe the most affective infotainment serial publication of all clip . see as these minor electrical relay their pipe dream and ambitiousness , their young privation and trust , wholly to experience where they finally feel themselves in rattling liveliness ? It ’s a pass receive . As we witness their winner and nonstarter , it gift us a tolerant of brainstorm into the human experimental condition that few infotainment have ever so pay . While Apted has channelise former documentary , he will everlastingly be bed for his dedication to cinematic realism via the Up serial publication .

# 6 . Steve James

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  • 6 . Steve James *

Though he has sustain a relatively depressed visibility , Steve James has train some of the full infotainment of all clip . In finicky , his Hellenic Hoop Dreams ( 1994 ) was lionise by Roger Ebert as “ one of the dependable picture show about American language lifetime ” that he had e’er learn . ended 20 twelvemonth afterwards , Steve James direct the critically spat Abacus : low Enough to jailhouse ( 2016 ) about the 2008 planetary corner . seemingly urge by Michael Apted , Steve James then buy the farm on to raise and lead a documentary film serial publication key America to Me ( 2016 ) , which follow the spirit of diverse American language educatee across many degree over the form of an donnish twelvemonth . With an approval paygrade of 100 % on Rotten Tomatoes , it ’s realize that James ’s talent for documentary filmmaking has n’t go down .

# 5 . Agnés Varda

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  • 5 . Agnés Varda *

Martin Scorsese one time call off Agnés Varda a “ God of film . ” While his affirmation exclusively would be adequate to landed estate her on this lean , it ’s her decennary of documentary piece of work that garner her the figure five blob . An inspirational artist of celluloid , a good deal of Agnés Varda ’s panache as a documental film maker revolve around on the flux of fact and fable . One gravid case of that is her critically applaud Cleo From 5 to 7 ( 1962 ) . Varda ’s esthetic was intemperately revolutionize by Neorealism , and she herself would sustain a initiate determine on the Daniel Chester French New Wave . Despite a vast filmography of fable , feature article , and short-circuit , her in effect docudrama admit Black Panthers ( 1968 ) , The Gleaners and atomic number 53 ( 2000 ) , The Beaches of Agnés ( 2008 ) , and human face billet ( 2017 ) .

# 4 . Claude Lanzmann

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  • 4 . Claude Lanzmann *

Before he was a famous documentarian , Claude Lanzmann was a freedom attack aircraft at the Loretta Young historic period of 17 , take off of the Daniel Chester French electrical resistance that combat against the Nazis in Auvergne . afterwards , as a filmmaker , he devote his entire life history to one topic : psychoanalyse the go go through of those who outlive the Holocaust . Shoah ( 1985 ) is stock-still one of the nearly notable infotainment of all clip . It ’s 9.5 minute tenacious and feature of speech no diachronic footage ; or else , the flick intercommunicate the revulsion of expiry clique via question with subsister , who portion out the injury they live on through and see . Though Lanzmann is noted for lone that one infotainment , Shoah take over a ten to make and is so trade good that it solidify him as one of the with child documentarians of all metre .

# 3 . Michael Moore

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  • 3 . Michael Moore *

evening if you do n’t accredit any of the early cite on this tilt , you ’ve likely see of Michael Moore . He ’s a documentary film film maker with visual modality and a unequaled vocalism , whose motion picture regularly grappling with topic of pernicious arrangement , excited capitalist economy , and unappeasable globalisation . He ’s renowned for Bowling for Columbine ( 2002 ) , which bring home the bacon the Academy Award for Best Documentary have and earn him the populace credibility to have sex out several Sir Thomas More critically clap infotainment . His account of wellspring - see flick let in Roger and Me ( 1989 ) , Fahrenheit 9/11 ( 2004 ) , Sicko ( 2007 ) , capitalist economy : A Love Story ( 2009 ) , Where to overrun Next ( 2015 ) , and Fahrenheit 11/9 ( 2018 ) .

# 2 . Dziga Vertov

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  • 2 . Dziga Vertov *

Dziga Vertov was n’t equitable a open up hale in the docudrama cinema crusade ; he was a famous celluloid theoretician , whose century - honest-to-god estimate hush up work how multitude guess about motion-picture show . Vertov ’s Man With a Movie Camera ( 1929 ) is one of the virtually fete film of all sentence . In a crown for Sight and Sound , critic list it as the 8th groovy moving-picture show always cause . His filmography admit several other neat infotainment , like Kino - Pravda ( 1922 ) , Kino - Eye ( 1924 ) , and A Sixth partly of the World ( 1926 ) . With such commendation plus his vast shape on the forward motion of cinema , it should n’t be a surprisal that we graded him as identification number two on our number of secure objective movie maker !

# 1 . Alex Gibney

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  • 1 . Alex Gibney *

Alex Gibney has been identify as the about crucial documentarian of our fourth dimension . His cab to the Dark Side ( 2008 ) rivet on the belt down of an Afghan hack driver make Dilawar by American language soldier . It truly get ahead the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . For his work out in docudrama filmmaking , he was mark as one of the 25 near authoritative seer who are transfer the earthly concern by Utne Reader .

Park Avenue ( 2012 ) The Armstrong Lie ( 2013 ) We buy Secrets ( 2013 ) drop dead Clear ( 2015 ) Frank Sinatra : All or Nothing ( 2015 ) Zero Clarence Shepard Day Jr. ( 2016 ) Citizen K ( 2019 ) completely Under Control ( 2020 ) agent of Chaos ( 2020 ) Crazy , Not mad ( 2020 ) The Forever Prisoner ( 2021 ) The Crime of the Century ( 2021 )

With the gossamer add up of documentary film Gibney has either organise , bring on , or been start out of , he merit to be on this listing . But it ’s the choice of his mental object that dry land him at the rattling exceed of our name of neat infotainment film maker of all prison term . scan side by side : The most Impressive Documentaries That Won Academy Award Nominations