As the summer sun intensifies and dreams of cooler days beckon, the year’s documentary offerings are just as diverse, ranging from captivating spectacles to introspective domestic stories. The latest additions to our ongoing list of 2024’s best documentaries showcase a growing ambition and complexity, including a Martin Scorsese-produced tribute to the masters of postwar British cinema, a generative portrait of an electronic music composer, and a unique caper about the architecture of shopping malls. Each of these new releases expands the scope of documentary filmmaking, proving that non-fiction storytelling can be just as innovative and topical as any narrative film.
Ennio Morricone: The Maestro’s Sound (February 9)
This documentary dives into the life and work of celebrated Italian film composer Ennio Morricone, whose soundtracks for 1960s and ’70s spaghetti westerns, political dramas, giallo thrillers, and later, American melodramas and action films, often rivaled or surpassed the films themselves. The film features detailed interviews with Morricone (who passed away in 2020) about his prolific career, spanning over 400 soundtracks. It also includes contributions from a diverse range of filmmakers and musicians, including Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Springsteen, Quincy Jones, and Clint Eastwood, who share their perspectives and memories of Morricone’s remarkable legacy.
Galliano (March 8)
This captivating portrait of John Galliano, the former creative director of Givenchy and Dior and current head of Maison Margiela, delves into his fall from grace after a highly publicized antisemitic outburst in Paris was captured on video. The documentary examines both Galliano’s public persona and his private life, exploring the high-stakes environment of the fashion industry that often leads its stars to spectacular, and often self-destructive, implosions. The filmmaker does not shy away from Galliano’s mistakes, misdeeds, and addictions, but also sheds light on the industry giants who facilitated them.
Kim’s Video (April 5)
This charming documentary tells the true story of Youngman Kim, a New York dry cleaner who founded Kim’s Video, a downtown institution that inspired generations of cinephiles, filmmakers, and hipsters with its vast collection of 55,000 independent, obscure, and bootleg films. When Kim decided to close his chain of stores in 2008 and offer his video collection for sale, a small Sicilian town with artistic aspirations purchased it in its entirety, only to bury its location. Directors David Redmon and Ashley Sabin embark on a journey to uncover the whereabouts of Kim’s collection, hoping to bring it back to its rightful home in New York.
James Hamilton: Photographer (April 26)
D.W. Young’s documentary chronicles the life and work of photographer James Hamilton, whose lens captured the famous, infamous, and unique figures of New York City for publications like The Village Voice, New York Magazine, and Esquire. Hamilton shares the stories behind some of his most iconic photographs, featuring subjects like Lou Reed and Alfred Hitchcock. Young also brings together Hamilton’s colleagues and friends, making the film a touching tribute to an era when photojournalism and alternative weeklies played a vital role in documenting and celebrating underground culture. Executive produced by Wes Anderson, the film includes interviews with Thurston Moore, Sylvia Plachy, and Anderson himself, among others.
Anita (May 3)
This film presents an intimate portrait of Anita Pallenberg, the Rolling Stones muse, actress, and fashion icon, as seen through the eyes of her children, lovers, and friends, including Keith Richards, Marianne Faithful, and Marlon Richards. The documentary explores Pallenberg’s infamous public persona and her private life through a collection of home movies, family photographs, and excerpts from her unpublished memoir, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
The Fight (May 10)
This provocative political documentary examines the historical and contemporary role of policing in maintaining a racist and classist status quo. Using a combination of archival footage and interviews with academics, journalists, and social justice advocates, including a former police officer turned advocate, the film explores how the complex hierarchies of law enforcement from the 18th and 19th centuries continue to manifest in modern-day battles, such as the city of Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered by police officers in 2020.
The Grand Prize (May 17)
Presented in the style of a heist or caper film, filmmaker and art critic Amei Wallach’s documentary investigates the scandalous rumors surrounding Robert Rauschenberg’s Grand Prize win at the 1964 Venice Biennale. The alleged reason behind the supposed rigged win? The American government’s desire to exert soft power over the Russians through cultural exports. Wallach examines the key players who navigated the intersection of government and the art world, including legendary gallerist Leo Castelli and Jewish Museum curator Alan Solomon, who played a pivotal role in shifting the global art capital from Europe to America.
Deuce (May 24)
Valerie Kontakos’s film is a lively family portrait of Chelly Wilson, a Greek-born Jew who escaped Athens on the eve of World War II and settled in New York City, where she eventually built a network of porn theaters in Times Square. A shrewd businesswoman in an industry then dominated by men, Wilson played a significant role in shaping 42nd Street, transforming it into the Deuce, a hub for sex tourism in the 1970s and 1980s. Wilson’s remarkable story is told through archival recordings, home movies, animation, and family interviews.
The Rancher (May 31)
This documentary centers on Renee King-Sonnen and her husband, Tommy, who established a plant-based ranch. After their story captured national attention, King-Sonnen founded the Rancher’s Choice Foundation to encourage other ranchers to transition to plant-based agriculture and adopt a vegan lifestyle. First-time director Jason Goldman follows King-Sonnen over two years as she shares her personal journey of conversion and her efforts to transform the industry one ranch at a time.
The Conqueror (June 28)
This Hollywood insider doc from William Nunez delves into the fascinating story behind the making of “The Conqueror,” Howard Hughes’s lavish epic starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan. Considered one of the worst movies of the 1950s, “The Conqueror” gained notoriety for another reason: its filming took place near the Nevada military site where nearly a dozen atomic bombs were tested the previous year. Nunez investigates the US government’s reckless negligence during the height of its atomic tests, along with the movie studio’s deliberate disregard for the risks. The director also traces the numerous cases of terminal cancer suffered by the film’s cast and crew, including Wayne and Susan Hayward.
The Archers (in theaters July 12)
This Martin Scorsese-narrated and produced documentary is a heartfelt tribute to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the English directing duo known as the Archers, whose opulent films—infused with fairy tales, ballet, opera, and melodrama—helped to establish a new romantic template for filmmaking throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Scorsese recounts his childhood memories of watching films like “The Red Shoes” and “Black Narcissus,” and guides the audience through a master class on the British Golden Age, culminating in Powell’s controversial fall from grace with the release of 1960’s “Peeping Tom.” The film also highlights how Powell and Pressburger’s films directly inspired Scorsese’s own unique vision in films like “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull.” A must-see for film scholars and lovers of midcentury cinema.
Eno (in theaters July 26)
Filmmaker and collaborator Gary Hustwit (Helvetica, Objectified) presents a unique portrait of electronic music producer, innovator, and “sonic landscaper” Brian Eno using generative software technology. Drawing upon hundreds of hours of unreleased video footage and music by Eno, along with interviews with the artist himself, Hustwit’s film shuffles and recreates sequences to produce a new version with each viewing. Similar to much of Eno’s work in incidental music, granular sound, and digital algorithms, Hustwit’s film attempts to invent a new art form that explores the emotional within the computational.
The Coup (in theaters August 2)
Premiering at Sundance earlier this year, Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss’s political thriller follows a group of former government officials and policymakers who engage in a role-playing exercise simulating a contested American election leading to a political coup and potential civil war. Drawing inspiration from Alex Garland’s “what if” epic “Men,” “The Coup” adopts a “huis clos” approach, immersing viewers in the closed-door meetings where crises like a military collapse and a Washington invasion are negotiated. Scheduled for release just a few months before the contentious November elections, the film feels less like a dystopian fantasy and more like a potential roadmap.
The Amazon Workers (in theaters October 18)
Winner of this year’s US documentary special jury award for the art of change at Sundance, this film focuses on a small group of Staten Island-based Amazon workers from the Amazon Labor Union, founded by organizer Chris Smalls (named one of Time magazine’s most influential people of 2022). The film follows the group’s efforts to unionize against one of the most powerful and profitable companies in the world.
Mallrats (Netflix release date TBA)
Director Jeremy Workman (Man on Wire, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley) continues his exploration of everyday eccentrics with “Mallrats,” a film about a group of eight Rhode Island visual artists who secretly constructed a functioning apartment inside a Providence shopping mall in the early 2000s. Based on digital videos recorded by artist Michael Townsend during the group’s guerrilla project, the film serves as an elaborate archaeological excavation and a creative reimagining of urban corporate space. It is also a strangely nostalgic tribute to the last years of a pre-social media era when Main Street and real-life community actions still defined the public domain.
Ibelin Redwood (Netflix release date TBA)
This captivating Norwegian documentary follows the story of Mats Steen, a young quadriplegic who tragically died at age 25 from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. His family’s discovery of Steen’s secret passion for online role-playing games led to the creation of this posthumous portrait of his long digital life as Ibelin Redwood, his handsome, medieval avatar. Director Benjamin Ree uses gaming archives, internet chat rooms, and animation to create a multifaceted, multimedia exploration of Steen’s virtual adolescence. This unique approach to storytelling expands the definition of documentary film, creating a four-dimensional world that feels both intimate and expansive.
