Documentary of the Week

"This Changes Everything" profiles Geena Davis and other Hollywood women trying to fix gender discrimination on screen and behind the scenes. Filmmaker Tom Donahue and a majority female film crew including Davis as Executive Producer interview an all-star roster of talent from Shonda Rhimes to Meryl Streep. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

"Say Amen, Somebody" captures the early pioneers of gospel music, Willie Mae Smith and Thomas Dorsey, in a celebratory documentary that will move even non-believers. Director George Nierenberg made the film in the early 1980s and it's now been lovingly restored for re-release. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The documentary "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool" profiles the trumpet player who left an indelible mark on 20th century music. Director Stanley Nelson celebrates Davis' soaring artistic achievement, but doesn't shy away from the more troubling sides of his personality in this complex portrait. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The documentary "American Factory" covers the Chinese company Fuyao Glass that retools an abandoned GM Factory in Dayton, Ohio, raising hopes for local workers. Oscar-nominated filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert get deep access to both management in China and American workers on the factory floor. The film is the first acquisition by Barack and Michelle Obama's film company in partnership with Netflix. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to...

In "One Child Nation," filmmakers Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang investigate the history of China's policy of restricting families to one child and its untold consequences. They interview people whose lives were affected by forced abortions, sterilizations, human trafficking and families separated by international adoption. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the official film web sit.

D.A. Pennebaker died this month at the age of 94. He was a pioneer of the modern documentary with films like "Crisis," "Dont Look Back" and "Monterey Pop." The last four decades of his career were spent in collaboration with his wife Chris Hegedus on films such as "Town Bloody Hall," "The War Room" and "Unlocking the Cage." — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers Click here to listen to the full interview with Pennebaker on the Pure Non-Fiction podcast.

The documentary "Jay Myself" profiles acclaimed photographer Jay Maisel, who bought a six-story building in Manhattan, filled it with found objects for five decades and now has to move. Filmmaker Stephen Wilkes documents the wondrous 72-room former bank building that Maisel assembled like an art installation curated by a hoarder. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

"Mike Wallace is Here" profiles the "60 Minutes" star in an uniquely constructed film that relies on archives drawn from thousands of hours of his television interviews. Filmmaker Avi Belkin simultaneously explores how news coverage evolved and shaped the world during Wallace's career. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

"The Edge of Democracy" explores recent political upheavals in Brazil that resulted in the popular former President Lula going to prison, his successor being impeached and the rise of a new President who's been compared to Donald Trump. Filmmaker Petra Costa tells the story from a personal perspective of growing up with leftist parents who were persecuted under the country's previous military dictatorship. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the...

The documentary "Sea of Shadows" follows activists trying to save the rare totoaba fish from extinction, going up against poachers, smugglers and the mafia from Mexico to China. Filmmaker Richard Ladkani covers action by land and sea with the pacing a thriller. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

In "Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love," filmmaker Nick Broomfield profiles Marianne Ihlen, who was Leonard Cohen's lover and the subject of his songs "So Long, Marianne" and "Bird on a Wire." The film captures an era of artistic expression, drugs and free love. Broomfield also had a relationship with Marianne, who inspired him to make his first film fifty years ago. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

"Maiden" is a documentary adventure story chronicling the first all-women sailing team to compete in an around-the-world race, defying sexist naysayers. Filmmaker Alex Holmes interviews the key players, including Skipper Tracy Edwards, and weaves their accounts with extraordinary footage shot on board the Maiden amidst ocean storms and accidents. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” profiles the Nobel Prize winning author of “Song of Solomon,” “Beloved” and other novels. Filmmaker and photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders frames Morrison speaking directly to the camera and gives her work context in interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Angela Davis, Walter Mosley and others. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary “XY Chelsea” profiles Chelsea Manning, alternately seen as a whistleblower or traitor, who spent seven years in prison — the longest any American ever has for leaking government secrets. Filmmaker Tim Travers Hawkins follows the transgender activist, who went to prison as Bradley and emerged as Chelsea. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The documentary “Ghost Fleet” follows a modern anti-slavery crusader, Patima Tungpuchayakul, as she goes on a mission to remote islands to rescue escapees from illegal fishing boats. Filmmakers Shannon Service and Jeffrey Waldron expose a hidden system in the Thai fishing industry that’s estimated to keep tens of thousands in slave labor at sea. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The documentary “Running with Beto” follows Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke over a year as he becomes a national political figure with an unexpectedly strong challenge against incumbent Senator Ted Cruz. Filmmaker David Modigliani captures how Beto energizes a new base of voters by taking strong left-wing positions on issues like immigration, gun control and police violence. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary “Barbara Rubin and the Exploding NY Underground” shines a light on the experimental filmmaker who moved in the circles of Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol and Allen Ginsberg. Filmmaker Chuck Smith chronicles how Rubin burst on the scene as a teenager to push boundaries of cinema, sexuality and drugs. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

“Walking on Water” documents the visionary artist Christo as he undertakes his biggest project since the death of his partner Jeanne-Claude, creating a floating bridge on Italy’s Lake Iseo. Filmmaker Andrey Paounov captures Christo’s attempt to create the impossible, aided by his nephew Vladimir Yavachev. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The family friendly documentary “The Biggest Little Farm” follows John and Molly Chester as they trade city life to create a biodiverse farm with multiple species of plants and animals. We watch their trials and tribulations for over seven years as the farm comes to life only to be threatened by drought and wildfires. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The documentary “Knock Down the House” follows four working-class candidates running for Congress, including a young long shot from the Bronx named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Director Rachel Lears captures how Ocasio-Cortez emerged, from a movement supported by the organizations Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress, to become a rising star. — Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers For more information, click here to visit the film web site.