The best documentary movies with friends on a friday from the 2000s that changed cinema forever. A hand-curated list of documentary films for Moviepiq.
Friday night with friends is about energy. You want something that earns its place in the conversation — a film that people are still talking about on the way home.
The 2000s were a decade of formal ambition in genre filmmaking — studios were willing to fund challenging, adult-oriented work at a scale that feels rare today.
The best documentaries don't just inform — they change how you see something you thought you already understood. Below are ten documentaries that reveal truths that fiction can only approximate.
An intimate look at America's favourite neighbor and the life, lessons, and legacy of Fred Rogers.
Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's El Capitan.
An in-depth look at the US prison system and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock musician Rodriguez.
The story of Amy Winehouse, in her own words, featuring archival footage and recordings.
What makes a documentary essential viewing is specificity. These films don't deal in generalities — they follow real people making impossible choices in real moments.
A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, and illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974.
When Bryan Fogel sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his project into a geopolitical thriller.
A documentary film about the 1965-66 Indonesian mass killings, in which former paramilitary leaders are challenged to re-enact their killings.
Backup singers discuss their careers and relationships with the stars they support.
Michael Moore explores the culture of guns and violence in the United States.
The films that change cinema don't always feel revolutionary when you watch them — sometimes their influence is so total that it now feels like the norm. Look carefully and you'll see the fingerprints of these films everywhere.
After watching a great documentary, the world looks slightly different. That's not a small thing.