MOVIEPIQ · DOCUMENTARY · CURATED LIST

Best Documentary Movies With Your Girlfriend From The 2000S That Changed Cinema Forever

The best documentary movies with your girlfriend from the 2000s that changed cinema forever. A hand-curated list of documentary films for Moviepiq.

Watching a film together is one of the simplest and best things you can do. Pick something with enough texture that you'll want to pause it and argue about it.

The 2000s produced a remarkable run of intelligent, ambitious cinema — a decade that took genre seriously and rewarded patient audiences. reveal truths that fiction can only approximate.

The best documentaries don't just inform — they change how you see something you thought you already understood.

Won't You Be My Neighbor? movie poster
1
2018 · ★★★★☆ 8.4/10

An intimate look at America's favourite neighbor and the life, lessons, and legacy of Fred Rogers.

Free Solo movie poster
2
2018 · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's El Capitan.

13th movie poster
3
2016 · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

An in-depth look at the US prison system and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

Searching for Sugar Man movie poster
4
2012 · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock musician Rodriguez.

Amy movie poster
5
2015 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

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.

Man on Wire movie poster
6
2008 · ★★★½☆ 7.7/10

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.

Icarus movie poster
7
2017 · ★★★½☆ 7.9/10

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.

The Act of Killing movie poster
8
2012 · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

A documentary film about the 1965-66 Indonesian mass killings, in which former paramilitary leaders are challenged to re-enact their killings.

20 Feet from Stardom movie poster
9
2013 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

Backup singers discuss their careers and relationships with the stars they support.

Bowling for Columbine movie poster
10
2002 · ★★★★☆ 8.0/10

Michael Moore explores the culture of guns and violence in the United States.

Some films don't just tell stories — they change what stories can be. These are the ones that shifted what came after them.

After watching a great documentary, the world looks slightly different. That's not a small thing.