In America, there is a vast, hidden workforce: prison inmates, many deemed safe enough to work with the public, but also too dangerous to release.

Thousands of US corporations profit from forced prison labor. If an inmate refuses, they can lose family visitation, be put in solitary confinement, or have their parole denied. Proponents have called it a low-cost alternative to offshore outsourcing.

In the small town of Kaikohe, in New Zealand’s Far North, demolition derby racing is more than a weekend pastime. It’s a local institution, bringing together a colourful collection of drivers, mechanics and spectators who take considerable pleasure in reducing old cars to scrap metal.

Director Florian Habicht follows several of the town’s memorable personalities, discovering the humour, ingenuity and camaraderie beneath the battered bonnets. Away from the racetrack, their conversations reveal a community confronting economic hardship with resilience and a remarkably good sense of humour.

Funny, affectionate and occasionally poignant, this independently produced documentary finds something unexpectedly beautiful in an activity devoted almost entirely to destruction.

IMDb: Kaikohe Demolition (2004)

Submission statement: This 60 Minutes Australia report interviews four Cascio siblings, Eddie, Dominic, Aldo and Marie-Nicole, about growing up close to Michael Jackson. They defended him for decades but now allege he groomed and sexually abused them. They discuss what they say happened and why they didn’t speak out sooner. Jackson’s estate denies the allegations.

Many are often perplexed by the influence of Israel in the American government. Though often the focus is on financial influence, the religious influence of the Christian Zionist ideology is often overlooked and misunderstood. This documentary examines the history of Christian Zionism, its origins, and its unique influence on American politics.

"It's the people's pier!"

This beautiful, award-winning, cinematic documentary captures a community project over 130 years in the making.

On a small island in the middle of the Irish sea, a giant derelict pier juts out into the rough sea.

Closed for decades, now the town is getting a new lease of life thanks to a defiant elderly population building something for the next generation.

Directed by filmmaker Reuben Armstrong, a grandchild of the film’s protagonist Tom Durrant, this documentary includes brilliant access. From Victorian blueprints to family home movie footage shot on Super8 and VHS - the archive and animation brings a rich nostalgic texture to the story.

Hey everyone — I'm actually the guy who created this show, so figured I'd share it here.

Spent the better part of two years getting this thing off the ground, and somehow ended up spending three weeks traveling around Ireland with Bill Murray and Tom Coyne.

There's obviously a lot of golf, but it's really more about the people they meet and the ridiculous situations they find themselves in along the way.

Anyway, premieres October 25 on the BBC and Paramount+. Pretty excited for people to finally see it.

Happy to answer any questions about making it, working with Bill, or whatever else!

Every year, dedicated birdwatchers attempt what is known as a Big Year, travelling enormous distances to identify as many bird species as possible within twelve months. For some, it's a pleasant hobby. For others, it borders on an obsession.

Brothers Owen and Quentin Reiser decide to discover what all the fuss is about by purchasing a second-hand minivan and spending an entire year travelling across the United States. Armed with binoculars, cameras and rather more enthusiasm than experience, they immerse themselves in the surprisingly competitive world of birdwatching.

Along the way, they encounter eccentric enthusiasts, elusive species, spectacular landscapes and the peculiar rituals of a community prepared to go to extraordinary lengths for the sighting of a single bird.

Directed by Owen Reiser, this independently produced documentary combines wildlife photography, road-trip comedy and an affectionate examination of obsession, competition and our relationship with the natural world.

IMDb: Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching (2025)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjWUKFUaoL4

A film about the campaigners trying to change the dog welfare law in Pennsylvania where puppies can still be sold in pet stores and the Amish produce puppies on an industrial scale. The film is available in various screenings this month as part of National Adopt a Rescue Dog month.

In 1996, filmmaker Peter Lynch followed Canadian inventor Troy Hurtubise, whose obsession with grizzly bears led him to spend seven years developing an extraordinary suit of protective armour.

Inspired by an encounter with a bear, Hurtubise becomes determined to build something capable of withstanding an attack at close quarters. His experiments involve increasingly extreme tests, including being struck with heavy objects and hit by vehicles, all in the name of proving his design.

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, Project Grizzly became a cult documentary, capturing both the absurdity of its central premise and the extraordinary determination of the man behind it.

IMDb: Project Grizzly (1996)

Submission Statement: This video follows YouTuber Rainbolt and a community of online sleuths as they embark on a nearly four-year investigation to locate the exact setting of an old photograph sent by a viewer. The photo features a young girl and her late mother sitting on a park bench. By combining digital mapping, historical records, and archival footage, the team successfully identifies the spot as Owl's Head Park in Brooklyn and pinpoints the exact date to a Halloween event.

Submission Statement: I build industrial automation systems for a living, and I made this short investigative documentary about the mechanics and legal reality of software-locked features in modern vehicles. It covers everything from BMW charging £15/month for pre-installed heated seats, to Mercedes software-locking physical electric motors, and the recent FTC antitrust lawsuit against John Deere over repair monopolies. The core issue I explore is how we are quietly moving from owning physical machines to simply licensing the software permission to use specific parts of them. Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on where this right-to-repair battle is heading next.

Hear from the crew and cast members of the "Robocop" movie across four roughly hour-long episodes. The sequels and merchandise are also mentioned.

This documentary covers the 2002 DC Sniper (Beltway sniper) attacks, in which ten people were killed and three wounded around Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia in about three weeks.

It follows the case in order: the first shootings in Montgomery County, the false white van lead, the tarot card and the ransom letter, the fingerprint clue from an Alabama shooting, the modified 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, and the arrest of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo at a Maryland rest stop. It also covers the trials and how investigators missed the car they were looking for.

It is based on court records, FBI materials and news reporting. It uses no graphic crime-scene images.

In 1975, NASA released a documentary exploring one of humanity’s oldest questions: are we alone in the universe?

Hosted by Orson Welles, with contributions from Carl Sagan, Philip Morrison, George Wald and other scientists, the film examines what planetary exploration, astronomy and the study of life on Earth could tell us about the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Made before the Voyager missions and decades before the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, it offers a fascinating glimpse into how scientists approached the question of life beyond Earth half a century ago.

IMDb: Who’s Out There? (1975)