Fifty years after the Nakba, Palestinian filmmaker Mai Masri visits the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, where generations of displaced families have built their lives far from their ancestral homes.

The documentary follows Farah, aged 11, and Issa, aged 12, two Palestinian children growing up in a community marked by the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, subsequent conflict and decades of displacement.

Rather than simply interviewing the children, Masri gives them video cameras and invites them to document their own surroundings. Through conversations with relatives, neighbours and one another, they explore family histories, childhood dreams and the meaning of belonging to a homeland they have never known.

Released in 1998, Children of Shatila offers an intimate portrait of Palestinian childhood, intergenerational memory and the preservation of cultural identity through storytelling.

Director: Mai Masri
Year: 1998
Genre: Documentary
Language: Arabic with English subtitles

IMDb: Children of Shatila (1998)

The unbelievable events surrounding Britain’s COVID-19 PPE procurement, from the government’s controversial VIP procurement lane to the multimillion-pound deals involving Baroness Michelle Mone, Doug Barrowman and PPE Medpro, as billions in public money were wasted during a national emergency.

Vincent van Gogh is almost always remembered the same way: a troubled painter who walked into a wheatfield in July 1890 and shot himself. However, the details underneath that account have never fitted together neatly. The pistol was never confirmed, the bullet was never recovered, the location was never established, and the people who were there left statements that contradict one another.

This documentary retraces van Gogh's final seventy days in Auvers-sur-Oise and examines the evidence for and against the accepted account. It draws on his letters, on the written testimony of Adeline Ravoux, the innkeeper's daughter who was thirteen at the time, on interviews given decades later by the people connected to the case, on forensic and firearms analysis of the wound and the weapon, and on technical studies of the paintings he made in his last weeks. It presents the competing explanations alongside the researchers who reject them.

Alternative link for US viewers: https://youtu.be/fQiYFM5NQaw

Canadian stuntman Ken Carter has one ambition: to perform the greatest car jump in history, launching a rocket-powered vehicle across the St Lawrence River from Canada towards the United States.

The plan requires a ten-storey launch ramp, a specially modified car, an estimated million dollars and an extraordinary amount of optimism.

Filmed over five years, Robert Fortier’s documentary follows Carter and his increasingly complicated attempts to turn this improbable dream into reality. Technical failures, financial disasters, sceptical investors and the involvement of legendary daredevil Evel Knievel create a remarkable story of ambition, obsession and questionable engineering.

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, the film combines extraordinary archival footage with dry humour and an affectionate portrait of a man determined to accomplish something that most sensible people would never even contemplate.

IMDb: The Devil at Your Heels (1981)

On 16 March 2003, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer while attempting to prevent the demolition of Palestinian homes in Rafah, Gaza.

Five years later, Australian broadcaster SBS examined the controversy surrounding My Name Is Rachel Corrie, a one-woman theatrical production assembled from Corrie’s personal diaries and emails by Alan Rickman and journalist Katharine Viner.

Reported by Amos Roberts for SBS’s Dateline, this documentary follows the play’s Australian production, starring Belinda Bromilow, while exploring the circumstances surrounding Corrie’s death and the political debate generated by her activism.

Featuring interviews with Corrie’s parents, theatre practitioners and commentators representing opposing perspectives, the programme examines the play’s reception, accusations of political bias and the postponement of its planned New York production in 2006.

The documentary also includes archival footage of Corrie, extracts from her writings and discussion of the International Solidarity Movement, with which she volunteered in Gaza.

Produced by SBS Australia and distributed by Journeyman Pictures.

A short film documenting the 1981 US tour by the British group Adam and the Ants. Features performance clips, fans and interviews with Adam Ant.

In Defamation, Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir takes a skeptical, critical look at the Anti-Defamation League. His film argues that the ADL inflates and exploits fears of antisemitism, using them to wield political influence in Washington and to shield Israel from criticism.

The documentary also takes a wider look at the perception of antisemitism in general in the US and in israel. While the subject is serious he delivers it with a lot of dry humor and the documentary has a comedic tone.

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)

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.

"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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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)

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.