Documentaries

In the forests of eastern Australia, a unique annual ritual is underway. A male superb lyrebird fans out its large tail and bobs up and down amongst the foliage. It's performing a song and dance routine in hopes of winning a potential mate. Unfortunately, this bird isn't drawing any attention. Female lyrebirds require more complex songs to win the ability to mate. During his mating display, the male lyre bird puts on a show in his performing ground, replicating the sounds he hears in the surrounding forest — with…

Reed: It doesn’t feel like an odd choice for us. It’s a bit disruptive and, in trust, that’s the sort of thing we’re interested in, and I think that’s the sort of thing people need and the industry needs.People need something more from nature documentaries?Reed: I think so. We're in a period where you could keep looking at the natural world in the same way, or we can look at something in a completely different way. And even if it’s not for everybody, it just makes us look at something in a different way, and that can only…

I've been very fortunate as a documentary and adventure series filmmaker, having the opportunity to travel all over Canada and the world doing what I love. But my latest project sent me on a mission to a lunar landscape in Canada's Far North — one of the most difficult places I've ever had to reach. For the CBC Short Doc My New Moon Suit, we travelled to Devon Island, nestled in Canada's Arctic, to run our very own test of a new spacesuit. It's here, on the world's largest uninhabited island, that new-concept spacesuits…

Anyone who's experienced the heartbreak of a relationship ending knows it can be emotionally devastating. But scientists have found that a breakup also has physical effects on our brains — and our bodies. In Love Hurts: The Science of Heartbreak, a documentary from The Nature of Things, Anthony Morgan speaks with researchers and scientists to discover the biological effects of a broken heart. In the documentary, Morgan meets a team researching Takotsubo syndrome, where the stress of heartbreak or loss can actually change…

From healthcare to Hollywood, the emergence of artificial intelligence has dominated the conversation in almost every industry in the past year. Another area where AI is becoming more prominent? The death industry. The idea is that after a loved one dies, you can use AI to “speak” with them—and if it feels like something right out of Black Mirror, that’s because it kind of is. In a 2013 episode of the sci-fi series, a widow copes with the sudden death of her husband by signing up for a service that aggregates his online…

Without a doubt, we are in the midst of a golden age in regards to the realm of documentaries. In fact, there is seemingly a new movie or docuseries every week which immediately grabs the world’s attention with scintillating true-crime, a deep look into a celebrity’s life and career, or any number of other fascinating stories told from every angle imaginable. Documentaries have always been an essential storytelling medium, especially when it comes to the ever-popular sub-genre of true crime. These documentaries are…

When award-winning filmmaker Dawn Porter — who directed the upcoming Luther Vandross documentary Luther: Never Too Much — thinks of her favorite song by the legendary singer, she selects “So Amazing,” the timeless track he wrote and produced for Dionne Warwick and later recorded himself. But then she pauses. “I think it’s hard for me because I’m very attached to some scenes right now,” she says. Then she speaks about “Any Love,” Vandross’ autobiographical song about wanting to find the one and the…

As usual, much of the year’s documentary fare has yet to be announced. But between the Sundance film festival in January and the evergreen draw of celebrity vanity projects, the documentary slate for 2024 is already filling up – and that’s not even getting into numerous docu-series. (There’s a 10-parter coming on Apple TV+ about the New England Patriots football dynasty, which seems, ironically enough, a little inflated).From overdue retrospectives on Luther Vandross and June Carter Cash, to an on-the-ground account of…

For some, life is a series of chance meetings with historical consequences. Little Brother, the trio comprised of rapper/singer Phonte, rapper Big Pooh, and (formerly) producer 9th Wonder met on the campus of North Carolina Central University and went on to craft one of rap’s most beloved catalogs. Their story was chronicled in the recently released documentary, May The Lord Watch, currently available on YouTube. The film was crafted by Travis “Yoh” Phillips and Holland “vacayvacayvacay” Gallagher of documentary studio…

Call it a sign of the strange times in which we live, when disinformation and conspiracy theories run rampant on social media, but a decade after TV’s true crime renaissance began, the cult documentary is having a breakout moment. In 2023 alone, we had dueling series about Twin Flames Universe, “Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God,” an exploration of Larry Ray and the so-called “sex cult” at Sarah Lawrence, and a four-part documentary on Synanon, the Santa Monica drug-rehab program turned armed extremist group. For…