Our Faves

The short documentary “Haulout” follows a scientist on a remote Arctic beach who witnesses the chaotic effects of climate change on Pacific walruses.

A detailed look into the environmental damage and human rights abuses that occur throughout the lifecycle of plastic. What can companies, countries and people do to fix the issues?

As climate change erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that's been their family home for generations.

Amidst a devastating opioid epidemic, a needle exchange and free clinic operates in the shadows of Fresno, California.

The Times gave doctors and nurses cameras to document their lives at the height of the coronavirus crisis in New York City., What they captured reveals an extraordinary resolve in the face of a profound breakdown in the health-care system.

Victoria Cruz investigates the mysterious 1992 death of black gay rights activist and Stonewall veteran, Marsha P. Johnson. Using archival interviews with Johnson, and new interviews with Johnson's family, friends and fellow activists.

A personal love letter from director Sean Wang to his Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó, a grandma super team that dances, stretches, and farts their sorrows away.

The Barber of Little Rock explores America’s racial wealth gap through the story of Arlo Washington, a local barber whose visionary approach to a just economy can be found in the mission of the nonprofit community bank he founded.

In a nondescript warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain over 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of the recording capital of the world.

RAMINI is a short documentary about a water buffalo farm in Tomales Bay, CA. Narrated by Audrey, one of Ramini Mozzarella's co-founders, RAMINI navigates the day-to-day maintenance of the farm. It showcases Audrey's unique sustainable farming approach - one that demonstrates a mutually beneficial relationship between animal and farmer - as well as her deep bond with the water buffalo in her care.

When suspicious packages are found in a small town in northern California, Game Warden Pat Freeling, gets a tip about the peculiar activity. After further investigation he exposes a vast network of illegal plant poachers. These smugglers ravage the landscape as they rip thousands of the native succulent, Dudleya Farinosa, from their natural habitat. This small unassuming plant carries a hefty bounty on its head internationally, where a single succulent boasts a price tag in the thousands. With the help of volunteers, native plant biologists, and local government, they fight to stop this ecological destruction.

Khaled came from war-torn Yemen to Oakland, CA to pursue beekeeping and a better life. But with an increasing amount of uncertainties, life’s not always as sweet as honey.

Five women, each in a different stage of their life, share experiences about their relationships to their bodies and how others perceive them in this powerfully intimate mixed-media animated documentary.

Dr. Lisa Sanders crowdsources diagnoses for mysterious and rare medical conditions in this documentary series based on her New York Times Magazine column.

Vladimir, a scrappy Russian marine biologist, stows away aboard a boat filled with adventure junkies and a world-renowned cybersecurity expert to help fulfil his quest to understand and protect the Kuril Islands. Set in one of the most inaccessible volcanic island chains in the world, the film introduces us to a true warrior for the planet on an intimate journey of visual bliss, sea lion chaos, and ultimately a greater hope for the Earth.

This short documentary tells the story of Marie Wilcox, the last fluent speaker of the Wukchumni language and the dictionary she created in an effort to keep her language alive.

A complex portrait of contemporary Chicago delivers a deep, multifaceted look into the soul of a quintessentially American city, set against the backdrop of its history-making 2019 mayoral election, and the tumultuous 2020 summer of COVID-19 and social upheaval following the death of George Floyd.

Follow a group of skiers, snowboarders, scientists and healers to the birch forests of Japan, the red cedars of British Columbia and the bristlecones of Nevada, as they explore an ancient story written in rings.

Learning to Drown follows the life and career of professional snowboarder Jess Kimura as she unapologetically shatters stereotypes with her own brand of unwavering determination and go-for-broke mentality.

The injustice surrounding the shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins at a South Central Los Angeles store became a flashpoint for the city’s 1992 civil uprising.

Ode to Desolation shares the story of Jim Henterly, a naturalist, illustrator and fire lookout as he contemplates the dying days of Fire Lookouts in North America.

What is consciousness? Why are we predisposed for mystical experience? And what happens when we die? Researchers arrive at new insights into the interconnectedness of nature and consciousness but only find more questions.

The last female bee-hunter in Europe must save the bees and return the natural balance in Honeyland, when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood.

An intimate portrait of a growing movement amongst Indigenous Americans to reclaim their spiritual and cultural identities through food sovereignty.

Millicent "Millie" McCrory, also known as "The Paint Wizzard" around Austin, TX, is an accomplished house painter who works in a miniskirt, crop top and signature cat ear headband.

A group of surgeons, speech therapists, and nurses begin work to teach Burmese doctors how to perform cleft repairs in a desolate hospital within Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar’s modern capital. 

What it's like to be a New York City delivery worker.

Fighting just to survive, California's homeless population suffers as housing costs soar, pushing more of the disadvantaged onto the streets.

In Japan there is a special way to grieve after having an abortion. Inspired by these Buddhist rituals, Mizuko is a look of how a half-Japanese American woman reevaluates drawing "the line" in abortion ethics when she becomes pregnant.

At the edge of a coastal tourist town in Japan, an aging scientist works to unlock the biological secret of immortality held in the life cycle of a tiny jellyfish.

Exploring Georgia representative's, 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health care reform, and immigration.

Story about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African-American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity.

The story of Amin Nawabi as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband.

The Hyde Amendment denies low-income individuals abortion access. Following an abortion helpline in Philadelphia where every phone counselor goes by Lisa, the film gives voice to women and teens affected by the explicitly discriminatory legislation.

She is one of the greatest living women's basketball players. Three national trophies. Scored the first basket in women's Olympic basketball at the '76 Olympics. Drafted to the NBA. But have you ever heard of Lucy Harris?