Critics Pick Favorite Docs of the Decade

What were the best documentary films of the past decade? One thing is certain — it’s not an easy task to narrow the list down. Good thing there are film critics who reflect back every ten years and compile lists of their own. Check out some of their favorites below, which include several ITVS funded documentaries and Independent Lens broadcasts. Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comment section. 

Paste Magazine: 25 Best Documentaries of the Decade 
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) – Independent Lens 
By Alex Gibney
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room chronicles a corporate disaster in which top executives from the seventh largest U.S. company walked away with over one billion dollars. 

Waltz with Bashir (2008)
By Ari Folman
Former Israeli soldier and animator Ari Folman attempts to decipher the horror he witnessed in a 1982 massacre of thousands of Palestinian refugees by Christian militia. See the complete list >> 

Kino-Eye Film Blog: 35 documentary films, 2000-2009
The Cats of Mirikitani (2006) – Independent Lens 
By Linda Hattendorf 
When 9/11 threatens eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani's life on the streets of New York, the artist begins to confront his painful past and finds hope, humanity, and home. 

Helvetica (2007) – Independent Lens 
By Gary Hustwit
A film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture, Helvetica looks at the proliferation of one typeface. 

Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness (2009) – Independent Lens 
By Llewellyn Smith 
Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness examines the life and work of the Jewish anthropologist, Melville Herskovits, whose writings challenged prevailing notions of race and culture. Airing this season of Independent Lens: February 2 at 10:00 PM on PBS (check local listings)

King Corn (2009) – Independent Lens 
By Aaron Woolf, Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney
Two recent college graduates plant a single acre of the nation's most powerful crop— corn –– and set out to follow it on its journey from a seed to the dinner plate. 

Made in L.A. (2007) – P.O.V. 
By Almudena Carracedo
Documenting the lives, struggle and personal transformation of three Latina immigrants working in garment factories, Made in L.A. explores the complex impact of globalization on the U.S. apparel industry and on its largely immigrant workforce. 

Mirror Dance (2005) – Independent Lens 
By Frances McElroy and Maria T. Rodriguez
Mirror Dance is the story of two women: identical twins Margarita and Ramona de Saá, forever linked by birth and dance, but struggling to overcome rifts between sisters and nations alike. 

Waltz with Bashir (2008)
By Ari Folman
Former Israeli soldier and animator Ari Folman attempts to decipher the horror he witnessed in a 1982 massacre of thousands of Palestinian refugees by Christian militia. 

The Weather Underground (2003) – Independent Lens 
By Sam Green and Bill Siegel
Speaking candidly for the first time on camera about their experiences, members of the Weather Underground face their pasts as privileged young men and women who turned to systematic violence in their efforts to stop the Vietnam War and start a revolution. Narrated by Lili Taylor. 

See the complete list >>