21 Documentaries I Love About People Who Make Things
Because art always gets me through the hard moments in life
Something that’s brought me a lot of joy in recent months is watching documentaries about people who make stuff. Whether you identify as an artist, filmmaker, musician, writer, or none of the above, I firmly believe that studying the creative process in all its forms can do wonders for mental health. Taking an in-depth look at the making of art can change the way we pay attention and inspire us to think differently about how we’re spending our time.
I’d also wager that this is probably a better use of your time than doomscrolling. In fact, that’d be my recommendation for y’all in the next month — when you catch yourself doomscrolling, turn on one of the below documentaries instead!
Art
About Jenny Holzer
You’ve likely seen her installations: PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT. ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE. Jenny Holzer is something of a personal icon for me (wrote about her Redaction Paintings here!), so I was excited to turn up a documentary about her! Claudia Müller’s About Jenny Holzer is super cool glimpse into a singular artist’s creative process.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
One hundred million hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds, a memorial composed of nine thousand backpacks — these are just a few examples of artist-activist Ai Weiwei’s work. Alison Klayman’s Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is a great introduction to some of his more well-known pieces in addition to their undeniable political significance. Interestingly, Weiwei’s digital work also serves as a time capsule for social media’s better days.
Art and Craft
Mark Landis is a prolific art forger who spent three decades passing off his paintings as originals to museums, galleries, and countless other institutions. But because his work was always donated rather than sold, he cannot technically be prosecuted for his “crime.” Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, and Mark Becker’s Art and Craft follows the curious journey of Landis and Matthew Leininger, the museum registrar who’s obsessed with exposing him. The story’s so good that I almost couldn’t believe it was real!
Banksy Does New York
Back in 2013, street artist Banksy spent a one-month “residency” in New York City, using Instagram to drop daily hints about where he’d left his latest piece. Chris Moukarbel’s Banksy Does New York charts the full-on scavenger hunt that unfolded, with a growing number of fans scouring the city to uncover the location of each new work. I love anything that feels like this, where all kinds of different people unite as a community in celebration of art. (Another one that reminded me that social media can be good sometimes, actually!)
Feels Good Man
At this point Pepe the Frog is an instantly recognizable internet meme, but do you know his origin story? Arthur Jones’ Feels Good Man dives in the world of Matt Furie, the kind-hearted man who created Pepe, and the peculiar saga of how his indie comic character morphed into a symbol of hate. Great if you, too, are interested in the evolution of memes, have complicated feelings about the internet, and still believe in the weird mighty power of art.
Kusama: Infinity
You’ve probably seen those gorgeous infinity mirror rooms that people like to post on social media, but do you know who created them? Heather Lenz’s Kusama: Infinity is the documentary that Yayoi Kusama has long deserved. Her story is one of incredible perseverance and I’m so glad she’s finally seen wider recognition for her work!
My Kid Could Paint That
Back in 2005, paintings created by four-year-old Marla Olmstead were selling for thousands of dollars. This kid threw the art world into an uproar with all the questions she raised — what makes something art? Especially in the abstract realm? Amir Bar-Lev’s My Kid Could Paint That takes a look behind the scenes, both in the family’s home and the professional art world.
Nothing Changes: Art For Hank’s Sake
MY HEART. Matthew Kaplowitz’s Nothing Changes: Art for Hank’s Sake welcomes us into the life and studio of 87-year-old Hank Virgona, who religiously commuted to his studio six days a week to make art. I felt so inspired by his dedication and pure enthusiasm about the simple act of creation and highly recommend this to anyone who could use a little bit of a pep talk. Virgona has sadly left us since this documentary was filmed, but I poked around online and discovered you can still buy his work here!
Rivers and Tides & Leaning into the Wind
Working in mediums like leaves, snow, and rain, Andy Goldsworthy has been turning nature into art for many years now. Thomas Riedelsheimer’s documentary duo, Rivers and Tides and Leaning into the Wind, are essential to experiencing Goldsworthy’s work, since his creations are so often ephemeral and altered by the passage of time. Originally released sixteen years apart, I’d say these make for a great double-feature — I loved hearing how his perspective on life and art had evolved in the interim. (Also these are both extremely soothing if you’re stressed right now!)
Film & TV
Casting By
Before watching Tom Donahue’s Casting By I had very little sense of what casting directors actually do. By the end, I was prepared to die for a woman named Marion Dougherty, who was instrumental to the careers of folks like Glenn Close and Al Pacino. Now I need a documentary like this about every job in Hollywood. What do y’all do to make the movies I love? Tell me everything!!
David Lynch: The Art Life
I was absolutely heartbroken to hear of David Lynch’s death last month, and finally got around to watching Jon Nguyen, Olivia Neergaard-Holm, and Rick Barnes’ David Lynch: The Art Life. It’s pretty much Lynch telling you stories from his life for an hour and a half while you watch him make art — almost as if we’re right there in the studio with him. I hadn’t known he got his start in visual art until I watched the documentary — it was cool to get a little bit more context into his personal creative life, considering how wonderfully mysterious his films are.
Exporting Raymond
The creator of hit TV show Everybody Loves Raymond goes to Russia to make a Russian version of Everybody Loves Raymond. Chaos ensues. Philip Rosenthal’s Exporting Raymond is absolutely hilarious and almost too good to be true!
Life Itself
Film critic Roger Ebert has been important to me ever since I saw him kneel down and explain death to a child in one of my FAVORITE ’90s TV shows, Early Edition. (What would you do if you got tomorrow’s newspaper today? GREAT QUESTION.) Anyway, Steve James’ wonderful Life Itself charts the life and times of this hero among cinephiles (and as a bonus, introduced me to the Seven Up documentary series, one of my 2024 Small Joys).
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau
Hands-down one of the strangest films I have ever seen in my entire life. David Gregory’s Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau follows the bonkers behind-the-scenes journey of the much beleaguered 1996 Island of Dr. Moreau, including possible magic, extensive directorial drama, and assorted Marlon Brando antics. (My obsession with this one is well-documented — I wrote about it in the first official issue of Microfascination!)
Shirkers
Back in 1992, young Sandi Tan and her friends made a film about a teenage assassin with the help of a mysterious man named Georges. Not long after, Georges took their footage and disappeared. But what became of the film they made together? And who was Georges, really? Years later, Tan decides to revisit this beloved project that never saw the light of day and tries to finally uncover the mystery of who Georges really was. Sandi Tan’s Shirkers is an enthralling exploration of the strange beauty of human connection, and I’m so grateful that she finally got to tell her story.
Music
Amy
Asif Kapadia’s Amy is a beautiful testament to the regretfully short life of one of our generation’s most talented musicians, as well as a fascinating dive into the concept of celebrity. Heartbreaking and thought-provoking.
Eno
I saw Gary Hustwit’s Eno at the end of a very hard week and it was such an incredible burst of sunshine in my life. The filmmakers employed a special technology that pulls from hundreds of hours of footage, creating a different sequence at every screening. The result is a beautiful homage to the spirit of Brian Eno’s work — a feature film that’s never the same thing twice. The unusual technology used to screen the documentary means that it’s not quite as accessible as some of the others on this list, but I was able to attend a global online screening offered back in January via NY artist collective Oh You Pretty Things. Worth keeping an eye out to see if they do another in the future!
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Metallica does group therapy while making their next album in Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, and I love every minute of it!
The Rock-afire Explosion
A beautifully nostalgic and one-of-a-kind documentary about Showbiz Pizza’s animatronic band, The Rock-afire Explosion, and the people who love them. I’m such a fan of documentary filmmakers Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb that I actually devoted an entire issue to their work back in 2023 — worth watching through their whole oeuvre if you, too, enjoy “archive-rich nostalgic portraits of pop culture, compelling stories of female empowerment, and observational snapshots of under-explored cultures.”
Writing
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
It’s weird, because I am a writer, so I feel like there should be more entries in this section! Admittedly there’s an added obstacle when crafting an author documentary, given the solitary stillness of the craft, but Timothy Greenfield-Sanders rose to the challenge and made one of the best docs I’ve ever seen. The Pieces I Am is an absolutely riveting and visually compelling portrait of the life of Toni Morrison — one I wish everyone would watch as Black History Month comes to a close.
Speaking of writers, I recently interviewed Sara Gran about synchronicity, girl detectives, DIY publishing, and her latest book: Little Mysteries. I finished out 2024 by reading just about everything Gran’s written, and when my editor got back to me with edits on the interview, she shared that she’d done the exact same thing. (Gran’s been publishing books for 20+ years, so this was no small feat for either of us!) There’s something so magical about connecting with a writer’s work and then discovering you have an entire catalog to read through. Be sure to check out Little Mysteries and see if you feel the same!
The zine icons at Paranoid Tree were kind enough to invite me to read at their recent 50th issue celebration! Grab my King Kong zine if you haven’t already and be sure to check out the bundles and subscriptions — I love them so much.
Fun little followup to last month’s newsletter — I heard from a few of y’all about specific Werner Herzog films that’ve impacted you, and each person mentioned a different film! Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin, Cave of Forgotten Dreams — for me, this variety just hammered home the delightful fact that everyone connects with his filmography in a different way. Herzog would be (gruffly) proud!
Anyway, give me your creative documentary recommendations — especially writers! — and I’ll see y’all again in March.
Glad to read someone else connected with Roger Ebert. I watched Siskel and Ebert all the way back in my high school days (late 70’s). Followed by, At the Movies in the late 80’s. Ebert was my go to movie critic. Siskel, not so much. Too cynical for me. Roger Ebert was insightful and I found his reviews both thoughtful and honest. Thank you for the share about him kneeling to explain death to a child.
I also really liked "Shirkers." And I recently wrote a post about the documentary "Middletown," which premiered at Sundance this year. It's a documentary about a group of high school students making a documentary. (My husband was one of the kids in the 1990s who worked on the project.) Anyway, yes, three cheers for art about art!