We know. The summer break is supposed to comprise long days at the beach and time away from the television. But with so much quality viewing material on offer — alongside a number of inevitable days with post-soirée brown bottle flu on the horizon — there’s actually no time better than the present to kick back and prop oneself in front of the box for an hour or two. From a terrifying viral trend to an explosive exposé on Weinstein, these are the best documentaries to watch right now.
Aquarela
From cascading waterfalls to gargantuan waves, ethereal frozen lakes to gushing rivers, filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky captures water in all its breathtaking guises. A visual feast of crisp, HD imagery, this makes for magnificent viewing.
I Love You, Now Die
Shocking, unnerving and — quite literally — unprecedented, the case of Michelle Carter, the teenager who coerced her boyfriend to commit suicide via text, was one that was always going to make gripping documentary material.
Fireball
Fresh from the weird and wonderful mind of German film director Werner Herzog comes Fireball, a film about the influence comets, meteors and space debris have on ancient religions and the history of mankind as a whole.
Wrinkles The Clown
Amid the buzz around Stephen King’s It comes the true story of a real-life Pennywise. Wrinkles The Clown delves into the viral YouTube video that lifted the lid on an unusual trend: Floridian parents hiring clowns to terrify their children.
Vision Portraits
Inviting us to look at the world through a different lens — literally — Vision Portraits sees award-winning filmmaker Rodney Evans chronicle the creative paths of blind and visually impaired artists, including his own.
Tell Me Who I Am
When Alex Lewis awakes from a coma following a motorcycle accident, he remembers only one thing: his twin’s name. Alex relies on his brother to help him remember his past, unaware that Marcus is harbouring a very dark family secret.
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman pay tribute to the ‘first lady of rock’, charting her start in folk to her retirement and battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Untouchable
You’d be forgiven for never wanting to hear or see of Weinstein ever again, but this documentary — a chronicling of his rise and fall that features interviews from former colleagues and victims throughout — is impossible to resist.
