The Best Documentaries of 2022

Whether it’s celebrities, gun violence, systemic racism, addiction, or love, these movies made common problems feel new.

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30 Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U

Follow Olivia Rodrigo as she recounts the memories of writing and creating her debut album. Take a look on her journey from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles.

Director: Stacey Lee
Starring: Olivia Rodrigo, Dan Nigro, Heather Elizabeth Baker

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29 Fire of Love

Intrepid scientists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft died in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that brought them together: unraveling the mysteries of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded.

Director: Sara Dosa
Writers: Sara Dosa, Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput
Starring: Miranda July, Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft
Box office: $1 695 072

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28 The Andy Warhol Diaries

After he’s shot in 1968, Andy Warhol begins documenting his life and feelings. Those diaries, and this docuseries, take a peek behind his persona.

Director: Andrew Rossi
Writers: Andrew Rossi
Starring: Bill Irwin, Jeffrey Deitch, Jessica Beck

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27 Moonage Daydream

A cinematic odyssey exploring David Bowie’s creative and musical journey. From visionary filmmaker Brett Morgen, and sanctioned by the Bowie estate.

Director: Brett Morgen
Writers: Brett Morgen
Starring: David Bowie, Trevor Bolder, Ken Fordham
Box office: $13 093 261

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26 Benjamin Franklin

Exploring the life and work of writer and publisher, scientist and inventor, diplomat and signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution: Benjamin Franklin.

Director: Ken Burns
Writers: Dayton Duncan
Starring: Peter Coyote, Mandy Patinkin, Josh Lucas

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25 Our Father

Jacoba Ballard decided to take a DNA test one day, in hopes of finding one or two half-siblings with the same sperm donor. “Growing up, I felt different,” she says in the documentary’s trailer. But when she found seven matches, she realized that she had stumbled across a major discovery: a shocking scheme involving donor sperm and a popular fertility doctor.

Director: Lucie Jourdan
Starring: Jacoba Ballard, Julie Harmon, Matt White

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24 Jackass 4.5

Through outrageous, never-before-seen footage, witness the making of the Jackass crew’s last go at wild stunts.

Director: Jeff Tremaine
Writers: Jason Acuña, Derrick Beckles, J.P. Blackmon
Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Chris Pontius, Steve-O

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23 Gaming Wall St

Explores the stock market frenzy of GameStop, and how a group of armchair investors and online vigilantes ultimately helped expose the dark underbelly of Wall Street.

Director: Tobias Deml
Writers: Tessa Byford, Tobias Deml, Elyza Halpern
Starring: Kieran Culkin, Keith Gill, Quentin Howell