Poetic Documentary Movies

What is a film if not a therapeutic act? Wa(te)r is a poetiс reflection on my 2022–2023 diary entries, poured from one medium to...

Shot under extreme conditions and inspired by Mayan creation theory, the film contemplates the illusion of reality and the possibility of capturing...

An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.

This short experimental film tells the story of a man who comes to Hollywood to become a star, only to fail and be dehumanized. He is identified by...

Robert Drew shows the sights and sounds from the funeral of President John F. Kennedy in November, 1963. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in...

Carefully picked scenes of nature and civilization are viewed at high speed using time-lapse cinematography in an effort to demonstrate the history...

A lyrical portrait of Amsterdam and its changing appearance during a rain-shower.

The personal stories lived by the Uncle, the Father and the Son, respectively, form a tragic experience that is drawn along a line in time. This line...

Through interspersed conversation and prose, this experimental documentary follows a poet and a neuroscientist as they explore the definition of...

In 1952, Haanstra made Panta Rhei , another view of Holland through the eyes of a painter and filmmaker. Its poetic images of water, skies and clouds...

In this short film the director reflects on the feeling of being on the wrong path in your life, that you have no control over your own life. But...

Through an unsent letter, the author travels through time and recalls moments when love affected him intensely. Evocative images explore how pain and...

A poetic documentary which explores the relationship between a person and their past, the autistic experience and the teenage sense of self.

An ode to man's capacity to care for all creatures throughout their sometimes greatly protracted existence, displayed through the homegrown remedies...

One filmmaker's exploration of natural light in California and its influence on people's lives.

A poetic short film showing a day in the 2019 protests in Santiago, Chile through documentary images.

Exploration of the ordinary lives led by women of different classes—a college professor, an unmarried woman, and a seasoned drama artist. They...

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

In a small commercial harbour in the south of France, two Moroccan sailors are watching over ferries that were abandoned by ship-owners. Young...