Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

Dive into a high-voltage odyssey through rhythm, rebellion, and raw groove — tracing the electrifying pulse that shaped decades of music. From deep African roots and the soul-drenched sounds of gospel and jazz, this vibrant exploration reveals how a powerful beat gave rise to a cultural revolution. Witness how icons like James Brown ignited the flame, how Parliament Funkadelic took it to the cosmos, how Labelle broke barriers, and how Fela Kuti turned rhythm into resistance. As the funk surged forward, it didn’t fade — it transformed, reshaping new wave and breathing life into hip-hop. Uncover the untold stories, the infectious energy, and the enduring legacy of a genre that refuses to sit still.

Laurie Anderson embarks on a cinematic journey through love, death and language. Cantering on Anderson's beloved rat terrier Lolabelle, who died in 2011, the film is a personal essay that weaves together childhood memories, video diaries, philosophical musings on data collection, surveillance culture and the Buddhist conception of the afterlife, and heartfelt tributes to the artists, writers, musicians and thinkers who inspire her. Fusing her own witty, inquisitive narration with original violin compositions, hand-drawn animation, 8mm home movies and artwork culled from exhibitions past and present, Anderson creates a hypnotic, collage-like visual language out of the raw materials of her life and art, examining how stories are constructed and told - and how we use them to make sense of our lives.

With optional Hebrew subtitles. The story of medieval Jews struggling to preserve their identity--and sometimes their lives--under the rule of Christianity and Islam. Whether labelled 'Christ-killers' by the Christians or 'dhimmi' (non-Muslim citizens of an Islamic community) by the Muslims, diaspora Jews built new lives and invented new ways of being Jewish in exile in the face of discrimination, blood-libels and persecution interspersed with periods of tolerance, protection and peaceful co-existence. Drawing on some of the documents they left behind, this episode offers a vivid portrait of Jewish bankers, merchants, doctors, poets and artists flourishing in Lincoln, Cordoba, Venice and Cairo and tells the story of their mass expulsion from Spain in 1492.