The Best Yet-to-be-Distributed Docs 2019

Bouncing around the doc fest circuit this past year, I saw more nonfiction films than could possibly be considered mentally advisable, from sneak-out-of-the-theater duds to unheralded gems I couldn’t wait to rave about. And counterintuitively, it’s those in the latter category, the vast majority international cinematic nonfiction, that always leave me most frustrated. While I can talk (and write) about those films, I can’t bring them to a US theater (or streaming service) near you.

What I can do is compile a list of the few films that managed to stick in my brain all the way through to the end of the year, the ones that I’m most humbly hoping will make it to our shores nationwide in 2020. From the mind-bendingly bizarre to the utterly sublime, all of the following (capsule takes I’ve previously penned for Filmmaker and other outlets) made me reflect on “life itself,” as Roger Ebert would have it, in invigoratingly new and unexpected ways.

To read all about my top picks visit Filmmaker magazine.