Books and documents that are useful for people interested in documentary film-making:

  • الفيلم الوثائقي العراقي في المنافي الأوروبية، عدنان حسين أحمد
  • الفيلم الوثائقي: مقدمة قصيرة جدًّا، باتريشيا أوفدرهايدي
  • Making Documentary Films and Video, Barry Hampe
  • Introduction to Documentary, Bill Nichols
  • Yelo Guide from Beirut DC: www.beirutdc.org/index.php/2015-03-05-15-05-40/funding-guide-for-arab-producers 

Advice from documentary directors:

Where to watch documentaries from around the world:

Recommended documentaries to watch:

  • N - The Madness of Reason, Directed by Peter Krüger, Inti Films, 2014
  • Workingman's Death, Directed by Michael Glawogger, Lotus Film, Quinte Film, 2005
  • Angels Are Made Of Light, Directed by James Longley, Grasshopper Film, 2018
  • Man with a Movie Camera, Directed by Dziga Vertov, VUFKU, 1929
  • The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara Directed by Errol Morris, Sony Pictures Classics, 2003
  • Ghost Hunting, Directed by Raed Andoni, ARTE, 2017
  • What Walaa Wants, Directed by Christy Garland, National Film Board of Canada, 2018
  • Earth, Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Autlook Filmsales, 2019
  • These Birds Walk, Directed by Omar Mullick & Bassam Tariq, Oscilloscope, 2013
  • The Cave, Directed by Feras Fayyad, National Geographic Documentary Films, 2019
  • Zaineb Hates the Snow, Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, Hakka Distribution, 2016
  • A Memory in Khaki, Directed by Alfoz Tanjour, Al Jazeera Documentary, 2016
  • American Dharma, Directed by Errol Morris, Utopia, 2018
  • Faces Places, Directed by Agnès Varda & JR, Le Pacte, 2017
  • In the Land of the Deaf, Directed by Nicolas Philibert, International Film Circuit, 1992
  • Vitalina Varela, Directed by Pedro Costa, Midas Filmes, 2019 (Fiction Film)
  • Homo Sapiens, Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion, 2016
  • The Wanted 18, Directed by Amer Shomali & Paul Cowan, GathrFilms, 2014
  • Whores' Glory, Directed by Michael Glawogger, The Match Factory, 2011
  • Primary, Directed by Robert Drew, The Criterion Collection, 1960
  • Risk, Directed by Laura Poitras, First Hand Films, 2016
  • 5 Broken Cameras, Directed by Emad Burnat & Guy Davidi, Kino Lorber, 2011
  • The Arrival of a Train, Directed by Auguste Lumière & Louis Lumière, Société Lumière, 1896
  • Of Fathers and Sons, Directed by Talal Derki, Front Row Filmed Entertainment, 2017
  • For Sama, Directed by Waad Al-Kateab & Edward Watts, PBS, 2019
  • Samsara, Directed by Ron Fricke, Oscilloscope Laboratories, 2011
  • Nobody’s Business, Directed by Alan Berliner, Jane Balfour Films, 1996
  • Talking About Trees, Directed by Suhaib Gasmelbari, Agat Films & Cie, 2019
  • Allat Haddah, Directed by Nujoom Alghanem, Nahar Productions, 2017
  • Judgment in Hungar, Directed by Eszter Hajdú, Britdoc Foundation, 2013
  • Nanook of the North, Directed by Robert J. Flaherty, Films sans Frontières, 1922
  • Episode III: Enjoy Poverty, Directed by Renzo Martens, Inti Films, 2008
  • Spectres Are Haunting Europe, Directed by Maria Kourkouta & Niki Giannari, Survivance, 2016
  • Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait, Directed by Wiam Bedirxan & Ossama Mohammed, No Nation Films, 2014