The 13 Documentaries You Need to See This Summer

It’s no secret that here at Vogue we take our documentaries seriously. (We’ve even made a few!) And as much as we love a blockbuster—and we do—there’s nothing quite like a cinematic moment that’s firmly rooted in real life. Lucky for us, this summer brings with it a sweep of brand-new films to take in, from one that’s very on-theme with this year’s Costume Institute exhibition, to those that hark back to icons of stage and screen and runway whom we’ve loved and lost, to those that by taking on tangled or obscure or seemingly enormous topics—like socioeconomic skulduggery or the pursuit of and obsession with wealth, youth, and beauty at any cost—reveal that the way the world actually works is often markedly different than the way we had always thought. And isn’t that why you go to the movies in the first place, to see the world differently? Whatever you’re looking for, it’s all here for you this summer at your local movie theater or via streaming service—don’t miss out. Without further ado, below find the 13 documentaries you should not miss this summer.

RBG (May 4) An engrossing, moving look at the famously quiet and devoutly serious 85-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West. Vogue’s Robert Sullivan called this celebratory documentary all the more remarkable for finding its heart in Ginsburg’s love story, rather than just her (incredibly impressive) legal history. Keep the tissues handy.

Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat (May 11) As Jim Jarmusch’s early producer and romantic partner, filmmaker Sara Driver comes by her downtown New York know-how honestly. In Boom for Real, Driver alternates archival footage from the late 1970s and early ’80s with modern-day interviews with Basquiat’s friends, lovers, and collaborators. A charismatic portrait of a downtown scene-maker and an artistic visionary from a woman who was there.

Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (May 18) Wim Wenders convinced none other than the Holy Father to partake in a series of interviews about social justice, poverty, and death. If you’ve ever craved a sit-down with the Pontiff (or to be a fly on the wall during one), now’s your chance.

The Gospel According to André (May 25) “What’s refreshing about Kate Novack’s documentary,” Vogue’s Eve MacSweeney wrote in an early review of The Gospel According to André, the feature-length doc about the beloved former Vogue staffer and occasional contributor André Leon Talley, is that Novack “dwells less on Talley’s famously flamboyant pronouncements on high fashion than on his upbringing and the quiet haven of his elegant house and garden in White Plains, New York . . . . This André is not simply the pharaoh of fabulosity—he is reflective, poignant, and heartfelt.”

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (June 8) Morgan Neville (who won an Oscar for his 2013 doc, 20 Feet From Stardom) tracks the life and legacy of one of television’s most beloved figures, Fred Rogers, in his latest project. (If you question Mr. Rogers’s icon status, try not to weep watching his 1999 induction into the TV Critics’ Television Hall of Fame.) Tracing Rogers’s desire to “help children through some of the difficult modulations of life” (death, divorce, and racism, among them) while always treating his audience like equals, the film relies on extensive archival footage as well as interviews with friends and collaborators who discuss his legacy and impact on child education, namely through his lessons of love, kindness, and acceptance. Above all, though, during a time when most television is a horror of meanness and sarcasm, endless dark alleys, and backbiting reality shows, it’s a gentle, nostalgic, and utterly welcome look at one of our kindest figures, and a patient, honest approach that history has proven was far more radical than most of us realized.

The King (June 22) Eugene Jarecki obtains Elvis Presley’s 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, outfits it with cameras, and takes it for a ride across the United States, neatly retracing both the trajectory of Donald Trump and Presley’s life story in the process. The result is what IndieWire called a “fascinatingly overstuffed portrait of America in decline.”

Three Identical Strangers (June 29) What begins as Tim Wardle’s gripping separated-at-birth story of triplets who reunite in their early adulthood turns into a stranger-than-fiction investigation into a full-blown medical conspiracy that is hard to detail without spoiling the story. It’s worth it alone for the discussions you’ll have afterward.

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (mid-July) A heart-wrenching, intimate look at one of comedy’s most beloved, extraordinary, and ultimately tragic figures, HBO’s Marina Zenovich–directed documentary braids together Williams’s never-before-seen home movies and onstage performance footage with interviews with those who knew and loved him best (Billy Crystal, Eric Idle, Whoopi Goldberg, David Letterman, Steve Martin, Pam Dawber, and his son Zak Williams all appear). Ultimately it’s a celebration of what Williams brought to comedy and to the culture at large—from the wild days of late-1970s L.A. to his death in 2014—and a reminder of a unique, shooting star–type talent that we’re lucky to have witnessed, even if it burned out long before we’d hoped.

Whitney (July 6)
Directed by Kevin Macdonald (the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind the Bob Marley documentary, Marley), Whitney features previously unreleased recordings, rare never-before-seen footage and live performances by Houston, as well an original, robust slate of studio recordings and a cappella renditions of some of the singer’s greatest hits. It is also, unlike last year’s Whitney: Can I Be Me, approved by the late star’s estate.

McQueen (July 13)

Culled from archival clips from close to 200 sources, along with new interviews and original material, Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s documentary is shaped around five of Alexander McQueen’s intricately wrought, high-concept collections, conjuring his life as much personally as aesthetically. The film delivers a staggering visual feast in the footage of these runway shows, rarely seen by those outside the fashion world, and the emotional punch of witnessing an exuberant talent headed toward self-destruction.

Dark Money (July 13): Kimberly Reed’s documentary tackles a knotty legal subject: the history (and vital importance of) campaign finance reform, the repercussions of the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, and who is pulling the strings when it comes to our elected officials. It should probably be required viewing for American citizens.

Generation Wealth (July 20) Photographer and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield (The Queen of Versailles) turns her camera on herself in this all-encompassing look at the way that we pursue wealth (an idea she defines in a broader sense than just fiscal) to our own personal detriment and destruction. (The film accompanies her most recent photographic tome of the same name.) It’s Greenfield’s own enduring fascination with the display of wealth that forms the core of the film, which hopscotches between figures like a cigar-chewing, practically mustache-twirling Florian Homm (the German investment banker who landed on the FBI’s most-wanted list for investment fraud); a former porn star who live-streams her own suicide attempt; a career-obsessed hedge fund manager turned helicopter parent; the now-adult Southern California teens Greenfield first started her career documenting; and the director’s own family, as they all reiterate in various ways exactly how much, when it comes to happiness, money really doesn’t count.

John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection (August 22) Julien Faraut’s McEnroe–focused documentary sets up a long back-and-forth between tennis and cinema that takes what could be the standard sporting bio-doc (appealing only to tennis aficionados or fans of McEnroe) and turns it instead into what Variety calls a “lovely meditation on time and movement, dedication and obsession, image, and perception.”