Documentaries are often a window into worlds we never would have discovered otherwise, shedding a light on situations otherwise unheard of. This past year saw the release of countless documentaries, each wanting to expose audiences to something new. Be it a new world, idea, a new person, or situation going on in the world, it was hard to narrow down the best of last year. However, the following documentaries shone in how they brought forth important subject matter and presented it in such a powerful way. Tackling social issues, a daughter looking back at her mother’s legacy, to a tale about queer joy in the midst of a terminal diagnosis, it is safe to say that last year was one of the strongest years for documentaries in recent memory.
The Perfect Neighbor
The Perfect Neighbor is an anger-inducing, frustrating, but necessary watch. Set in Florida, this film uses police bodycam footage and doorbell cameras to tell the story of how Susan Lorincz came to murder her neighbor, African-American Ajike Owens. Taking place over the course of roughly two years, audiences witness Lorincz’s multiple calls to local law enforcement, as her situation continues to deescalate. That being said, no one would expect that the result would be someone getting shot for knocking on another person’s door. A deeply emotional, and often angering watch, one can’t help but think of the ways that this all could have been avoided. Offering no narration, we simply watch the story play out, with occasional text on screen to provide minor context. The documentary is truly riveting, showcasing the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law in full effect, it highlights how the law could be misused or abused in cases that disproportionately effect minorities, creating an excuse for racism and hatred.
My Mom Jayne
My Mom Jayne is not your average celebrity documentary, one that banally chronicles a star’s younger days, their rise to fame, and their last years or the last years of their career. In this case, the film sees actress Mariska Hargitay taking a deeper dive into her mom, actress Jayne Mansfield, including her career and her time as a mother, the latter of which she had little memory of due to her death when Hargitay was a child. Audiences follow Hargitay as she discovers the father she grew up with wasn’t her biological father, something she discovered when she was in her 20s, and reconciling with how her life was not what she thought it was, living with those emotions and grief for so long. She is honest about her struggles, about not really knowing her mom, but still wanting to feel close to her despite not knowing who her mom truly was. My Mom Jayne shows Hargitay piecing together the picture of someone she never got a chance to know, trying to forge her own memory of her.
The Alabama Solution
Despite this documentary feeling a little long by its third act, The Alabama Solution is an emotional and eye-opening documentary, perhaps more so for Americans. A film about the state of the Alabama prison system, audiences see firsthand how dehumanized prisoners are to the extent that they will never expect. It may be hard to watch, but that’s the point. That isn’t to say that prisoners should live comfortably or that they should run free, but not everyone in prison is dangerous. Conversely, all inmates are given sentences befitting of their crime. Over the course of the film, we see several prisoners risk their lives, filming the living conditions found in several prisons across Alabama and the horrible treatment they receive from prison guards. The situation gets so bad that the inmates attempt a strike in the hope of getting more attention from those on the outside.
The film sparks an interesting debate over the correlation between prisons and rehabilitation. A complicated issue, the documentary showcases that some deserve a second chance, focusing on the grey area, rather than strictly making it a black or white issue. The Alabama Solution perfectly encapsulates the many issues with the system and kudos to these prisoners who risked everything to bring them to light.
Come See Me in the Good Light
Despite telling a story about cancer, Come See Me in the Good Light somehow manages to not be.. Too depressing. Don’t get it wrong, it is still a sad documentary about confronting death and dealing with one’s own mortality, but along the way audiences get to see joy and love and embracing life, despite all the heartbreak and the sadness. The film follows poet Andrea Gibson (who sadly passed away last summer) and their partner Megan Falley, another poet and writer, as they navigate their relationship amidst Andrea’s cancer journey. An intimate watch, it feels almost too intimate, as if we are invading their space. But, that level of intimacy allows us to experience the deep and unconditional love that they have for each other. Yet, through all the moments of heartbreak, the documentary remains uplifting, cheerful, and somehow funny. Finding moments of joy in between the sadness, the film inspires us to appreciate the little things in life, getting to perform one last time, and experiencing the level of community Andrea had around them.
Come See Me in the Good Light is a story of sadness, but also one about love, as Andrea and Megan relish in their life together. It’s almost odd to describe queer joy in a movie about dying and cancer, but Andrea being so certain and confident in their body and their identities, two queer people living happily together, despite the circumstances.
Love+War
In Love+War, documentarian Jimmy Chin and partner Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi present the story of Lynsey Addario, a famous photojournalist known for working in some of the most dangerous parts of the world to shed a light on areas that are seldom reported on. This documentary raises the important question: Is all of this worth it? Is putting yourself in danger worth it, when you have a family at home when you have a husband and kids waiting for your return? Lynsey says that it is all worth it, despite the stress it brings to her family, because it is worth bringing these stories about war to the forefront. That being said, not every part of the film works. The divide between the topic of Lynsey pales in comparison to that of her struggles at home, a subject that is far more interesting. Above all else, the film is at its best when tackling Lynsey’s work and the issue of whether or not it is all worth it. A clear tribute to the hundreds of journalists and photojournalists, the documentary serves as a showcase to those who put their lives on the line so they can chase the story, showcasing conflicts and human stories that the world should know about.
2000 Meters to Andriivka
In a follow-up from 20 Days in Mariupol, director Mstyslav Chernov once again puts audiences on the frontline, as a journalist heads to the frontline where Ukraine struggles to advance in their ongoing war against Russia. Through the use of bodycam footage, the documentary delivers a firsthand account of the grueling war and Ukraine’s struggle to reclaim what is theirs over the course of a handful of months, only to take back 2,000 meters. What we see is raw and real, real people, who once had entire lives before this war, changed as their homes have been destroyed and their families decimated. For most of the subjects covered in the film, we get stark updates, with most of them getting killed in battle shortly after filming. This fact serves as a reminder of how the war continues to rage on. Andriivka was once a village, but in the film, it is a symbol of hope, even if just for a moment. A tense and brutal watch, much like its predecessor, the film shows the brutality and true cost of war. It is a tense and brutal documentary, one that doesn’t shy away from what the atrocities depicted on screen, but it’s necessary to see the cost of war and the lives it impacts.
One of the recurring threads of these documentaries is how they connect with audiences on a deep emotional level. The best can leave a long-lasting impact after the credits roll, leading them to reflect on what they have watched. From the anger one may feel watching The Perfect Neighbor, to the immense sadness watching Come See Me in the Good Light. The hope, is that a documentary can help many to see things in new light, or learn something new. Each of the above documentaries shares important facets of the world, from the unknown side of an actress gone too soon, to the terrible state of politics in the United States, the terrible state of the world, and the fragility of human life. All important stories, when all is set and done, if one walks away from a documentary having learnt something new, then it has succeeded.
For more on documentaries, stay tuned to our coverage of the 2026 Hot Docs Film Festival, starting tomorrow.
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