15 Best Political Documentaries

Our first selection is titled The Swamp, and is an American documentary about the fundraising and political culture on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. Taking place largely in 2019, the film follows three Republican congressmen (Matt Gaetz of FL, Thomas Massie of KY, and Ken Buck of CO) who are considered outsiders to the dominant party patronage system. In addition to following these congressmen through the biggest political stories of that year, the documentary shows how much politicians rely on lobbyists for financial support.
–IMDb score: 6.6
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The Fight gives an inspiring look into the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and their lawyers that fight for important legal battles, specifically against certain Trump administration policies. Some of these stories include a mother separated from her child, a soldier who’s career is threatened, and a young woman’s right to choose is imperiled by a government official. This documentary gives a glimpse into these unsung heroes as they fight to protect us.
–IMDb score: 6.9
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If you haven’t heard about the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal, then The Great Hack is a perfect documentary to start with. The story of the scandal is told through three perspectives — Professor David Carroll of Parsons and The New School, Brittany Kaiser the former business development director for Cambridge Analytica, and British investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr. They combined reveal the work of Cambridge Analytica in the politics of several countries, including the UK’s Brexit campaign and the 2016 US elections.
–IMDb score: 7.0
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Next up on our best political documentaries list is The Edge of Democracy, which is a Brazilian documentary about the first term of President Lula and leading to the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, depicting the rise and fall of both presidents and the eventual socio-political crisis that hit Brazil. It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards and won a Peabody Award in 2020.
–IMDb score: 7.3
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Calling all prospective female politicians — this documentary is for you. Knock Down the House follows four female Democrats who decided to run for Congress in the 2018 U.S. elections. They were Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of NY, Amy Vilela of NV, Cori Bush of MO, and Paula Jean Swearengin of WV. Though not all of the females won their primary their first year running, several of them continue to push and become key players in the Democratic party elections, proving that females can be successful in politics.
–IMDb score: 7.4
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The differences between countries and their production companies becomes abundantly clear in the documentary American Factory, set in both China and post-industrial Ohio. In Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant and hires two thousand Americans. The factory starts off hopeful, but gives way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
–IMDb score: 7.4
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There has been a lot of controversy and thought put into the assassination of John F. Kennedy. One of the newer documentaries about the subject is JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, which is based on the 1992 non-fiction book by James DiEugenio. It brings up newly declassified evidence about the case, and is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and Donald Sutherland.
–IMDb score: 7.5
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Abortion and its legality has always been an issue in the United States, and one documentary titled Reversing Roe was created in 2018 to dive deep into the topic. Created through interviews, the film analyzes the abortion laws in the United States and the effects of the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, and how it is impacting us now.
–IMDb score: 7.5
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Immigration is one of those topics you might want to avoid at the dinner table. But, this did not deter directors Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz as they document the U.S. ICE agency from 2017 to 2020 during the Trump era. Some have described this miniseries as “showing the inhumanity and unconscionable cruelty of [the] agency’s tactics” and was almost delayed by ICE until after the 2020 U.S. elections.
–IMDb score: 7.6
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If you think that political problems only emerge when we are adults, then I urge you to watch the documentary Boys State. Follow a thousand teenage boys as they attend Boys State in Austin, Texas, coming together in order to build a representative government from the ground up. They must navigate different political backgrounds, organizing political parties, and campaigning for the highest office, the Governor of Texas. It gives a glimpse into the idea that any age can come to conclusions, and show the relationships between prospective teenagers.
–IMDb score: 7.6
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I watched this next documentary, Weiner, in a college class, and it shows a lot about the political world and how scandals can destroy someone’s career. The person in question is Anthony Weiner, who was a congressman until 2011 when he resigned after scandalous photos of appeared on his Twitter account. This led to a public spiral, but the real focus is Weiner’s attempt to become Mayor of New York City in 2013. During the filming though, more photos and evidence are leaked, including explicit text messages well after the 2011 resignation. Though at times hilarious, it is an uncomfortable view into the world of a politician that cannot seem to make things right.
–IMDb score: 7.6
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Twelve one-hour long episodes tells some of the stories of corporate corruption, securities fraud, and creative accounting in the limited series Dirty Money. Each episode talks about one example of corporate corruption and highlights interviews with key players in each story. Some of these include Jared Kushner, illegal gold mining, and the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
–IMDb score: 8.1
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Everyone has heard of the 2008 stock market crash. Though not everyone was directly affected, Inside Job takes a deeper look into the late-2000s financial crisis and how financial services corrupted the United States, conflicts of interest in academic research, and how changes in the policy environment and banking practices ultimately led to the crisis.
–IMDb score: 8.2
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The Act of Killing is an experimental documentary that pinpoints a very important piece in Indonesia’s history. The film follows individuals that were a part of the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-66 where alleged communists and people against the New Order were tortured and killed. Many of the killers became gangsters, and are still in power throughout the country. It allows the viewer to see both the actions re-created, and the effects these killings had on both the country and the executioner.
–IMDb score: 8.2
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Last but certainly not least on our best political documentaries list is titled 13th, and goes way beyond the 13th Amendment in the United States Constitution. For those who are a little rusty, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a crime. This last piece is especially important as it leads into the documentaries topic of exploring the prison-industrial complex and the intersection of race and justice in the U.S.
–IMDb score: 8.2
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