The United States is a source of inspiration for many documentary makers, whether it's highlighting the social and political problems in this vast country, or zooming in on small-scale stories. This IDFA selection consists of ten documentary films, each highlighting a different aspect of this fascinating country.
The wide variety of documentary films on the US clearly depict the country’s immense versatility. Big Easy Express is a genuine road movie, Lead Me Home and Angels on Diamond Street show the poverty and inequality of major cities in The United States, while The Queen of Versailles shows the disarming global alienation of a billionaire family.
The IDFA Collection consists of a number of documentary films about The United States. Below you will find a selection of ten unique films on the subject that have screened at the festival in recent years—now available online for free or for a small fee.
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With a sympathetic eye, filmmaker Petr Lom follows life at the soup kitchen of the Church of the Advocate in North Philadelphia. He records what happens when an undocumented Mexican family asks for sanctuary at the church.
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Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour victories, and his years of lying and intimidation will continue to haunt him. An exhaustive reconstruction.
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A dreamy recording of a train trip across the United States by three folk bands, as they chug along through the landscape by day and perform in railroad yards by night.
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A prisoner in Louisiana since 1972, Herman Wallace tells the disturbing story of his solitary confinement in a series of interactive animations.
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A Holocaust survivor donates his violin to a girl from a destitute neighborhood in New York, and the instrument offers her a new opportunity in life.
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Compassionate account of life among the homeless in three major U.S. cities. Personal stories from several homeless people throw light on the underlying social issues.
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In this urgent story that makes an acute problem tangible, the inhabitants of Newtok, Alaska are seeing their village literally vanish due to climate change.
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This hommage to the photograph "Lunch atop a Skyscraper" (1932) investigates the mysterious history of this iconic image.
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Astoundingly intimate portrait of a 40-year-old man, filmed on a single night on the roof of the famous Chelsea Hotel in New York.
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During construction of their gargantuan mansion, a billionaire family is struck by the credit crunch and prepares for a new life with disarming naïveté.
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