Feature: Documentary Magazine’s list of the 25 Greatest Docs from the 21st Century

About this episode

The episode discusses Documentary Magazine's list of the 25 greatest documentaries of the 21st century, featuring insights from film critic Manuel Betancourt.

The topic: Documentary Magazine, published by the International Documentary Association (IDA), released a list of what it determined to be the 25 greatest documentaries of the 21st Century. How the list was made: Documentary polled 300 documentary filmmakers and producers, critics, programmers, and academics, asking them to name three documentaries they deemed the “greatest.” Each documentary had to be released after January 1, 2000. Notable picks: Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing (2012) sits in the number spot, garnering the most votes. Other films that made the list include No Other Land (2024), the most recent release on the list, and The Gleaners and I (2000), the oldest release.  Guest:  Manuel Betancourt , film critic for LAist and assistant editor of Documentary Magazine. He also contributes regularly to Variety and The AV Club Check out Documentary’s full list here .   Visit www.preppi.com/LAist to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any purchase over $100) and be prepared for the next wildfire, earthquake or emergency    

People in this episode

Guest: Manuel Betancourt

Topics covered

• documentaries
• film criticism
• 21st century films
• film rankings
• documentary filmmaking

Keywords

• Documentary Magazine
• greatest documentaries
• film critics
• Joshua Oppenheimer
• The Act of Killing

Sponsors

Preppi

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Documentary Magazine, International Documentary Association

Books & works: The Act of Killing, No Other Land, The Gleaners and I

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