Human Rights Documentaries in 2026

Human rights documentaries examine civil liberties, political repression, migration, equality and life inside institutions. This list brings together films made across several countries and years.

Choose by subject and approach. Some films follow one person or community, while others examine law, surveillance, prisons or government power. The filmmaker and release year help place each work in context.

1,027 documentaries · ordered 26 October 2026 · How we order lists

Newest first: the year each film was released, from the open film record (Wikidata), then the order the list has always had. Every film’s page names its source.

No. 12026

14th

by Ava DuVernay · United States · English

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
No. 22026

Citizen Osama

by Ahmed Hassouna · France · Palestine · Arabic
No. 32026

The Secret Reading Club of Kabul

by Elina Hirvonen · Norway · Finland · Dari, Pashto

women in AfghanistanTaliban treatment of women
No. 420261 h 25 min

Traces

by Alisa Kovalenko · Poland · Ukraine · Ukrainian
No. 520261 h 19 min

Wohin mit mir?

Director not on record · Germany · German

refugee
No. 62025

Apolo

by Ísis Broken · Brazil · Brazilian Portuguese

right to healthLGBT rights in Brazil
No. 720251 h 48 min

Children in the Fire

by Evgeny Afineevsky · Ukraine · Ukrainian
No. 820251 h 22 min

Code of Fear

Director not on record · Norway · Germany · German

homosexualityCameroon
No. 92025

Cutting Through Rocks

by Sara Khaki · Canada · United States · Azerbaijani, Turkish
No. 1020251 h 34 min

Enigma

by Zackary Drucker · United States
No. 1120251 h 45 min

Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

by Raoul Peck · United States · France · English, French

historyErnest Cole
No. 1220251 h 44 min

Girls & Gods

by Arash T. Riahi · Switzerland · Austria · English, French
No. 132025

Heightened Scrutiny

by Sam Feder · United States · English
No. 1420251 h 24 min

House with a Voice

by Birthe Templin · Germany · German

Albanian sworn virgins
No. 152025

Landmarks

by Lucrecia Martel · United States · Denmark · Spanish

Javier Chocobar
No. 162025

Looking for Yadida

by Israela Shaer-Meoded · Israel · Hebrew

Yemenite Children Affair
No. 1720251 h 1 min

Louis Theroux: The Settlers

by Louis Theroux · United Kingdom · English

Israeli settlerPalestinians
No. 182025

Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising

by Shane Belcourt · Canada
No. 1920251 h 35 min

No Other Land

by Hamdan Ballal · Norway · Hebrew, Arabic

Israeli occupation of the West Bank
No. 202025

Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance

by Noam Gonick · Canada · English
No. 2120251 h 27 min

The Altar Boy, the Priest and the Gardener

Director not on record · Costa Rica · Spanish
No. 2220251 h 50 min

Yanuni

by Richard Ladkani · Canada · United States · English, Portuguese
No. 2320241 h 41 min

Am I Racist?

by Justin Folk · United States · English
No. 242024

An Army of Women

Director not on record · Norway · United States
No. 2520241 h 43 min

Black Box Diaries

by Shiori Itō · Japan · United States · Japanese

rape by Noriyuki Yamaguchi

Places #1 to #5 on this list are sold one at a time, and all five are open today: #1 is $149 a month, and the film at that number today moves down one. Take #1

Before you press play

Start with the issue

Taking Liberties examines the erosion of civil liberties and increased surveillance in the United Kingdom under Tony Blair. Cruel and Unusual follows transgender women in the United States prison system.

Pursuit of Equality focuses on same-sex couples seeking marriage equality in the United States. These films offer distinct subjects within the wider human rights field.

Look at state power

Kimjongilia is a documentary directed by N.C. Heikin. Taxi to the Dark Side, directed by Alex Gibney, is an American film from 2007.

Mugabe and the White African, made by Andrew Thompson, is a 2009 documentary produced by David Pearson and Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock.

Follow individual lives

Out in the Silence was directed by Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer. Little Alien was made by Nina Kusturica in 2009.

Crayons and Paper is a documentary short by Bruce David Janu. These titles suit viewers looking for personal or community-scale perspectives.

Use the release year

The list spans films released from 2005 to 2009, including The New Ten Commandments from 2008 and Zdroj from 2005.

The year can help when choosing between contemporary works or tracing how human rights subjects were treated across a period.

What viewers ask

What subjects do these documentaries cover?: The films address civil liberties, surveillance, political repression, migration, prison experiences, marriage equality and other human rights concerns.
Which film examines surveillance in the United Kingdom?: Taking Liberties is a British documentary about the erosion of civil liberties and increased surveillance under Tony Blair's government.
Is there a documentary about transgender women in prison?: Yes. Cruel and Unusual is about the experiences of transgender women in the United States prison system.
Who directed Taxi to the Dark Side?: Alex Gibney directed Taxi to the Dark Side, a 2007 American documentary.
Which film covers marriage equality?: Pursuit of Equality, directed by Geoff Callan and Mike Shaw, follows the struggle of same-sex couples for marriage equality in the United States.

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