For as long as documentaries have existed, filmmakers and activists have used the platform to tell important historical stories, comment on current hot-button issues, and jumpstart social movements.
Social justice documentaries cover topics that include racism, women’s rights, healthcare, the LGBTQ+ community, political unrest, gun violence, among many others. These films are able to entertain like music docs, inspire like sports docs; educate like nature docs, tell harrowing stories like true crime docs; but can also act as a tool to create real societal change.
For example, the documentary Bowling for Columbine about the Columbine high school massacre led to K-Mart stores ceasing the sale of ammunition, An Inconvenient Truth sparked a global conversation about climate change, and The Invisible War shed light on a history of sexual assault in the military that resulted in a Presidential bill.
These projects sometimes highlight uncomfortable realities of our world, but also can also inspire viewers and spur the public into action. If there is a specific cause that you’re interested in, there is sure to be a doc out there that will provide you with just the information you’re looking for. Here are nine of the best social justice documentaries that you can watch on Netflix, right now.
9 Whose Streets? (2017)
Whose Streets? is a powerful effort from directors Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis, and cinematographer Lucas Alvarado to portray the protests that erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, after unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was killed by police in 2014. It was these protests that sparked nationwide demonstrations against police violence and brought the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront.
The content was so compelling that the filmmakers received production support and finance from three different Sundance Institute programs, along with the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Tribeca Film Institute. Whose Streets? was also nominated for both the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards for Best Documentary.
8 Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom (2015)
The Netflix original documentary Winter on Fire from director Evgeny Afineevsky depicts the 2013-2014 protests against government corruption and human rights violations in Ukraine. The film features commentary from citizens from a wide range of backgrounds, who all witnessed the unrest firsthand. Some controversy arose after its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival because several antisemitic symbols used by extreme right-wing protesters appeared in the film and were not commented on.
Winter on Fire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. It was also one of the winners of the 2016 Television Academy Honors. In March 2022, Netflix made Winter on Fire available for free on its YouTube channel in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
7 The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
Marsha P. Johnson was a self-identified drag queen and a passionate activist for the gay liberation movement from the 1970s until their death in 1992. Johnson was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). Johnson was known for being outspoken against LGBTQ+ persecution by law enforcement. In July 1992, Johnson’s body was found floating in the Hudson River and the death was ruled a suicide, despite significant evidence of foul play. David France’s moving documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson follows activist Victoria Cruz as she investigates the suspicious death and celebrates all the important work that Johnson did for the community.
6 9to5: The Story of a Movement (2020)
9to5: The Story of a Movement is a PBS documentary from directors Julia Reichart and Steven Bognar that focuses on the organization 9to5, which aims to improve working conditions for women and their families. The film highlights the beginning of the movement in the 1970s, when women first formally organized to fight for better pay and to end sexual harassment. Today, the group continues to fight for those rights, as well as family/sick leave and disability rights in the workplace. The documentary features interviews with 9to5’s co-founders as well as activist and actress Jane Fonda.
5 Period. End of Sentence. (2018)
Period. End of Sentence. is a documentary short film by Rayka Zechtabchi, which highlights a group of ambitious local women from Hapur, India, as they learn how to make biodegradable sanitary pads that can be sold at affordable prices to women. The intent is not only to provide affordable feminine hygiene products for their community, but also to fight against the taboo and stigma that exists in India around menstruation.
The project received thirteen awards from film festivals across the country and won the Oscar for Best Documentary (Short Subject). The success of Period. End of Sentence. helped launch The Pad Project, which aims to ensure that all women and menstruators have access to proper reproductive and sexual health education and sanitary products.
4 I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary by Raoul Peck that is based on the unfinished manuscript Remember This House by activist James Baldwin. The film in narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, and explores the history of racism in America through Baldwin’s recollections of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. This documentary is a powerful curation of observations on race relations from one of the greatest minds of our generation.
With extensive archival footage, I Am Not Your Negro takes us back through a time of significant civil unrest and highlights both how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go. It was a critical success and received fifty-two award nominations, including the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and won thirty-three of them, including the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.
3 Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (2020)
The Netflix original documentary Disclosure, directed by Sam Feder, is an in-depth look at Hollywood’s depiction of transgender people and their stories. It features commentary by many high-profile transgender people in the film industry, including Laverne Cox, Susan Stryker, Chaz Bono, Alexandra Billings, Alexandra Grey, Trace Lysette, Elliot Fletcher, and Candis Cayne, among others.
The film uses its platform to demonstrate how many previous depictions of transgender people in the media have been inaccurate, if not directly harmful, and the impact that has in our society. Disclosure is an impressive demonstration of the power of representation. It was nominated for several awards and won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary.
2 Bending the Arc (2017)
Bending the Arc is a documentary from Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos that tells the story of the organization Partners in Health, and the doctors and humanitarians that founded it. Jim Yong Kim, Ophelia Dahl, and Paul Farmer are three doctors who have devoted their lives to providing much-needed medical care in impoverished countries. The film follows their struggle to treat and eradicate tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in rural Haiti, Peru, and Rwanda.
The movie integrates archival footage and present-day interviews, and shows viewers how the relentless medical and humanitarian pursuits of these doctors led to the formation of their organization and its continued efforts across the globe. Bending the Arc was screened at several film festivals and won Best Documentary at the Greenwich International Film Festival.
1 13th (2016)
Ava DuVernay’s widely acclaimed Netflix documentary 13th is an extensive exploration of race in America and its intersection with the justice system. The film was named after the 13th amendment to the U.S. constitution which abolished slavery. DuVernay depicts how mass incarceration disproportionately affects people of color today and how politicians and the prison-industrial complex benefit from that imbalance. It is an impactful look at how we as a country continue to disenfranchise a massive population of our citizens based on the color of their skin.
13th was a large success, garnering high praise from critics and the public. It was nominated for forty-seven awards, including the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature; It won thirty-two of those awards, including Best Documentary at British Academy Film Awards; several Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, a Peabody Award for Excellence, and three Primetime Emmys.