Stanley Nelson’s latest film, about historically black colleges and universities, shows the true importance of education. — Black History Month is the perfect time for another Stanley Nelson documentary. It’s been two years since Independent Lens showcased his last feature, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, also in February, and I wish he had something like this every year. Despite the fact that Nelson isn’t as…

Short-form Academy Award nominees hit theaters this week. — Among the thousands of documentary shorts released and screened at festivals last year, only five could be nominated for an Academy Award. Fortunately for nonfiction fans, four of them are actually available to stream somewhere already, either for free or via iTunes or Netflix. But if you want to catch…

The Australian documentary poorly presents a complex issue. — Who knew Australians were so divided on kangaroos? The national icon is beloved as a symbol and despised as an entity. For those of us unaware, the documentary Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story lays it all out informatively. Despite the fact that the animal is a mascot for the country, it’s…

The episodic series unfortunately satisfies neither. — There’s a big difference between true crime and issue films. True crime focuses on singular incidents involving a minimal scope of impact. Issue films tackle broader, ongoing problems affecting much of it not all of human health or society. …

The HFPA doesn’t honor nonfiction anymore, but if they did… — Out of all the reasons not to take the Golden Globes seriously, my first choice is the fact that they’re still one of the only major movie awards that doesn’t honor nonfiction cinema. Even the MTV Movie Awards have a Best Documentary award. …